Reading Recommendations: Books Set on the High Seas

Hello everyone! I’m back with another list of book recommendations! This time I’m focusing on books set on the high seas. I’ve always enjoyed these types of stories because I love the wide variety of tales set in the ocean. The ocean is a vast mass of water full of discovery, mystery, and interesting creatures that lie deep within. Enjoy!

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Synopsis: One minute, twenty-four-year-old Sophie Hansa is in a San Francisco alley trying to save the life of the aunt she has never known. The next, she finds herself flung into the warm and salty waters of an unfamiliar world. The world is Stormwrack, a series of island nations with a variety of cultures and economies—and a language different from any Sophie has heard.

With the help of a sister she has never known, and a ship captain who would rather she had never arrived, she must navigate the shoals of the highly charged politics of Stormwrack, and win the right to decide for herself whether she stays in this wondrous world . . . or is doomed to exile.

This novel was a big thrill ride from magical aspects, danger at sea, and solving the mystery. Sophie’s journey is one of self-discovery about who she is and her heritage as she wants to reconnect with her birth family. Though things get off to a very rocky start she is able to somewhat build a connection with them. She not only learns more about herself, but grows as person during her journey. (See review here)

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Synopsis: Fredericka Bimm is a mermaid. But she’s not the stuff of legends. A marine biologist, she knows what’s in the water so chooses not to expose herself to toxins. Then two strangers come into her life. Her new colleague is a hunk with a mermaid fixation. The other claims he is Artur – her rightful ruler!

This book is formulaic, but pure fun because it’s silly, over-the-top, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The first book in this series focuses on a mermaid who is passionate about her work as a marine biologist. The water in her town becomes toxic and she enlists her new college and a prince mermaid to help solve the case while getting pulled into a love triangle. There were so many wacky things happening that kept me laughing throughout the book. I want to check out the other books in the series too.

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Synopsis: Lady Patience Kendall crossed the sea to marry, but her intended died before she arrived. Penniless and stranded, she found only one way to get home: charge four hapless American Colonials to find them titled husbands in London. At the ship, she realized their mothers expected each to wed the Marquess of Andover, but how hard could it be to seek an introduction? Meanwhile, Captain Grant St. Benedict was anything but friendly. Why? Because her girls set fire to the rigging? Grant had never met a woman more irritating, or more desirable, than the Lady Patience Kendall. But however dangerous his interest, he couldn’t resist teaching the delicious distraction that independence was nothing to passion.

This is a fun book that has adventures on sea and on land. Mix a inexperienced governess and a group of unruly girls and you have a bunch of interesting antics and embarrassing mishaps. It’s a romance that has passion and heart. You know where the story is headed, but it’s still nice to get that HEA at the end of the book. The most entertaining aspect of this book was all of the characters in the main cast. With all of the variety of personalities, I was always engaged in the overall narrative.

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Synopsis: After years of committed service, Captain William “Bump” Quinn has finally taken the helm of the pirate ship Scarlet Night. But when rough waters send the Night off course, William winds up shipwrecked and alone on enemy shores—and prisoner to China’s most powerful pirate queen.
Captain Jian Jun is as alluring as she is formidable, and she’s careful not to let anyone too close. But the silence of the handsome Jamaican pirate in her custody intrigues her.

Tempted by his topaz eyes and the strength of his character, she allows the captive into her inner sanctum. Though their bond defies all convention, Jun finds she is powerless against the emotions Will stirs in her. She prays their first union will not be her last. But with danger lurking in unexpected places, her beloved pirate may soon get the chance to prove he is every inch the hero he seems in her arms . . .

Though this book is more romance focused, it still has a few action packed scene that gave it a thrill factor. What I enjoyed most about this book was the slow buildup of romance between Will and Jian. They are unknowingly from two opposing ships, but once they get to know each other they see the good in each other and want to be in a relationship. I also liked that the main leads are POC. Will is a deaf pirate and I felt his character and disability was carefully written and represented in this story.

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Synopsis: Serafina, daughter of Isabella, Queen of Miromara, has been raised with the expectation – and burden – that she will someday become ruler of the oldest civilization of the merfolk. On the eve of the Dokimí ceremony, which will determine if she is worthy of the crown, Sera is haunted by a strange dream that foretells the return of an ancient evil.

The Dokimí proceeds, a dazzling display of majesty and might, until a shocking turn of events interrupts it: an assassin’s arrow wounds Isabella. The realm falls into chaos, and Serafina’s darkest premonitions are confirmed. Now she and Neela must embark on a quest to find the assassin’s master and prevent a war between the mer nations. Their search will lead them to other mermaid heriones scattered across the six seas. Together they will form an unbreakable bond of sisterhood as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens their world’s very existence.

I love books about mermaids, and this YA novel is particularly interesting because of the quest that Serafina goes on and the mythology that surrounds the mermaid civilization that thrives in the ocean. There’s lot of action, politics, suspense, and drama that unfold all within the first novel. It’s faced paced and I thought it was entertaining. I need to go back and finish the rest of the trilogy.

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That concludes my reading recommendations for books set on the high seas! What books do you recommend or what are your favorites? Comment below!