We love to see magic, pirates, and queer YA fantasy books. In Deeper Waters was a pure delight. Listening to the audiobook narration of Kevin Free transported me to the seas. While the cover definitely promises a bit more boats and seafaring, In Deeper Waters is beyond charming. It begins with fears and secrets. When we are afraid of power that lurks. The power of legacy which haunts us and makes us afraid to be who we are. In various ways, In Deeper Waters examines behind haunted and scared about what we can do and who we are.

Perfect for swashbuckling fantasy fans as well as those who liked Mackenzi Lee’s Gentleman’s Guide series. Enjoyed the adventure and how thoughtfully written the characters are.

I really love the Lukens keeps writing books because it means that I'll always have something fun to read.

Thanks to NetGalley / Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

In Deeper Waters is essentially The Little Mermaid from the prince's point of view, with less mermaid-related stuff and more fantasy politics. The first half of was cheesy and tropey in a fun way. The second half was cheesy and tropey in a cringey way. Honestly, the book just got worse and worse as it went and by the last 20% I was thoroughly annoyed and bored.

The plot was a huge mess. There were conflicts that got completely dropped, like Dara's complaints about the monarchy. And so many things that just didn't make any sense, like the villain's motivation to force Tal to reveal his magic so that they could use him as a weapon to expand their kingdom... but how did they expect to be able to use him when he has these super dangerous powerful magical abilities? The only reason he wasn't using his power is because he was hiding it, but if it was revealed there's no reason for him to suddenly start working for his enemy. The pacing was all over the place, and there were multiple times where characters would make the dumbest decisions seemingly just to justify the direction of the plot. The book would have been better if the author had simplified-- cut out the ""political"" stuff because it wasn't good anyway (shallow worldbuilding, weak villain, cartoony story) and focused on the MC's character growth and coming into his own.

Aside from the plot, the writing itself also left a lot to be desired. Awkward dialogue and moments of high melodrama in addition to the messy plot made this book feel a bit like a fanfiction written by a fourteen-year-old... Nothing against it, but it's not very polished, and I expect different things from fanfic and professional writing. This was exacerbated by the audiobook narrator, who I was not a fan of; words were pronounced in an oddly affected manner, and for some reason the villains (one of whom is canonically "an idiot") had random Southern accents?? I did think the romance between Tal and Athlen and the relationship between Tal and his siblings were cute, and I'm a fan of most things with mermaids and pirates so I enjoyed those aspects. But as soon as the story moved to taking place solely on land, things went downhill for me.

TW: drowning, captivity, kidnapping, stabbing, past deaths of loved ones, big cat attack

THE most fun I've had with a YA book in a long time (apart from the author's other book, So This Is Ever After). Just a joyously, chaotically, wonderfully queer fantasy romp that is a true delight to read. I raced through it and immediately bought a hardback.

I loved The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, and this was recommended with that. I loved the story and how so sweet it was. It is a great LGBTQ book to read for Pride Month and any other month.

On his coming of age tour, Prince Tal meets the mysterious Athlen when the crew discovers him on a derelict vessel. Tal is drawn to him, but before anything can happen, Athlen escapes overboard. Unable to get Athlen out of his mind, Tal later runs into him on dry land... very much alive. Tal and Athlen begin to form a bond, but then Tal is kidnapped and held for ransom in a plot to reveal his magic powers in an attempt to start a war. Tal must escape in order to save his family, and Athlen might be his only hope.

I was anticipating this story for a long time, but it was honestly a bit of a letdown. I was expecting a fun, queer, magical, fantasy story and - although those elements were present - there was too much going on in this story for it to be effective. The plot of this book was all over the place. It moved so quickly from event to event that we missed out on truly developing the story. I felt like I had whiplash most of the time because by the time something started to get interesting, we were moving on. There was no clear climax of the story, and by the end, we completely lost the plot and the story just fizzled to an end...

Because we spent the entire reading experience jumping around, I never really felt myself connect to and settle into the story. That's why it took me so long to read this book. I found the story difficult to read, and felt bored a lot of the time because there wasn't really anything for me to grasp onto.

I was also left a little disappointed by the romance. There were some cute moments, but I never really felt the chemistry and wasn't convinced by the end.

This review sounds really negative, but there wasn't really anything I HATED about this book. It wasn't offensive by any means and had a lot of good elements. But, it just didn't live up to my expectations. But, I have hope though that future books by this author have the potential to be better!

A cute m/m fantasy romance about a prince with magic and a merman who made a deal with a sea witch for legs. It's a cute story about these two coming into their own amidst a whole lot of adversity. I had *kind of* hoped one of them would turn out to be a pirate but cute regardless.

I loved this book!! I did purchase it also, because it was just that good. I love The Little Mermaid and this queer reimagining was absolutely perfection. Great characters, great pacing, gorgeous cover. Thank you for the ARC!

I feel like this book will get some feedback about being predictable for a YA book, and it is a little. But it's refreshing for the queer community who don't see as much representation in their books, so we can have this one. It's just a great feel-good read with some adventure and actually great familial relations.

It's a sweet gay romance between the youngest royal who is hiding their magic (cough cough) and a boy who... well, spoilers. :3 A good coming of age story and learning to accept who you are. A little tropey, but actually pretty well-earned for the read. Both the characters are lovable, and Tal is very relatable for the readers as he struggles to figure out who he is and where he belongs. There's lots of moving parts of the plot itself, and it keeps surprising me when I think "oh THIS is the main plot" and then it isn't. I enjoyed that aspect a lot.

I wish there was more pirates as that looks like it's selling point from the cover, but sea-faring adventure is pretty minimal. Still worth the read!

It's just not a great winner for me, as much as I wanted it to be! The dialog felt stilted, I didn't really understand the world, and I didn't buy in to the romance. Cute idea! Just not a winner.

Felt a little young to me. The fantasy, magic, and worldbuilding all felt really generic. This was nothing special.

What a amazing book! I feel in love with this one. The story is spectacular, all the characters are super vivid. I recommend with my heart.

it was okay, not the best paced. enjoyed the characters enough however to keep going. very interesting world guiding thought

Unfortunetly I didn't get to this book in time. I loved the premise however the characters didn't quite work for me. Oh well. I do hope it gets into the hands that will charish it.

When Tal sets sail for his grand tour, he expects to see the lands surrounding his kingdom, to be bored, and to be overprotected by his brother and guards. He does not expect to meet an enchanting boy chained up in a ship and uncover what is possibly a grand mystery or a political coup.

I thoroughly enjoyed the romance side of this book. Tal and Athlen had so much chemistry, and their relationship moves at a believable pace. The adventure was good at times, but it fell flat at others. It would have high highs with lots of action and the next moment fall completely flat. I still very much enjoyed it and would recommend it, but be aware that there are lulls in the action.

I loved In Deeper Waters by FT Lukens! Tal and Athlen are precious cinnamon rolls, and I really loved Tal's siblings. The relationships between characters really brought this book to life. In Deeper Waters was such a fun adventure! Although I would have liked a little more world-building from this one, I flew through this book and enjoyed every second. Lukens's writing has a beautiful simplicity that was perfect for this tale. If a magical m/m Little Mermaid retelling sounds like something you'd enjoy, I can't recommend this one highly enough!

Oh my goodness, this is actual perfection. I don’t throw that word around lightly but I just adored this. Everything about it was BEAUTIFUL okay. Characters? Amazing, I’d do anything for them to be happy. I also just want to commend the exceptional pacing of this book. There were so many different moments in this book that it felt as though I read a 5 book series in one sitting, which I LOVED. I knew I was going to Love this and I hyped it up so much but it still someone exceeded my expectations. The characters really make this for me—I was rooting for them from page one.

The romance. THE ROMANCE!!! I laughed, I cried, I bawled I did it all folks, I did it all. Tal and Athlen are such believable, strong, and loving characters they are so well written and so fleshed out. Our supporting characters are perfection as well!

For such a small book, it is jammed packed with action and romance. There is not one dull moment in this entire book. Again, I cannot applaud the pacing enough.

The writing was something I definitely enjoyed. It’s easy to read, beautiful, and just puts a smile to my face.

Overall, I think I read this book at a time where I needed it. It has easily become an all time favorite, feel good read that I can see myself picking up multiple times in the future. If I haven’t convinced you to pick up a copy when it comes out, just look at that beautiful cover!

Thoughts and Themes: It took me quite a long time to be invested in this book as I kept going back and forth in my interest in it. The book starts off quite slowly which is the main reason as to why I wasn’t drawn in immediately to this story.

I really loved how this story is so much adventure and so much different layers kept getting added to this as I read more. I liked reading along as different things happen to Tal and trying to see what he would do next just to survive. I liked that this was a story about survival and the things that one is willing to do in order to survive.

I really enjoyed the world-building in this book and how that was part of the adventure in this story. I liked how there were things that Tal was figuring out about alongside the reader and liked how his family’s past played into the present times. I really enjoyed learning about the different types of magic that was in this book, not just the magic that Tal had but the mystical creatures that were involved and the powers that some of his family members possessed.

Characters: In this story you get introduced to quite a few characters through their interactions with Tal and each of them is unique in their own way. I loved all of the relationships that Tal has with each person who is important to him and I even liked the villains in this story.

I liked the way Tal and Athlen’s relationship develops and how it changes over time. I like how not only is Tal second guessing Athlen’s feelings throughout the whole story but as a reader you are questioning Athlen’s motives. This part was the best thing for me because I loved trying to figure out who was trustworthy in this story and who wasn’t. I felt like Tal who was also trying to figure this out for himself.

I also really enjoyed the relationships that Tal had with each of his family members and especially his siblings. I liked how supportive they are of Tal and how protective they are of him as their youngest sibling. I really liked the scenes in which we get to see all of them talking to him and getting upset with themselves for “allowing” him to have been harmed.

Writing Style: The story is told in third person point of view and follows Tal. I really liked the story being told in this way because it doesn’t seem to be an all knowing narrator. We still get Tal’s feelings and confusion even if he isn’t the one telling the story to us.

Do you love swashbuckling adventure stories filled with mages, witches, and merpeople, oh my! Stories with pirates and mercenaries and royal machinations? If this sounds like your jam––and since you're here––I'm guessing it does. You should RUN to the nearest bookstore and buy this book.

In Deeper Waters is just plain fun. From start to finish it is everything feel-good adventure stories have. It's well-paced with plenty of tension to keep you turning the pages again and again. There's heart and humor and so much warmth that when the gut-wrenching moments happen they really HAPPEN.

I loved every relationship in this book. Tal and his siblings are just too cute for words, but are also relatable in so many of the quiet moments of the book. Their love is obvious in every interaction, and I really loved seeing that come to life on the page. Especially when it feels like so often family dynamics are portrayed as dysfunctional, it was refreshing to read such sweet sibling love.

That's not to say everything is peaches and cream. There's tension and bad decisions and villainy run amuck. Tal is a complete cinnamon roll, but even he has his own emotional journey to go through. We see a complex side to acceptance, which is sometimes you reject yourself before anyone else can, even if there's no evidence that they will.

It's adorable to set the book in Tal's own come-of-age tour because really this is about Tal finding and accepting himself. He goes through a lot, and has to learn not to rely on his royalty, or his siblings, or his magic to get him through. It's so relatable, magic and royalty aside, because we all have to learn how to find our own way through life at some point. We don't always make the right choices, but like Tal, hopefully we learn that it isn't the choice itself, but what we learn and how we grow that matters.

This book is about acceptance on so many levels. No one blinks an eye at Tal having a crush on Athlen, but it's also so much more than that. It's the relationships between royals and bodyguards, between friends, and even the acceptance of magic in all forms.

There's so many layers to the characters and struggles, I think that readers will find a lot to relate to and identify with. It's fun and immersed in the essence of fairy tales, which sort of makes the whole book feel like a warm hug. It's familiar but the characters are so real and so dynamic, that you turn the pages because you're invested in finding out what happens to them, even if you sort of think you already know.

But it's also not as familiar as it feels. When creatures we recognize are introduced, they're still unique in their own way. They fit within this story, recognizable and still new.

In all, I loved this adventure. I adore Tal and Athlen, love the siblings, and am here for the magic. The villain was a little flat, but then, this isn't a story about dynamic villains. It's a story about the hero and love and finding both within yourself. If you're looking for a story that just feels good, this is the book for you. It's heart-warming, it's a great time, and it's filled with characters that feel like they're your friends.