Thank you NetGalley for finally releasing audio books, this now means I can listen and read and get more books in. This was my first book by this author and it certainly did not disappoint. Listening to the characters come alive was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book.

DNFed at 56%
I was looking forward to getting stuck in, being that I've never read a pirate fantasy I was ready to expand my horizons. The book promised characters of African/ Caribbean decent, and that's what really got me interested in the first place. African pirates? How could you not give it a go? The world has lots of promise, unfortunately the world building just didn't quite do it for me. There were mentions of people and creature who seemed to be important, gauging from the responses of the character's when they were mentioned, but no explanation was given as to who they were or why they were in fact so important to this world. Even the religion felt glossed over.

This is a book that was easy to listen to and I may go back at some point to finish. The points I've mentioned may in fact be resolved later on, but at this time I just don't feel invested enough in the story or characters to complete it.

(Would prefer not to give a star rating on a book I didn't finish, but sadly no choice on this)

Link to Full-Length Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3467202159
Link to Pending Amazon Review: https://www.amazon.com.au/Sea-Sky-Esowon-Pirate-Chronicles/dp/B088N9KX4R/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1596580916&sr=1-1

By Sea & Sky was fast-paced, action-packed, and overall an enjoyable read. Where I think the book excelled was in the development of not just the main characters, but most of the supporting cast as well. They were all fighting for something, though their ways about doing so often varied. This, to me, made for an interesting and compelling story. Zala, the main protagonist, was one determined and unyielding woman. She was not going to allow anything or anyone interfere with her mission to find her husband, Jelani.

Admittedly, I found myself most intrigued by the parts of the book that were slowed down and explored the characters' individual and group dynamics. I believe I would have equally enjoyed the plot if I better understood the world By Sea & Sky took place in. It was not until nearly halfway through the book that I had a better grasp of the scene and the circumstances that led to Zala and her crew to be in the predicament they were in. I fully recognize, however, that my initial confusion may have been impacted by my infrequent reading of fantasy books and lack of familiarity with this level of world-building. It also appears as though there are several books that precedes this that are also set in this world. Although By Sky and Sea is the first in this specific series.

Regardless of this factor, this book was engrossing. I was so excited to immerse myself in a "pirate fantasy inspired by the West Indies, The Swahili Coast, and Arabia". As a Black reader, one with roots in the Caribbean, it was nice to see some familiar themes and mythos.

Now, focusing on to the audiobook itself. The narrator, John Rogers, did a wonderful job. There were so many characters who he had to voice and I think he did an incredible job differentiating. Additionally, there were sound effects at the beginning of each chapter (and sometimes in the middle of a chapter), that added to the ambiance and overall listening experience. Personally, I would have loved to see this as a full-cast production, with more sound effects, because the entire time I listened, I was picturing this as a movie. And I truly believe this would adapt well from page to screen. The only issue I had was that at times, my audio would cut out (forcing me to force close the app and start over) and the sound would sporadically come out echoey. I tried to listen on several devices as a result, but was met with the same issue. I am assuming that I unluckily received a copy with quality issues,

Thank you Netgalley for this audiobook copy and allowing me the opportunity to review this book.

This is a fun pirate adventure story with an element of fantasy. From the start we enter into action and mahem and the book doesn't often slow down!
Switching between two points of view we learn more about this world and different perspectives of pirates and their motivations.
Unfortunately I found the main protagonist completely irritating by the end of the book. I think in an attempt to make a strong and fiery female lead, it unfortunately rolled over into annoyingly headstrong and there were several decisions she made that felt just stupid rather than brave. For that reason I'm not sure I would continue the series, but I still recommend the book as others may not feel the same.

The audio narration is very well done and does a great job at brining the book to life with very good production quality.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

By Sea & Sky is a fantasy adventure about pirates. I expected to like it, but unfortunately, I felt this was not an audiobook for me. It was too much action for my taste, and I struggled to listen to it. Although narration, voice changes, and background sounds of battles were excellent. Maybe the book itself would be better for me. Not sure, though.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.

I received a free audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was good. I enjoyed the story. I would have liked more of backstory and character development.

I thought the narrator was great. I enjoyed the effects that accompanied the book.

Overall I thought the story was great, though. And I'm looking forward to the sequel. The description of it actually sounds better than the first book.

By Sea & Sky is an action packed, character rich, West Indies inspired pirate fantasy. The world of Esowon is fully realised with a hyper-focus upon how the characters interact with the established rules of the world. The pacing is relentless, at times it felt like I was reading a pirate tale in the vein of Mad Max: Fury Road, which is great... in theory. The speed of the story was both thrilling and exhausting. There were moments where I felt fully invested in the action taking place and the plight of the characters and others where I felt like the story needed a moment to breathe so that I could get to know the characters on a deeper level. The writing excelled in both the dialogue and atmosphere, however the overall plot, and ultimately the character work, did not have enough catharsis for me. There are some book series that really benefit from reading the series as a whole and I think this is likely to be one of them.

The audiobook production was well done. I enjoyed the narrator's interpretation of the characters, as well as the use of accents. I would have preferred a bit more differentiation between the character voices though. It took me a while to recognise which characters were speaking when it wasn't signified by the text, which distracted me from the scenes taking place as and when they were happening. And, due the the fast-paced nature of the story I did feel like I was often having to play catch-up. I loved the use of sound effects at the beginning of each chapter, it reminded me a lot of Graphic Audio and really helped to emphasise the setting and atmosphere. Production choices like these can really do a lot to enhance a story and I love that I've seen more and more audio productions experimenting with the form like this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bandele Books for the opportunity to listen and review this audiobook.

I listened to the whole think, however for me I found it confusing and didn’t really keep my attention. I think for me the actual book might have been better.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my audiobook copy of this book

I honestly thought this would be one i would enjoy but I didn't care for it very much. I found it a little boring. I didn't care for the narrators on this one also.

I don't know though, maybe I would of enjoyed this one a little more if I actually read the physical book.

I just got to say though the sound effects when a new chapter would start scared the crap out of me the first time. 😂

By Sea and Sky by Antoine Bandele was an epic pirate adventure. The first sentence was so well narrated that you feel like you are about to listen to something special.

The story started off right in the middle of combat and pirate action continued throughout the whole book. While all the action kept the story going, at times it felt like it started to blend together. The writing was very lyrical and beautiful.

John Rogers did an incredible job with the narration. At first listen, I thought there were two people narrating this story. That is how well his voices and accents were done. He sounds like he had a lot of fun narrating this story as well.

This was definitely geared to a slightly older audience, so New Adult or Adult. There were also sound effects, which I quite enjoy, but I know they are not everyone’s cup of tea when listening. If By Sea and Sky grabs your interest, I would highly recommend the audiobook as the best way to experience it.

I received an advanced audiobook copy from Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

Pirate stories are really not my cup of tea but it's a fun story with lots of action from the first chapter. It's a good thing that it has an audiobook version. It like the way it was narrated. I think the narrator really had fun reading it. I also appreciate the sound effects at the beginning of the chapters. It's my first time listening actually listening to an audiobook like that. This is a must read but I think, the audiobook version is the best form.

This book had been on my radar for a while, so I leapt at the chance to try out the audiobook and I'm glad that I did as I felt that the narrator really brought the story to life.

The book is fantastic, I was sold as soon as Pirates were mentioned and this is one of the most entertaining pirate romps that I've read in a while. That this book draws it's inspiration from West Indie/Swahili/Arabian, and that makes for a new, refreshing world, and I adored the world-building here and was instantly absorbed an would have happily spent many more hours in this world. The characters weren't quite as developed I felt, although Zala was incredible and I love books with strong female characters, and she stood out not just for her presence and personality, but because she was so wonderfully real and human. She made mistakes, had setbacks and kept going, was swayed by her emotions and her head, and I just couldn't get enough of her as a character.
This was a fun book that kept me on my toes, and had a wonderful blend of action and quieter moments, and I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a non-western based fantasy, and anyone who loves Pirates and wants an entertaining, refreshing take on them. I will certainly be checking out the author's other work.

By Sea & Sky is a sci-fi fantasy that has pirates and adventure through Zala and her husband in their pirate fights and flying ships.

By Sea & Sky was an interesting read and I really enjoyed the pirates and magic in the world. It was quite fascinating to read and see the way Zala tries to find her husband after they are separated. I think that Zala was a strong character and was a sharp character.

I rated this three stars enjoying the plot and character development. While I liked the way Zala was witty and a strong and sharp character, there definitely were some parts that were not that great when it came to her as a character. She was determined and had a lot of good pointers when it came to being a women surrounded by pirates and mostly men in general, there were just some moments that were okay.

The plot and character depth overall I felt could have been better and more developed to show what they were motivated to do but I found that the fighting and battles and the intense action made up for that.

This was definitely an interesting read and it was definitely a fun adventure to read about.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review