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This is a sweet, slow romance embedded in an interesting universe of water creatures, pirates, and slavery. There's very little action. Of you're looking for a lot of romance tropes, you won't really find them here. This is about two people who learn how to communicate and eventually love each other, much like real life.

I have adored Ruby Dixon for a long time. I love most of her series, except for the Fireblood Dragons. (Too much angst, crappy heroes, unlikeable heroines, and flat out depressing sh!t.) She pretty much invented the big blue barbarian trope which is super entertaining, even if the female leads are sometimes not my thing.

If you've read a lot of Ruby Dixon, this book is similar in pace and plot to her Risdaverse series. Many of those stories occur after the female lead has been offered a chance for a somewhat safe life of farming/small business on a quiet planet. There are similarities here that definitely involve slavery and piracy. In this case, the female lead jumps at the chance to live with someone who may offer better treatment than a life of $ex work.

The pace is just a little too slow for me. I get the point. The issues are around communication, how to express feelings, and building a life together when the relationship hasn't really been established, and the two parties are very different. I could have used more action and a little speeder pace. Also, the life experiences of the leads could have been more detailed to create stronger, more dimensional characters.

Lastly, I miss the humor that Ruby Dixon often brings to her work.

This is a decent read and an interesting romance.