An excellent dual POV performance! For those who grew up with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and a deep love of pirate stories, this series continues to be a thrilling delight. Pick this book up for the transportive world building and enthralling action.

While I still loved Black Tide Son, I did not love it as much as I loved Dark Water Daughter. I loved Mary and Samuel’s relationship. I did feel like some of the side characters lacked the depth I wish they had. The tension was palpable and I loved how they developed individually and together. The writing was very easy to understand and was accessible. I did struggle a bit with the pacing - things would ramp up and then the conflict would end rather quickly. The setting is still so wintery and cold, I love it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

"Black Tide Son" by H. M. Long continues The Winter Sea series. This time they want the sociopath with them.

Mary, Samuel, and the crew of the Hart are doing pretty good business as privateers. Having a sentient ship, crew members that have second spirits that give some powers, a captain that can see glimpses of the future, and a witch who can sing wind into existence and sink nigh anything helps. But when word that Sam's twin Benedict is in a prison of a country they are slightly in conflict with it gets complex. Doesn't help that agents of said country are after them and any nationals who might have secrets their government doesn't want getting lose. Oh and the waters are doing something weird that folks haven't seen before, which is awkward for everyone on the coast.

Narrated by Moira Quirk and Samuel Roukin, wonderfully charming and delightfully vengeful when crossed. A pleasure as always.

Reasons to read:
-You want to shake the MCs and scream "just bone!" in their faces, propriety be damned
-Few plot threads are expounded upon
-Comeuppance for weird stuff folks did
-I like when "leaders" are flummoxed by competence

Cons:
-Shake the MCs again

3.75/5 ⭐️
A swashbuckling adventure filled with redemption and brotherhood. As Dark Water Daughter was Mary’s book, Black Tide Son was Samuel and to a lesser extent Benedict’s book. The way the brothers’ relationship grew and slowly mended throughout the story was heartwarming to see and just as gripping as seeing Mary and Samuel chart the course of their lives. The world within the Winter Sea is one of pulse pounding adventure and of things that lurk beneath the waves and behind those same waves. Black Tide did an excellent and mostly more admirable job of setting up the rest of the story than Dark Water Daughter did and I am very excited to see the end of this adventure.

4.5/5

It's so exciting to return to the Winter Seas alongside Mary and Sam!

When I reviewed Dark Water Daughter, I critiqued that our protagonists barely had any "screen time" (page time? I am listening to it on audio, so maybe sound time?) together, and I am happy to report that they have a lot of quality time in this sequel. It was worth the wait to get to know these characters as individuals first and then have them become a team. While I don't love the whole "we can't be together because we are an example" excuse, I do allow for it because the angst is delicious and we need a reason for why their relationship has not grown romantically.

We start our adventure when Sam is informed that his twin brother, Ben, is in prison (as he should be). Of course, no prisonbreak is complete without being hunted by a secret organization, right? If the people trying to kill you are also the only ones with the knowledge to heal the messed up magic bond that you have with your sociopathic twin that your grieving mother gave you because of a cult, then I guess espionage is the next best thing. It's a good thing you find a spy when you break out of a different captive-hostage situation. Oh, and did I mention the war that is coming? It's a very busy time.

My highlights:
-Mary singing with the Stormsingers (despite how we got there)
-Sam's flashbacks. Only fair after having Mary's in the previous book.
-How Mary and Sam interact with each other. I like how he is so honorable and she is being so respectful of that, however, she doesn't hesitate to matters into her own hands. Truly, a great partnership.
-Despite me fighting this tooth and nail...Ben. He's just so snarky. At least he's trying, I suppose. I do like how he learns to respect Mary. Is he redeemed? That's spoilers, but let's just say that I am intrigued by the end.

The narrators did a fantastic job!

I can't wait to return to the Winter Seas.

I didn’t realize in requesting this arc (TY to the publisher) that this was the second in a series, because they expect a review I had to read it. Believe it or not, a lot of other books you’d be lost and out of place. I think this speaks volumes on this one, it was so much fun!

I love hm long as a person and author. Her audiobooks are always on point, and this shouldn't be surprising cause of house much she enjoys the medium. Hit it out of the park as always