Hokay so I put on my fun-loving hat and dived into this one fully expecting lots of drama, cheesy romance and hair-blowing-in-the-wind type scenes.

And there was a lot of that so it definitely fit those boots. The first few chapters were great and I actually found the writing good and the atmosphere creepily tingly in a good way with the howling, sweaty wood-chopping and ghostly washed up ships with mascerated corpses. There was a fair amount of eye rolling, but that was it for the repetitive phrases. 

My main issues were the characters, the big battle scene and tame 🌶️ level. I'm very glad the female characters weren't drop dead gorgeous and tiny but somehow super powerful/skillful. Street's women are strong and obviously so with broad shoulders and bulging muscles, but also flawed. However, I just didn't feel the proper build of chemistry between Mersey and Golde🤷🏻‍♀️and I just couldn't connect with them or any of the other characters. The big battle scene felt truncated and a bit of an anticlimax for me. 

I think I am comparing this to Fathomfolk, same genre, that I read just before this and which I enjoyed a lot more. So I don't think it's just my grumpy👵🏼persona peeking out. I was also a bit confused and perhaps could have done with reading A Curse of Salt, which would have helped set up the world more.

However, it was still a fun and easy read and I am always grateful for the opportunity to read outside of my comfort zone. 

I rated this based on what it is meant to be - a fun, romantasy, and not on what I personally enjoy most.