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I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this here recently, but I’ve got… a lot of trilogies to finish. And I mean, trilogies where I’ve only got the last book to read. Maybe it’s not that many? But I can think of around 8-10 without even trying. I’m really hoping to start working my way through that list, because that’s a lot of stories I’m waiting to see through to the end!

But finishing THE TIDE CHILD trilogy was always going to be a huge priority for me, and when my friend Heron asked if I wanted to buddy read THE BONE SHIP’S WAKE once my copy arrived, it went straight to the top of my TBR pile!

This trilogy is just indescribably special to me…oof. RJ Barker has created something so perfectly balanced between these tender and occasionally gut-wrenching character moments, and just outright epic thrills.

When we catch up with Joron Twiner, he is…not the same Joron Twiner. Now commanding the entire black fleet, Joron is known as the Black Pirate, and he is hellbent on two things:

•Finding Lucky Meas Gilbryn

•Revenge

Anything else will wait.

It’s really hard to get into the plot of this very much, not without spoiling the fun (and the pain). But without revealing too much, be prepared for long stretches where it feels like you might forget how to breathe. Because shit gets TENSE. It’s an epic final book in an epic trilogy, but try to remember to unclench your jaw and have some water to drink.

And I mean…goddamn. The way that I adore so many of these characters…Joron and Meas and Farys and the guillaime…the list goes on, but I read so much of this book with one eye shut because I was worried sick about these people.

The way this world tries to break a character like Lucky Meas Gilbryn, and the way she keeps getting back up… fucking hell, this is why I read fantasy. For characters like her. I mentioned it in my review for CALL OF THE BONE SHIPS, but Meas is a character that, quite literally, lives rent free in my mind. She’s clever, witty, fair, strong, loyal…she’s just amazing, one of the most charismatic and well-written protagonists across any of the fantasy books I’ve read.

I will never stop screaming about THE TIDE CHILD TRILOGY…these characters, this world…the amount of heart that RJ Barker clearly poured into this trilogy leaps off every page. These are truly special books, and I hope they keep finding their way into the hands of people who will feel right at home aboard the Tide Child.

Endless thanks to Orbit for sending a copy my way! THE BONE SHIP’S WAKE releases September 28th!