When I tell you I screamed with excitement at the email to say I'd been approved for an eARC, I am not exaggerating.

I love Katee's work and have read so many of her books. The premise of this was everything I wanted to read, and I wasn't disappointed.

I loved it!

A great premise from Katee Robert - a magical land, Threshold, that is the liminal space between thousands of worlds, while also having its own distinct characters, history and politics - the possibilities are literally endless and I can't wait to see where she takes this series.
Evelyn is a likeable character, and her interactions with those around her are always fierce with a strong dose of snark - she's my favourite kind of heroine being one that knows her own mind and isn't afraid to cause waves in pursuit of what she thinks is right.
The romance with Bowen was spicy, but a bit too insta-love for my tastes, despite the friction that comes from Evelyn's opposition to his choices. That said, the addition of Lizzie (Evelyn's ex-lover) creates a little tension that might keep them from being too sickly sweet as the story moves forward. I think we could see a little jealousy there despite Evelyn and Lizzie being a strictly physical relationship.

Didn't love the ending - Hunt on Dark Waters just seems to stop mid-story. I expect this when a series is planned, but in this case it seemed like an odd point to finish. We don't really get a cliffhanger - fine- but then an ending is usually following a revelation or an accomplishment. This one felt a bit like it came from nowhere. I started reading the acknowledgements before I really processed that the book had ended. That being said, it won't stop me picking up the next book to see what happens with Evelyn, Lizzie and Bowen. It just didn't leave me on tenterhooks like I'd been expecting.

Massive thanks to NetGalley, Katee Robert and Cornerstone/Random House for the chance to read an advance copy in exchange for a independent review.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for giving me an eArc copy for this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first book I have read by Katee Roberts and I was so excited coming into it! However it did fall a little flat for me.

I did really enjoy some parts of this book, like the setting and the magic system. The settings and the background were really well written and I loved the world we were brought into. I loved the idea of a ‘Threshold’ between worlds, with portals leading to different realms and people who are there to guard them.

The characters were written well and were complex, but a lot of the relationships I found between them just seemed to fall a little flat. Especially between the two main characters and POV’s, Bowen and Evelyn. Maybe because it was an instalove type of situation, I’m not too sure… but it just felt very surface level and I didn’t get any chemistry from them at all. I felt more chemistry between Evelyn and Lizzie.

It was a very fast paced story and easy to keep up with, however the ending just appeared kind of sudden and was an abrupt change of pace. I will probably end up reading the second one in this series, as I want to find out what happens next. However, if the next one in the series is similar to this one I might not continue.

My first book by this author, it was ok. I enjoyed the world building, the spice was great but their relationship felt a bit off, like something was missing for me. An enjoyable enough read.

3.5 This was so entertaining, and a lot saucier than I expected. I guess that’s why this author is so popular. It was fun to read about two characters that were very much equal partners, it was actually quite wholesome in the fact that they both fell head over heels for each other.
I enjoyed the world building and the idea of all realms being connected via portals, also pirates are always a winner, especially pirates who are linked to the wild hunt. Some great twisting of classic myths and legends.

✨ E-ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ✨
With full transparency in mind I’m starting this review by saying I am a huge fan of Katee Robert’s work.

I loved it. I loved it I loved it I loved it. This world is so fun and I’m really enjoying the setup for the crimson sails series, I loved the characters and I loved the way this panned out.
I wanted it to carry on about another 100 pages into the story and I cannot WAIT for crimson tides!!! Beautiful book!

BOOK REVIEW: Hunt On Dark Waters by Katee Robert @delreyuk

3 Stars

I was so excited for this book as I adore Katee's Dark Olympus series. Although I liked it, this sadly didn't live up to my hopes.

Hunt On Dark Waters is about Evelyn, a mid 20's witch living in our world with a vampire lover and a love for pickpocketing. Evelyn accidentally sends herself through a portal to a place inbetween realms. She is picked out of the sea by Captain Bowen who is part of a vicious organisation that hunts monsters like mermaids and dragons. Evelyn is given the awful option of join them, or die.
This story is filled with magic and a whole host of magical and mythical creatures. It had bucket loads of potential but the more I read, the less it lived up to my expectations. I just wasn't a huge fan of the overall storyline as I feel it's been done before, but better.
There were also some scenes and timings which were just ridiculously unrealistic.

Evelyn is an interesting character. She is strong and cheeky and despite her sad background, doesn't let anything hold her back. I really liked her and her zero filter (especially when it came to sex). Talking of sex, the love interest Bowen is a cinnamon bun of a man who has been made to cover his gooey centre in steel. He has had a very hard life and I loved how Evelyn got him to open up.
The romance is okay, a little too insta love for my liking, especially considering the way they meet. I also wish there were more scenes of the two of them bonding as it needed more depth to make it believable. However as ever with Katee, the smut was top notch! And quite inventive!

The writing was easy to read and held my attention. I read the eARC and there were LOADS of spelling, word and grammar errors. I was surprised at the pure scale of them and hope that the book is seriously edited before publication.

Overall it was a good magical adventure romance book, but in my view nothing special. I doubt I will continue the series but never say never.

Please note that I was given an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had read some the author's older books, and I like the author's social media posts, so I was excited when I came across this title on NetGalley and I got really glad when I was approved of an eARC. However, I didn't enjoy this book at all.

The world was intriguing enough. I like it when the fantasy world includes many different species and their magic. And I also have a thing for telekinesis! It's just so cool 😎 but the cool ends there, I'm afraid....

Evelyn is a witch whose vocabulary mainly includes "f bombs"? And who, even though doesn't care about anyone, cares about the mythical creature who she hurt when she protected Bowen? She thinks she's the smartest, most powerful witch ever, while her arrogance doesn't really have a basis for. I haven't read such an annoying main character since I read Clary from the Mortal Instruments series.

Bowen was a better character, but all he kept thinking was how half of his crew want to crown another Captain and how he keeps waiting for the day he will be challenged...It took a while to see why, yet I never understood why he just didn't talk to them to see why they changed their minds.

Another annoying part was the trope of "one character being valiantly dedicated to a cause designed by people he knew nothing about and another character miraculously showing him how to critically examine the situation".

This story had so much potential, but the main characters were annoying, there were too many carelessly placed f-bombs, and how the tropes were handled made me want to close my eyes and sigh.

No one is sadder than me for not liking this one, but alas, we can't win all the time.

✨ 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 ✨

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Hunt On Dark Waters
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Katee Robert
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 3.75/5

“𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩.”
“𝘖𝘩, 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘐 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵.”

🤍 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲
🌸 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗵 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆
🤍 𝗣𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀
🌸 𝗔 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀
🤍 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘆 🥵
🌸 𝗗𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗢𝗩
🤍 𝗟𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽

I enjoyed so much about this new pirate X witch romance that KR has cooked in her creative cauldron. It’s based on the Welsh mythology Cŵn Annwn, cŵn being the plural of ci which translates to ‘dogs’ or what is more well known in English translation as ‘hounds’ and annwn being ‘otherworld’ which has many interpretations, both leading to the Christian identifications of heaven and hell. Essentially, this is based on Welsh hellhounds.

But the hounds in this novel aren’t of the canine kind, they’re pirates. They travel through the Threshold, and if they meet somebody down on their luck and in need of saving, they give them the choice: join us or die. Which isn’t really a choice. Bowen, captain of the Crimson Hag, finds Evelyn in the water and gives her this faux choice, to which she takes extreme exception to.

The clashing of the personalities was extremely satisfying in this dual POV fantasy romance. On one end of the ship Evelyn is a mouthy thieving menace with a penchant for being irritating, and Bowen is a rigid rule follower who tries to be honourable but doesn’t understand the system he is serving lacks morals. I loved the romance that follows which is full of banter, chemistry, and a heat that would definitely burn a ship down.

This is an extremely magical story, there are pirates, witches, vampires, selkies, dragons, and more. I also loved the inclusivity. There was lots of non-binary representation, Evelyn herself is either bisexual or pansexual, and Lizzie I suspect is sapphic, although sexual identities aren’t explicitly stated, they are deftly and suggestively displayed.

And whilst I thought that there was a lot of missing background and some resolutions that could have been concluded, I’m going to put that down to series building and hope that some twists are incoming over the course of the series. Overall, this is a solid start to an interesting and steamy fantasy series.

—Kayleigh🤍

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert is a contemporary romance set in a fantasy world of various realms. Our witchy heroine, Evelyn has a bad habit of swiping valuables with her sticky fingers. After stealing from her ex Lizzie, a powerful vampire, she escapes through a portal. Evie finds herself floundering in the magical sea between realms called Threshold. She is then rescued onto the Crimson Hag, home to our telekentic hero.

With no tangible childhood he could remember, Captain Bowen's unflinching loyalty to his ship under the Cŵn Annwn has been his life's duty. The Cŵn Annwn is a network of ships like the Crimson Hag operate under. He has always enforced their rules and vows with no questions asked. Evelyn is no exception to the rule and he gives her the ultimatum to join their ranks or die.

As Evelyn tries to evade honouring her vow, their two personalities clash. Tensions turn into something more. Through their journey together, secrets begin to surface and they both start questioning everything they have stood for.

~~~
This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and really took my time with this as I did not want it to end. I adored the book and am really loving Katee in this point of her writing career -consisting of epic sagas with political themes and great messaging. Just like I have been enjoying the ride through Dark Olympus, she is now taking us to the sea across the magical Threshold.

The world building was done extremely well. It was an immersive experience. From the physical space of Evelyn's world to the Threshold sea and the various islands surrounding it. Then we were introduced how the Crimson Hag is run and what exactly the Cŵn Annwn are.

On to the characters, I loved how fleshed out Evelyn and Bowen are as individuals before they get together. They are both very different people and feel so distinct in their point of views. I usually find that multiple point of views can get muddled with an author's narrative voice if there isn't a unique tone for the different characters.

However, Katee did excellent in distinguishing between Evelyn and Bowen's chapters. The differences were stark and it was a good contrast between the two. Evie initially starts out as a witty, sarcastic fun loving witch with a sentimental streak and some familial grief for baggage. While Bowen is a straight-laced Eldest Child coded man who is always following the rules of the Cŵn Annwn and would never think twice about going against them. He is very much of the mindset not to bite the hand that fed him. Or in his case, the people who saved and took him in as their own.

These two really go through a brilliant development over the course of the book. Flighty Evie finally finds herself a cause and someone to anchor herself to. On the other hand, Bowen starts to question the cracks within the corrupt system that is the Cŵn Annwn.

The main allegory within the book I really enjoyed was The Cŵn Annwn. They were meant to parallel the militarised police in our world. Katee does a great job of showing something isn't quite right with their organisation from the very start. Then slowly peels back the layers of Cŵn Annwn with each act to reveal their true colours. It is mostly through Bowen's point of view, whose gratitude comes from being taken in years ago. When Evie starts to question their modus operandi, we realise it's terrible system. It hits harder when Bowen has to confront the fact that he and his crew weren't really 'one of the good ones' and were just upholding a corrupt system.

In line with this, the plot was detailed, very thought out and well-paced. While there are loose ends regarding Bowen's past and a big event that happened to close off Act 2, I'm confident it will all be tied up in due time. The Act 2 Event is going to come back full circle in the next book as hinted in it's summary. As for the overarching plot of the series, it's been well set up. The direction the bigger story is taking is very clear. I am very excited for my favourite non-binary characters, Kit and Nox to hopefully show up! The way those two were being written, I'm hoping for either recurring roles or respective books for them.

As for the romance, it was solid. I liked their chemistry and banter in their scenes together. However, I felt that the development from lust to love could have been drawn out. Maybe by a chapter or two. They needed a bit more time to bridge the gap between being rivals who had an attraction to falling in love. It just felt like sex was substituted in when we could have gotten one or two more scenes to give their connection more depth. This was slightly remedied during their love declarations which pinpointed the moments they started to fall for the other.

Overall, I loved this book! Katee definitely delivered on all fronts. She has done it once again with her intricate way she built this universe - with Threshold and its interesting characters. This was a great first book with a sweet romance while wondefully setting up the upcoming series. I'm certain we will be seeing some recurring characters as they all come together to work towards their common goal. I definitely would recommend this for anyone looking for a pirate fantasy romance, vibrant settings and for those wanting to invest in an epic saga!

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Del Rey for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for sending me an arc of Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert!

I will always love Katee Robert's book, she never fails to amaze. I practically flew through this book, I just couldn't put it down and when i wasn't reading i was still thinking about it and what was going to happen next in the story.

I must admit my favourite part was at the beginning when Evelyn first arrived on the Chrimson Hag and claimed she had to get back to her 4 sons: Dean, Sam, John and Castiel - got to love a Supernatural reference. These characters were so well written just like the book as a whole. I would do anything to read this again for the first time.

Bowen's character development was great, I'm so happy with his decisions and actions throughout the book, but I am dying to learn more about his past, hopefully we'll find out in the next book!

Definitely check this book out when it releases 7/11/2023!

When I saw this on NetGalley, I knew it would be perfect for my book challenge and was so excited to be approved for it! Featuring a bisexual (chaotic) witch, Evelyn, and a paladin (very non chaotic) pirate, Bowen, this book is set upon the high seas and promises high stakes drama and a whole cast of magical beings, which is generally right up my street.

Evelyn is on the run from her vampire ex, Lizzie, having stolen some priceless families jewels before jumping through a portal to another realm. The portal leads her straight to Bowens ship in Threshold, a magical place between worlds, where the Cwn Annwn rule the seas and force any trespassers to join their band of monster hunters.

Evelyn has some immediate issues with the activities of the crew and the Cŵn Annwn in general, which she doesn’t hesitate to tell Bowen. The romance between them was very ‘insta-love’, which fell a little flat for me, as I felt significantly more sparks between Evelyn and Lizzie… That being said, it was cute and easy to read so nothing too offputting.

The world building is great and I loved how some mythical creatures were portrayed in ways we don't generally see, particularly mermaids and selkies. I enjoyed how each different island they visited had it’s own personality, and the characters were all easily identifiable. I did struggle with some of the pronouns of side characters in the book, but that was mainly as they were new to me so took me out of the story a bit while I did some research. It felt a little like they were included more to seem progressive, rather than to actually create a full world of diverse people, but I do appreciate that this may come from my own naivety.

The main issue I had with this story was that the character progression didn’t seem particularly lifelike; Evelyn would say in quite black and white terms what was wrong or right, and Bowen almost immediately accepted that and jumped on board. It felt a bit too much like I was being lectured about good and bad, rather than there being any nuance.
Overall though, whilst a little predictable and hence forgettable, I thought the world building carried this book and made it worth a read, and I would be interested to see another book with more Lizzie in it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this early copy of Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert. This was a joyous read that I absolutely flew through.

“I want a cozy blanket, a racy romance novel, and maybe some hot sex in between naps and reading.”

Me too, me too.

A swashbuckling, magical, spicy adventure across the seas. We follow Evie as she flees her vampire former lover without labels through a portal and into the Threshold.

As she encounters Bowen, “a grumpy uptight pirate paladin” who’s life is turned upside down…

The world building was a bit light for my taste and I found it was a bit hollow and could have done with a bit more depth.

At the point where Bowen and the crew encountered a dragon, Evie spent the encounter mostly mooning over Bowen which irked me a bit.

Read this if you like

* easy and light world building
* Pirates & Vampires & Witches
* Golden retriever male lead
* Instalove
* Bisexual rep
* Romtasy/Spicy romantic fantasy

Hunt on Dark Waters is the first book in a new fantasy romance series by bestselling author, Katee Roberts. I’ve read a lot of Katee Robert’s books and this one is equally as fun to read as her other works. This thrilling and unique adventure is a promising start to what is no doubt going to be another bestselling series perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Kerri Maniscalco, or Carissa Broadbent.

The book introduces us to the rich and unique world of Threshold where we are treated to all manner of supernatural and mythological creatures and magic. The blend of magic, mystery and pirates will surely delight fantasy fans. The story delivers plenty of romance, spice, insta-love and queer characters who you can’t help but want to read about.

Bown, the endearing pirate hero is a standout and I found I enjoyed and looked forward to his chapters. Evelyn is the strong and fiercely independent female lead that Katee Roberts fans can expect. Evelyn’s her strength and resilience make her a compelling character who can hold her own in this high-seas pirate romance. The chemistry between our main characters and the tension builds as the story progresses.

The story is an enjoyable and lighthearted read you will want to finish in one sitting just because you won’t want to put it down. The portal system introduced in this book is intriguing and was something that I wanted to know more about. I’m hopeful that the author will explore this further in future books.

Overall, this book delivered a fun, fantasy world filled with pirates, magic and romance which promises to be an exciting series. Highly recommend this captivating adventure on the high seas.

this book certainly delivers in the spice department! the sunshine mmc was so cute and i enjoyed the mythology and monsters. will def read more katee robert books.

This was such a quick and entertaining read! The setting is interesting and includes a large amount of magical and mythological creatures, it has a good queer representation and delivers on its promise: pirate smut!

I was not a fan of Evelyn, who is the typical feisty FMC we are getting used to read about nowadays, but I did like Bowen and his golden retriever pirate vibe.

I seriously don’t know where these authors come up with ideas.. the different uses of telekinetic powers would have never crossed my mind, but I liked it!

I do believe there are things that could have improved the story, turning this into a better romantasy, namely, some more insights into Evelyn and Bowen pasts through flashbacks (I’m particularly interested in Bunny’s perspective/ knowledge), deeper development of the world and more interactions with the secondary characters. I hope the second book will develop on these points.

Overall it was a fun, fast and sexy read. I’m interested in continue the series.

Read this is you like:
- Pirates, Witches, Vampires
- Insta love
- Golden retriever MMC
- Spice
- Easy, but interesting world building
- Monsters

<i>I would like to thanks Random House UK, Cornerstone, Del Rey and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

A swashbuckling, magic-filled adventure across the seas.

Witch, Evelyn runs from one murderous situation straight into another when she slips through a portal, only to encounter the Cŵn Annwn, and faces becoming part of the crew or certain death. Set in a queer normative world, Evie encounters Bowen, the dashing captain of the ship, on the run from deadly ex-lover and vampire, Lizzie.

I loved the storyline, and the piratical theme, with mythical hints of "The Wild Hunt" and oceanic monsters. I did struggle with the amount of different pro-nouns mentioned, in part because I didn't recognise some, but also because it felt like an attempt to get as many into the story as possible, rather than genuine characterisation. I also found Evie's placation of Lizzie completely juxtaposing to her character but this seemed to resolve itself as the book moved forward.

However, I did enjoy this book, and the promise of more to come as Evie, Bowen and co. attempt to overthrow the Cŵn Annwn and save as many as they can. I'm also always a sucker for a sarcastic heroine, who pushes the boundaries of her love interest's patience and values.

I love Katee Roberts, the concept of the book and had really high hopes but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me and I don't know why?

I've been on the hunt for a fun pirate fantasy romance for ages and I've finally found one that delivers! This was a tonne of fun, conversations around justice and corrupt systems, mixed with tension, great world building and spice.
I love how Katee Robert tells a fun romance story but it's inclusive, diverse and discusses real, important issues without that overwhelming the story.


Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free eARC of this book.