I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

BOOK REPORT for The Abyss Surrounds Us (The Abyss Surrounds Us #1) and The Edge of the Abyss (The Abyss Surrounds Us #2) by Emily Skrutskie

Cover Story: There Be Monsters
BFF Charm: Eventually
Swoonworthy Scale: 7
Talky Talk: Future Fishy
Bonus Factor: LGBTQ+
Anti-Bonus Factor: Dan Scott Award for Awful Parenting
Relationship Status: Fall Fling

Cover Story: There Be Monsters
These covers are … not good. I struggled to find really good quality (i.e., not blown-out) versions, but these are as good as they get. The photoshopping of the girl in front of the monsters leaves a lot to be desired, on both covers. The second is slightly better, but what is she standing on? These books deserve better.

The Deal:
The Abyss Surrounds Us tells the story of Cassandra Leung, a young trainer of sea monsters who protect the oceans of the world from pirate attacks. During her first training mission, she's kidnapped and taken aboard a pirate ship captained by the dread Santa Elena and told that she's expected to raise a rogue Reckoner pup to serve the pirates instead—or else.

The Edge of the Abyss continues the adventure, and finds Cas creating a name for herself even while confused about her place in the world, She also finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that effects all inhabitants, pirate and land-dwellers alike.

BFF Charm: Eventually
I really liked Cas at first when I could commiserate with her situation and her conflicting thoughts. But then I struggled to fully understand the decisions she makes at the end of The Abyss Surrounds Us/the beginning of The Edge of the Abyss. But the end of The Edge of the Abyss saw a Cas I recognized, or one that made sense from a character growth perspective. So there was a bit of flip-flopping in our relationship from start to finish, and I could see us struggling as friends at points, but ultimately our friendship would be a pretty solid thing.

Swoonworthy Scale: 7
Cas doesn't want to make friends, much less a romantic attachment to someone, while being held prisoner. But she can't help the electricity she feels when she's around Swift, the pirate girl Santa Elena tasks with being Cas's keeper.

Talky Talk: Future Fishy
At first glance, The Abyss Surrounds Us feels more like science fiction than your standard dystopia—I mean, genetically engineered sea monsters who can be trained to protect ships?—but it soon becomes clear that the situations in the duology are frighteningly believable. (Climate change is real, y'all.) The idea of a world filled with pirates who are, in large part, pirating to make ends meet rather than just for the money and fame, isn't far-fetched. The Reckoners continue to be a bit more unbelievable, but it's only a matter of time. Skrutskie's worldbuilding, particularly around the societies that live, love, and fight in this world, is really excellent. Cas and Swift were pretty fleshed-out, too, with a lot of teen angst mixed with the weight of the world on their shoulders. I would have liked more from the secondary characters, however, who are frequently named with a few characteristics, but never become fully real.

Bonus Factor: LGBTQ+
When these books were published, lesbian relationships in YA were still pretty unusual. They're still not as usual as they should be today, but I appreciate Skrutskie leading the charge with these books. There's no coming out story at the heart of the swoon, either; they like each other (much to their own chagrin) and liking girls isn't a thing. Thank goodness for this kind of future!

Anti-Bonus Factor: Dan Scott Award for Awful Parenting
Santa Elena is a terrifying, cutthroat pirate queen who plays her choices for her replacement—young folks like Swift—against each other in the most manipulative of ways. She's also a total badass, and someone I'd likely follow as captain were I in a position like Cas or Swift. But is she nice? 100% no. She contains multitudes.

Relationship Status: Fall Fling
We had a good time together, Book. We didn't hit it off to the point that I think we should continue attempting a real relationship, but I'll think back fondly on the adventure we shared.

In a future where pirates rule the open seas, the fleets the shore are kept at bay by genetically engineered giant sea creatures bonded to their ships and guided by their trainers. You want to read The Abyss Surrounds Us. You really do. It has pirates, sea monsters, queer lady romance, lady villains, pirate queen moms, an Asian-American lead character – it’s packed with all the things you’ve been wanting in your YA. Honestly, I think most books could benefit from a good dose of lady pirates.

This is fantastic sea adventure with a queer lady romance that doesn’t pull it’s punches. The fights hurt, the romance hurts, and it’s all worth it. This sea adventure ride is full of twists and turns and they start right away.

Spoilers ahead! I’ll try not to give too much away, but it’s hard to get to the heart of this book without some spoilers.

Cassandra Leung goes through an incredible journey. At the start of the story, she’s a teen just about to go on her first mission for which she’s been trained on all her life. By the end, she’s surviving and thriving in a completely different world. She transforms into a competent, brave, skilled commander of a Reckoner, and a clever and savvy fighter. She sense of herself and where she belongs, even if it means turning her back on everything she knows.

The world of Reckoners pulled me in from the first scene. I was convinced our future could look like this, with condensed political nations in the wake of rising sea levels, flooding destroying whole portions of continents. Like all good speculative fiction, the changes in the new world don’t seem that far off a possibility from our current world.

We feel the loss of Durga, Cas’ first trainee, throughout the whole book, which is about the only way I can tolerate animal loss in a story. It was awful, don’t get me wrong, but it was awful for Cas and the loss remains raw and informs her decisions all the way through the story, even in the end. It’s not for the faint of heart, though, and there are more vicious attacks of sea monster on sea monster further into the story. Cas knows what it means to turn a Reckoner on other Reckoners, and she knows what she’s done in training Bao, the Minnow’s Reckoner, and in using him as a shield in battle. It’s an adult awareness that marks part of Cas’ growth as a character. Bao is never the quiet friend that Durga was. He’s a beast, and Cas bonds with him as she raises him, but the circumstances of their relationship were too forced, and ultimately too violent for it to last.

And that brings me to The Pirate Queen. Santa Elena is a terrifying villain. She’s not a kinder version of a pirate just because she’s a mother; she’s cruel, manipulative, calculating, and she has no qualms hurting those who hurt her. She sets Cas and the crew against one another in a myriad of ways, and delights in the outcome, even when it’s violent. She’s dangerous from start to finish.

And Swift, oh, Swift, with her bird tattoo like her name and her ship brand on the back of her neck like the sword of Damocles. I fell for Swift as hard as Cas does, but she also remained unknowable until the very end. I loved the tension of their building romance, their struggle to find one another on equal footing, and I was disappointed that the two proto-pirate queens don’t get an HEA. I had several theories while reading about how the book would end, and none of them were anywhere near being right. Cas and Swift aren’t together, but at least they’re not apart. They face nearly as many challenges as they did at the start, which has kept them on my mind days after I finished the book.

Go get The Abyss Surrounds Us. You’ll suddenly find yourself hatching escape plans for Swift and Cas, or maybe you’ll be rooting for Santa Elena. On the ship full of cutthroat lady pirates, you can’t go wrong.

Warning for animal harm/death

Sea monsters, pirates, and a brilliantly well-explored f/f captor/captive attraction.- what's not to love here? I particularly like that it's a really good exploration of Stockholm Syndrome and the inherent lack of balance in the central relationship. However it's also stunningly exciting with an incredible ending.

This is exactly the sort of queer fantasy young adult book we need more of. I wish this book existed when I was a teenager. Still, I fell in love with plot and characters.

Welp, that's jumping in the ranks of both my favorite sci-fis and my favorite f/f ships. I've also never read a book I would so distinctly rec to animal lovers, but there you have it! The voice is killer, I love this world, I LOVE THAT THEY ARE PIRATES AND THERE IS A BAMF-Y AND TERRIFYING PIRATE QUEEN, and ugh, Cas is such a great heroine.

I started reading this, but found I simply couldn't get into it. I left it for a while, and went back to it to try again. The writing style and characters just weren't for me.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, I have lost interest in the title, partly due to trusted reviews, and will not be reviewing the title. I have, however, promoed the title through my weekly recap with links to Amazon. Thank you again, and I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

I didn't realize before starting this that it was a f/f romance, which I just don't do. Not my type of book and I would have liked to have known beforehand, especially for YA.