With thanks to PRH UK Children's and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ahead of publication. 

Life at sea is all that Aster Oberon has ever known. Offering her and her pirate family protection from Nightweavers – the mystical beings with elemental powers that rule over the land – she can’t see herself living anywhere but on the water. But when the family is defeated in a battle that shatters her world, Aster finds herself working for and living amongst a Nightweaver family on their opulent estate. And the longer she spends at Bludgrave Manor, the more Aster is forced to reassess everything she thinks she knows. 

Right from the opening page of this book we were thrust into the action. R.M. Gray offered an intense and compelling introduction to Aster’s story. While generally I appreciate this as a plot-driven reader, I have to that this was partially at the expense of the world building and I found myself quite confused early on in the story with everything that was happening. I do think this developed as the story went on but I could have done with a bit more set up to help me get solidly situated in the narrative. 

The book is divided into three parts and the first part was quite, dare I say, frustrating at times. I struggled a lot with the reactions of characters in the early part of the story – particularly when the Oberon family moved to the Bludgrove estate. Because there was that slight lack of context, I didn’t understand certain decisions that were made. These did become so much clearer as the book went on and my enjoyment increased the more I read and understood as a result. 

In parts 2 and 3 of the book, we really saw Aster start to come into her own. She developed so much as a character to grow into the strong, independent and clear-thinking FMC her background suggested she should be. Having been frustrated with her earlier, I soon found myself rooting for her so much more and was excited to see what she would do next and what she’d make of certain events and the trickles of information she received. Her character development was a real strength of the book. 

The action ramped up again a lot more in these parts with the book keeping an engaging and rapid pace. I found the world building much stronger with us learning alongside Aster in a really compelling way. I also enjoyed seeing the development of Aster’s relationships with other characters beyond Will, her early saviour, – particular highlights included her interactions with Henry. 

I do think that some parts of this book are quite predictable and I found myself drawing several conclusions early on, many of which proved themselves to be right, although it was never 100% sure that this would be the case. The book left off in such a way that there are multiple options, and the author has put themselves in a great position for future books both in terms of storyline and romantic plotline so I am excited to see where it goes. 

While I did feel this was a bit slow to start and I had some frustrations, I found myself completely hooked as the book went on. This was a great start to a new series that I can’t wait to continue. It’s perfect for fans of: intense action and fast pacing, a strong and authentic FMC, secrets, and family ties.