In Soul of the Deep, the conclusion to Natasha Bowen’s Skin of the Sea, Simi must free Esu and help him bind the antigods before they destroy the world. With new and old characters alike, the second installment of the Of Mermaids and Orisas duology is teeming with excitement and African folklore.

Like Skin of the Sea, Soul of the Deep proceeds at a quick pace, but not so fast that one loses the story. Bowen’s quick, clear prose helps me to stay engaged in the story. Soul of the Deep continued to explored Yoruba and African culture and mythology — not just in the characters, but also in the variety of festivals that Bowen depicts. She does an excellent job with world building. The festivals and rituals truly bring the story to life.

I absolutely love the characters that Bowen has created. I was not a fan of Kola in the first book, but he definitely improved in this one. He was much more developed and authoritative in this book. I also have to admit that I loved Esu in this book, too. I love the reluctant allies trope, and Natasha Bowen absolutely nailed it here. In fact, Bowen’s Esu reminds me of the MCU’s Loki: his annoying charm irritates the characters, but endear him to the readers.

This is one of the rare occasions where I enjoyed the sequel more than the first book. This duology is perfect for mermaid fans and people who like fantasy based in real-life folklore.

Thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I appreciate the way the book picked up where the last left off, sprinkling in the lore needed to understand without just dumping information into pages we're all going to skip. I also really liked the way the emotional thread of the characters was maintained without coming off as an afterthought. What irked me just a little bit was the actual content which I believe was meant to written as arc development but actually came across as a redo/second chance at what actually happened in the first book. Without spoiling it, instead of being a continuation of book one, this book came across as undoing book one.

An enjoyable follow-up to Skin of the Sea. While it leaves Simi in a good place, it leaves enough loose threads that there could be more to Simi's story.

A return to the fantastic world set forth in Bowen’s Skin of the Sea. A beautiful story rich with African mythology and folklore and a worthy sequel to a wonderful debut. My only criticism is that this story feels a bit more rushed than the first, missing some opportunities for romantic tension and character development and resulting in some rather abrupt battle sequences and tasks that seem to be accomplished too easily. That being said, it was still a great time from start to finish

A FANTASTIC follow up to Skin of the Sea, which was a favorite for me and my daughter. My daughter has been looking forward to this book since reading the first one, and if she found out I got to read this as an ARC, she’d lose her mind.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

After the first book's somewhat abrupt ending, I was really looking forward to how the sequel would play out. Simi has gone to the deepest part of the ocean to help Olokun bury the bodies of those lost at sea. I hoped there might be something between these two, but we quickly see Simi is still pining for Kola. I'm not a big fan of that romance, maybe because it developed so quickly in the first book, and was hoping it would be over after Simi made her decision.

I enjoyed the mythology in this, the addition of the ajogun and the Mokele-mbembe were cool even if they weren't explored as much as I'd like. There's also the sisterhood of the Mami Wata that I adore. It was nice that we saw Simi and Folasade's friendship and got another perspective on the duties of releasing souls to the afterlife.

I think my main disappointment was that so much of the first book was made irrelevant in this one. Simi makes a choice to give up Kola and life on land, but that doesn't last. Some people we thought were lost came back, and Esu's capture was basically pointless. You could almost just start with this book and wouldn't miss much story.

I am still hoping for a third book because a couple things are not resolved at all, mainly Olokun's story. I think a new point of view would be nice and we could leave Simi and Kola to their own devices.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Random House Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the copy.

I really enjoyed how this story continued in this second book. There was a good balance between dealing with the fall out from what happened in the last book and new elements. The characters are wonderful and I appreciated having more insight into their lives and their growth during this book. The journey was fast paced but never felt rushed and all around was a captivating read. I greatly Skin of the Sea and Soul of the Deep has made Natasha Bowen a must read author for me.

Soul of the Deep was a culturally rich and exciting continuation in this series. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions that made the story come to life. Simi's story continues to be adventurous yet emotionally tolling as she fights her battles with Kola and her friends against the threats to her world. I will say I didn't really enjoy the romance, it lacked chemistry and felt a bit dry. The quest, the action and the mythology was wonderful in Soul of the Deep though!

When I saw Skin of the Sea had a sequel I needed to read it. I will say this duology has the most beautiful book covers – take a look at this one! Here is what did and didn’t work for me:

+ I loved Simidele in book one and I love her here again in book two. I love her bravery, her grace, and she’s always giving of herself to do the right thing. She loves taking care of people. Here in book two she tries to help an imprisoned orisha, the trickster, Esu and in turn he would help her. The sequel has a few beautiful, emotional scenes and once again, I really appreciate how we are shown how the dead are respected and sent off in this story. It really touches me especially knowing that many of the dead in the sea are due to the slave ships. This author has a way with words that can break through to my emotions.

+ The story is rich in West African mythology – there are a lot of orishas (gods/goddesses) involved in the life of people.

+ It’s filled with so much action. There is a quest, there is the problem with the other tribes and just a lot going on and makes it a quick read. Simi is a fighter in this sequel.

+ I love how Simi and Kola has a slow burn romance but one that is left open ended. It’s not rushed at all and it shows Simi has to do a few things before being with Kola. But I think it’s safe to say that they love one another – I mean Simi did sacrifice a lot for him. So I’m glad she’s going to take some time for herself!

~ The one thing I do wish this book had, is a glossary. There are so many words I didn’t know and had to guess at their meaning. Also a list of the orishas would be fantastic too! There are so many characters in this book, it can be hard to follow.

~ The beginning was slow but once the action kicks in the story moves faster.


Why you should read it:
*story filled with West African mythology and lots of action/fighting scenes
*you enjoyed the first book
*the emotional aspects of the story when it comes to death, sacrifice, and love

Why you might not want to read it:
*you didn’t enjoy the first book

My Thoughts:

I didn’t re-read the first book so I jumped into this one right away trying to get acclimated with all the names of the orishas, and the big cast of characters. Once I started remembering a few things, the story moved quicker for me – plus there is a lot of action in this book so that also made the story move along. What I love about this book and the series in general is Simidele who was human and turned into a mermaid, but she never forgets her humanity and caring for others. I love that about her and I’m glad there was a good ending for her. This is a solid conclusion to the series and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Black mermaids? I KNEW this series was for me, book two did not disappoint after I inhaled book one. We love good representation!! Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I would love to interview this author for pop-culturalist! This Little Mermaid retelling is incredible and I loved reading this sequel.

After book one I wasn't sure if I even wanted to try book two. But somehow I ended up with it so I thought why not. This book was even worse than book one. It felt like the events, world building, and rules of book one were all tossed out the window. The romance was horrible and the world building we got just was not up to par. The concept was interesting but the execution just failed the story.

I was so excited to read this ARC after devouring Skin of the Sea at the start of this year. I was so enamored with the multilayered world that Natasha Bowen reveals to us through the course of Skin of the Sea, and Soul of the Deep did not disappoint!

Soul of the Deep picks up right where Skin of the Sea leaves off for Simi, Kola, and the broader cast of characters, human and Orisha. No spoilers here though! I do recommend refreshing yourself on the characters from Skin of the Sea before diving in to Soul of the Deep. This would make a great back-to-back read if you want a 650-page single story experience instead of reading it as a duology.

Bowen has an incredible ability to weave in figures of the Yoruba pantheon of Orisha, legendary locations, and mythological/cryptozoological creatures and peoples in a way that feels welcoming and familiar. While Skin of the Sea is focused on the Orisha, Soul of the Deep looks at the reverse of that coin with the introduction of the ajogun, the anti-gods. Like the four horsemen of the apocalypse amplified to 7. I would have loved to explore these characters more, as most of the ajogun never see true "screen time." She has done such an incredible job fleshing out multifaceted, deeply flawed and human depictions of the Orisha, I would have loved to see a more in depth take on the ajogun.

Ultimately, Soul of the Deep was over a bit too soon for me, I wanted to stay in this world longer. I would rate it overall a 4.5 instead of the 5 that I rated Skin of the Sea. This is primarily due to some predictability in late book plot elements.

Trigger warnings: giant bugs, grief, battle/war/combat, and zombies... I know I'm probably the only person who needs to be warned about Zombie involvement but just in case someone else needs it!

"How fitting, that the orisa who causes so much discord is now the only one who can stop it all."

I didn't love the first one but I am a stickler for finishing series so here I am. This one was better than the first one for me, but not by much. I love Simi as a main character and the whole concept of this book is amazing! I just didn't love the execution. The "big threat" throughout the book is basically invisible except for five seconds at the end and the whole "saving the world" part was pretty anticlimactic. This one did have more action than the first book but I just wish the action was a little...bigger? For a book that has stakes as high as saving the world, I didn't really feel the pressure from those stakes. It was a great sequel but it was just missing components that would have made me love it.

The biggest disappointment for me was the romance. I really didn't feel the chemistry and honestly wish Kola and Simi were just friends. For a forbidden love trope, I really wasn't feeling the struggle. With that said, I love the ending Simi got and am curious to see what direction the third book will go.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but Soul of the Deep didn't quite live up to Skin of the Sea. While I still enjoyed the mythology, I didn't find the storyline quite as interesting. Kola's character arc was interesting in this one, but I didn't like him as much as I did in the first book. One thing I really did like was Simi's ultimate decision to go find her parents, although I do wish that the reunion scene had been in the book, since it was mentioned so many times throughout the series.

Natasha Bowen's writing style is absolutely gorgeous and incredibly descriptive. That was the best part of this book for me, Unfortunately, there were many other parts of the books that I liked much less. The action moved very quickly, but at times it seemed to move too quickly. We did not get to see characters truly react to what had happened or really feel their feelings. On a similar note, the romance had absolutely no chemistry, unfortunately. I like Kola and I like Simi separately. They make no sense together to me. It feels like a type of insta-love that exists because this is a YA book and it has to be there. I was also, unfortunately, annoyed by some of Simi's actions during the book. She made rash decisions without stopping to consult the people around her, and it was never truly addressed. I wish that the characters had been more fleshed out, but I did truly enjoy Bowen's writing and the action of this story.

I liked that this was a little more mermaid-y than book 1 in terms of ocean content! In general, I think people who loved the first book will also love this one, and people who thought book 1 was okay/decent will feel the same about this one.

I was really excited about getting approved for the sequel, especially because it also has such a beautiful cover like the original. We need more POC main characters so I was super excited to get to read more about our main Black mermaid character. Unfortunately I felt it was lacking a bit in substance especially compared to the first book.

Just like the first one this book did not disappoint. I liked the book and it something that I would recommend, especially since it’s a black mermaid story. The main character Simi really gets to show more of herself in this book. And even if the book wasn’t the satisfaction I hoped for it quenched the thirst of wrapping up Simi’s story.

As far as sequels go, Soul of the Deep was okay. First off, it has another stunning cover! But the first 1/3rd of this book felt like just getting back to where things were? It kind of made the ending of the first book meaningless. I didn't really care too much about any of the characters this time around, they fell so flat, but there were a few moments with her and Kola that I liked. It was again between so much traveling and useless fighting. At least it felt like a faster read.