In Deeper Waters

I have fallen in love with these writers books. I have read both this book and so this is ever after and loved them both. I will definitely be getting spell bound. I loved the story line and this book had me gripped in the fantasy it creates I couldn't put it down. I hope this author doesn't stop writing as I think all their books are wonderful. Will definitely recommend them 👌 👍 😊.

Prince Tal has a secret. He has magical abilities which are forbidden ever since a previous King with powers laid waste to all magical beings and the lands they inhabited. Having spent all his life behind closed doors, as he has now come of age and can finally explore his family's kingdom. Not long after setting sail on a voyager with his older brother they come across a burning derelict ship with only one mysterious survivor. Tasked with caring for and finding out who he is, Tal learns that the boy's name is Athlen. He is charismatic, intriguing and instantly notices that Tal has magical powers. When they get close to each other Tal's magic sparks from the intense connection the two share. Unfortunately Tal trusts too easily and releases Athlen who jumps overboard to his death leaving Tal feeling guilty and heartbroken.When the ship makes land not long after, Tal unexpectedly bumps into Athlen who is perfectly fine and his exuberant self. Their connection remains strong and a closeness builds between them as they share details of their pasts. However, before they can act on their growing feelings, Tal is kidnaped by pirates determined to reveal his magical powers and start a war among all the kingdoms. Athlen has a secret of his own and it may be the only thing that will help locate and rescue Tal from their nefarious clutches before it's too late.A super sweet yet compelling 🌟🌟🌟🌟 story of boy meets boy, secrets are revealed, dastardly forces work against them, tough battles and a daring rescue plan. You know the usual story. I loved the fun and frolics on the high seas together with the wonderfully creative and beautifully described magical abilities and supernatural beings. Tal and Athlen were two of the cutest guys you could ever read, they had difficult childhoods and both were lonely but I loved how together they found the strength to be themselves and were willing to face adversity and struggles to help the other. The world building was imaginative and I'm sad that this is a standalone and not the start of an epic series.

Can we talk about that incredible vintage romance- inspired cover?!This was such a feel good read!This was wonderfully whimsical, with a great balance between an engaging plot and swoon-worthy romantic fluff.Athlen and Tal are the cutest and fleshed out which is not only enhances their romance but also the plot. Lukens doesn’t sacrifice their character development and the story in favour of the romance which is refreshing!I am in love with all of the royal siblings, if this book got the Bridgeton treatment and each of them got their own book I would be obsessed! The sibling banter was hilarious, I caught myself laughing out loud serval times.More people need to talk about this book?!

I went into this book really wanting to like it and I just didn’t. But I’m not quite sure why.I was, frankly, kind of expecting a pirate/naval adventure/romance novel. And the romance is there, though it’s of the ‘they fell in love as soon as they saw each other’ kind, rather than a ‘will they/won’t they’ or a ‘they realise their feelings in the middle of a sword fight,’ which I’d personally prefer. In fact there’s not that much action in the whole book. The plot mostly drifted slowly from one place to another, more meandering than anything. It’s not a bad plot, beat by beat, but not what I expected.The characters are also not what I expected. Again, I was expecting pirates. Characters with an edge to them. Both Tal and Athlen are pretty soft as characters go. And that’s fine. But I also found Tal a little insufferable. His back story is that his great grandfather almost conquered the world with magic and his family, the royal family, have been trying to make up for it ever since, through diplomacy, so that the world doesn’t unite and crush them. He has to keep his magic secret and has been hidden from the world at large until now. Which must be hard. But he also seems to ignore the fact that he’s a prince, with the massive amount of privilege that brings with it. He comes across as very spoiled at points.Also…ok, so this complaint will include spoilers so skip this paragraph. But when he’s captured by pirates he’s ‘tortured.’ This is how he describes it and how other members of his family do as well. The torture? He had to scrub the deck for hours and man the bilge pumps. Hard work? Sure. Work he wasn’t used to as a prince. And he might not have been physically well and not being fed all that much. It was a hard experience for him. But torture? And this is used to excuse later actions. It just…it feels like actions that haven’t earned the title of torture. He wasn’t the only one doing it either! The other pirates took their turns.Sorry, that was just a small thing that really frustrated me.Honestly, I think it’s the fairy tale aesthetic and style of writing. Everything just drifts along and events seem to have little impact. It has a lot of the staples of a fairy tale but I’ve seen them used to much better effect elsewhere. In some places it almost seems clumsy.Which is a shame because at the end of this book was the first chapter of ‘So This Is Ever After,’ a previous book by the same author. And I loved it. It had so much more humour and energy in its writing than ‘In Deeper Water.’ I’ll definitely be giving that a read at some point in the future.In the end I have to conclude that this book was an experiment by the author. But it wasn’t one that worked for me.

The book came in great conditions and the novel is amazing! Its a cute male x male fantasy with a story similar to the little mermaid but with a TWIST! Overall the book its great and the delivery was just like instructed 👍 thankyou ❤️

This book reads like a cross-over between a Young Adult Fantasy novel and a feel-good romantic comedy. I had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. It's light, romantic, dreamy, and makes you feel as if you were in another world for a couple of hours. Truly a very nice read. The colours of the cover capture the feeling the book creates rather nicely: warm, peaceful, sunny. In conclusion, I would say it's a charming and magical coming-of-age story, recommended to everyone looking for a light and short fantasy read.

Llego en el tiempo indicado y llego en perfecto estado

I adored this book so, so much. I will admit that it was a bit of a cover buy & I didn’t really know much about it before I bought it, but I’m so glad I read this! A couple things that have nothing to do with the actual story - first, the cover is absolutely beautiful. And second, the quote “To those who feel lost at sea, may you find a safe harbor” that’s included before the story is one of my favourite things I’ve ever read.I feel like the cover very much says ‘gay pirates’ which is not what this story is about AT ALL. And as someone who is on a pirate kick right now, I thought I’d be disappointed about that but I’m not. Because it was still such a lovely story. It’s about a prince, and the majority of the story is related to him and his family, and their duties.One thing I really enjoyed is that the description only tells about half the story, so I had no idea what was going to happen in the second half of the book, which made it more exciting! Also, the Addie Larue vibes??? Love. So much love. Unexpected, but love.All of the characters are so great. Especially Tal’s family! They are so cute and accepting and their love for each other runs so, so deep. I love when side characters are written so strongly, and not just the main characters.Buy this stunning book for your shelves & the devour it like I did. It’s so worth it.

Leuk boek als je van fantasie houdt met een romantisch randje. Zeker een aanrader als je niet van boeken houdt met meerdere delen.

Para todos que gostam de Piratas do Caribe, que gostam de uma história que mistura aventura, fantasia e romance entre dois garotos, cada um com seus segredos, esse livro é maravilhoso! Tem piratas, tem magia, tem mitologia e tem brigas entre reinos!Tal mostra sua força quando é separado da família, Athlen é cada vez mais adorável à medida que a leitura avança.Uma história que merece uma continuação e uma versão na TV ou no cinema!

If you love romance and a little adventure, then it is perfect for you. I feel like it is a little corny at parts, but otherwise a great read.