Review – The Sea King by C.L. Wilson

Posted December 17, 2021 by Carole in Reviews / 9 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review – The Sea King by C.L. WilsonThe Sea King by C. L. Wilson
Narrator: Heather Wilds
Series: Weathermages of Mystral #2
Published by Avon Books on October 31, 2017
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy
Pages: 608
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Library, Publisher
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four-stars

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Winter King comes a breathtaking new tale of love and adventure set in the mystical land of Mystral

He wasn’t supposed to choose her…

Seafaring prince Dilys Merimydion has been invited to court the three magical princesses of Summerlea. To eradicate the pirates threatening Calberna and to secure the power of the Sea Throne, Dilys vows to return home with a fierce warrior-queen as his bride. But politics has nothing to do with unexpected temptation.

She didn't dare wed him...

A weathermage like her sisters, Gabriella Coruscate’s gentleness exemplifies the qualities of her season name, Summer. Yet her quiet poise conceals dangerous powers she cannot begin to wield. Better to live without excitement, she reasons, than risk her heart and lose control—until an irresistible Sealord jolts her awake with a thunderclap of raw desire.

Until evil threatens everything they hold dear…

When pirates kidnap Summer and her sisters, Dilys begins a desperate quest to save the woman he loves. Only by combining his command of the seas with the unleashed fury of Summer’s formidable gifts can they defeat their brutal enemies and claim the most priceless victory of all: true love.

I enjoyed this book! I do admit that I had a couple of false starts with this one. Once I really sat down to read this book, it took a while to grab me but once it did, I was all in. I wish I could tell you how this book compares to the first in the series, The Winter King, but most of that book has escaped my memory. As a result, I feel pretty safe saying that this book could be read as a stand-alone if necessary. There were parts of this book that were rather difficult to read but I felt that it told a good story in the end.

Dilys Merimydian is ready to find a mate. He leaves his homeland to court a potential mate along with some of the other single men from his land. He is set to court the three Seasons of Summerlea and of course, is immediately smitten with the one that he didn’t think would be a good match. Summer (Gabriella) is thought to be the least powerful of the sisters. She is known to have a weather gift but she has also been hiding stronger gifts.

The romance was rather slow to get started. Summer and Dilys are drawn to each other and have an instant spark. Gabriella feels that it is everyone’s best interest for Dilys to find someone else so she fights her feelings. Dilys is persistent though. When Gabriella and her sisters find themselves in trouble, Dilys is determined to do whatever it takes to save them. The three sisters experience some truly horrible things while being held captive which broke my heart.

This book was quite the journey. It was a big story and I really enjoyed the fantasy aspects of it. It was great to learn about both Dilys and Summer’s abilities and about the lands that they came from. I thought that the characters were very well done and I couldn’t help but want to see Dilys and Summer find their happiness together. I read most of the book but did alternate with the audiobook for the last half of the story. I thought that Heather Wilds did a great job with the narration and was able to add a lot to the story. I would recommend this book to fans of fantasy romance and look forward to reading more from this author soon.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Avon via Edelweiss and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

9 responses to “Review – The Sea King by C.L. Wilson

  1. Good for you for sticking with it and really giving it a chance. I know some readers are quick to DNF but I always wonder, what if I’m missing out on something good? I’m glad you ended up enjoying the journey.

  2. I am sorry to hear that you had a slow start with this one. But so happy it ended up working better for you in the long one. I do love how this author writes the fantastical elements in her world-building and you are right, there is SO much that happens in this one. Its quite an adventure.

  3. I’m not sure I would have given this a second look because I’m not a fan of the cover but this does sound interesting! I love the fantasy elements.