Unworthy: The Blacksea Odyssey Book 1

There are too many great things to say about this fantasy. First of all: the characters. There are so many characters in Unworthy and they are all memorable and unique. Most authors shy away from having a large cast and having group interactions on the page, but it works so well in Unworthy. Next, the tropes and romance: Sure, this is a classic enemies-to-lovers trope. It's also a REAL enemies-to-lovers story, where you are fully convinced they hate each other. And it's a slow burn. Be patient with my moms, okay? They've been through a lot... Finally, the magic system. It's proportionate, balanced, thorough, and designed well. There's no point in the story that the magic is distracting or out-of-place. Unworthy is easily the best sapphic fantasy I've read to date.

PROS: world building. Through the multiple characters, we get a great peak into the world around them. Each other them have enough "fish-out-of-water" to make the exposition make sense and not feel burdensome. Main characters. Each of the leads and main supporting cast are interesting in their own right and seem real and believable as they work towards a common goal and wrestle with their own demons. Pace. By no means a short read, but the action keeps things moving and the pages turning. Sexuality. The characters are all wonderfully open, positive about their nature, and accepting. Privately, I'm shipping all them, hoping they just end up in a big poly mess. Romance is more of the "I feel something, let's try it" than the "we're fated to be together," which honestly is refreshing. The spice level is pretty low and fades to black quickly. Cons: plot complications. While I enjoyed the plot and how it moves, the big plot events, while explainable, seem to come out of nowhere. E.g. the BGE knows where the heroes are whenever needed for the plot. Magic explains it all, but the goons can just suddenly appear on a bright sunny day. Narrator. Maybe a personal complaint, but the narrator seems to me stuck between a 3rd person onimicent and 3rd person over the shoulder. I.e. we seem to be limited to one character's view at a time, but it can switch character sometimes seemingly even in one paragraph. Not enough to hurt the story but I found myself going back trying to reorient…

I loved it. The story started interesting and sucked me in from the beginning. I couldn’t put this book down. Pirates, magic, secrets, surprises and a lot of amazing adventures. It was so much fun to read this book. The characters are likable, author’s writing style is very nice and this whole story is living in my head right now. I will continue with book 2 in the series. Worth reading!