Beneath Cruel Fathoms ~ Anela Deen (The Bitter Sea Trilogy #1)

★★★★☆

I received this eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way. All quotes are taken from the uncorrected proof and are subject to change.

It was honestly more of a 3.5 but the first half was great, so I'm rounding up.

Love and friendship. Shame and heartache. Endings and beginnings.

Obligatory Summary

Isaura is on a boat, going back home to her father's house after a failed marriage, but the sea has been behaving most strangely, and when her ship capsizes in a brutal storm, killing everyone except for her, she thinks she'll die far from anyone who loves her.

Leonel, the last of the mermen, illegitimate son of the sea goddess Ran, is the Guardian of the Fathoms. He's been investigating these storms for a while, trying to figure out what dark magic is causing them, but his royal family and kingly stepfather disregard every report. When he finds Isaura, adrift and alone, he breaks the Blue Laws to save her in hopes that she can help him solve the mystery.

My Thoughts

I had the pleasure to read an ARC of Anela Deen's Failsafe last year and, while I found the plot a bit iffy at best, loved the banter between the two leads and genuinely loved their connection. It seems Deen has since learned how to perfect that dynamic, following the same pattern for love interests in this book, and I absolutely loved it! Her writing itself has significantly improved, and I made about 230 notes in my copy, the vast majority of which were positive. I was seriously expecting this to be a 5 star read, but unfortunately, the one thing Deen didn't improve was her plots. I'll go into this in a sec.

A life, no matter how long it lasted, had value.

The first half of this was fantastic! Truly spectacular, with some of the most atmospheric writing I've ever read, and the deeply moving themes of the main characters were phenomenally done. Isaura's struggle with self-worth after learning she is infertile and her husband leaving her made me literally sob at one point, and Leonel's entire lack of personal identity at the hand of his abusive family ruined me. Isaura's father Johan and his sister Erla were a riot and I loved everything about them. The worldbuilding was amazing and I've never wanted to explore the ocean as much as in this, and that's saying a lot, because I wanted to be a marine biologist for like 10 years in my childhood.

But it didn't really continue past the 60% mark or so. The arcs stagnated and the plot followed them, but then both went from 30 to 100 real quick. Given how things ended with the main duo, I honestly don't know what kind of convoluted conflicts are going to arise in the sequel and third book to keep the romantic tension high. I dread a love triangle but I'm honestly thinking it might happen -_- Please hear my plea, Anela, and don't do it!

(Update! I've received confirmation from Anela Deen herself: there are no plans for a love triangle!)

“Things didn’t turn out how you hoped, but you reached for what you wanted. I’m proud of you for that.” He closed the open shutter, softening the sounds of the outside world. “Now it’s time to reach for something else.”

The side romance, or the heavily implied one, between two supporting characters, Isaura's adopted brother Jurek and Leonel's only nice sister Ava, really lacked any emotion and didn't really do anything for the plot. It kind of made me dislike the two characters for no good reason.

Certain events happen at the end that may or may not involve water zombies, which I loved in concept, but their execution lacked something. I was also pretty disappointed that there was no call back to Gunnar, the super nice sailor from the very beginning, and it felt like a disservice to his death.

Ultimately, this was amazing, and I'm super glad I read it! I'm hyped for the sequel and I love supporting Anela Deen's work, because I think she's honestly a really great person and a very promising writer. Though this had its misgivings, I'd still recommend it, as well as Failsafe, to anyone who likes fantasy, of any age.

“We aren’t defined only by our failures and sorrows. I’m starting to believe we’re an assortment. A few big events, but countless smaller details. Little joys that carry us through the days, even when those days are hard.”

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