Again, I loved the myths and world in this one, but there was something in the story, and the romance that didn't quite grip me in all the way.

I listened on audio and the narrator was great but considering the premise is that Simi sacrificed so much and now must break her vows to save the humans from the demons, I didn't feel much of the high stakes.

All in all, and enjoyable story and the duology was wrapped up nicely

I really loved soul of the sea - the first novel in this duology. However, I found soul of the deep to be a little too intricate when comparing to it. I thoroughly enjoyed the main character still, the lore and mythology and the connections to the Gods. However, I found my wires got a little crossed with the people's names and who they were. I think this is almost certainly all on me - my lack of knowledge of language and culture but it did take away from my enjoyment a little.

This is still one of the most hypnotising and unique duologies ever written, in my opinion. Thoroughly recommend.

After the first book, I was really excited to see there was a book 2 in the series!
It was great to see the world being expanded like this, and I loved spending more time with the characters in the world!
Just like the first book, the writing was enchanting, and the imagery was so vivid! I completely flew through this story and can't wait to see what the author does next.

With familiar characters and another dive (pun intended) into West African folklore and mythology, I felt like I should have rated this higher. But the pacing and plot wasn't quite there in the same way as the first book, and new characters were thrown in without much preamble that made the plot feel slightly more artificial. It felt like this was a long means to an end to resolve some unfinished business from the first book, but it certainly reached a satisfactory conclusion.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

First of all, how stunning is the portrayal of Simidele on the front cover! Shes soo beautiful.

The second installment in the Skin of the Sea series following Simidele who is now imprisoned by the sea who once saved her. I feel the storyline has a lot of promise but didn't feel as though it was executed as well as it could have been and felt a bit drawn out for a duology. However i would still recommend this book to fantasy lovers who enjoys books on mythology and mermaids.

After the cliffhanger of Skin of the Sea, I was really excited to continue Simi's story, and I'm glad I did! Bowen has written a pretty excellent second novel in Soul of the Deep. This story continues to develop and actualise the world building from the first book, and characters are developed in a more complex way. I was really happy to see how Esu's character developed and some favourites from the first book returned in unexpected ways! Simi is a very clear-cut character, and whilst I can appreciate that she stays true to her motivations and beliefs, I do have to say that sometimes I found her character a little too selfless. There were points where her self-sacrifice was grating on me, but that may be because I don't tend to resonate with characters who are that unfailingly sacrificial/good.

In all, this was well worth the wait, and I certainly didn't feel like it was a disappointment of a sequel. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, thank you so much for the copy!

DNF
I have tried to get into this story so many times but unfortunately there’s just no continuity between the first book and this one, yes it has the same characters but a whole new issue that the main character conveniently forgot her mother told a story about when she was younger…

Unfortunately this sequel is not for me but the first book was still great and I enjoyed the found family aspect in book 1 but the team is split up in this book

I've tried to read this book. I really, really have. It's the second in Natasha Bowen's African-mythology-inspired mermaid-based duology and it's turned everything on its head. After her sacrifice to save her family at the end of the first book, our MC is now sworn to a new God, ferrying souls to the underworld, and yet everything is not as it seems. I should've liked this. I WANTED to like this. but I just couldn't get into it. DNF'd at less than 10%. Perhaps another time this will be right for me, but after a year on my shelf, I think it's time to accept that it's not for me right now!

I’m really glad Bowen decided to expand the story shown within Skin of the Sea. I enjoyed seeing the world expanded, and to spend more time with the characters and to learn more about them. The writing was engaging and vivid.

I look forward to seeing what Bowen does next!

As exceptional as the first book, Bowen's way of writing is engaging and her world creating is out of this world (literally!). I loved the development of the characters and the story unfolding was page turning.

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Children's UK for this ARC.

*This review contains spoilers*

At the beginning of the book we find Simi in the land of the dead helping Olokum after their bargain at the end of book 1. Simi is cold and lonely and miserable but is given the opportunity to escape when one of her mami water sisters tells her that Olokum kept Esu imprisoned and he is now needed to contain the anti gods.

Simi and one of her sisters take Esu and find Kola. Kola is, rightly so, still angry with Esu but trusts Simi. Weirdly, his siblings are seemingly fine being around Esu though, despite the fact that he kidnapped them in the last book. Esu doesn't even mention their powers in this book so I assume we're meant to think that he had some time to reflect whilst stuck in the land of the dead, but that is never communicated on page.

Somehow this book felt very rushed and yet was longer than the first one. I still feel like we needed more one on one time for Simi and Kola. I'm happy with Kola's story arc and whilst I liked the ending, I do feel like we could've seen Simi with her family or even see Kola visit her and her family.
The two of them seemed to go through a lot to then not be together at the end. I would've liked a bit more closure at the end of the book. Unless we're maybe getting another one? I still feel like there's unresolved issues with certain characters.

The betrayal didn't really surprise me but again we didn't get that much of an explanation as to why the character decided on that path.

As with the first, the folklore and mythology is rich and vibrant and Bowen paints such a vivid picture of all the gods and creatures. I also really love Simi as a character and seeing her struggles with what she wants and what she feels her duty is. She is curious and brave and has a huge heart.

If you love a Little Mermaid retelling then you should definitely pick this series up but just a heads up it can be a bit dark so please check the trigger warnings.

CW: death, mentions of slavery, imprisonment

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoy this series of books for how Bowen intertwines the legacy of slavery with African mythology. Slavery is never the main plot point of the book (though it is the reason the Mami Wata exist) but it's always there, lurking under the surface of the narrative and creating drive for the plot, as it still does in life today. Soul of the Deep is a great adventure story with a lot of heart and characters that leap off the page. I'd highly recommend to anyone, but particularly teens.

Thank you so much for letting me have an arc of this book.

Amazing storyline and great characters! I struggled to get into it but in the end really enjoyed it.

Natasha Bowen has done it again. A stunning sequel to Skin of the Sea, with gorgeous prose and characters I loved so very much

2.5 (rounded up) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Penguin Randomhouse and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

And another victim to second book mediocrity (I need to think of a good phrase for this).

Recently so many second books are really just not cutting it, and unfortunately this is another one.

There are a lot of characters in this book, to the point it gets a bit confusing. The romance was absolutely pointless and then every so often remembered it just felt very false.

The ending was better, and I do love the African lore, I just wish it was better executed. Rounded up as the ending did pull it together a bit.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC copy of this second volume in the Skin of the Sea series by Natasha Bowen. I had read the first book and mostly enjoyed the premise but felt a little let down in the execution. Soul of the Deep was great and it's clear that Bowen is getting better at creating her world and developing her characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this extension of the original and am looking forward to the next in the series.
Simi is a great character for young readers; she's feisty and adventurous but also reflective. It's nice to have a flawed character narrative whose focus is on learning and improving. Awareness of her flaws means that the first person narrative takes the reader through her experiences and through her growth.
The world building is also more defined in this volume. Obviously a rounder sensation of place comes from a second volume but the writing and construction of the world feels more authentic and developed. Very visual descriptions helped to created a stronger sense of place and perspective.
I really enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to volume three when Simi is hopefully reunited with her family.

I requested this title and I had to start by ordering the first book first. And I loved it from the very first page. I loved to come back to the characters from the first part, especially Esu because let's be honest, who doesn't love a good trickster? I did got a bit lost in some of the worldbuilding, which was really clever and rich in different villages or locations - honestly, I cannot tell if the writing was unclear or if I just read too fast. I really hope that a third book will be announced because it left me with so many questions!

I have really enjoyed this sequel and how it expands and complete all the storyline started in the first book. I was not convinced by all the final choices the author made. But all together, still a great story.

Such a fantastic book, really great characters, storyline and well written. I loved it. Couldn't put it down.