Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: YA
Star Rating: 4 stars
Series: second book of duology
*SPOILER ALERT: contains SPOILERS for SKIN OF THE SEA*
Blurb:
One life. One choice. One sacrifice.
To save those closest to her, Simi traded away everything: her freedom, her family, and the boy she loves. Now she is sworn to serve a new god, watching over the Land of the Dead at the bottom of the ocean.
But when signs of demons begin to appear, it’s clear there are deeper consequences of Simi’s trade. These demons spell the world’s ruin . . . and because of Simi, they now have a way into the human realm.
With the fate of the world at stake, Simi must break her promise and team up with a scheming trickster of a god. And if they succeed, perhaps Simi can also unbreak her heart along the way, and find herself again.
Blurb taken from Goodreads. Add to your shelves here.
Review:
SOUL OF THE DEEP returns to the world of SKIN OF THE SEA, diving deeper into West African mythology.
Where the previous book as an Orisa as the villain, this one introduces the concept of the anti-gods, the Orisa’s opposite. They are cosmic horrors, encapsulating things like plague and war. While you don’t see them for most of the book, just the warriors trying to free them, what they represent makes you instantly want Simi and the gang to defeat them.
I loved being reunited with most of the gang this book, the various warriors Simi gathered around her last book (by accident!) insisting on coming with her, no matter what. There is also another Mama Wati joining in, a look into the lives of the other mermaids.
This book brings back Esu, the villain of the previous book. After all that antagonism in SKIN OF THE SEA, it was so hard to trust he wasn’t about to slip out of an agreement, something this book capitalises on when he’s around. It was a fun dynamic, and also causes tensions within the group.
There are new creatures (of the wondrous and monstrous kinds) introduced from various African mythologies. The sea creatures were my favourite again as they really fit the theme of the book, and also straddle the wondrous/monstrous line so well. There’s a reason so many mythologies both fear and revere the sea!
In all, it’s a nice duology finale.
Read my reviews of other books by Natasha Bowen:
Skin of the Sea (this series):
- SKIN OF THE SEA (#1)
Sifa Elizabeth Reads 