I don't know if it's because I've been out of the genre for so long, but this is exactly what I mean when I say I love to read fantasy romance! For my first Victoria Aveyard book, I really couldn't have asked for a better introduction. Tempest feels like a pirate adventure, historical fantasy, political drama, and slow-burn romance all smashed together, and somehow it works ridiculously well. I just can't begin to describe how much I needed this.

The atmosphere alone had me totally absorbed and fully immersed. Aveyard writes details so well and I genuinely felt like I could be a part of this world. I loved reading about all the sights, sounds, and smells so much. This is a world that I could envision so well. It helped that it has such strong Pirates of the Caribbean vibes, but with a much more complicated story underneath it. Aveyard also does a fantastic job bringing in commentary about class, colonialism, power, women's roles, and the ways people justify their choices when survival is on the line. I also really appreciated that this isn't just go, go go with pirate battles and action-packed scenes. There's a lot of character-driven moments to push the story forward.

The dual timeline structure was one of my favourite things about the book. Every chapter gives you another little piece of the puzzle, slowly revealing how Cat became the person we meet in the present and what happened to all these relationships along the way. It made me constantly question what I thought I knew, and the gaps between the timelines created so much tension. I was especially desperate to find out exactly what happened between Cat and Val and what deal Cat made with Jasper. I'm such a sucker for dual timeline and I think this is my first time reading it in a fantasy romance book? LOVED! Need more, in fact.

I listened to the audiobook and I did enjoy my time with it, however, I wish it was a duet. The narrator could not do male voices very well and all the men sounded the same which was pretentious. It was difficult to tell who was speaking.

Honestly, I loved this book. The writing is gorgeous and the world is incredibly immersive so there's nothing more I could ask for, except less use of certain phrases ("tempest," I'm thinking about you). Anwyay, I'm so, so excited for the next book!

*Many thanks to Harper Voyager for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

A love letter to the women who survive, endure, and dare to love anyway. I think there's now a permanent ache in my heart.

A River Enchanted feels like coming home to a homemade meal after a long day of running errands. The story is refreshing with a beautiful magic system and immersive world building. Something I enjoyed quite a bit was how practical the romance was while thankfully not being all consuming. I won't be running to the second book right away, but only because I love the way this first book ended.