The Deepest Blue

Life is precious and precarious on the islands of Belene. Besieged by a capricious ocean full of malicious spirits, the people of the islands seek joy when they can. Mayara, one of the island’s fearless oyster divers, has found happiness in love. But, on the day of her wedding to the artist Kelo, a spirit-driven storm hits the island with deadly force. To save her loved ones, Mayara reveals a dangerous secret: she has the power to control the spirits. When the storm ends, she is taken into custody by the queen’s soldiers and imprisoned with other women like her. They vary in age and social status, but there are too many. They are heroes who will aid the country, or witches that will sacrifice themselves trying.

The Deepest Blue is, in my opinion, one of the best stand-alone novels for a series. Before this novel, I hadn’t read any of the Queen of Renthia books before, and I enjoyed how I could easily get into the story, without feeling as though I was missing something important from previous books, nor did I feel as though I was missing out on where the world is set. The world building is incredibly well written and described, constantly being built upon during the whole story, and it was incredibly helpful to have a map at the beginning of the book. The map itself showed how much thought was placed toward world building. I would recommend The Deepest Blue to those who are interested in strong female characters, both major and minor female characters, as well as nature-based magic.