Book Review: The Demons in the Deep by Rebecca F. Kenney
Genre(s): Fantasy
Content warning: This book contains themes of slavery, scenes depicting murder, and abuse.
The Demons in the Deep is book 2 in The Savage Seas series. I read and reviewed book 1 previously. You can read my thoughts on it here: Book Review: The Teeth in the Tide by Rebecca F. Kenney.
After surviving his ordeal at the end of The Teeth in the Tide, Rake has come away with knowledge of treasure and technology that could prove to help his people and the humans he’s come to consider friends. The trouble is, what he seeks lies in an area of the world that was mostly destroyed when the demons broke through the ocean floor in what is known as the Great Upheaval. And the brave ship captain who helped him previously has some troubles of his own that might prevent him from assisting Rake to begin with.
This was an excellent sequel to The Teeth in the Tide. It was less dark than the first book, but there was a constant feeling of tension throughout, which propelled the story forward. And I was really happy to see the main characters get happy endings. Even at the 80% mark, I wasn’t sure that was going to happen—but it did!
While book one focused on Rake and Kestra, The Demons in the Deep added many chapters from Mai’s perspective. I loved having a scientific-minded main character, because I can relate so much to her thought processes. And while she made a few incredibly aggravating choices in the book, in the end, things seemed to work out.
There was a lot less of Kestra in this book, which I was fine with. Her passages were necessary for the story, but she was definitely a secondary character. Rake’s character developed significantly, and despite his being labeled a “monster,” he’s still my favorite of the bunch.
The author has a knack for creating characters that are both memorable and relatable, and also for keeping the reader guessing (for the most part.) Some of the outcomes of the Meridian Games Flay and his crew are forced to compete in were fairly predictable, but there were other scenes—one in particular that happened later in the book—that I was surprised by. I love when I think I know what’s coming up and then I’m proved wrong. It keeps the reading interesting.
Overall, I loved this book and its predecessor.
One final note: I opted for the standard version of both books. The author has a special extended edition of both for those who want to see more intimate/romance scenes.
Author website: Rebecca F. Kenney Books
Amazon link: The Demons in the Deep
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