⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5

I really enjoyed this book, it was so incredibly unique! It’s an intense journey filled with pirates, pirate ships, magic, danger, and a wonderful group of characters.

The plot is complex, the world building intricately detailed, and the characters very rich in development.

I particularly enjoyed the FMC, Mary, her storm magic is so cool and she is a compelling lead with a complicated and intriguing backstory.

There’s a hint of romance but it is not part of the central plot. It’s more about adventure and self-discovery, and how magic can be dangerous and not necessarily a good thing.

This book explores how magic can be abused by people, but also how it can be used for good. I’m very intrigued to see how this will be continued and evolved in the next book in the series.

Overall, this is highly recommended from me, it is a rich and wonderful fantasy story with pirates and magic!

The description of this novel immediately had me captivated; swashbuckling pirates on the high seas with a bit of magic to guide their journey. I was in love with the idea of something new and fresh and in this, the plot did not disappoint. However, there were some major slow-moving parts toward the middle of the story that may lead readers to at least want to pull their hair out or possibly DNF. I do believe it is absolutely worth pushing through to see the story end.

Mary Firth is a Stormsinger, in short, she has the magical ability to use her voice to guide ships through rough passages or create obstacles for competing ships. Her mother also had this ability and she warned her daughter to never use her voice before she disappeared. The story opens with Mary facing imminent death and follows her path of navigating her ability and staying out of the hands of villains who would love to control her. Who the true villains really are or what use they have of Mary is not entirely clear, except for Samuel. Samuel struggles with his own magical ability and seeks to ally with Mary to take out the most dangerous pirate on the high seas, Lirr. I’m assuming the intention was to create a budding romance between these two characters, unfortunately that fell flat. I did not feel the connection between the two or sense anything worth lasting or exploring. Mary does meet a whole host of other characters and I found myself a bit lost keeping track of these character and their ship names.

The real win was the elemental world creation and the introduction of mythical creatures that exist within the ‘Wold’. These are living elementals called ghistings and some have stronger powers than others. Many are harvested to use in the masts of ships, whether they are willing or not. Mary shares a type of kinship with the ghistings that allows her to see them and have conversations. This I found very exciting and would have loved more focus here. Overall, a very good story that brings something new and exciting to the realm of fantasy.

I received this advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I thoroughly enjoyed this unique fantasy novel by HM Long. It was a fantastic, carousing ride, filled with pirate ships, magic, and danger! I particularly enjoyed our protagonist, Mary, who is full of strong determination, intelligence, and a wide variety of skill sets many feminine characters are missing in novels. Instead, she sets the tone for the story, with a clear-eyed skepticism of her male counterparts over and over again. I strongly recommend this novel and look forward to future installments in the Dark Water series.

I went into this knowing it was a fantasy with some romance elements, not a romantasy, and I was more than ok with that! As long as the characters delivered, I was here for it. Pirates, magic, mythical creatures—sign me up! But I couldn’t connect to the characters and that is where the book fell. The plot seemed to drag because I couldn’t feel for Mary. And Samuel was even worse! The writing and worldbuilding was good, I will give the author that, but it was something I dreaded having to pick up again. And because of that, I don’t see myself finishing the series.

Thank you SO MUCH NetGalley and Titan Books for access to this FANTASTIC ARC!!!

4.5 /5 stars rounded up!!

Oh man, I loved this book so so so much! From the setting of the cold, wintry sea and the mystical forests, to the pirate adventures, to Mary and Sam and how they kept coming together and drifting apart - AHH SO GOOD!! The magic system really reminded me of Robin Hobb and her Liveship trilogy, which I also loved! There was just one point at the end I'm confused about, it didn't really describe how something came to be, but what I'm assuming happened makes sense I think? I'm going to reread the end to see if I understand it better a second time lol! I really love as well that this is the first in a series but doesn't end on a huge heartbreaking cliffhanger - I'm super excited to read the next book but I don't feel like my life is on hold waiting, which is such a good feeling!

But this is absolutely on my favourite books shelf, and I'm shoving it into every customer's face I come across that's looking for a good fantasy read! :D I can't wait for the next book!!

I loved this book! The world building was amazing and I could see everything that was described. The magic that was used in this book, being able to channel and control the weather, was so unique. It was slow going in the beginning but I never once thought that I wanted to stop. I loved the main character. She seemed so strong no matter what she went through. I love anything relating to the seas and pirates.

I am new to fantasy and have only read a handful of fantasy novels, but this is one of my favourites so far. I love pirates and anything to do with the sea and nature. The way weather can be commanded gives a theological feel which I love.

I haven't read anything by H.M Long before, but will be keeping a eye out.

Loved it!

As a pirate obsessive, I had super high hopes for this book, but unfortunately it let me down.

To start with the positives, the world building is really really good. It's super atmospheric, it's expansive and evocatively described, and the magic system elements are really creative and unique. It's what kept me reading - I wanted to spend more time in this world and learn everything. I also didn't have a problem with the plot or pacing.

However for me, the characters were way too lacking to make the rest of this book a really engaging read. What were their motivations? What were their personalities? Did they even have them? I would often find myself getting several pages into a chapter and forgetting whose POV I was reading - that's how empty it felt to me.
Mary, our FMC, is aptly named because she is a true Mary Sue. She didn't have anything about her that stood out, and spent most of the first half of the book being carted around by various men. Why isn't she driving the plot if she's a main character? What did she even want? Was it to find her mother? Because I really didn't feel much passion, drive or desire from her.
Samuel, the MMC, isn't much better. He's very flat, and we're constantly told he's 'a Very Good Man without much to show why. He also doesn't have much motivation or drive, despite being a main character.

Because of this, I did not buy the romance. This is a slow burn? It felt like insta-love to me. Why does Samuel get feelings after talking to Mary *twice*, why does Mary just agree to have dinner with him while she's trying to escape, they barely know each other and he tried to BUY her at the beginning of the book, why are they acting like this????

Overall, a book some will really enjoy, especially if they are a plot-forward reader who loves adventure stories. Unfortunately, if you're someone who really needs interesting and three-dimensional characters, this might not be for you.

This was overall a good read. I enjoyed reading about pirates and the idea of having people with abilities to control the weather when sailing the seas.

I had to make sure I was concentrating to know whose pov I was reading, as they did feel similar at times.

I felt this was a slow journey building type of book, so if you dont like a slow pace plot, this isn’t for you.

I loved Mary and how strong she was throughout the book with everything she went through.

I enjoyed it overall. I did like the little information pages before chapters would start to help us understand different terms that were used in the following chapter.

I was very excited to read this as I enjoy pirate stories and this had an interesting premise. However, it fell a little flat for me. I had difficulty connecting with the characters and felt that the plot moved very slowly without much happening in the first 300 pages. The last 100 pages was very enjoyable and I think it benefited from having more of the characters interact. The magic system is unique and I would have liked to know more about the Other. The author did an incredible job at describing life at sea and building the world. Even though I didn’t like the story as much, I know I’m in the minority and still think you should give this a try if you’re a fan of pirate fantasies. Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the arc.

I really loved this pirate fantasy, and think it is a very satisfying series start. I am eager to read the next installment. H.M. Long built an incredible fantasy world full of magical characters. I especially loved how the author shared the lore and legend behind each character we encounter along the way, so that as you experience the riveting quest and action packed journey of Mary, the pirates and pirate hunters, you also are able to understand how and why everything is happening. If you enjoyed The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi, like pirate adventures, fantasy quests and are looking for a different fantasy series to begin- I highly recommend this.

I have wanted to read H.M. Long's work for a long time, so it was super cool to read it here! Long dives straight into action, and a bit of a backstory within the first chapter. I loved how the characters grew throughout the book and thoroughly enjoyed the world-building throughout. It was captivating with every chapter, and I'm super excited to sell this at our store!

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook of Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long in exchange for an honest review.

Full of magic, lore, action, and pirates, Dark Water Daughter is a strong start the H.M. Long's Winter Sea series. With dual-POVs, readers follow Mary Firth, a Stormsinger that can control the weather and oceans, and Samuel Rosser, a disgraced naval officer. The villain tying these two main characters together is the pirate lord Lirr, whom both Mary and Samuel hope to bring down and save more than themselves in the process. Family secrets, betrayal, and ancient magical beings abound in this novel, making the world and characters quite rich. I particularly liked the chapter interludes about the worlds creatures, people, and lore; rather than "info-dumping" a large amount of world building at the beginning (which a lot of novels do), H.M. Long sprinkles knowledge about this world throughout the novel and makes it much easier to follow and understand. There are many characters in this novel, and it can be hard to keep track of who is part of which crew (at least for me). However, this is a great start to a promising series and I look forward to reading the next book!

This book was enjoyable, I liked the characters and the plot was good. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This is an epic pirate fantasy that blew me away! With stormsingers, pirate hunters, and a deathless pirate lord, the high-seas adventure is non-stop excitement. Mary Firth, the stormsinger with hurricane-controlling vocals, teams up with Samuel Rosser, a disgraced naval officer, to take down the fearsome Silvanus Lirr. The world-building is superb, and the winter setting adds a unique touch. I loved how Mary used her storm magic to create chaos! The characters, especially Mary and Samuel, are so well-developed, and their banter is perfect. There's a hint of romance that spices things up too.
This is a 5-star adventure full of action, magic, and betrayal, an absolute must-read! I can't wait for book two!

Since discovering H.M. Long earlier this year, I was excited for the release of this high-fantasy novel, set at sea. There are many pirates, magic, betrayal and action packed encounters, all within the 450ish pages of Dark Water Daughter. There is so much happening in this novel, it’ll leave you breathless and wanting more.

Mary Firth is a stormsinger; a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Mistaken for a notorious highway robber, she joins forces with another condemned soul at the gallows and fight her way to freedom, before the noose around her neck tightens - only freedom comes at a price. Mary is set on a course of swashbuckling adventure, full of mystery and betrayal.

Dark Water Daughter is full of magic; I loved the element of controlling the weather with song. The Ghistings were amongst my favourite of all the characters and creatures - each time they appeared in the story, I was immediately drawn to them and wanted to know everything about them.

It’s really hard to hate any of the characters in this book - I really liked them all, even the ‘bad pirates’ were a lot of fun - so many pirates!

Wow, I loved this book! If you are looking for a swashbuckling adventure with a great plot, dynamic characters, a unique magic system and pirates then you have to pick up Dark Water Daughter.

We jump immediately into the action and the momentum keeps throughout the story. I was always left wanting to know more. Long does such a great job of slowly pulling back the layers as we progress through the story and the plot is wildly unique.

The world building in this book was epic! Long picks just the right details to make you feel like you are really in the world of the Winter Sea. The magic system was completely unique and I loved everything about the Ghisting, the wold, and the Other.

I loved all of the characters. Long does such a great job making each character unique and intriguing. I loved both of the main characters, Mary and Sam, the Dual POV was a great way to see more of the world and understand the complex plot. I love how they are both imperfect and struggle but are trying to do their best. I also really loved James Demery, what's not to love about a morally gray pirate with his own moral code?

This was such a great story and I can't wait to dive back into this world!

This was an excellent fantasy novel! Though I typically read more fantasy romance, this completely sucked me in. The descriptions were rich, the world building lavish, and the combat intense. The best way to explain this novel is that it feels like you’re playing a video game? In the best of ways.

I'm a huge fan of pirate books but most fall flat as they sanitise the pirates a bit too much. Dark Water Daughter offers a dark and violent pirate fantasy filled with revenge, betrayal, and magic. I've been a fan of the author since the release of Hall of Smoke and Dark Water Daughter contains the richly detailed world-building and descriptive prose that drew me into the author's first book.

Mary was an engaging main character and I loved her growing connection with pirate hunter Samuel Rosser. The author mentions James Norrington as an inspiration for this story and it's easy to see how Pirates of the Caribbean has influenced some of the broader strokes of the story. At its heart though, the author has created a unique pirate tale that will linger with the reader long after finishing. I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel due next year!

Dark Water Daughter by H. M.Long is a dark adult fantasy exploring power dynamics, the use/misuse of magic , and the strength in self acceptance.

What worked for me
This novel had exceptional would building and character development bolstered by a masterful use of dual point of view . I was drawn in by the promise of pirates /magic and kept enthralled by a complex and beautifully dark plot.

What didn’t work as well for me

Pacing and character development for secondary characters in the last third of the story felt a little off . Outside of that I’m simply going to be driven a bit nuts by the cliff hanger now that I must wait for a book two to materialize.

Who would I recommend this title for

Fans of dark fantasy such as Give the Dark my Love by Beth Revis and Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco will find themselves at home with this story.