ARC Review: Dance of a Burning Sea by E.J. Mellow

“A Dance of a Burning Sea has an attractive magic system, rich characters, and hard lessons. Highly recommend!”
~ Under the Covers

Recommended Read!

“She may be as light as the day,
But easy, my dearest, for a sharp tip be
Hiding
In her softly curving sway”

The Thief Kingdom lies hidden away, much like its treasure, in the world of Aadilor. Even its people hide behind masks, concealing their identities. While skilled thieves are welcome, you must never steal from The Thief King. Three sister sorceresses, called The Mousai, protect the treasure and are bound to serve its king.

Alos Ezra, a famous pirate lord, walks boldly unmasked through the kingdom and while tempted by nothing because encaptured by one of The Mousai –Niya and her gift of dance. Alos may be swayed but only for a detour before going back to his original mission; one that Niya is a pawn in.

Niya is swift with her feet but even more swift with her temper. After being tricked and heartbroken by Alos, she makes a fool’s bargain with him to serve a year on his ship in exchange for his secrecy and her freedom. Both Niya and Alos have a lot to learn about themselves and each other; can a means to an end become endgame?

First, I have to say that I didn’t read the first book “Song of the Forever Rains,” but it didn’t feel as though I was missing anything and you could definitely start with this one if you wanted to. It’s a series but each book is about a different sister; the first one is about Larkya and this one about Niya.

I really loved Niya’s character, she is badass, cunning, intelligent but also immature and naive at times. She isn’t this mythical character with unrelatable problems; her temper is literally what gets her in trouble again and again. She also isn’t infallible, she is humbled by the consequences and grows by them.

The sister dynamic in the book was also so well woven in and you could feel how close these sisters are and their loyalty to each other. I liked how this book shed light on the fine line between loyalty and enabling. Their relationship really boosted the story and Niya’s journey.

Alos and Niya both grow so exponentially throughout the book and that was so refreshing and enlightening to be able to experience that with them. They also have insane amounts of chemistry and give lovers to enemies to lovers a good name. 🙂

A Dance of a Burning Sea has an attractive magic system, rich characters, and hard lessons. Highly recommend!