ARC Review: Sea of Kings by Melissa Hope

Thank you Jolly Fish Press and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Sea of Kings is an adventurous middle grade filled with pirates magical creatures and teamwork.

Crown prince Noa lives with his father and brother, prince Dagan, a very protected life. Nothing may happen to the future king and his father

But Noa and Dagan want to explore. Adventure is our there, but because of their father's rules, out of reach.

When their kingdom is being attacked, the brothers are forced to brave the dangers of the sea to seek help.

Will the young kids succeed and save the Kingdom of Ondule.

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ (3)

Sea of Kings was an enjoyable read.

Friendship and teamwork was a very prominent topic throughout the book, which is an important lesson to teach.

Each character had their own skills which were important during their quest.

Action sequences is where Melissa Hope thrives. Because she writes very detailed, it's easy to picture all the movements and surroundings.

Hope created a solid mystery that wasn't predictable. It kept the reader guessing until the end.

I might be wrong, but this book felt very YA a lot of times. Except for the character's ages and their sometimes childish behaviour.

This book is a good bridge between middle grade and YA. For kids who want to ease into YA fiction.

Will we be reading a YA book by Hope in the future?

The pace of the story felt a little too slow at times. This happened when their journey started and they had to travel by ship. I do recognise it was a good moment to introduce the characters and give them their personality. But still, that slow part kinda pulled me out of the story for a little. It was harder to read through that, but once the story picked up pace, I flew through it.

Hope is here to stay and I'm interested to see what she'll write next!

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