Across Dark Seas

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at first when Avice—our half-fae, tree-climbing, cursing-like-a-dockworker heroine—was introduced. *Another* rebellious noblewoman? But Clare Sager sells it by making Avice’s defiance *cost* something. She’s not just ‘spunky’; she’s *desperate*, chafing against a world that sees her as a commodity, and that urgency bleeds into every choice she makes. The romance with her human smuggler love interest (yes, he’s got a tragic past, but mercifully, it’s not dwelled on) feels earned because it’s built on shared survival—not just stolen kisses. The action sequences, especially a mid-book shipboard chase, are *visceral* in audio; Hugh’s narration makes you *feel* the salt spray and the creak of the rigging. That said, the audiobook isn’t flawless. The fae politics are sketchy—we’re told they’re dangerous, but the stakes never quite land with the weight they should. And Hugh, while brilliant with Avice’s voice, occasionally overdoes the gruffness for male characters, making a few secondary players sound like carbon copies. Still, the pacing is relentless, the banter sharp, and the chemistry between leads *electric* in a way that’s rare in fantasy romance. If you’ve ever wanted a heroine who’d rather jump off a cliff than curtsy, and a love story that starts with a knife at someone’s throat? This is your book. Just don’t expect a neat ending—it’s the first in a series, and the cliffhanger is *mean* in the best way.