Dark Water Daughter by H. M. Long is among my most anticipated book releases for this summer. This bewitching swashbuckling flintlock fantasy adventure on the high seas caught my attention when I first read the synopsis. I was lucky to receive an eARC of the book through Edelweiss+, courtesy of Titan Books. To say I devoured this book in 2 days’ time back in May would be an apt description of my reading process. The reviewing part took longer because I really wanted to give the author and her amazing book a more coherent review it deserved for making me feel all the feels.
Dark Water Daughter is the first instalment in The Winter Seas series and the sequel (which I’m dying to get my hands on) should be out in 2024. The fantastical world that Long created is beautiful but unforgiving, cold and moody, with ancient dark forests that are filled with spectral creatures. The Winter Sea is glacial with harsh winds that make sailing and navigation difficult. This world is vast, enthralling, brimming with magic, mystery and potential. The world-building is phenomenally done. Instead of explaining the history of this world, its lore, unknown terms and fantastical creatures that the author created in text or through the characters’ thoughts or through dialogue, Long decided to insert quotes and extracts from in-world encyclopedias and history books. Not only does this world-building choice gives the reader much-needed information about the lands surrounding the Winter Sea, but also makes the world richer, tangible and tantalising. For the reader is intrigued by the snippets from these in-world books and made to wonder what other delightful pearls of wisdom and crumbs of knowledge are hidden in them and when they will be revealed to us. If they ever will be.
Despite being inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy, Pirates of the Caribbean, Black Sails and other swashbuckling naval adventures, Dark Water Daughter does not romanticise pirates or life aboard a (pirate) ship. Nor does it minimise the dangers of sailing on the tempestuous (icy) high seas. This doesn’t diminish the action and adventure, but raises the stakes and contributes to the already excellent world-building and character development.
The wild, cold and harsh world of the Winter Sea creates the perfect backdrop for Long’s multifaceted characters and the relationships that form between them on the voyage and adventure they have embarked on. Although the story is told through the point(s) of view of the two main characters, Mary Firth (the Stormsinger) and Samuel Rosser (a naval officer aboard the Heart), the readers perceive the world and other characters through their perspectives, this does not mean that other characters are flat or undeveloped. The characters of Dark Water Daughter are superbly written and delightfully human. They are imperfect, flawed and passionate and frequently provoke a strong emotional response from the reader. Long carefully navigates through the story and artfully balances the world-building and character development of each character, not just the main POV ones.
By strategically controlling the pace of the book, and by skilful mixing and dosing action sequences with character development scenes and lore information the author managed to write a perfect book (in my humble opinion). She gave her characters enough time and space to develop and grow, while simultaneously maintaining the right pace throughout the book and most importantly keeping her readers immersed in the story itself. With Dark Water Daughter Long successfully created a perfect and engrossing read, perfect for summer or any other season.
If it wasn’t abundantly clear from my gushing review above I adore Dark Water Daughter. It is definitely a 5-star read and in fact, it was one of the best books I’ve read in the first half of 2023! I wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone who likes the following:
- swashbuckling flintlock/gunpowder fantasy
- fantasy inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy
- tempestuous, icy seas surrounded by old, dark & mysterious forests
- complex and well-developed characters
- phenomenal world-building
- nautical adventures on the turbulent high-seas
- the slowest of the slow burns
- a mesmerising read that will be extremely difficult to put down
Nessa's reading nook 