I received a copy of the fantasy book Sea of Evil and Desire by J. Strelou from NetGalley. This book is a dark fantasy romance with oceanic fantasy elements and Celtic folklore. The aspects of a world under the ocean, along with folklore inspiration, are something that really intrigued me. The story follows Morgana Scott, a sheltered young woman who can sense other people’s emotions.
The story begins with Morgana moving to Ruadan’s Port, a village in Scotland’s Isle of Islay. She moved here to be with her grandfather after the death of her grandmother. The Samhain festival is nearing, and Morgana finds things changing with her. She feels drawn to the ocean, and vivid dreams plague her every night. She meets Finn; he is moody and dark, and she can’t sense his emotions. Morgana slowly uncovers the underwater world and the centuries-old feud between two factions- Mer and Drowned.
There is a prophecy at play in this feud, and it reaches a breaking point with Morgana caught between it. Morgana is sheltered to the point of being isolated by her mother. Her character starts off as awkward and wary, which makes sense. When she starts finding things about her family and the ancient feud between Drowned, Mer, and Selkies, it gets difficult. She doesn’t know what she is supposed to do, but her abilities are directly tied to a supernatural curse the prophecy predicted. On the other hand, Finn has shades of gray, but Morgana and Finn are drawn to each other.
At times, I did feel Morgana’s reactions were immature and naïve, but she grows into a stronger person and accepts her suppressed powers. The romance between Morgana and Finn is a slow burn. Their dynamic goes from instant attraction to better emotional understanding in an organic way; it didn’t seem forced. Finn is so secretive, it’s hard to guess where his character will go. I loved the final emotional payoff of their romance.
The town descriptions and atmosphere kept me engaged because it matches the tone of the story. We explore this world with Morgana, which helped me. The world built in the story is extremely fascinating and has a gothic type of eeriness to it. The pacing of the book was a bit of a problem for me. I liked the lore and the world-building, but there was a lack of action in the first half. Meanwhile, the second half moves way too fast. It can’t kind of hampered the emotional investment in the story for me.
Sea of Evil and Desire by J. Strelou is an interesting dark fantasy book. It made me delve into the Celtic folklore, and I found the oceanic fantasy elements very interesting, even if the pacing affected their impact. The slow-born romance, character growth, and cliffhanger ending made me curious about the next instalment. Overall, I liked reading the book.
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