Hunt on Dark Waters

Crimson Sails, Book 1

By: Katee Robert

Narrated by: Simone Lewis, Will Watt

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

A stern captain meets his witchy match in this captivating first fantasy romance novel in the Crimson Sails series from Katee Robert, the New York Times bestselling author of the TikTok smash-hit Neon Gods.

Evelyn is a witch with a perfect storm of impulses: terrible taste in bed partners, sticky fingers, and a lust for danger. After she steals from her vampire ex and falls through a portal to another realm, she’s fished out of the waters by a band of seafarers and their telekinetic captain. She’s immediately given a choice—join their ship’s crew or die.

Bowen has no memory of his life before he became one of the Cŵn Annwn. He and his band of pirates are bound by vow to patrol through Threshold, the magical sea in between realms, keeping the portals to other worlds safe. When he rescues Evelyn, he doesn’t expect to be attracted to the unflappably brassy pickpocket. The longer he spends in her presence, the more he begins to question if his heart is the next thing she’ll steal.

But as tension heats up between Bowen and Evelyn, the danger at sea escalates as well. Because Evelyn has no intention of keeping her vows to the Cŵn Annwn, and if she betrays the crew, both she and Bowen will pay the ultimate price....

©2023 Katee Robert (P)2023 Penguin Audio

My new standard of narration 

I traded off, listening to this audiobook and reading the book with a physical copy. What’s so crazy is that I absolutely look forward to every time I could listen to the audiobook! The two different narrators were spot on. Effortlessly switching between accents, giving each character, their own special traits and inflections, and overall just crushing the storytelling! This is now, hands-down, one of my new favorite audiobooks, and I will be looking forward to listening to more by the two narrators.

Great listen

Pirates, fantasy, hot fantasy sex….yes please! And the world building is great. I’ve read or listened to this author’s other works, and this story and world building are greasy and exciting. Loved it and can’t wait for the rest of the series!

Strong story base.

While thr first fee chapters start slow, the book is a whole is well written and the story really lays ground work for what could be a fantastic series.

So disappointed… could have been a winner.

What is the purpose of having a male and female narrator if they aren’t used when they are speaking their own lines? I know it’s a personal issue but it really bothers me. I pre-ordered this and I had no idea it would be like that. Also, the story could have been AMAZING but it fell flat. I’m all for smut, love reading it actually, but this… no. I was really looking forward to reading this, and I’m so disappointed.

Good but leaves too much open

Good story line but there’s just so much left open. I love a good series but this one just has too many unanswered paths.

Pirates & Witches

Meh - I liked the storyline. But for a Katee
Robert’s book not enough smut! Also wish she did a bit more imaginative details or descriptions about the magic. But I like where it’s going.

Exciting new world building

Witches, vampires, pirates - oh my! A fun and sexy twist to “The Wild Hunt.” I love Katee Robert - this book does a great job at pulling together Court of the Vampire Queen series and Deal with the Demon series together (note I have not started the Dangerous Tides series yet, but I believe that is tied too!

Review by @feathers_library

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

📖 Hunt on Dark Waters (Crimson Sails book 1)
- by Katee Robert

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

💭 My Thoughts

Hunt on Dark Waters is a paranormal romance with pirates, vampires, and sexy witches. Evelyn is a witch from the human realm who steals from her vampire girlfriend Lizzie and flees through a portal to another realm. Bowen is a monster hunting pirate from Threshold who finds Evelyn in the middle of the sea, fresh out of the portal. Unfortunately his charity doesn’t come without a price, join the Cŵn Annwn or be throw back into the sea.

Let’s talk about what I liked first. I absolutely loved Evelyn’s snarky, chaotic, and sexy character. I loved Captain Bowen, the honorable hopeless romantic pirate. Their relationship was what kept me going when I struggled with the plot of this story. I loved the LGBTQ representation and how easily it flowed into the story.

The narrators were fantastic. Can we just sit and swoon over the vocal range of Will Watt? *sigh* His ability to talk in a swashbuckling pirate accent and then switch to his sexy smooth female voice… *fans myself*. If this man narrates it, I’m listening to it.

The story overall was intriguing, but I struggled with the pacing. At times it was fast paced and I was really into the story, but other times it dragged and I found myself wondering when it would end. I was given the ARC for Blood on the Tide, book 2 in the series, by NetGallery. I’m excited to start the next book in the series and hopeful that the pacing will be better.

If you enjoy:
🏴‍☠️ Pirates, Witches, and Vampires. Oh my!🌊Insta love
🏴‍☠️ Golden retriever MMC
🌊 Paranormal Spicy romance
🏴‍☠️ LGBTQ representation
🌊 Curvy Witch Heroine
… then this is for you!

Captivating

I love a good and exciting romance and that is exactly what this is. The only thing that I had to get used to was that the characters sound different based on whose perspective you are reading from as they change narrators. But the narrators are SO good that it was EASY to get into.

Lingers

I was just so-so on this book after initially finishing it. As time passed, I found myself thinking about the book and wondering about what was going to happen in book 2. I think based on the fact the book lingered in my mind, I'll definitely be reading book 2 as well.