Welcome to The Wicked Sea Read Along
Welcome to week one of our The Wicked Sea Read Along. Jordan Stephanie Gray has made this book delightfully violent so far. And I am here for it.
The Wicked Sea Opens With Brutal Mermaid Revenge
We open with a dead and decaying body, people celebrating under it, and many others. They’re mermaids slaughtered and strung up due to a war that I’m pretty sure didn’t go down the way it’s being remembered.
Then the mermaids begin to take revenge. Oh, it’s gruesome! I love it!
See, I’m the kind of girlie who likes my books full of violence and sex. That’s my jam. (I mean, i like other things, too, but they’re my sweet spot.)
The Wicked Sea is delivering on the first to be sure. These mermaids are brutal. Yay!
Meet Zephyra: Powerful, Broken, and Determined to Escape
And our FMC, Zephyra, is my kind of girl—she’s that mix of bull headed, insecure, powerful but broken, pushing against her restraints, and gleefully selfish in the most basic way. She escapes for her life multiple times over these first eleven chapters.
The only way she’s able to do this is by being selfish. I give her some credit, she tried to help, she tried not to harm or betray her crew, and she didn’t do more than necessary, but she fled for her life, and sometimes, that’s just how it has to be.
She also tried to kill her winged savior, our MMC Arion, the moment she was free of him. When he kept her from running.
Again, I get it, and that’s because of her past, because she was owned by a sorcerer, she’s obviously going to fight back against anyone who tries to control her, to claim her in this way. Arion is going about getting her help in all the wrong ways.
Arion, Magic, and the Cost of Power
Their backgrounds couldn’t be more different, although I’m sure no less horrific. Arion was taught-slash-trained-slash-forced to shut down his emotions. He also expends pieces of himself and his life in order to use his magic.
I love this in a world system. The cost of having immense power should be something that slowly kills them. You know, forces them to make better choices…eventually.
Zephyra and Arion’s Dangerous Bond
Then, we see them bonded together, and we know where that is headed. Already, we have the attraction on his end. She’s noticed him looking at her in a certain way, and once we get the bond, we feel him wanting her.
I have a feeling, we’re going to soon see her wanting him, too, because I read the next few lines in Chapter 11, and he’s taking off his clothes. That’s all I know, and that’s all I’m saying.
The Wicked Sea Week One Thoughts
This first chapter had some great emotions, great stakes, a well built world through immersion rather than swathes of description, excellent set up for our characters’ motivations and weaknesses.
What Do You Think of The Wicked Sea So Far?
Y’all, I am ready for the next quarter of this book, so let me know what you think of the book so far, and I will see you next week as we read up to Chapter 22.
Until then, happy reading!
Love paranormal romance and urban fantasy? Explore the new bi-monthly Bite Me Box, featuring immersive reads and bookish goodies curated for readers who enjoy magic, danger, romance, and unforgettable worlds.
Leave a Reply