A (Non) Comprehensive Guide to Sea Serpents

Sorcerer's Grimoire, Book 1

De: AJ Sherwood

Narrado por: David Lee Huynh

Two new apprentices. One charming engineer. A potential battle with both sea serpents and evil sorcerers.

When Sorcerer Adrien Danvers takes on a job that leads him into the slums of England, he never imagined he'd end up with not one but two apprentices. Despite his doubts about himself, he's the only chance the two pre-teens have to escape their hellish life.

When Sir Hugh Quartermain contracts him to deal with the mysterious circumstances surrounding his home on the Isle of Man, Adrien finds the more time they spend together, the more his walls come down around the beguiling engineer—an unusual occurrence and a terrifying prospect.

As it turns out, this case is about to take a turn—a battle with both beast and man, the ultimate test of Adrien's willingness to accept help. When he does, Hugh proves to be a fierce protector and friend, more so than Adrien could've ever bargained for, and he finds himself longing for something he shouldn't.

Falling for his new friend is not a complication Adrien needs. (His matchmaking apprentices disagree.)

©2023 AJ Sherwood (P)2024 Podium Audio

Great story!!! Great narration!!!

I love love love this book!!! I rarely write reviews but this is such a fun touching story that I had to share!
The narrator is perfect. I love the way his narrative progresses with the growth of the characters. Many narrators voices just stay the same although the characters have grown and learned. Not so here!
Yes there is a gay romance which for me is wonderful. It’s a touching budding love story. NO overt sex scenes which I appreciate. I sound like such a prude but I prefer a “fade to black” approach to romantic scenes gay straight or any other kind!
Adrien and Hugh’s honest and refreshing love for their adopted children is refreshing and goes straight to the heart.
Give this book a chance! I don’t think you will be disappointed! I’m listening to the second one now and cannot wait for the third to be published!

Loved it!!

The story is amazing as always from AJ Sherwood. Great world building and characters. iThis is a new narrator to me and he did an amazing job!! I hope he is able to narrate book two!

Fabulous narration

Super slow burn. I loved the characters and the world-building. AJ loves a historical magic story and is very good at it.

Excellent Listen!

The author knocked this one out of the park in my opinion. The world building was great. The narrator was awesome as well. I absolutely loved this story. This is my second time listening to these two books and the only complaint I have is that there isn't any more for me to listen to.

Kind and fun story with enough logic to feel realistic

I like that all characters use their brains and aren't idiotic stereotypes. Yes, there are some common types in this story, but I see it just humans being not so different from each other with their struggles. Also I appreciate that it's a slow burn for a change. For me personally it's more logical and believable over characters jumping on each other right away. This story is really heartwarming and full of hope for something good out there

Fantastic world!

The narrator is perfect and this new world is so fascinating! The characters are interesting and the story made my heart weep for their plight but the warmth and love gave me much joy. Outstanding story!!!

Lovable

This is definitely a comfort read/listen. You just can’t help but love all the characters and want them to be happy. AJ Sherwood is an amazing author. Can’t wait for the second one to come out on audiobook.

a more restrained sherwood is still a fun sherwood

4.5⭐️
Audio: 4.5⭐️

A [Non] Comprehensive Guide to Sea Serpents is full of the typical Sherwood charm and her love of game-breaking OP MCs, however with a lot more restraint and a bit quieter. I liked the more serious tone (well as serious as her story-telling vibes can be) and am just as fond of Adrien’s apprentices, Julian and MacMallin as he is. Sherwood takes her time building the relationship between Adrien’s wary, abused new apprentices and learning the ropes of being a parent and teacher before bringing the ridiculously brilliant and competent Hugh into play.

They are both taken with one another at first meeting, but Adrien has been shown by his birth family and previous lovers he isn’t worth the effort and can’t see when someone is expressing romantic interest. Besides, there is no time for romance as monsters and rogue sorcerers are on the loose so the story ends with friendship and a Hugh determined to romance the ish out of Adrien. Also per usual, Adrien’s found family is utterly delightful and loving to Adrien, the boys and each other. The warmth oozes from the page and gives all the feels.

David Lee Huynh is a new-to-me narrator, and I found his performance to be almost pitch perfect. His voice work, especially for Adrien, is a great fit and no character sounds miscast or like a struggle for him to voice. The only thing that bothered me is that he pauses at odd moments and for distractingly and unnecessarily long times. Some pauses are so long it almost feels like a scene/section break. It ruins the momentum and makes some scenes, especially the dialogue feel odd and disjointed. That being said, the story is very charming and Lee captures the tone and personalities well; I’m eagerly counting the days until the second installment next year.

Love it!

this is the first time I have heard this narrator and he was pretty good. the Scottish accent sound Irish but other then that he was great. I love this story and can't wait for book 2 to be released on audible

Sweet and Clever.

I love a world of magic where there's enough struggle to make it a bit more plausible. Add in interpersonal awkwardness and flirting and it made for a fun story.