SEA OF EVIL & DESIRE 🫧🌊 4.5⭐️

Wow, this is such an emotional journey. I absolutely loved reading this book, watching Morganna (FMC) and Finn (MMC) develop as characters throughout the book, seeing their journey. Just incredible.

Firstly LOVE the map and the glossary!

We’re introduced to Morganna our FMC living with her mother. However her grandmother passed away and she’s forced to go to stay with her grandfather in England. Scotland to be specific, in a coastal town called Ruadán’s Port. Which i absolutely love. Her mother never wants to go back there, we’re left asking questions like why? And I became very intrigued into the story immediately.

There’s lots of weird paranormal instances occurring once she settles in the town. Hearing songs, seeing people with sunken faces and people who disappear.

We’re then introduced to Finn our MMC, he’s absolutely gorgeous. However alluring and suspicious. We get glimpses of what we think his personality is and then it changes. I felt myself desperately asking who is he? What is he about? It kept me on edge THE WHOLE TIME.

This was literally what I wrote whilst reading the book.

“Who is Finn? I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HES ABOUT, WHY DOESN’T HE HAVE NETFLIX? WHY DOES HE SEEM SO ARROGANT THEN CHARMING? He’s strange”

Morganna starts hearing the music of the sea and how this connects with her and her grandmother as she has dreams of the deep sea, what lies beneath is it real or true? She has the insignia mark of the kingdom of the deep, her dreams show her “the drowned” - everyone who’s ever drowned at sea.

Morganna had a dream but wasn’t a dream then disappeared for 2 days. This is where the journey begins, there’s so much plot to the story, and I never knew what direction it was going to go in. The world building is really well written and can visualise everything so clearly.

🫧 DUAL POV
🌊 DARK AND MYSTERIOUS MMC
🫧 SLOW BURN
🌊 UNDERWATER WORLD
🫧 MYTHS & LEGENDS
🌊 SCOTLAND SETTING
🫧 DARK ROMANTASY 🌶️
🌊 UNIQUE LORE & MAGIC SYSTEM
🫧 POLITICAL INTRIGUE

Thank you so much J Strelou for the ARC, I throughly enjoyed this and desperate to see Morganna & Finn’s story continue.

SEA OF EVIL AND DESIRE
J.Střelou
4⭐️
2.5🌶️


A LOVE BOUND BY FATE. A KINGDOM ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION.

Beneath the waves, an ancient feud between the Mer and Drowned has simmered for centuries, sparked by a forbidden love and a tragic curse . . .

Firstly I wanna say I really enjoyed this book! 📖 it has opened my eyes into a different style of writing and world building! I never thought I would love a mermaid romance as much as I did!

Morgana our FMC is part drowned and Selkie and throughout the book we find out more about her destiny. Finn is our MMC and he firstly comes across as this dark mysterious and dangerous man watching Morgana. I found both of these characters had great chemistry between them, their energies bounced off each other and you can see the relationship developing throughout the book. I personally loved Edward, he was such a great side character and I hope we get to see more of him in the next book.

“You asked me about destiny once, and I realised when you cried for peace that we were meant to meet.”

The world building was good! I did find myself getting a little bit confused however over the course of the book i figured it out more - in my defence this is my first mermaid/ sea creatures book 🤷🏻‍♀️ and this book has gave me a great introduction into this sub genre of Romantasy books. The pacing was great - I didn’t find it dragging on, the ending does have a cliffhanger which definitely opens up for a follow on book. I didn’t find the ending to be rushed like some books. Bit of a shocker in the Epilogue 👀💔

Overall, this book truly captivated me and I was so immersed in the world of mer, drowned and selkie. I hope we get to see some characters entering the second book ( such as Morgana’s father!) I really wanna hear his story and where he is now! 😄. Will definitely read the next book and recommend to my followers 🧡

“Amor perdot nos.”

Sea of Evil and Desire hooked me with its interesting premise, fantastic world building, and its generational based magic system. However, Morgana's character kind of ruined it for me. I loved broody Finny though, who doesn't love a mysterious and melancholic mmc?! Morgana was just a bit too naïve and I found myself wanting to smack her often.

This book had me enticed and pulled in from the start. Full of twists and dynamics I could have never imagined. The romance was great! The plot - unique. By far one of the most interesting reads thus far. I could not put it down.

Review shared on Goodreads. Thank you so much.

Sea of Evil and Desire was my first mer fantasy read, and I loved the uniqueness of it! The generational magic element and secrets being passed down was one of my favorite aspects of the book and did pique my interest from the start, driving me to want to know more. While I did think the storyline and world had a ton of potential, I did feel that the world building was a bit rushed and I found myself feeling that I needed more detail in the upfront of the book. While I think Finn was a great broody MMC (we love a mysterious love interest!!!), I did feel that the romance was a bit forced and didn't get the tension/yearning that I love in a fantasy romance. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have read this book, and excited to see what Julia does in the future given this was her debut novel!

Sea of Evil and Desire is a dark, atmospheric read with a unique folklore twist. The writing kept me intrigued, and I enjoyed the eerie seaside setting and slow-burn romance. While it didn’t quite reach 5-star magic for me, it was still a solid and enjoyable story.

4/5 stars

sea of desires

was this the best written book i’ve read? definitely not.. did i enjoy it? hell yeah!

- this book was fun, i loved the fact it was set in scotland, and i loved the magic system/world in it. never read a book with selkies before, and thought it was a great concept!
- i thought that there should have been some more character development between the FMC and the grandfather she stayed with, nothing felt very organic with how the conversations/dialogue
- i did think the dialogue was a bit awkward at parts, and some of the pacing was a bit off too. the ending felt really rushed/off, the FMC seemed underprepared for the big finale type scene

like i said, was it the best written book, not by any means but it was fun, i enjoyed it, and id like to read any further books that come out in the series

3.75 stars

Kind, innocent and beautiful Morgana has always felt too much. Protecting herself from the feeling of others she becomes an outsider, when she find out of her grandmothers passing. It is to easy to leave everything behind to her place of birth, and things start to get messy. Having to figure out who she is and family she falls head first into trouble. The story had a steady pace of entertainment and mystery leaving me wanting more and more. But Morgana’s personality is not my preference, she was very innocent and naive to the point where it was alarming. Finn mysterious and set on knowing more about morgana was captivated unable to leave her side. Protecting her while also keeping to his responsibilities becomes difficult. Keeping her at a distance there were parts where his aloofness felt forced, it didn’t feel natural or flow well with the character. Morgana’s ability to see Finn for who he is without manipulation, feeling wanted and accepted limits Finn choosing her over his duties. While they had great chemistry the romance was weird there were sappy moments that felt stilted and unnatural. Everything else was great! The mythological retellings are one of my favorites with creative world building, the minor characters stood out and had personality. I’m sad that I have to wait so long for the next one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author I received a ARC for an honest review !

I would like to thank the author for providing me with an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

This was definitely a fun read! One thing that I appreciated about this book was its fascinating setting and plot. The underwater world was unique and different than anything I’ve read recently! There were elements of mystery, betrayal, and suspense, which kept me engaged and excited to find out what happened next.

However, I did find the pacing to be somewhat slow, and I didn’t develop a very strong connection with the characters. I think Morgana, the FMC, is the character I did relate to the most.

Overall I had a good time reading, and definitely recommend giving it a shot.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much this story resonated with me. Morgana, the main character, is wonderfully drawn – her quirks and vulnerabilities made her incredibly easy to connect with. The author's skill in building both the Scottish and underwater settings is remarkable; I could vividly picture every scene. The plot moves at a satisfying pace, ensuring that the book is hard to put down. Though a couple of side plots left me with questions, the strength of the central story, the character development, and the fascinating lore make this a highly recommended read. I'm definitely invested in continuing the series!

Sea of Evil and Desire is my first book from this author, and I was more than excited to read this story because I absolutely love paranormal romance stories. The sea and underwater aspect of the story definitely caught my attention because lately I have found myself enjoying the underwater world in books. However, this story was not the one for me and the main thing that hurt this story for me was the pace of it. It was too slow, and I constantly found myself losing interest in the story more than once because it was dragging so much but I tried to push through it. There was mystery, suspense, secrets, threats, deaths, enemies, betrayal, steamy scenes and more but it just wasn't enough for me to enjoy this story. Morgana, Finn, Skye and a few of the other characters were okay but there's was nothing about them that made me love them or even made them memorable. As much as I had hoped and wanted to love this story, this one just wasn't the one for me, but I will say that just because this story was not the one for me, doesn't mean that it won't be a great read for others.

This book had me hooked from the start. There’s suspense, world building, slow burn romance, plot twists that literally left me wanting more. I felt as if I was a part of this world with mer, selkies & the drowned. I absolutely loved the lore in this book mixed in present day. Finn & Morgana have such a passionate relationship and the ending has me wishing the next book was already available because I need to know all the things. There were a few characters I felt needed more and that I was left with a lot of questions that I really hope are brought to light in the next book. Such an intense cliff hanger. I’m so glad I was able to receive the ARC from J Strelou via NetGalley.

After reading the description I was really excited to receive an advanced reader’s copy of this book! It was a 4.5 star read for me and I was pleasantly surprised because I had never read anything based on underwater myths and legends. The FMC, Morgana was so relatable, quirky, and awkward. The book had me hooked very quickly and kept a good rhythm which made it hard to put down. I flew through it in one day. The world building was really great. I could easily bring to life the scenes in my head both in Scotland and below the water. There were a few plot holes left open that I found confusing with some of the side characters that I’m not sure if they will be addressed more in the next book but I’m definitely looking forward to finding out. And honestly there were some times that I laughed and thought ok that was cheesy but those few times were greatly overshadowed by how much I loved all the lore and storytelling and growth of the relationships and character development.

Thanks for the advanced copy of the book! I quite enjoyed this first installment, looking forward to seeing what happens next and how the story is resolved. I really liked the setting and could totally relate to the FMC. This was a semi new to me story take on Mermaids that I quite enjoyed and would be interested in seeing more of.