Daughter of the Deep (The Children of Lyr Book 1)

I loved this! I feel like it had everything and more that I could’ve wanted in a seafaring adventure. There were so many layers that I didn’t expect and the story continued to unravel until the very end. I think this book thrives with all the different characters and their personalities/quirks. I loved how supportive and protective the crew was towards one another, making it feel like a true family. I feel like there was a lot of love and thought poured into forming each of these characters and it doesn’t go unnoticed with the sense of raw emotion and love. Keira was a fun and feisty MC to follow along with and I couldn’t help to admire her wit, courage, and resilience throughout the book. The romance was definitely swoon-worthy and I think Amarego did a good job of building just enough tension. I can’t wait to read the next book!

“You’re Kiera Branwen, the girl stammered, pointing a thin finger at me. “You’re the Night-Mare of the Four Seas.”Kiera Branwen’s life belonged to Ronan Mathonwy. Four years of enmity, sunken ships, loved ones lost. A wedding to end a war. Kiera is forced to marry her childhood friend and her father’s alleged killer, Ronan, in order to keep her family safe. But Ronan is determined to prove his innocence. The duo strike a deal. For one month, they work together to find her fathers true murderer. And in exchange Kiera will no longer be Ronan’s wife. However, Mr. and Mrs. Mathonwy are tethered together by a fate that is impossible to ignore.Daughter of the Deep is full of high-stakes, salty sea adventure! And don’t forget, Sherlock Homeboy, a murder mystery! I love Kiera and Ronan. I was on the edge of my seat, anxious to see how everything played out. Do ye need this book? Aye, aye captain! Ye do.🌊READ IF YOU LIKE🌊:-arranged marriage-enemies 2 lovers & childhood friends-jabs & snarky remarks-families of pirates-secrets, twists, & betrayal-magic-BAWSE female lead & deceptively charming love interest-#IsThisAKissingBook: Aye, ye best believe it.🎶 Song: Ship To Wreck by Florence + The Machine🎶

A Spoiler-Free ReviewPerspective: First person, past-tenseWriting Style: Full present-moment narrativeThe Ending in 3 words: Thrilling, Honorable, SuspensefulDaughter of the Deep by Lina C. Amarego is an awe-inspiring achievement in storytelling with a heart-pounding sea adventure, a fantastical world that stands from the page, and a love story god-written in the stars. I’ll be waiting at the edge of my seat for the next book in Kiera and Ronan’s drama-packed quest.What were my favorite aspects of the novel?CharactersKeira: At all times I wanted to throttle her and help her. Keira is a maddening contradiction of emotions, the perfect result of a strong woman raised in a man’s world. She is every little adventuring girl’s hero and her greatest weakness is recognizing the same fire and fight in another girl’s eyes. Keira is the absolute definition of the Captain you want: always acting to protect others and always convinced they can do it better.Don’t get me wrong, Keira and I disagreed on many of her decisions (which kept things very interesting for me -- nothing like yelling at a book to keep you involved, amiright?). Our petty disagreements didn’t stop me from admiring her heart and intention though. Just a human, making mistakes, trying to be better and still deserving of love. We can all understand that.Ronan: Sweet mother of the sea, if his entrance isn’t the best I’ve read in a long time. From that moment on, I was pretty much #Team-who-cares-if-hes-the-bad-guy-just-jump-on-that. While I might have also rooted for Keira’s revenge, witnessing Ronan unfold the layers of who he is for Keira as he learns to trust her was just as sweet.Rhett & Griffin, you saucy little author, you.There are so many characters, and time is spent to build each one. Each of these characters ends the story having played an essential role, leaving me extremely impressed with how they all shaped the past, present and future.

Daughter of the Deep is a novel that came crashing through my heart from the very first line. Keira’s voice provides a strong heading that guides us through a raging sea of emotions from start to finish. We know her every crack and fault, boldly laid bare. I think it’s an extraordinarily brave decision for an author to write a main character who digs in her heels and fights even when she knows she’s wrong. It’s something that may come across as unlikable if it wasn’t so overwhelmingly, almost uncomfortably, human.Amarego has a talent for characterization in general. I had a sense for even the most minor players immediately upon their introductions. When Reina glided down the staircase of Mathonwy manor, I understood her personality from her gait and her poise long before I digested the words she spoke. The author does an exceptional job of bringing characters to life with minimal space on the page. The side characters, particularly Reagan, Saeth, Reina, and Griffin, are so constantly entertaining they sometimes overshadowed the rest of the brilliant cast. I always wanted to spend more time with them. Each and every cousin seemed to constantly demand a spin-off novella, which I would eat up with or without a spoon, if they existed.The family dynamics in this book also deserve praise for being so utterly believable and complex, as fun as they are dark, and full of both love and envy. It made me ache for something like it in real life, and that, I believe, is the power of a good fantasy book. It creates something so real you want to lose yourself inside it. Both the Branwen clan and the Mathonwys gave me that sensation.A unique rendition of enemies to lovers, featuring pirates who are true sailors rather than stereotypes, soft magic, big families, and the dark underbelly of human emotion, Daughter of the Deep is a book that will charm lovers of YA and NA fantasy alike.

A very enjoyable start to a magical pirate saga. Two families have been feuding for the last four years since murder cast a shadow over all their delaings. The council has had enough and orders a Branwen and a Mathonwy to marry and bury the hatchett.But not is all as it seems as Kiera Branwen ties the knot with the man who murdered her father, the man she used to love before their lives went to hell and all out war broke out.This is a story of forgiveness and regret. As the two discover what actually happened and how they have all been manipulated, Kiera and Ronan try to put old grievances behind them. But they are both headstrong and determined, and Kiera is very good at self-sabotage so things go from bad to worse instead improving.An excellent start to a family saga shrouded in secrets and myths and secret powers. Unravelling them will take some time, but Kiera and Ronan are determined those responsible will be brought to justice. Their justice.Great characters, great chemistry between Kiera and Ronan and some wonderful scenes on the sea.

Lina has created a world brimming with life and mystery, one that is such a pleasure to escape to, and it feels very established even within the first few chapters. Inspired by Welsh mythology, the epic setting is brought to life through beautiful descriptions:“On the far end, a delicate waterfall cascaded over the ash-coloured rocks, the mist rising in elegant tendrils from its base, illuminated in the pre-dawn glow.” – CHAPTER 3: SPRINGS AND SMALL VICTORIESI am in awe of Lina’s writing style – it just flows. It's teeming with humour and wit, and she has a real knack for capturing imagery. There’s a sophistication to the narrative, but it’s also conversational, as if we are sitting with Keira while she recounts her story over a tumbler of whiskey.Set in the seven islands of the Deyrnas – (with a map in the front and everything!) – the story exists in a suspended time period, feeling ancient and modern at the same time. It’s familiar, but has a sense of historical gravitas. A rich maritime discourse runs consistently throughout the narrative - “like a fish out of water”, “an anchor of guilt” - carefully selected to fit with how everything in Keira’s world revolves around her connection to the sea.Lina leads Keira by the hand through this magical world, and Keira leads us. We often know things Keira doesn’t, as Lina winks back at us over her shoulder when the protagonist isn’t looking. But there are still plenty of red herrings that keep you guessing, even when you think you’re ahead!I grinned through so many scenes, laughed out loud frequently, and was deeply moved (especially during the poignant father-daughter scenes). There’s also a tantalising action-sequence finale that had me on the edge of my seat, and an unexpected moment at the end suddenly struck me in such a heart-warming way that I actually shed a few tears, which is unusual for me!One review I read mentioned a tendency to ‘tell’ rather than ‘show’. While that is occasionally the case (but it makes sense anyway as we’re hearing Keira’s thoughts directly), I was particularly struck by how much ‘showing’ there is compared to many books I’ve read. Frequently, characters’ feelings are presented in vividly-depicted movements and expressions, instead of just stating their emotions, and that’s a quality I really valued in how the book is written.Something I relished was how interactions are given space to breathe, as you really get to exist in those moments with the characters and it doesn’t feel rushed. The greater emphasis on character, dialogue and relationships was refreshing – I enjoyed just ‘spending time’ with them.A palpable sense of love and familial duty – in equal parts through teasing and unapologetic devotion – is the beating heart of the book. This is shown not only through dialogue, but the characters’ actions – as highlighted in Lina’s touching dedication to her father at the front of the book.It’s clear to see that this book is Lina’s heart and soul. In spite of the cynical overtones in much of the narration, it’s always laced with her enthusiasm for the world and characters – which is infectious.A journey of growth and discovery, Daughter of the Deep deals with many themes: façades, duty, death, love, memory and uncertainty – to name a few.I await the 2nd and 3rd books with anticipation!!

I brought this book on a whim, I wanted to read more sea based/ pirate adventure books. Daughter of the Deep had been recommended a few times and by the description of the book I knew I needed to buy it. I was hooked by the first chapter, it had everything I love; enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, magic and a badass female heroine.Keira’s voice provides a strong lead that guides us through a wild sea of emotions from beginning to end. We know her every crack and fault, and what she was feeling laid out. I felt for Keira throughout this book, she essentially gave up her life for her family to the one person who she used to love. She's written so beautifully flawed and raw. You see her grow and change throughout the characters and adapt to the world around her. Ronan is the sort of love interest that'll have you swooning before you even know it, even when he annoys you. He's charming, sarcastic and fights for what and who he wants. He never once gave up his fight to prove his innocence and I found that really impowering. There were times I got frustrated with the two characters fighting and just wished they would grab each other and kiss.There's a whole varied, well-developed cast of side characters that you to get to know and love and root for. Before long, you're invested in all of their lives. the though of something happening to them made me nervous towards the end of the book. I loved the story, there was lots of twists and turns and reveals, I did see some of them coming but otherwise I was gripped with each chapter, which I exactly why I read it one day. I'm so excited for the second book!

Make sure your sea legs are ready, because Lina's debut novel Daughter of the Deep is one hell of a swashbuckling adventure, which will immerse you with its depth of culture, family, history, and a plot which grows thicker and more treacherous with each chapter."It's been four years since the blood feud between the Branwens and Mathonwys started. Four years of sunken ships and loved ones lost, four years of wounds both seen and unseen. Keira Branwen is no stranger to duty. As the first mate of a legendary pirate ship, blessed by the sea-god Lyr, and heir apparent to her clan, she would sail to the Otherworld and back to keep her family safe.But when the Council threatens banishment for her people, Keira is faced with a choice; she must either marry her father's alleged killer, the sea-snake Ronan Mathowny, or curse her family to the deep.But in the Seven Isles of the Deyrnas, secrets sleep just beneath the surface of the water. Her father's death is still shrouded in mystery, and Ronan--her childhood friend, the man she once loved -- is hell-bent on proving his innocence. As enemies become friends and friends become suspects, Keira must wade through the waters of doubt to expose the truth, save her family, and restore her father's legacy.But Keira soon learns that there are ties thicker than blood, and there is more than one way to sacrifice a life."I cannot gush over this beautifully rough and raw story enough. It wasn't just the setting and adventure, but the very real feel to this tale. The story feels real. The characters feel real. If I was told this was all based on true events, I would be convinced. Not only that,I felt as if I was a part of the family dynamics, not simply a reader looking in as their stories unfolded. It made it that much easier to fall in love with both clans.I love how there is this messy backstory surrounding Kiera and Ronan, and the many knots (sailor knots of course), untangle thoughought the story, while others tighten.The way adventure stirred in Kiera's spirit, awakend the slumbering adventurer in me.Kiera's story is hands down the big X on the treasure map, and readers are in for all the riches which make up a brilliant tale.

Completely and utterly addictive! I loved this book from beginning to end. The world of the Deyrnas and its feuding sailor families sucked me straight in, but what really stole my heart was the characters. They're flawed, they're hurting, and they're willing to do what must be done. Watching our prickly MC Keira grow throughout the story was a pleasure, and there were plenty of times the on-page antics made me want to laugh or cry. Can't wait for book 2!!