Review: The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas

Title:The Perilous Sea
Author: Sherry Thomas
Source/Format: won, Hardcover
More Details: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Balzer + Bray, September 16, 2014

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.

Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future...

This trilogy keeps getting better and better, and I can now firmly say that I enjoyed The Perilous Sea more than I did The Burning Sky. There were a lot of things I liked—the characters, setting, and especially the story. The chosen one trope was still present, but I liked the way it was handled anyway.

The plot was divided between the chapters—the Sahara Desert and England—it was evident from early on that the desert chapters took place after the parts in England. At first I had some confusion about what was going on, but then the plot evened out and from there the story took off.

Everything wasn’t as it seemed with prophesies written by Titus’ mother, and there was a lot of things that were revealed about the characters. There was also a lot of emotional turmoil throughout as situations changed quickly. I always had some suspicion about what was happening, but the story didn’t play out the way I thought it would. There were plenty of elements that surprised me. So, The Perilous Sea definitely wasn’t a boring book.

Iolanthe and Titus make a pretty good team, and I liked seeing their relationship continue to develop. They had chemistry, and it was easy to see that they cared for one another. Suffice to say, all of my favorite characters from book one were back—the boys at Eton—as well as some new ones.

The villains were terrible. From the scant pieces that were shown of them, they were developed well despite being absent for the majority of the book. They definitely had a lot of influence and knew how to use it. The Bane, despite my dislike for him, was an essential part of the story since the events that took place directly concerned him and were often times carried out under his orders.

The ending was just…unexpected, thus I will probably read The Immortal Heights next, because honestly, I want to know how Iolanthe and Titus’ story ends. I have my fingers crossed that they actually get a happy ending.