I have a hard time really falling for an insta-love story, and while I was initially charmed by the tone and atmosphere being created in this book, the relationship was a hard sell for me. I ended up enjoying it, but I wasn't as enraptured as I would have liked to be. I think my biggest challenge was taking a "cozy pirate story" and centring it around so much trauma and internal character conflict, because those subjects just can't be explored to the depths I need to really believe them if we're keeping things cozy and comfy. Trauma is messy, and while I love to see a character learn to find love and joy despite their pain, it feels very surface level and unsatisfying when the character doesn't get to properly handle these issues.

All of that being said, I don't think this is a bad read at all. I really loved the overall vibe, there was fun humour and quick wit throughout, which made this very easy to consume. I may have had some high expectations when starting out the book, but if I had expected something a little simpler, perhaps I would have loved it more.

This one was difficult. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the beginning sucked me in and through the first part I was enjoying the book a lot. Unfortunately, the second part came and it all fell apart. I'm not too fond of the drastic steps characters make to protect others for the sake of their safety and while it made sense here, it went on for far too long. I usually care most about characters and their relationships in books and here that wasn't satisfying. While Lucky was a good character, the rest of them kinda fell flat, especially Gabe who had very little going on and seemed to be there just to play certain roles. Their relationship was insta-lovey and I overall hate the soulmates kinda trope.

The plot and worldbuilding. While worldbuilding had a lot of potential, it wasn't explored enough. We only find out most of the important stuff 70% into the book, before that it's just throwing around terms with not much backstory behind them. I loved the idea of an evil church and having to make a promise to obtain magic but we barely get any background for that.

When it comes to the plot, it was all over the place. The first part was fine and I was having a good time but then it goes more ambitious fantasy book way and it becomes really convoluted and slightly repetitive. About 80% in I had this thought that I have never checked if this isn't a part of a series and that really bummed me out but no, it's a standalone and it ends right after we finally get this expansion in the worldbuilding that changes the perspective on the story. The last 10% was also really messy and didn't explain much. I liked the idea but I wish it played a bigger part.

I don't know if it's the issue of the arc or my kindle but I also had an issue with how it was edited. Some sentences would break in the middle of the line and start from the new one, there were paragraph breaks but only in some places, some words were stuck together. It took me out of reading sometimes.

All in all, while there are things I liked about the book, there were a lot of convoluted plot points and not enough background. That being said, it's not a bad book and I can already see a ton of people loving it so it may just be an "it's not for me" case. I hope it finds its audience and people who love it.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC for an unbiased review!

This book is more beautiful than I have words for. Vulnerable and extremely raw. The dialog was engaging and the world exciting. From moment one I was attached to Lucky more than I can bare. It's not often that I genuinely get emotional over a character right off the bat but that was the case for him. Highly recommended if you want an emotional roller coaster and a traumatized main character who deserves the world but the world does not deserve him. I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Thanks Netgallley, the publisher, and the author for the arc!

I was incredibly drawn in by the premise, the cover, and the opening chapters. This book starts hard. I clicked on it for a peek and blinked and suddenly I was chapters deep and it was way past my bedtime.

It continued on into a precious, sweet, fun story! I love sea books, and this setting was excellent. Both Lucky and Gabriel were great characters to follow. Much of this book is about working through trauma, and I loved how gentle and sweet the characters were with each other, how they gave each other time and space to figure things out, how supportive and cosy everything felt. A lot of excellent found family in this one!

I enjoyed reading it a lot!

Lucky has been in his seaside prison for so long that he's forgotten who he is. That is until fate has other plans and bring a leviathan knocking down his prison and Gabriel into his life. Lucky feels a closeness to "golden boy" Gabriel right away, almost like they know each other....

Fated Winds and Promising Seas is a page-turner. We get to see Lucky grow and come out of his shell and deal with his mental health in honest and real ways.

Lucky is brought aboard the Dreamer, a ship full of other "misfits" like himself. The ship is full of wonderful characters who are the best kind of found family. Some of those aboard the Dreamer are "dancers" who can manipulate water, but for a price.

At one point about 40% in the story did begin to drag a little, but once it picked back up I couldn't put it down. The story kept me on my toes and had so many surprises. I love Lucky and was rooting for them, even when they made mistakes. There are so many twist and turns to this story it was a joy to read! The romance between Gabe and Lucky was so sweet you can't help but root for them.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

All of the components in this book were pretty strong, and at the end of the day, any book about pirates is probably going to be pretty good. (I have yet to be proven wrong.) I enjoyed this and looked forward to reading it after I had to set it down. It was fast paced, plot driven, and had cool characters. This book wasn't meant to be historically accurate or hard-hitting, and once I abandoned those expectations, it became very enjoyable. It was just a cozy pirate story, and it was very good at what it was.

"When are you going to start living as Lucky?"

I really enjoyed the premise and the characters of this story. I loved the contrast of having the characters facing challenges in relation to the hardships and traumas of past and present, with the connections that are available to form from the comfort and safety that spins alongside it between the two leads and the interactions from other characters. I enjoyed having the complex emotions, behaviours and motivations present in the story.

The only thing that holds me back, personally, from further enjoying the story is the disjointed feeling I get as the story progresses. I appreciated that this story doesn't have 'quick fixes' to the challenges faced. However, I felt that in parts this attempt to show the characters needing to constantly battle against evils becomes a switching back and forth without a smooth flow between all the plot points. I wanted it to be a bit smoother through sections rather than the feeling of jumping from action point to the next action point.

Overall, a magical adventure showcasing a queer cast of characters and highlighting a story of found family.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton for this eARC, I am voluntarily leaving a review.

As always, please check trigger warnings before reading!

I was so excited to read this one. I love cozy fantasy so much. This was cute and I loved the hea, but it often felt slow and dragged at points.

Look at me, trying once again for a cozy fantasy story with great romance and nautical themes that I can finally fall in love with!
Spoiler alert: I did not fall in love with it. And I so so wanted to. I've read Black's previous novel and did enjoy some aspects of it, so I held hope for the author to blow me away next time. Sadly, <i>Fated Winds and Promising Seas</i> does get the exact same rating of two stars.

Once again, there is so much potential here. A deeply traumatised protagonist with a mysterious tragic past who's been held in a prison for the last ten or so years because he might have killed his own mother? I'm listening, I'm intrigued. Our protagonist, Lucky, escaping the prison because a giant leviathan attacks it and inadvertendly forces him to deal with his agoraphobia all while he's getting picked up by a crew of seafarers that include a very pretty guy and his two moms, one of them the captain of the ship? GO ON, I'm seated! Multiple mysteries surrounding aggressive leviathans, a religious cult, a murder and the maybe fated relationship between Lucky and said pretty guy? ALRIGHT! All the good stuff is here, but the execution is just so very lacking.

The writing is alright, though Black relies very heavily on dialogue and tends to get repetitive with it. The plot is honestly a bit convoluted and fragmented, and that isn't helped by the very barebones world building. What is there, the idea of fate and promises and a religion based on interpreting threads to know the future, is interesting. It just wasn't coherently told in a way that engaged me, and I was honestly left a little confused here and there as to how certain things in this world are supposed to work.
But my main issue are, once again, the characters. I'm a character driven reader, but also a novel like this that is heavy on the romance and the found family trope just doesn't work if the charactersdon't work. For me, they don't. Lucky starts out incredibly interesting, but then Black decides to throw these interesting bits to the wayside. The way he deals with his trauma and his mental illness is incredibly superficial, and his personality changes rather abruptly in the second part of the novel after there's been a small time jump. The other characters do react to that so it's clearly an active choice, but it took away a lot from his development. His love interest, Gabe, goes from protector to protected very quickly too. I did feel for Gabe and his trauma but once again didn't feel like it was explored deeply enough. Their whole dynamic changes and it doesn't feel organic, earned. I actually like the idea in theory but I didn't think it was well executed here.
Their romance was pretty instalovey and I admit I'm not the biggest fan of the fated lovers trope, but my main gripe is simply that I didn't feel the chemistry. I might have preferred them as friends, even. I enjoyed the rest of the crew, but didn't really feel the Found Family vibes at all. At some point Lucky talks about how he's finally found a home with these people and once again, this was told to us instead of showing us how this relationship develops.

I'm clearly in the minority here so take my review with a grain of salt. Maybe it's just a case of a book not fitting this particular reader. For me, it was just a meh reading experience but it absolutely does have great ideas.

I was instantly drawn by the premise (and promised tropes) and luckily I was not disappointed by the execution!

Found family? Check.
Troubled main characters who support each other? Check.
Fierce and funny rival? Check.

Also, for what reads as a cozy fantasy, I was pleasantly surprised to find a well-developed, interesting magic system and great world-building! And also, despite just calling it cozy, this book deals with some dark themes, but I thought they were handled with care and hope, which I loved.

I do hope some scenes could have been condensed and others expanded, as there were some moments where I felt it was getting just a bit repetitive, and other moments could have benefited from some more in-depth exploring to pack a more emotional punch. I appreciate the journey both Lucky and Gabe go through and their character development.

All in all, a really enjoyable read, that kept me intrigued til the very satisfying end. 4.5 stars rounded down.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Found family, amnesia trope, swashbuckling adventure, and two loveable MCs. What more could you ask for? OH! And sapphic pirate captains

The premise of this novel had me rushing headfirst in. I love a good cozy queer low stakes fantasy. This book certainly hits all of those marks. It was a quick read, our MCs were predictable and knowing there was a HEA made getting through the slow parts worth it. I wish some parts were condensed or cut out, as it felt very repetitive. But overall, it was a decent read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for approving my request to read an arc of this book.

After getting to read an arc of Til Death Do Us Bard, I was so excited to get the chance to read an arc of Fated Winds And Promising Seas. The two books are very different but they both have the same level of love interwoven throughout the story,
Lucky was such an amazing character and I loved that we got to understand and find out his history along with him. The plot kept me engaged and guessing what could possibly come next. It was a rollercoaster ride and I was here for it!
Setting this book mainly on the sea was very interesting and I loved getting to know the crew of The Dreamer. Especially Gabriel. I loved his passion for the Leviathan and how he wanted to educate others on their demeanour and species.
Fated soulmates was such a fun trope and it had me hooked. I loved learning more about their past and their plans for the future.
The plot was so unique. I’ve never read anything like it. There was so much world building but it never got overwhelming. I felt like it was all explained well and definitely given justice.
I couldn’t stop reading and I enjoyed it so much!

CW’s mentions of past child abuse, mentions of self harm, abuse, violence, gore and depictions of a Leviathan being killed.

Delightful page-turner of a book ! Somewhat darker than 'Til Death do us Bard' but still rather cosy and comforting. If the beginning of the book is rather on the quiet and tranquil side action-wise (once the character is out of prison), it then proceed to quicker rhythm, shifting between various kinds of actions.

The Dreamer's crew is the perfect image of the found family, supportive, protective, full of banter and love despite their differences and challenges. Gabriel relationship with his mothers and Lucky's relationship with Poe are very touching.

Lucky's character development is well thought, touching and sometimes maddening. He is lost, a bit broken, and his search for stability sometimes leads him toward dangerous waters. His relationship with Gabriel is tender and soft, but not without struggles as the story advances, as Fate and Promises work against or with them. Seeing Lucky learn more about himself, find the strength to trust other and the world is a beautiful adventure. I would have enjoyed to have Gabriel's POV from time to time, but I understand it wasn't absolutely necessary, that the story needed to be told from Lucky's sole POV.

I must say I sometimes felt that the story lacked a bit of transition as it shifted, but it didn't trouble my reading, I still wanted to read more, to keep going to the next chapter, to see where the story was going and what was going on. The worldbuilding is great, serving the story with just enough balance between mystery and knowledge to keep being intresting. The way the author played with Fate and Promises was refreshing, yet still easy to follow.

All in all, a great and fun read ! I encourage everyone seeking a sea faring adventure with love and sea creatures to read this !

Fated Winds and Promising Seas is that girl of a book If you know what I mean. Such a good read. Entertaining. Exciting. Immaculate characters. Fabulous experience reading it.