“The world can sustain the needs of many, but the greed of a few can destroy it for all.
In a life steeped in peril, the Brune family has thrived on the knife’s edge. Renowned for their smuggling and bounty exploits, Konar and Karliah’s parents command both respect and fear. Comfortable yet haunted, the family faces the constant threat of perilous assignments, leaving scars that even a parent’s protective embrace can’t heal.
Still, Konar dreams of scholarly pursuits, and Karliah sees the world as something ripe for the taking. When the emperor dangles an irresistible offer—a job to end their dangerous pursuits forever—the Brunes seize the chance. But there’s a catch: the item in question is little more than a myth, deemed impossible to find.
As the family embarks on the voyage of a lifetime, their bonds are tested like never before. Locating and securing the prize will require sacrifices beyond measure, and when your family is in the business of pirating, trust is the greatest myth of all.”
Title: From the Depths
Series: The Heart of Quinaria #0.6
Author: B.S.H. Garcia
Page Count: 161
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.25/5.0
Date Read: March 25th, 2024
| I am finally caught up on The Heart of Quinaria Series with reading From the Depths by B.S.H. Garcia this month. Of Thieves and Shadows is still one of my top reads of last year and though I have enjoyed both of the novellas, they didn’t hit home with me quite as much. I did enjoy From the Ashes more than this one though. I don’t feel the level of my enjoyment reflects on the author in anyway which I’ll get to shortly. The pacing was done well for a novella which I still insist has to be difficult for authors to achieve in such a fewer amount of pages. I felt both of these books still felt like the author’s style though which is always impressive. I didn’t feel that this story was rushed in anyway and continues to add more to this world. The worldbuilding continues to be great! As I just mentioned I love when novellas help to flesh out the world and characters we are already familiar with. This is such an intriguing world of magic with plenty of darkness where finding hope is rare at times. One aspect on the world building that I noted early was the slight change in languages which help us feel like we are experiencing a culture of it’s own. I’m speaking of the use of amma for mother and appa for father. There are more of these such as that for brother and sister but I don’t want to go through listing them all. These are just really nice little touches to her story and world she is putting together. The character development is also nicely done. I’ll start with saying that the arc of these characters within this novella length story was done really well. Karliah, Konar, their parents and several other supporting characters were portrayed nicely along the way. Unfortunately, this is where my own personal preferences come in. I still struggle with stories focused on younger characters. Even though I understand the importance of a good coming of age story in helping understand the characters, I just have a hard time relating or connecting to characters younger than at least adulthood. If you don’t have any issues with this, I have a feeling you’ll really enjoy the characters in From the Depths. All in all I still enjoy reading about this world and am looking forward to the next full release for book two. I’ve heard mention that the author is taking some chances in trying something new with it and I’m excited to see what she has in store for us in the future! I’d also like to add that scenes like one in this book are the type of thing that always has me second guessing going out into open waters. As far as recommendations, I’d say if you’ve read any of the other books from The Heart of Quinaria, you’ll probably enjoy this one as well. If you haven’t read any yet, I’m not sure this would be the best entry point. I personally read in publication order but I think if someone is looking for something smaller to sample the author’s work, I’d recommend starting with From the Ashes over this one. Again that is just my opinion though. World Building 5/5 Pacing 4/5 Character Development 4/5 |
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