Book Review: Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst

Pros: fun characters, interesting places and creatures

Cons: Marin's attitude got on my nerves towards the end

Marin was born to sail the sea in her sailboat. Alone. After a bad relationship that left her emotionally and financially scarred she no longer trusts other people, or her own judgement regarding them. She survives by doing courrier jobs, which are slowly paying off her debts. When revolution comes to Alyssium, she helps get a friend out of the city. When he asks to stay on as part of her growing crew, she's afraid of how it will hurt her when he inevitably returns to land.

This is the third book in the Spellshop series and though you can read it as a standalone, there are a few points where the book lines up with the previous ones and you see those characters return for a scene or two.

For the most part the book is lovely. It's a fun, fast paced exploration of the world using a character who loves her job and slowly develops friendships. The world has a wonderful variety of creatures and places to explore.

As with the other books in the series, the romance is low-key, as the protagonist remains essentially oblivious to the feelings of their suitor until late in the story.

I absolutely loved Dax. He's such a sweet man who deserves the best from life but has been let down by family and friends in the past. He's a brilliant character who sees to the heart of issues. I wasn't sure I'd like Ree in large doses, but he was actually a lot of fun. His optimism and love of the sea are infectious. And the sea serpent was great. I loved how he fed the flying cats.

Marin's been through a lot, as you slowly learn through the course of the book. I found this book a little less cozy than the others in the series, as her dealings with her abusive ex made me feel anxious on her behalf. Seeing her side of interactions mentioned in other books puts her in a worse light. She's a lot more mercenary in this book than implied in the others, and though she ends up doing the right thing, she often needs to talk herself into those actions. Towards the end of the book, her insistence that Dax would leave started to grate a bit. Even if he did leave, the fact that she's so afraid for her own potential hurt feelings that she completely ignores his needs as her friend - and what her abandoning him would do to him considering his own past - became harder to sympathize with. Around the time I was getting fed up with her she finally turned around and acknowledged a lot of these issues, which helped me feel better about her again.

Despite my exasperation with Marin, this is my favourite book in the series so far.