The Wicked Sea Read Along | Week Two
Welcome back to our second weekly read along of The Wicked Sea by Jordan Stephanie Gray. We’ve got just as much violence as we did last week, and the sexual tension is building. We’re in our sweet spot.
If you’re loving the combination of dangerous magic, paranormal romance, and seriously questionable life choices, you might want to check out our new bi-monthly Bite Me Box, a paranormal romance and urban fantasy subscription box created for readers who like their books dark, magical, and a little bit wicked.
The Romantic Tension Between Zephyra and Arion
Let’s start with the romantic tension that builds during section two. We have a few notable spots:
- When he takes his shirt off because she’s nude, and both of their reactions to that fact.
- The tether continuously letting them know what the other is feeling and when they’re thinking naughty thoughts.
- Play acting being married.
- Arion smiling at her, more than once. Plus, the fact that he thinks she’s funny.
- Them standing in for each other during attacks.
- The kiss to give him gills.
- The kiss to give Gavriall gills and subsequence jealousy.
- Hiding in the underwater cave, him giving her his shirt again, sharing secrets, the almost doing something about the sexual tension, and the magical, unreciprocated giving of pleasure.
I mean…come on, this is chalked full of juiciness between these two main characters.
Danger, Violence, and Survival in The Wicked Sea
And that’s not to exclude all of the danger, the figuring each other and their mission out, killing an entire island of fucking people to survive—I’m guessing not great people, but people just the same—and decimating the iconic library.
Of course, they did that to survive the dryads AND the blood cult that once tortured Arion.
Zephyra’s Past and the Trauma That Shapes Her
Having her visit where her once human love died is another great way to build both tension and Zephyra’s past. The reason she’s been on the run, the reason she bargained her way into an eight-year captivity, the reason the person she loved died. And the trauma makes her so real.
Even to Arion.
Arion, His Past, and the Forbidden Bond
The fact that he can feel her feelings helps along the fact that he’s already starting to feel his own has him gravitating toward her. His internal fight is perfectly balanced with wanting, shame, and regret that they can’t be anything.
Because these guys are genuine enemies.
But something in Arion’s past has lead him to believe he will change the way of the world. So of course, I’m thinking that it has something to do with his bond with Zephyra than it is the heart he’s searching for.
The Wicked Sea Read Along: Week Two Thoughts
There’s far more small little fun tidbits going on in part two, and I want to know what your favorite part is in the comments below.
For next week, we’ll be reading up to Chapter 34, so meet me back here for more trauma, violence, and forbidden romance.
Until then, happy reading!
Leave a Reply