Member Reviews
Title: Fated Winds and Promising Seas
Author: Rose Black
Pages: 345
Rating: 3/5
Publish date - 19th November 2024
This was a really sweet book. The characters were endearing and the emotions felt raw and real. The story was dialogue heavy which was a lovely way of reading the progression of the character's relationships. The concept and ideas were interesting. I couldn't predict the storyline which was nice and it was a little darker than the usual cosy fantasy I'm used to.
The found family and tender romance made it incredibly wholesome.
You'll love this book if you like
- found family
- cosy Fantasy
- queer romance
- fated lovers
- happily ever after
- mental health representation
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.
Fated Winds and Promising Seas is a standalone queer swashbuckling fantasy by Rose Black. After 10 years of imprisonment for a crime he didn’t commit, Lucky takes his chance to escape when a leviathan attacks his castle prison. Thrown into the sea, he is picked up by a ship of leviathan chasers and is taken in by its motley crew that includes Gabriel, a young man who befriends him. But the threads of fate won’t let him go so easily as a murderous church cult chases after him and a series of disasters are harming those around him.
Told in three parts entirely from Lucky’s perspective, I loved the intimacy and melancholia of the first part as he first navigates through his freedom after 10 years of isolated incarceration since he was 14. I always love a contemplative and intrapersonal tone in storytelling even if it is slow and relatively uneventful. As Lucky struggles with agoraphobia and the aftereffects of trauma, he is supported by Gabriel who has issues of his own. Their relationship felt honest and authentic in their development from friendship to romance.
While the book has some cozy elements, I would never consider this book a cozy read. It is a relatively dark book full of trauma and sadness. The found family, romance, and hopeful ending does help soften it, but it is never an easy breezy read despite its short length. One thing that bothered me about the book though is that there seems to be some leaps taken in the storytelling where the turns taken don’t quite make sense given the given information. Same goes for the timing. I think a bit more work on worldbuilding and setting up would have gone a long way.
I liked Fated Winds and Promising Seas (and its whole vibe), but it is not without its issues.
*Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC via NetGalley
The story promised a blend of magic, adventure, and love on the high seas. However, despite its intriguing premise, the execution falls short in several key areas.
The writing style, particularly the narrative approach, didn’t resonate with me. The storytelling felt somewhat detached and lacking warmth. The premise for the world-building was really interesting, but I would have loved a little bit more development. Regarding the plot, the storyline followed a too linear progression, in which each event was a direct consequence or follow up of the one before. This made the book predictable and lacking tension.
The characters presented the biggest issue, though. I found it difficult to visualize them, struggling to form a complete picture of them. The characterization was inconsistent throughout the story. Lucky, initially portrayed as deeply traumatized, underwent drastic changes within just two chapters, to then shift again a few more chapters later. Gabriel, the love interest, also lacked a stable personality. Their relationship dynamics changed with the plot, often in ways that didn't align with their established characterization. The side characters were superficially written—I could barely remember their names while reading. Moreover, the interactions between characters often didn't make sense, and the dialogues felt forced and awkward at times.
In conclusion, while the book had potential, it ultimately falls short due to disengaging writing style, too linear plot and inconsistent characterization. The lack of depth in both main and side characters makes it difficult for readers to form connections or invest in their journeys.
Thanking NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
"Fated Winds and Promising Seas" (how beautiful is this title? And the cover too) tells about Lucky, whose fate is a rollercoaster ride and his promise takes him to unexpected persons and places. Ever since he escapes from a leviathan-attacked prison, he meets all kinds of people—his soulmate, his chosen family, his enemies, himself. And so his adventure begins.
I was taken aback at how fast-paced it was from the beginning. The action-packed scenes were enthralling, but they were also so jumpy that I needed to flip the previous page just to make sure I didn't miss something, and it wasn't there. The story was often driven by dialogue, so the characters tend to explicitly express their intentions and feelings, and it left very little room for immersive description. It was pretty much go-go-go (A blinding flash. Lucky covered his eyes. Silence. (pg. 302)) that other things like Lucky's mental health, skill development, and romance between him and Gabriel ran rapidly too.
Perhaps I would have more enjoyed it if it was a fanfiction from a fandom I'm familiar with. I feel there are more backstory from Lucky, Gabriel, Sienna and Yale's dynamics than what's already given. Lucky and Gabriel feel like an OTP, Sienna is their tsundere friend, and Yale is their ultimate rival. But that's just me, and I in no way mean it bad because I love fanfiction and this book is definitely professional-looking. But I missed the slow moments to get to know them better, to root for Lucky and Gabriel better, to explore the nautical-themed world better. It puts me on a backseat of a race car while what I want is a sleigh.
2.5 stars rounded up.
Fated Winds and Promising Seas is a fast-paced adventurous epic by Rose Black that follows our main character Lucky in his journey to finding himself. Convicted for the murder of his mother, we follow Lucky along in the strange world of the novel as he experiences everything for the first time. With a dash of mystery, a hearty dose of romance, and a warming tale of identity, Black's novel feels like a warm hug on a cold day.
The story starts surprisingly quickly as it kicks off with a shocking bang. That is much of what happens in the book, everything is fast and rushed and paced at a level you have to catch up to at all times. It feels like there is no time to sit in the moment and bask in the small wins that Lucky experiences or the moments that make up the heart of the book. Even the worldbuilding fell flat at times because of all the potential that was thrown in but not utilized -- especially for the aspect of religion in the book.
But even through this, the book was still an enjoyable read with enough mystery to keep you flipping to the next page. The characters were inviting and felt welcoming in a sense. This applies to the character of Gabe especially who is caring and empathetic and guides Lucky out of the four walls of his cell and into the wide world beyond. The romance that blooms between these two characters is heartwarming and charming especially in the face of the struggles that they have to face during the course of the story.
I would say that the strong point of Black's novel is the ever-present theme of choosing who you want to be and not letting your past or your destiny define you. Lucky's journey toward finding out who he is outside of who people want him to be is definitely this novel's anchor and it did well in settling itself within the story.
Overall, I would say that 'Fated Winds and Promising Seas' is a cozy and adventurous romp that is good for rainy days when you are cuddled up with your favorite fuzzy blanket and drink of choice. It emits the feeling of comfort and warmth within its pages, and it is something that I consider striking.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the E-ARC!
This was a fun, quick and cosy read that had a lot about it that I enjoyed. Lucky's character development is great, the relationships he forms with people are lovely and the religion of fate and promises was super interesting.
While the quick pacing meant that you got to the action quickly, it also meant that the action was over far too quickly. The result was that there was always a new dilemma to be solved but no real time to get to grips with what was happening.
It felt like far too much had been crammed into the book so there was no real time to breathe and just enjoy Lucky and Gabrielle falling for each other. The plot could have benefited from the book being longer or a couple of things could have been taken out. I'm all for a fast pace but I want to enjoy the important moments rather than have them be over in a few paragraphs.
I feel like the story has a lot of potential but it needed more space to develop.
This was such a sweet tale of lost love and remembering who you are as a person. I read the authors debut novel and knew I had to read this one.
I loved Lucky/Rob and Gabriel so much and the found family aspect was so well done. If I could live on the dreamer I would.
I did find the ending to be slightly rushed with trying to sum everything up quickly. But overall I did enjoy this book.
FATED WINDS AND PROMISING SEAS - ROSE BLACK
A pirate fantasy with elements of cosy fantasy while still having high stakes? This book ticked so many boxes for me. Here's a quick synopsis:
When a promise is made, a fate is woven. Imprisoned for a crime he cannot remember committing, Lucky is more comfortable with the four walls of his cell than the world outside. That is until he's ripped free from his prison and swept out into the ocean. . . and rescued by The Dreamer.
Yes, this is a pirate fantasy, but it felt completely unique in so many ways. While the stakes are definitely high, there are many elements that I'd associate with cosy fantasy, like the idea of found family, sweet romance and an underdog hero trying to find their way in the world.
But there's also so much more: there are the mysterious leviathans, an intricate magic system, impressive magic powers, a focus on mental health and an extremely eerie mystery to solve at the heart of this story. And the characters are all believable and endearing - so much so that I desperately wanted to become a crew member of The Dreamer too.
There were moments when I felt like I didn't fully understand the different systems at play, but I still thoroughly enjoyed every single page of this book. And I can't tell you how satisfying it was when all the different pieces started to fit together - it's SO GOOD.
Thank you to Rose Black, NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
Release date: 19 November 2024
Review score: 4/5
TWs: memory loss, violence, d*ath, gore
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 !!!
A very sweet love story (romantic love, but also friendships and chosen family and self love) mixed with a seafaring adventure, some beautiful mental health rep, and even some commentary about religion, and how we treat wild animals. A bit of everything. The main character has a complete change of personality around the 30% mark; that part was a bit clumsy and almost lost me. Fortunately, I hung on and he quickly reverts back to his true self and the story picks up at a better pace after that. I've seen it described as a cosy fantasy but I'm not sure I agree with cosy. It is sweet, yes, but it's not super low stakes and the characters go through really tough times. Abuse and how one can overcome it is a theme throughout a lot of the book. I think I saw somewhere that someone described the book as a warm hug, and the author said it was more like holding your loved one's hand during a rollercoaster. That's an apt description. It was pretty eventful, and I'd suggest checking the content warnings at the beginning of the book, but yes, through it all is one of the sweetest love stories I've read recently. I do wish the supporting characters had been more developed, and I would especially have loved to know more about Gabriel's mothers and Sienna. I also wish the magic system had been explained and used more in depth. But overall, I loved this and read it super quickly because I couldn't put it down. If you want a heartwarming queer love story with protagonists who are learning to navigate their trauma, found family, good mental health rep and a medium stakes adventure, I would 100% recommend this!
DNF at 59%.
The first 20% of this book was great with its mental health rep, soft queer friends to lovers, and an adventure on the seas. The characters showed promise and I was hoping this would be the perfect cozy queer fantasy.
But as the story went on, the characters started making rash decisions and personality changes that didn’t feel well developed at all. The plot also started to meander a bit and I felt that the pacing was starting to get too fast. And while I was interested in what happens next, I knew I was no longer invested in the book as a whole.
Finally, the world building was very lacking, which was unfortunate because at the beginning of the book I was excited to get to know this space and the culture of the people. But even at 59% of the way through didn’t really know much more about the world.
DNF at 38%
a very bizarre read. i likely won't pick this up again but i want to say this wasn't a hard DNF, there was nothing unreadable or particularly outrageous or anything i feel passionate about disliking (which is usually the only reasons i DNF anything). rather this felt like a succession of good events with missing scenes: the characters were compelling and the vision/world building was very cool, but the narrative beats go so fast in ways so unearned with so little thread between them i was left both very confused and also slightly disappointed. reveals that feel like they should land/matter happen at the drop of a hat, and read more like spoilers than something that actually happens in the story. maybe this should have been a longer book, a series, or perhaps it would have gained from taking more time with what it set out to do. i really like the writing style, and i think there's great promise here, but i was forced out of it by the speed at which emotional/character development happens. just really felt like i had missed several chapters or some other key information i should have known going in. a shame, but i'm open to trying more by the author!
thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc 🫡
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.
DNF at 45%.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hodderscape for the opportunity to read and review this book. Unfortunately, this book was not one for me. I did not care for most of the characters in this book and quickly became annoyed by the main character. I think this is the second book I have read by this author that has just been almost a chore to read.
I will not be reviewing this book on my social media and would not recommend. I had to DNF because I was honestly dreading continuing with it each time i was supposed to start reading again, Tiresome and frustrating.
I don't usually go for pirate-themed books anymore - except for on very rare occasions. Rose Black's "Fated Winds and Promising Seas" is one such occasion.
Lucky is in prison for a crime he did not commit - or did he? Trapped by both the religious justice and his mind, he remembers little except his name. When Lucky's sentence is suddenly put on hold thanks to the attack of a monstrous-looking sea creature, he is given the opportunity to find out who he really is - alongside an eerlily familiar travel companion named Gabriel, and the crew aboard The Dreamer.
In "Fated Winds and Promising Seas", we are given a front-row seat as Lucky and Gabriel face battles both mentally and physically. It is cozy fantasy at its darkest from time to time, and I found it increasingly difficult to put the book down as I got more and more involved with the characters.
The stakes are high, the characters are diverse, and the adorable romance burns slowly. The trauma that lives in some (well, most) of the characters is so well written and brought everyone to life in an almost beautiful sort of way. And yet, the relationships are so healthy - which creates an even cozier story.
I was beyond excited when I learned that Rose Black was writing another book, and I'm so grateful to have been given permission to read it. Even with some themes that aren't usually my cup of tea (literally, since there is A LOT of coffee in this book) like sea, sand, and Summer-vibes in general, I really enjoyed this book. If you're a fan of those things, I think you'll love it.
* * *
Huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for making this book available through NetGalley. An even bigger thank you to Rose Black for writing it.
All opinions are my own.
Having loved the cosy nature of Til Death Do Is Bard, and how much it felt like DnD style fantasy, I was was so excited to read Rose Black's newest book. Unfortunately, I've ended up with pretty mixed feelings.
On the positives, I did read this is just two days. I also thought the concepts of the world, story, and characters were all really intriguing and full of potential.
However, I felt it was a little lacking in moments. For one the numerous time jumps meant chunks of relationship development and character development happened off-page which felt jarring at times. Lucky's characterisation also developed a bit jarringly at the start, like with how suddenly he started speaking in full sentences after being seemingly mute/non-verbal when in prison. Then there was his whole Beater personality change that largely happened off-page and didn't even last very long (which kinda made that feel inconsequential since they probably could've gone to the augury from a different starting point, like on the Dreamer). There was also Sienna and Gabriel's vibe which was solid hatred and then just revealed as Sienna liking Gabriel despite being previously described as just wanting to be a woman doing her own thing like the Leviathans??
I also felt the ending was rushed. For one, the white-haired woman was pushed as fake for so long I felt like that was just going to be it (in an unsatisfying way) and then she comes back and all the drama was just because two boys promised to live in a castle together when they were 14. And then all they had to do was threaten her statue and the castle promise was forgiven and Gabriel got his memories back - and the only price was Lucky/Rob also getting his memories back? At first with the crushing weight of his trauma it seemed like a fair trade but he got over it immediately. Honestly so much trauma in this was gotten over incredibly quickly.
Also how old are Lucky/Rob and Gabriel? Because they felt so young with how Gabriel's mothers treated him and how Lucky had such little life experience due to prison. And just the way they acted felt like teen/YA characters but they've got to be older than that, right? Because they have beards and are referred to as men and were 14 years old making promises years before the events of the book. But they felt so jarringly young.
I wanted to love this book and I did enjoy reading it but, as I think about it, I'm mostly caught by things that just felt off to me (hence how rambly this review got). I would recommend it though, see what you think of it yourself. At the very least, it's a fun fantasy.
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.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Going in, I really wanted to love this one. I began really invested and drawn in to Lucky's story. I was flying through the pages, and the narrative was sure and sensical - until about 35% in. After that point, I was really mostly confused at the 180° turn in the pacing. Everything was running at breakneck speed.
This also led me to feel like important plot points were glossed over: especially in the last 10-20% of the book. Things just seemed to wrap up so neatly in a way that didn't feel... earned to me.
Fundamentally for me, there was too much going on at once. My biggest gripe with the book is that I feel it could have been an amazing trilogy! The plot and characters felt like they developed too rapidly with no backing or evidence for the change. If given breathing space, the characters of Lucky and Gabriel and the complex plot have so much potential to develop into a beautiful and rich world. I got a taste of this in Fated Winds and Promising Seas, but I just wanted more!
The worldbuilding had such potential - I simply wish it was built out and given more weight. Tell me more about the religions and belief systems in the world, tell me more about the lore and history of the leviathans. I think the foundations of a fascinating universe are there, they just need developing.
It wasn't all doom and gloom, though. I liked the characterisation of the found family and the banter between characters. I also really appreciated the gentle way in which mental health is approached and treated, and how diverse the queer representation was in the book. Also appreciated the addition of trigger warnings, and a lovely dedication.
I think the book had a lot of potential, but unfortunately just fell short in execution for me.