Fated Winds and Promising Seas

Found family, amnesia trope, swashbuckling adventure, and two loveable MCs. What more could you ask for? OH! And sapphic pirate captains

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for approving my request to read an arc of this book.

After getting to read an arc of Til Death Do Us Bard, I was so excited to get the chance to read an arc of Fated Winds And Promising Seas. The two books are very different but they both have the same level of love interwoven throughout the story,
Lucky was such an amazing character and I loved that we got to understand and find out his history along with him. The plot kept me engaged and guessing what could possibly come next. It was a rollercoaster ride and I was here for it!
Setting this book mainly on the sea was very interesting and I loved getting to know the crew of The Dreamer. Especially Gabriel. I loved his passion for the Leviathan and how he wanted to educate others on their demeanour and species.
Fated soulmates was such a fun trope and it had me hooked. I loved learning more about their past and their plans for the future.
The plot was so unique. I’ve never read anything like it. There was so much world building but it never got overwhelming. I felt like it was all explained well and definitely given justice.
I couldn’t stop reading and I enjoyed it so much!

CW’s mentions of past child abuse, mentions of self harm, abuse, violence, gore and depictions of a Leviathan being killed.

Fated Winds and Promising Seas is that girl of a book If you know what I mean. Such a good read. Entertaining. Exciting. Immaculate characters. Fabulous experience reading it.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC for an unbiased review!

This book is more beautiful than I have words for. Vulnerable and extremely raw. The dialog was engaging and the world exciting. From moment one I was attached to Lucky more than I can bare. It's not often that I genuinely get emotional over a character right off the bat but that was the case for him. Highly recommended if you want an emotional roller coaster and a traumatized main character who deserves the world but the world does not deserve him. I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Thanks Netgallley, the publisher, and the author for the arc!

I was incredibly drawn in by the premise, the cover, and the opening chapters. This book starts hard. I clicked on it for a peek and blinked and suddenly I was chapters deep and it was way past my bedtime.

It continued on into a precious, sweet, fun story! I love sea books, and this setting was excellent. Both Lucky and Gabriel were great characters to follow. Much of this book is about working through trauma, and I loved how gentle and sweet the characters were with each other, how they gave each other time and space to figure things out, how supportive and cosy everything felt. A lot of excellent found family in this one!

I enjoyed reading it a lot!

Lucky has been in his seaside prison for so long that he's forgotten who he is. That is until fate has other plans and bring a leviathan knocking down his prison and Gabriel into his life. Lucky feels a closeness to "golden boy" Gabriel right away, almost like they know each other....

Fated Winds and Promising Seas is a page-turner. We get to see Lucky grow and come out of his shell and deal with his mental health in honest and real ways.

Lucky is brought aboard the Dreamer, a ship full of other "misfits" like himself. The ship is full of wonderful characters who are the best kind of found family. Some of those aboard the Dreamer are "dancers" who can manipulate water, but for a price.

At one point about 40% in the story did begin to drag a little, but once it picked back up I couldn't put it down. The story kept me on my toes and had so many surprises. I love Lucky and was rooting for them, even when they made mistakes. There are so many twist and turns to this story it was a joy to read! The romance between Gabe and Lucky was so sweet you can't help but root for them.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adored Til Death Do Us Bard so was confident I would enjoy this one, and having finished, I love Rose Black's second book even more than the first! Fated Winds and Promising Seas has everything I want in a fantasy--found family, queer romance, fascinating magic and magical creatures, high seas adventure, and a twist I did not see coming. I adore Lucky and Gabe and just want to pluck them off the page and give them a big hug. I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to the author's next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Another stunning cosy fantasy from Rose Black, thank you for my ARC, I adored Til Death Fo Us Bard, and I fell in love with this even harder, I enjoyed the slightly darker elements/themes to the story, Lucky was self deprecating but in such a relatable way, the found family trope was so sweet, I enjoyed the small amount of world building and the fact leviathans weren't these creatures to be feared, but rather respected, honestly I just couldn't recommend Rose Black and her stories enough to fans of cosy fantasy and fantasy in general, I'm always left with a huge smile on my face and a feeling of content

This book feels heavy. Much heavier than till Death do us Bard, though also hopeful in the end. Lucky has been in prison for the past ten years for killing his mother, something he does not remember doing. When he is freed from prison during a leviathan attack, Lucky escapes onto a ship of Leviathan hunters, but while he is physically free, mentally he's not. He's scared of the sky and feels safest in a room that reminds him of his cell. He begins to bond with Gabriel, someone he thinks he remembers from his past.

I can't give too much away of the plot because it definitely goes places I didn't expect, but in the end it is about the mold society expects us to fit into and how to break out of that.

I liked reading Lucky's POV, though it does feel heavy, and I like how the author approached this. Both Lucky and Gabriel struggle with severe trauma, and together they feel they can share this and grow. It is ultimately a hopeful story, but one that requires lots of healing to get there.

The world building is not super complex, but it had a couple of interesting aspects. The leviathans were pretty cool, and I loved the concept of ships hunting them not to harm or kill them, but to harvest certain materials and keep them away from other ships so they don't sink anyone. The book portrays leviathans as just animals, and when they sink ships it's because they feel threatened, they're not evil or anything and Gabriel actually deeply cares for the leviathans. I loved to see this, so different from the typical monster hunter stories.
I also thought the concept of the church was interesting. Their purpose is to get everyone to conform, and an important aspect of what they believe in is fate, and that people must follow what fate tells them to. This ties in nicely with the theme of breaking out of that mold and choosing your own fate.

The romance in it was sweet and also quite angsty, I was rooting for the couple the entire time and during events that seperated them couldn't wait until they met again.

Would recommend to fans of Shoestring Theory, the Sins on their Bones, and generally people who enjoy reading fantasy about traumatized but healing queer people

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This rollercoaster of a book was such an easy and engaging read. I read this in two sittings, and was fully pulled in by the main character; Lucky.

Lucky has been a prisoner all his life, and he doesn’t really remember anything before that. That is, until a Leviathan attacks the castle he is being held in, and he manages to escape.
We follow Lucky as he gets picked up by a ship of found-family Leviathan trackers, as he gets tracked down by the Church over and over again, and he tries to unravel the mystery of his mother’s murder.

The story was a little fragmented at times, but I absolutely loved the characters. I think the characters and their relationships were the heart and backbone of this story, and I definitely am going to pick up the other books by this author!

Thank you Netgalley, and thank you to the author for letting me read this ARC!

I really enjoyed this book, I was captivated by the premise, and it was all around just a really fun read! I was never not interested once I started.

This was such and interesting and enjoyable read!

We follow the story of Lucky. He's been imprisoned for 10 years for a crime he may or may not be guilty of. When a Levanthian attacks, he is set adrift in the sea and rescued by Gabriel, a beautiful and vibrant Levanthian hunter, and his mother's crew. The story then goes from there.

I found this book to be wonderfully character driven and character centered. Lucky comes to the ship full of trauma and we slowly see him work through it with Gabriel at his side. Lucky is such a wonderfully complex character and I couldn't figure out if he was guilty or not until it was revealed. The writing is so well done. When the story begins, it feels a little confusing, the writing a bit disjointed, perfectly mirroring the mental turmoil that Lucky is going through. As he begins to open up, slowly the heal, the writing changes with him. I felt this was such a smart way help us understand the protagonists state of mind. It is a risky move to be sure, but I wholly encourage the reader to continue on, even if they may not understand a lot a the beginning, because the transition from disjointed to wonderfully enjoyable prose is magnificent.

The crew of the ship are truly likable and charming. The relationships between them feel real and meaningful. Gabriel is a little gremlin of a sunshine MMC and I adored him immensely. His backstory is also quite traumatizing but he was lucky in a sense to find wonderful parents.

All in all, this book is incredible. The story, though second to the characters and their issues, does play a huge part in Lucky's and Gabriel's combined story and ensuing romance. The Romance itself was sweet and I couldn't help rooting for these two to find happiness. The part of the church, the leviathans and how it all ties together was remarkably well done as well. I don't really want to give any spoiler's so I will just say I enjoyed it very much. I would recommend to take a look at the author's trigger warnings and take them seriously. There wasn't anything I felt was too triggering, but everyone is different.

Overall, A wonderful book. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys adventure, found family, Sweet love interests, and a truly satisfying conclusion. Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the Advanced Copy. All opinions are my own and I am posting them voluntarily.

I love these standalone so much!!!! Both of them so far have been so cozy and warming and have also made me emotional. The author makes these characters so easy to connect with and I want another one straight away !!!

I am a huge fan of character driven stories and while I don't typically go for pirate themed books, I enjoyed this story so much! So good.

This was an absolutely wonderful read and one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time. I loved these characters and this story so much!

what is the difference between a Promise, and Fate? one you choose, the other is thrust upon you, but both can ruin everything. Does a promise still count if you cannot remember it? the Gods of Fate, Destiny and Promise are all going to ensure they get their dues, and if it breaks the world in the process so be it. follow two very lucky, and very unlucky boys, as they do everything they can to duck fate, keep their promises... and try very hard not to regret what promises they made. this is a bittersweet HEA, with a promise that everything will work out in the end, even if it's not the ways we expect. a beautiful setting on the high seas with amazing worldbuilding and a slow burn romance built on trust, hope, and a promise neither of them can remember.