In Deeper Waters

I bought the book on a simple premise: gay magic stuff. Naturally, when that's all I dive in for, it's hard to disappoint. But it gave me more than I expected. To be fair, I do also just emotionally attach to characters rather quickly. Tal has a depth to him that kept me engaged throughout the read. Athlen also has depth, though not as much. He tends to stick to his more rambunctious, almost childish personality. His shift during the latter half of the book was sudden, but in a way that made sense.Many characters do have an archetype that they stick to closely. Tal is a sheltered boy turned ardent hero, Athlen is the high energy, spunky friend/romance, etc. But despite this, they (mostly) all have more to them than just their archetype, and the motivations and relationships between the characters keeps me interested in them.One thing that threw me off was chapters 14, 15, and the first half of 16 felt almost like a completely different book. It seemed like they had solved the main plot, and heel turned from a fantasy story with action to a political drama. While this was rather strange, it wasn't wholly unexpected, given Tal's place in the kingdom. It was also a tad refreshing. Many fantasy stories geared toward a YA audience would avoid the politics of their kingdoms, so seeing the inner workings and repercussions of the main characters' actions this time was cool, short lived as it was.Overall, I just had a good time reading this, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

What is a genre you keep forgetting you love? For me, it's books about pirates and the sea (probably because irl I am deeply terrified of open water, lol).I knew I had to read In Deeper Waters the moment I saw the cover. Isn't it gorgeous?! I was so happy when it was included in my Rainbow Crate book box.In Deeper Waters is a fairytale, a queer retelling of The Little Mermaid. Tal is a prince exploring his kingdom for the first time and Athlen is a merman saved by Tal early in the story. Their relationship was soft, though Tal became fascinated almost immediately with the mysterious boy who was making his heart skip. Their coming together was sweet, focused on emotions, tenderness, and excitement that comes with first love. I loved how they worked together throughout the story, stepping in to protect the other in every instance.Speaking of strong relationships, Tal's relationship with his siblings was wonderful and I loved it so much! So much of this story was focused on relationships and Lukens did such a great job. There was no scheming or rivalry among the royal family. They were loving and teasing and protective towards each other. So refreshing to see! I would be sorely disappointed if we didn't get more stories about this group in the future.My favorite aspect of the story was definitely the diversity and progressive world. From the start Tal's family is supportive of his bi/pansexuality, teasing him good-naturedly and trying to set him up. In fact, one of my favorite moments in the story was when Tal came out to his mother and she expressed how lucky he was to have so many people to choose from.The whole world was so progressive, especially for a fantasy novel. Casual mentions of polyamory, same-sex relationships, and characters of all kinds in loving relationships and positions of power. Heads of the country? Badass women. Pirate captain? Woman. Fiercest fighter in the kingdom? You guessed it, woman! It was so casually part of the world and I absolutely loved it.The plot was not my favorite part of the story. While it was solid and I liked it, I do think it was a little shallow. It was very obvious what was happening and who was behind it early on, and the journey to reach that point didn't do much for me. The same can be said for the tone and pacing. It felt like the author didn't quite know what tone the story should be.Another thing that I couldn't shake while reading, while it was a sweet relationship between Tal and Athlen not everything felt like it fit. It may have been because there were moments when Athlen was so obviously not human and was unsure, but would be confident and take the lead a short time later. Or it could have been that things would shift between them from soft and tentative, to serious and sure, and back again. Still very sweet, but it was a lingering feeling I had while reading.Despite the faults I found with the story, I really did enjoy In Deeper Waters . It was a solid fairytale with wonderful representation and a host of loving relationships. The characters did so much to bring this story to life and I would absolutely love more in this world, maybe peeking in on the royal family to see how they're doing.I would definitely recommend this to fans of Daughter of the Pirate King (who want something similar but more lighthearted) and The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue .Cover: 4.5 stars | Plot: 3 stars | Characters: 4 stars | Rep: 4 starsFinal rating: 3.75 stars

So adorable!! I really enjoyed Tal and Athlen’s relationship. And to clear things out, they both are NOT pirates !! Pirates are included in the story, but they are not included in the main cast. Many people were confused by the cover, so just so you know!! 4/5 stars (a solid, super cute book!).

Trigger warning: imprisonments, kidnapping, physical violence, mental and physical abuse, self inflicted harm, depression, loss of blood, animal crueltyRep: male-male romance, homosexuality (Athlen doesn’t mention being attracted to any other gender), bisexuality & or pansexuality (it’s not totally clear; but Tal does state that he finds both genders and those who identify as neither or somewhere in the middle attractive), and there’s mention of a either a sapphic relationship or a ffm polyamorous relationship (I couldn’t tell if the woman in question married two people of just the one female)I think that this book was good overall, it was just a little lackluster. There is a lot that happens in this novel in a short amount of pages. It felt more like watching a movie than anything else (it honestly helped me accept the pacing and how and when things were happening). Because there was so much going on, the characters didn’t feel fully flushed out, their interactions didn’t’t feel as emotional or as deep as they supposedly were. I wished that this book was a little longer and that the characters felt more flushed out, but I still liked the story overall. It was very cute, there were some heartfelt moments, the writing was good and the romance was cute. I am interested to see Lukens’ next work whether it follow some of the characters in this world or in a different oneThe romance:It was cute! It was for the most part insta-lovey (but given the length of this book, it makes sense) but it wasn’t bad! Sometimes a romance does not NEED to be “deep, and passionate all consuming” for it to still be nice and enjoyable; and I think that the relationship between Tal and Athlen was very cute.

Prince Tal has a secret. He has magical abilities which are forbidden ever since a previous King with powers laid waste to all magical beings and the lands they inhabited. Having spent all his life behind closed doors, as he has now come of age and can finally explore his family's kingdom. Not long after setting sail on a voyager with his older brother they come across a burning derelict ship with only one mysterious survivor. Tasked with caring for and finding out who he is, Tal learns that the boy's name is Athlen. He is charismatic, intriguing and instantly notices that Tal has magical powers. When they get close to each other Tal's magic sparks from the intense connection the two share. Unfortunately Tal trusts too easily and releases Athlen who jumps overboard to his death leaving Tal feeling guilty and heartbroken.When the ship makes land not long after, Tal unexpectedly bumps into Athlen who is perfectly fine and his exuberant self. Their connection remains strong and a closeness builds between them as they share details of their pasts. However, before they can act on their growing feelings, Tal is kidnaped by pirates determined to reveal his magical powers and start a war among all the kingdoms. Athlen has a secret of his own and it may be the only thing that will help locate and rescue Tal from their nefarious clutches before it's too late.A super sweet yet compelling 🌟🌟🌟🌟 story of boy meets boy, secrets are revealed, dastardly forces work against them, tough battles and a daring rescue plan. You know the usual story. I loved the fun and frolics on the high seas together with the wonderfully creative and beautifully described magical abilities and supernatural beings. Tal and Athlen were two of the cutest guys you could ever read, they had difficult childhoods and both were lonely but I loved how together they found the strength to be themselves and were willing to face adversity and struggles to help the other. The world building was imaginative and I'm sad that this is a standalone and not the start of an epic series.

This MM YA Romance adventure is a kind of fairytale mixture where Prince Tal rescues a handsome boy from the bottom of a sinking ship, by using his secret magic to break the iron chains.The boy is Athlen, and he promptly runs.But on Tal's coming-of-age tour, they meet again just before Tal is kidnapped in a plot to start a war.This is a funny, laugh-out-loud, sweet, romantic, fraught with danger sort-of retelling of The Little Mermaid.It's truly one of the best YA books I've read in a long time and has me bursting to read more of Luken's books.The side characters such as Garrett and Dara, Shay and Lest are wonderful too.

The book feels cheap and i don't really think its worth the €16 maybe a bit less but I haven't read the book yet I am just saying that the sides of the book isn't good.The sides of the book feel like they would tear as the paper isn't very hard and the pages that are supposed to be glued onto the side of the book are not glued properly. 😟I haven't read the book yet, so i hope it exceeds my expectations and that the book itself is worth the money! :D

Para todos que gostam de Piratas do Caribe, que gostam de uma história que mistura aventura, fantasia e romance entre dois garotos, cada um com seus segredos, esse livro é maravilhoso! Tem piratas, tem magia, tem mitologia e tem brigas entre reinos!Tal mostra sua força quando é separado da família, Athlen é cada vez mais adorável à medida que a leitura avança.Uma história que merece uma continuação e uma versão na TV ou no cinema!

I read the entire book in one sitting as the story kept me engrossed the entire time. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and lgbt love stories.