Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst: Sometimes escape isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.

Sea serpents, winged cats, and silver sails.

Synopsis

Marin is a supply runner with her own boat that she sails from island to island, delivering whatever anyone will pay her to deliver: letters, flour, even the occasional enchanted lemur. It’s a lonely life, but it’s hers, and she wouldn’t trade the freedom of the sea for anything. Her only companion is a sea serpent, Perri, whom she saved from a fisherfolk’s net.

One day, she sails to Alyssium and discovers the city is on fire. There’s been a revolution, and the empire has fallen. Marin, with Perri, begins transporting refugees, finding them new homes where they can start over. One such refugee is Dax, a composer who refuses to leave behind his instruments, no matter how much she tries to emphasize the gravity of the situation. Intrigued by his stubbornness, his passion for stories, and his charming smile, Marin discovers perhaps she isn’t saving him ― maybe it’s the other way around.

From the acclaimed author of The Spellshop, Sea of Charms is a delightful cosy fantasy for fans of Travis Baldree and TJ Klune.

Review

4.5 stars

First, many thanks to Pan Macmillan Export for letting me read this thoroughly charming book and escape our harsh world for a few hours!

Because escapism is absolutely what you’ll find here. Sea of Charms is a standalone story, part of an interconnected series with The Spellshop, and in her acknowledgements Sarah Beth Durst explains it better than I ever could:

“Lately, it feels as if our world has been worsening every day. So much hate. So much cruelty. (…) Sometimes it all feels inescapable. And exhausting. That’s why I wrote Sea of Charms. Sometimes you need to escape the inescapable. I believe that escape is not a luxury. It’s a necessity. Every so often it’s necessary to walk through a wardrobe or sail between magical islands, so that you can return strong enough to face whatever needs facing.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. That’s why she’s the writer and I’m not.

Sea of Charms takes you to a magical world where sea serpents named Perri swim alongside boats with silver sails, where sentient plants dream of becoming sailors, where winged cats doze on sunny rooftops, and where people come in every skin color imaginable, some with crystal horns, others with antlers. It is an enchanting world to dive into.

At one point, reading about a sea serpent cavorting with merhorses, their hooves hitting the waves and jewel-toned scales rippling in the sun, I scribbled in my annotations: “I want to be there. It’s my dream place.” And a few pages later: “This book makes me feel free. Like I’m at sea with a sea serpent and every wonder imaginable. Surrounded by beauty and sea air. It’s like a breath of fresh air.“

Yes, I know this is the third book in the series. I know some readers found Marin, our female captain, frustrating in her stubborn refusal to believe that Dax could truly love her, or that he might actually prefer sailing with her over composing music at the conservatory. Woman, let him choose for himself! I know the villain lurks mostly in the background. I know all of that.

BUT.

I still enjoyed this book immensely. I blame every fairy tale my mother read me at bedtime. I have always adored stories filled with wonder, color, fantastical creatures, and heroes with loyal and noble hearts.

If you want something that feels like a perfect day at the beach, all your worries quietly dissolving, this is it. You won’t regret it.

And I am very ready for the next book in this series.

Thanks for reading.

Sophie