Submerged

This book was received as an ARC from AURELIA LEO, LLC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Judging from the book to the description I was not expecting the results I have read from this book. Immediately when I read this book, it took me back to one story The Little Mermaid having the same premise of meeting the sea king and then overtaken by an evil witch except the twist, the witch is the sea king's daughter perceived to overrule her father's reign putting the Kitoi in danger. Then we have the heroes of Jura and Tylak that are on a mission to find answers and rescue their friends only to find they turned for the worst and now relied on new friends to save the sand sea before it perishes just like how Ariel and Eric did with Ursula in The Little Mermaid.

We will consider adding this title to our YFantasy collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

This was an interesting read, a little juvenile at times but overall I enjoyed it. I would recommend this book to others and I look forward to more from this author.

I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Aurelia Leo, LLC for giving me access.

That ending! Please tell me that there will be another book?

I thoroughly enjoyed Submerged. The journey we go on with several of the characters, kept me on the edge of my seat! There was so much action that I couldn't put it down. A.M. Deese creates a a magic system that seems much like Avatar, the Last Airbender but is also uniquely its own class. We have magic and dragons and battles (Oh, my!) A great read for any fan of fantasy.

This was a lovely read, but I don’t feel it held up as well as the first book. It was interesting and kept me entertained but it just seemed to lack a bit of sparkle the first book had. Still enjoyable

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This book surprised me in so many ways. I didn't read the first book in the series, which was a mistake. It takes off after the events of book one, and without having known these, I was a bit lost for awhile. So, I definitely recommend hitting the first book before tackling this one.

The story is told from various character's points of view, allowing the reader to gain a broad view of what is going on. This is also necessary as the plot is well woven and each character has their own part to play. It's also this character depth which grabs and draws into the tale, making sure there are favorites as well as those to be disliked. There were times, which the story didn't draw in as much as I'd hoped...and I'm not sure why.

The scenes are vivid and do draw in. Especially Jura had me rooting for her with her strong character and determination. There are many unexpected twists and turns, and each one added more tension then the last. It's a well-layered fantasy with a lot to offer for the right fan.

Submerged is the second book in the Dance Of The Elements series. Last year, I've read the first book Ignited and I really liked it. I think this one's a pretty good sequel. I enjoyed it even more than the first book. I liked the new set of characters and also the main characters Jura and Tylak. This series has a unique concept and great world building. The multiple POV's might become a issue for some readers, but if you can handle that, then you'll definitely enjoy reading this series. The following review contains minor spoilers from the first book.

The story follows six characters Jura, Tylak, Kay, Coral, Ash, Beshar, and Amira. Although this book features seven characters, the central focus was on Jura and Tylak's journey. After the events in the first book, Jura and Tylak journey to Kitoi to rescue her friend Amira. She doesn't have any answers for her strange powers yet but she'll do anything to save her people. The former Shadow Dancer Tylak decides to be her bodyguard along their journey. Jura starts to have feelings for Tylak who filled the void left by her first love Markhim. I quite enjoyed Tylak and Jura's relationship in this book. The romance was a pretty much a slow burn. I also enjoyed the bond between Ash and Kay. They're like father and daughter. Little girl Kay is very naive and innocent but she has a strong fire power. She has a potential to become a strong weapon if trained well. I enjoyed watching her grow and can't wait to see her in action in the next book. Beshar, the Ninth of the thirteen was an interesting character. His bodyguards The Samur are a bit creepy. He's on the good side and helps Amira to fight against the unknown villain, he's aware that her father is controlled by someone who wants to destroy tri-alliance and bring war into the world. Princess Coral is the daughter of the Sea King. She's one of the major characters in the book. After a tragic event, she sets on the journey to vengeance. Amira is Jura's best friend. She was kidnapped as a bait for Jura. She's pretty confused about her situation, but she'll do anything to survive.

The plot was engaging throughout. It's a little long book, but I never felt the need to skip the pages. Once you're into the story, you're hooked. The plot moved in a steady pace, it's neither fast or slow. There are a lot of interesting twists and turns throughout. I liked the writing style of the author. The book was written in third person multiple POV's. The shifting POV's between different characters didn't bother me much. It gave more insight to the story. The ending was pretty good. I'm excited to know what happens in the next book. The world building and the magic was perfect and unique. It's one of the best aspect of this series.

Overall, I loved this book!  It's a perfect YA fantasy read filled with magic, adventure, and romance. The book concluded with a cliffhanger and I'm very much excited for the next book.