“Because I admire you, I can think of none better to guide my ship. And I cannot bear the thought of not seeing you again, Mary.”

Dark Water Daughter does a lot of interesting world building, and the two POV characters feel fleshed out and there internal and familial trauma that both Rosser and Mary have mean so much to the trajectory of their relationship and how they grow. 

Unfortunately none of the other characters really get that much attention, most of the side characters get lost in the pages. The same can be said for main plot, especially the antagonist, who’s goal seemed kinda just whatever, with the last 100 pages or so kinda on fast-forward because it is like H.M Long realized they were running out of time to try and explain/solve the plot points that had been slowly developed.

Like I said everything that involved Rosser and Mary well done, with their slow burn romance being just top notch. Throw in Mary’s mother being the Stormsinger (which is such a cool name for someone what can control weather with their voice) for their enemy, and Rosser’s brother being a sexual predator who has the power of using magic to influence people’s decisions. There are layers to every interaction between them and I can’t wait to see more adventures with those two.

The magic systems are interesting, if maybe just a little bit underutilized. I think the idea of “The Other” being this world of spirits and creatures is cool but I need some more background given about how it was discovered and how these magical abilities were created/discovered. 

I do want to give props to the audiobook narrators for both Rosser and Mary. I bounced between audio and digital and was satisfied with both. 

Dark Water Daughter is definitely worth checking out, if only for interesting magic, slow burn romance, and a different kind of fantasy setting with pirates!