Finally got around to reading Tress of the Emerald Sea and man, I cannot say enough good about this book. What an incredible, beautiful adventure by one of the best voices in Fantasy right now.
The story is set on a world where oceans are made not of water, but of spores that fall from the many moons of the world. The spores of the Emerald Sea, where our story begins, explode into towering, and sometimes deadly or destructive, vines when they get wet. Other spores have different but similarly catastrophic effects.
It starts with our lead, a young girl known as Tress on a small island who collects cups from places she’s never been, in love with a prince who loves her back, and the story immediately drew me in. I was given big Princess Bride vibes as the prince was sent off against his wishes to find a princess to marry, and when he’s betrayed by his father and sent to his doom, Tress decides the only sensible thing is to cross the deadly sea to rescue him.
And so begins a beautiful adventure story, full of fantastic characters on both sides. The villains are properly hateful and intimidating, the side characters are memorable and endearing, and the journey Tress goes through is made all the better by their inclusion.
This is cozy fantasy at its absolute best and I cannot suggest it enough. 10/10.
by KaladinxVin