Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this early copy of Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert. This was a joyous read that I absolutely flew through.

“I want a cozy blanket, a racy romance novel, and maybe some hot sex in between naps and reading.”

Me too, me too.

A swashbuckling, magical, spicy adventure across the seas. We follow Evie as she flees her vampire former lover without labels through a portal and into the Threshold.

As she encounters Bowen, “a grumpy uptight pirate paladin” who’s life is turned upside down…

The world building was a bit light for my taste and I found it was a bit hollow and could have done with a bit more depth.

At the point where Bowen and the crew encountered a dragon, Evie spent the encounter mostly mooning over Bowen which irked me a bit.

Read this if you like

* easy and light world building
* Pirates & Vampires & Witches
* Golden retriever male lead
* Instalove
* Bisexual rep
* Romtasy/Spicy romantic fantasy

Hunt on Dark Waters is the first book in a new fantasy romance series by bestselling author, Katee Roberts. I’ve read a lot of Katee Robert’s books and this one is equally as fun to read as her other works. This thrilling and unique adventure is a promising start to what is no doubt going to be another bestselling series perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Kerri Maniscalco, or Carissa Broadbent.

The book introduces us to the rich and unique world of Threshold where we are treated to all manner of supernatural and mythological creatures and magic. The blend of magic, mystery and pirates will surely delight fantasy fans. The story delivers plenty of romance, spice, insta-love and queer characters who you can’t help but want to read about.

Bown, the endearing pirate hero is a standout and I found I enjoyed and looked forward to his chapters. Evelyn is the strong and fiercely independent female lead that Katee Roberts fans can expect. Evelyn’s her strength and resilience make her a compelling character who can hold her own in this high-seas pirate romance. The chemistry between our main characters and the tension builds as the story progresses.

The story is an enjoyable and lighthearted read you will want to finish in one sitting just because you won’t want to put it down. The portal system introduced in this book is intriguing and was something that I wanted to know more about. I’m hopeful that the author will explore this further in future books.

Overall, this book delivered a fun, fantasy world filled with pirates, magic and romance which promises to be an exciting series. Highly recommend this captivating adventure on the high seas.

this book certainly delivers in the spice department! the sunshine mmc was so cute and i enjoyed the mythology and monsters. will def read more katee robert books.

This was such a quick and entertaining read! The setting is interesting and includes a large amount of magical and mythological creatures, it has a good queer representation and delivers on its promise: pirate smut!

I was not a fan of Evelyn, who is the typical feisty FMC we are getting used to read about nowadays, but I did like Bowen and his golden retriever pirate vibe.

I seriously don’t know where these authors come up with ideas.. the different uses of telekinetic powers would have never crossed my mind, but I liked it!

I do believe there are things that could have improved the story, turning this into a better romantasy, namely, some more insights into Evelyn and Bowen pasts through flashbacks (I’m particularly interested in Bunny’s perspective/ knowledge), deeper development of the world and more interactions with the secondary characters. I hope the second book will develop on these points.

Overall it was a fun, fast and sexy read. I’m interested in continue the series.

Read this is you like:
- Pirates, Witches, Vampires
- Insta love
- Golden retriever MMC
- Spice
- Easy, but interesting world building
- Monsters

<i>I would like to thanks Random House UK, Cornerstone, Del Rey and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

A swashbuckling, magic-filled adventure across the seas.

Witch, Evelyn runs from one murderous situation straight into another when she slips through a portal, only to encounter the Cŵn Annwn, and faces becoming part of the crew or certain death. Set in a queer normative world, Evie encounters Bowen, the dashing captain of the ship, on the run from deadly ex-lover and vampire, Lizzie.

I loved the storyline, and the piratical theme, with mythical hints of "The Wild Hunt" and oceanic monsters. I did struggle with the amount of different pro-nouns mentioned, in part because I didn't recognise some, but also because it felt like an attempt to get as many into the story as possible, rather than genuine characterisation. I also found Evie's placation of Lizzie completely juxtaposing to her character but this seemed to resolve itself as the book moved forward.

However, I did enjoy this book, and the promise of more to come as Evie, Bowen and co. attempt to overthrow the Cŵn Annwn and save as many as they can. I'm also always a sucker for a sarcastic heroine, who pushes the boundaries of her love interest's patience and values.

I love Katee Roberts, the concept of the book and had really high hopes but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me and I don't know why?

I've been on the hunt for a fun pirate fantasy romance for ages and I've finally found one that delivers! This was a tonne of fun, conversations around justice and corrupt systems, mixed with tension, great world building and spice.
I love how Katee Robert tells a fun romance story but it's inclusive, diverse and discusses real, important issues without that overwhelming the story.


Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free eARC of this book.

‘Hunt on Dark Waters’ follows Evelyn, a witch, as she finds herself being launched through a portal into the world of Threshold as she attempts to escape from her murderous vampire ex-girlfriend. In Threshold, she’s quickly picked up by a pirate ship crewed by a group of paranormals of all shapes and sizes, including the telekinetic pirate captain Bowen (aka Mr. Love Interest). Whilst Evelyn’s initial goal is to find a portal that will enable her to return home, the gradually unravelling mystery of Threshold’s pirates, as well as Bowen’s inexplicable sexiness, causes her to re-evaluate her next steps.

Roberts introduces dozens of different paranormals that are each governed by a different magic-system. Some of them will be vaguely familiar to the reader, such as vampires and witches, whereas others are more original and require a bit more working out. Because of this huge variety of beings and types of magic, detail is incredibly sparse about the histories of each type of paranormal, their powers, and – most importantly – their limitations. I have two main issues with this. First of all, there are so many questions that are left unanswered. For example, Bowen is a telekinetic, but he can seemingly fly as well? And create shields? Ultimately, it’s very unclear where his limitations lie. This leads nicely on to my second concern, which is that, whenever Evelyn and co. encounter a problem, one of the paranormals is suddenly revealed to have exactly the skillset required to combat it. If Roberts was clearer about exactly what each of the paranormals is capable of doing, I think I’d be a lot more invested in the supposedly dramatic moments of conflict and peril. Nevertheless, this book is the first in a series, so I suppose we’ll learn more about the various paranormals in future novels.

Did I like Evelyn as a protagonist? Some of the time. I think she has a lot of potential to be an interesting and complex character: she’s cute and flirty but a dirty thief at the same time, and the way that her actions are shaped by the influence of her late grandmother is quite nicely done. However, I dislike the way that she so often sounds like Bowen’s therapist. I understand that it’s Evelyn who opens Bowen’s eyes to the problematic nature of his pirate crew’s ways of operating – and I get that Roberts wants to portray her as being sympathetic towards him, who beats himself up for not questioning his somewhat unethical duties in the thirty-something years of his life. But, I feel that Evelyn often comes across as patronising when she’s meant to seem comforting. Surely she could leave him to his own soul-searching sometimes, instead of over-therapising him?

Bowen, I have little to say about. I liked the dynamic of him slowly losing control of his crew that we get shown at the start of the novel, but this plot point is very quickly resolved as he and Evelyn get abandoned on an island whilst the crew sail off without them. Personally, I would have liked a bit more drama here – a scene where Bowen’s second-in-command openly challenges him for captaincy could have been a lot juicier than this. Ultimately, Bowen spends most of the novel berating himself for the unethical life choices that Evelyn helpfully flags up, and falling head-over-heels in love with our witchy female protagonist.

Now for the romance. As some of the other reviews highlight, this is definitely an insta-love scenario. Nothing wrong with that necessarily, but it’s just something a reader should be prepared for. There’s no angsty slow-burn here. Also, it’s a Katee Roberts book, so the spice is spicy and features very frequently throughout the narrative. Again, not a bad thing. The spicy scenes are pretty well-written, so I reckon most readers should enjoy them (so long as they don’t mind the aforementioned insta-love). However, I have one complaint. This novel contains the laziest-written ‘only one bed’ scene that I’ve ever come across. I love this trope as much as the next person, but sadly I don’t think that Roberts did it justice here. The chain of events that led to the ‘only one bed’ scenario is just too fortuitous, and there’s no attempt at creating any of the angst that comes from the characters trying to behave themselves at first. Ultimately, it’s a scene that had a lot of potential, but one that fell flat for me.

Just as a final point, I noticed a lot of proofreading issues in this novel that seem to have been missed – at least a few every chapter. Things as simple as a whole word being missed out, or something being obviously misspelled. I made a note that chapter 16 was particularly bad for this. It doesn’t detract from the story, but it’s just not something that I expected to see in a novel like this.

Overall, ‘Hunt on Dark Waters’ is a promising read with decent characters and an interesting premise, but there are a few issues that mean it’s only getting three stars from me.

I really enjoyed this a great start to a new series. Plenty of world building and interesting lore. Well realised mc's I especially liked Bowen our telekinetic Captain and really looking forward to finding out more of his history. Evelyn is a fiesty and fun character with a lot of strength and heart. The on the seas world building was great with lots of additional mythical creatures. Side characters have depth and strong personalities and I'd like more of them please. High stakes pace throughout and the excellent spice that Katee Robert brings. Neatly rounded up ending that leaves you wanting more. Can't wait for the next in series with this crew!

This was a big miss for me, I generally like romantasy’s with a great plot and side of smut and unfortunately this was the other way around. I think the story got lost in the spicy scenes and as for the world building, well just that! What world building? I think there needs to be a prequel or something to this book because the whole time I just felt like I was missing something. I wanted all the magical creatures and although they were mentioned and seen at times, it wasn’t enough. I will give the sequel a chance hoping that it all somehow comes together.

Thank you netgalley and Katee Robert for the earc, all opinions are my own

This was my first Katee Robert book but it won't be my last as it was such a fun read! Once I started reading I couldn't put it down, totally absorbed into this riveting fantasy world. The characters were sassy and endearing, the romance was sizzling, and there was a perfect balance of world building and plot. Can't wait to see what the sequel holds!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. I thought this was ok, read it in two short sittings. For me though, I need more plot with my romance, and although the world was interesting, I felt that the world building, plot and characters all lacked depth. The romance also had a lot of characteristics of instalove which is a trope I dislike. Nonetheless, I would recommend this for those that enjoy fast paced steamy romantasy that are light on the fantasy elements.

I'll admit what made me snatch up this title off my regular reviews list from a big-name publisher was the cover – and this is a bloody lush cover, probably one of the best I've seen in a long, long time. Then I glanced at the blurb, and I was sold onto giving Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert a spin on my Netgalley app. The short of it is that I feel conflicted about this book. I think with the fact that tales on the high seas will no doubt be having a golden age currently thanks to the (at the time of writing) success of the One Piece live action series on Netflix, this book will hit the mark with readers who enjoy romantasy with a twist of piratical flair. At any rate, the parallels with Pirates of the Caribbean are rather evident (and most likely a dominant reason why I picked up this title), if that's your cuppa, and you've got all manner of non-human sentients to contend with. And loads of magic.

But ... And yes, there is a but.

While I enjoyed Hunt on Dark Waters, to a degree...mostly, I did feel as if the pacing was somewhat off. We have a cracking start, with our plucky, long-fingered witch Evelyn pulling a runner on her vampire ex-girlfriend when she realises that continuing the relationship is not going to create conditions ideal to long-term survival. In her madcap escape, Evelyn accidentally falls through a portal into a world ruled by a bunch of monster hunters known as the Cwn Annwn (the pirates) who press gang her into service aboard a vessel. It's either that, or get tossed back into the ocean where she was found. And she's rather not keen on being unalived, thank you kindly.

And this is where things come unglued, so to speak. Or the wind gets knocked out of the sails, if we're going to stick with nautical themes. Evelyn and Captain Bowen immediately develop an instant obsession with each other that is, well, rather instant in a way that doesn't strike me as plausible. While the bones of the story are there, I don't feel as if the plot is fleshed out well enough to carry through. I got about halfway through the book and felt like things hadn't even gotten off the ground yet. Sure, there's lots of zing and sizzle for the ones who want their hot steamy scenes, but I'd kinda gone into this one wanting a bit more adventure with the romance on the side (the cover hadn't screamed romance at me, which was why I'd made grabby fingers in the first place). So this didn't quite hit the mark for me the way, say, authors like Grace Draven manage to pull off the fantasy romance thing. I'm more for the slow burn, in any case, before the characters start with the heavy petting and shoving tongues down each other's throats.

I can't quite figure out where exactly the wheels came off. All the ingredients are here, and this is a compelling world with oodles of potential and piles of queer representation, but there's a part of me that feels almost as if the book was dashed off without giving it a solid bout of structural editing to fix the pacing issues. It's fun and crunchy, however, and if you're more interested in the heat, then you'll most likely overlook the undercooked plot.

Ugh I really wanted to love this!!

The entire premise sounded incredible and the world! Mermaids, witches, pirates, vampires, all just chilling in this world - yes please. And I did love that, but I felt there was no setup. It’s as if I missed a book where the world building happened, cause we were just thrown in with nothing really explained. I don’t need too much detail but I just wanted something! Also there wasn’t enough vampire or mermaid action for my liking.

Now the romance. I really liked Evelyn and Bowen (though at one point I did think that if either of them died it would actually be exciting), but I think I’m just not a fan of insta love?! Insta lust / attraction I’m good with, but being that in love and obsessed with each other so quickly is just so eugh to me and there’s no other way to describe it.

Plot wise - I liked it. I wasn’t totally hooked and it wasn’t amazing but it wasn’t terrible. But also apart from them having sex every other chapter, not much happened? I do wanna read the presumably upcoming at some point sequel, as I’ve been left slightly intrigued by what’s gonna happen. So that’s something!

I do think a lot of people will like this, I think I overhyped it before going in and I personally wasn’t a fan of the romance!

Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert is an intriguing fantasy romance novel that blends elements of pirates, witches, vampires, and other fantastical creatures. The story follows Evelyn, a witch, who falls through a portal to another realm and is rescued by Bowen, the captain of a band of seafarers.

The book's setting is unique and well-developed, and the inclusion of different fantastical creatures gives the story its own feel. I think Katee Robert should be praised for the individuality she managed to bring to the story.

I also liked the inclusion of gender neutral pronouns for some of the characters, however I will say that it would have been useful to be made aware that some pronouns would be introduced through the book as at first I thought there were spelling errors until I caught on what they were! Additionally, I had no idea how to pronounce the Welsh word in the book so a page on the pronunciation would be really helpful. In terms of the story itself

Katee Robert does a great job of creating a sense of adventure and excitement, and the romance between Evelyn and Bowen is steamy. However, some of the more "tense" moments in the story fell a bit flat for me, and I would have liked to see the characters suffer a bit more. Every hurdle seemed almost too easily surpassed but perhaps that is just me being overly critical. Overall, Hunt on Dark Waters is a fun and enjoyable read for fans of fantasy romance. If you're looking for a book with a unique setting, interesting creatures, and a hot romance, then this is the book for you.

Here are some specific things I liked about the book:

- The inclusion of different fantastical creatures: I loved the way Robert incorporated different creatures into the story, such as vampires, witches, and werewolves. It made the world feel more magical and exciting.
- The unique setting: The setting of Threshold was well-developed, and I loved the way Robert described the different realms. It made me feel like I was right there with the characters.

Here are some things I would have liked to see improved:

- The character development: I found some of the characters to be a bit underdeveloped. I would have liked to learn more about their backstories and motivations.


Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone, Del Rey and Katee Robert for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this objectively a great book? Not really but it was entertaining!
This felt very nostalgic for me, I read a lot of fantasy romance on Wattpad in 2016 and this felt very reminiscent of that. The writing style is very easy and readable. The one thing that really grated at me is the exposition, this book was all telling and no showing. The world building was very flimsy and I thought it could have been done better.

Rating: 5⭐️

Summary:
Evelyn, a witch with a penchant for trouble, escapes to Threshold, another realm, after robbing her vampire ex. Rescued by Bowen, a telekinetic captain and his seafaring crew, who have vowed to protect the sea between realms and the portal it contains she is forced to join them … or die. As Bowen and Evelyn start falling for each other, tensions and danger rise, and trust wavers. Their fates become intertwined and her betraying her vows would lead him to join her in suffering the consequences.

What stood out to me:
The writing style, the characters, the take on monster-hunters and the spice.

My thoughts:
Wow this book was hot! Although this isn’t the smuttiest book I’ve ever read the spice in it was perfect. The story was amazing and well written and I loved discovering Threshold. I cannot wait to read book two (Blood on the Tide) and to see more of Evelyn, Bowen, Nox and Lizzie. I want to know how they get on and what happens to them. What I also really enjoyed about this book it's that although it had spice it didn't feel like it (or the romance) were the whole plot, but instead the travels/adventures were. I really recommend this book to anyone who like fantasy and romance fantasies with monsters, witches vampires, and all sorts of other. creatures.
Note: this book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger but (part of) the plot story will continue in book 2.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this book up because all the elements in the plot appealed to me; fantasy, romance, pirates, thieves, witches….right up my street.

I liked Evelyn, she was independent and strong willed. Bowen, less so. I just found him a bit…forgettable, so much so that I’ve just had to flick back to the book to remind myself of his name. Unfortunately, this meant that I couldn’t quite buy into their romance.

The plot, work building and magical systems and groups at play here are really interesting and I am curious to see where the plot leads in the sequel.

Whether or not I’ll pick it up will remain to be seen, as the main romance just wasn’t quite compelling enough for me and I’m not certain the other elements of the plot will be enough for me to want more.

3 stars.

I wanted to love this more than I did.

Starting with what I enjoyed. I loved the world building and magic within this series, very different from what i have previously read from this author. I thought the characters were interesting and hope we get to explore more of the side characters in future books. The representation in this book was fantastic.

My biggest issue with this book was the romance. I usually love Katee Roberts romances but in this case something just fell flat. This is an insta love scenario which isn't usually a problem for me however I just wasn't convinced and didn't feel the chemistry between them and as a result felt bored in places. The ending also felt very abrupt!

I will continue the series because I did overall enjoy the story and want to see what happens next.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!