In Deeper Waters – Blog Tour + ARC Review + Giveaway

Hello, friends. I, once again, almost forgot that I had a tour stop today. If you’re not aware, India is facing a huge healthcare crisis right now with an unprecedented number of COVID cases and a government that failed repeatedly to prepare for it. Not only is there is a vaccine shortage due to the pressure from global north countries that have prevented global south countries from manufacturing their own vaccines, multiple cities in India are running out of hospital beds and oxygen for highly destabilised COVID patients. Although, my family and I are as safe as we can be; in the past one week, I have heard a lot of bad news, which is seriously affecting my mental health. There is not really an organised effort to fight this situation, but I urge you to boost resources if you come across them, and if you are a US citizen, please call your representatives and pressure them to push the parliament into sending raw vaccine materials to India.

I sure am glad that at such a time I have a world of books to escape to that are keeping me stable and allowing me to continuing focusing on work. Today I am talking about In Deeper Waters, a very queer romance with a fantasy backdrop set on the high seas.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Turn the Page Tours for having me on this tour and to the publisher for granting me an e-ARC. My opinions are not affected by this fact and are entirely my own.

Be sure to check out the other blog tour stops today at Windows to Worlds and The Bookwyrm’s De n. Find the tour schedule here.

Title: In Deeper Waters
Author: F.T. Lukens
Age Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: 20 April 2021

A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean.

Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family’s kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel.

Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean.

That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charming—and secretive—as ever. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. And Athlen might just be his only hope…

If I had to define In Deeper Waters in one word, I would use uncomplicated. It is written in such a way that it makes for an extremely easy read. It never makes the reader doubt themself and keeps a light but firm grip on their hand, tugging them along.

In Deeper Waters is a light and fluffy read, full of a sweet and adorable romance with light political intrigue and fantasy elements. It provides us with a slew of interesting characters, who are extremely lovable and interacting with them is a highly fun affair. This is a perfectly great read for people who prefer to read about young protagonists, romance, light fantasy elements and low levels of political conflict in their stories.

But, that is what made it the not so perfect read for me. When I pick up a fantasy book, I expect lots of worldbuilding and if politics is introduced, I would want the plot to revolve around it. That is not to say that there is no conflict in this book or that the worldbuilding is lacking. Both of them are well presented in the context of this story, with almost no information-dumping (the bane of most fantasy books) and the conflict is also well played out. However, as someone who is drifting towards morally and logistically complex adult fantasies, In Deeper Waters was not the right read for me.

But the sweet banter and moments of adoration between Tal and Athens made it a worthwhile read for me. I went into this book expecting a lot of queerness, and it was delivered! Gays amongst pirates, sea shanties and adventures on the high seas were had. I would agree with most early reviewers of these books and say that these characters are surely endearing, but I did find their development to be a little stunted. I felt a lack of good foundation when I started the story, which hurt how I saw these characters. But that is a very personal opinion, since I assumed I would be getting a high fantasy with lots of political intrigue and conflict full of backstabbing and regrets. This assumption coloured a lot of the characters’ action as incredibly naïve.

To those who are looking for a soft YA fantasy, with a fluffy romance and pirates, this novel would be a great pick.

F.T. Lukens is the author of four young adult novels published through Interlude Press, and her book Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic was a 2017 Cybils Award finalist in YA Speculative Fiction, won the ForeWord INDIES Book of the Year Gold Award for YA Fiction, and the Bisexual Book Award for Speculative Fiction, and it was also recently named to ALA’s 2019 Rainbow List. F.T. lives in North Carolina with her husband, three kids, three dogs, and three cats.

Connect with F.T. Lukens: Website | Goodreads | Twitter

Up for grabs, we have ONE (1) physical copy and ONE (1) digital copy of In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens. This giveaway will end on April 26th at 11:59 PM CST. The physical copy will be available to win by US residents only and the digital copy will be available to win by INTL residents only. To enter, click the link below!

RAFFLECOPTER LINK: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1e4a114d36/?