In Deeper Waters - Review

Author: F.T. Lukens

Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy 

Format: e-book

Pages: 320

I received an early e-book copy of this through Netgalley for my honest opinion.

Sometimes you need to read a book with a happy ending, a book that is one hundred percent wholesome. Every once in a while I need to read a fluffy romance book where everyone survives at the end, and I cannot thank Netgalley enough for letting me get an early peek at just that. I wasn't overly certain what I was getting into with In Deeper Waters, but the cover leads me to believe it wholesome and not try to rip my heart out of my chest.

This was absolutely adorable. The perfect escape from reality. F.T Lukens takes some tried and tested tropes, and creates a wonderful story about accepting yourself and finding true love. Normally I read pretty slowly, but I flew through In Deeper Waters. I found myself reading it at the bus stop, while the car was warming up, waiting in line, just about anytime I had time to spare.

I love a character driven book, and right out of the gate I fell in love with Tal. He's an imperfect character and I love that. He makes mistakes, he learns from them, and through everything, he learns about himself, his magic, and even just how strong he became because of everything. Tal is a character that is hard to hate because he tries, fails, and tries again. I also loved the family dynamic in this. These weren't siblings fighting over who gets to sit on the throne. Each of them had a place, a role, and they loved each other like a family. It's was great to have a fantasy series where siblings got to be siblings. 

And Athlen, I love how he never fully conforms to be a land dweller. I love the way Athlen tries to see the world, and how all he wants to never be alone again. 

Normally, love, at first sight, isn't my favorite trope, but for this, it works. Athlen doesn't see the world as a human, since he's a merman, and Tal is a bit of shelter due to being hidden away for so long. It's not perfect, they both make mistakes throughout the whole story, Athlen is even keeping a secret up until the last few pages. But, they are learning together and there is respect. THERE IS CONSENT EVEN IN THIS BOOK! Which, ugh, just made me so happy. 

But, what I love about this book is the fact that there is no issue with Tal being bisexual, not from Tal's siblings, his people, or the Queen. It's just about of this world without issue, and I love a book with that kind of representation. Tal being able to love Athlen and that being enough for the people around him.

This one of those books that take everything I love about fantasy and created a beautiful coming of age story. F.T. Lukens has also created two characters that fell in love with. And, while In Deeper Waters is a stand-alone, and ties up nicely. I would never say no to another book with any of these characters, especially Athlen and Tal.

I just adored this book. Is there a bit of angst? Yup. Was there a moment where I thought I'd been betrayed? Yup, again. Did I nearly have heart failure when my e-reader right a crucial moment in the plot where I thought everything was going to become a dumpster fire? A third yup. In the end though is a book was the wholesome read I needed in my life. It was cute and held the happy ending I needed.

In Deeper Waters is one I definitely want to add to my bookshelves once it's officially out. Which is this Tuesday (April 20th!) It's a book I can see myself re-reading.

HAPPY READING!!