Oh wow, oh wow!
These Rebel Waves is the first book in a new fantasy duology by Sara Raasch. I read her first trilogy as they came out and enjoyed it but I was more excited for this book to come out. And, man, it was definitely worth it!
The book is a pirate fantasy told in three different perspectives; Adeluna “Lu”, daughter of politicians and a former soldier for the rebellion; Devereux “Vex”, a raider whose knowledge of the island gets him dragged out of prison and into trouble; and finally Benat “Ben”, the Crown Prince of Argrid who is torn between doing what’s right and keeping his Father and Lover happy. As well as these MC’s there’s a great cast of side-characters of diverse ethnicities and kind of sexualities. Ben was my favourite character but I had soft spots for Nay and Teo too!
This book does feature a queer romance and though I’ve seen people complain as they were promised a gay pirate book or claim that it wasn’t really there…Ben was queer and in an intimate relationship with one of his guards. I have hopes of him with another guy too with some of the hints and scenes. And I really need that. I need the angry, violent blond with fire magic to be gay and happy for…reasons…
Ha ha ha…
The world building in this book was also excellent. The world is diverse, fascinating and beautiful in its own way. Grace Loray is a little dilapidated but it’s filled with magical plants that can help or hinder people. To Argrid this magic is sinful but to the raider syndicates, they’re a way of life. They are what give the main characters a reason to connect because Lu is obsessed with a book about them, Vex steals them and Ben is being forced to study them. You only find out about a few of the plants but I’d love to read more.
I loved everything about this book. Even though I have terrible focus at the moment, whenever I picked this book up I was hooked. It was completely enjoyable and I need the next book like now.
5/5 Stars
Lace and Dagger Books 