Fantasy romance sequel falls a bit flat for McGarry

     Katie McGarry has written many best-selling YA books, but in her new book,  A Stormy and Sultry Sea, readers are brought into an adult fantasy world with Faeries, witches, and demons. Set to be released on October 13th, the second book in the Witches of the Island Series shares what’s in store for the characters we met in book one.
     A witch and a Fae aren’t supposed to fall in love, nonetheless be soulmates… New witch and midwife Cassie Strega helped a human mother through the tumultuous birth of the queen of the demons, and now Cassie and the baby have been kidnapped by one of the four demon princes fighting each other to lay claim to their new queen. Cassie hopes she can appeal to the human side of the child in order to save humanity, but as the child feeds upon her soul, Cassie must also battle the four demon-prince-uncles who intend for the infant to fulfill her dark destiny. The love of Cassie’s life, the sultry Fae warrior and heir to the Fae kingdom, Orion, is still searching for the Fae queen he’s been tasked to find, but he is also desperate to save Cassie from his archenemies. He is torn between his heart and his duty, but if he doesn’t save Cassie by Beltane, the blood bond that connects Cassie to Orion will forever be severed and she will be marked as an enemy to the Fae—one he is sworn by oath to kill. Fate was cruel when it linked Cassie and Orion together. Their attraction to each other is undeniable, their love assured, but these fated lovers are doomed by a curse that threatens to keep them apart. Every touch during every shared dream, every kiss during every cherished moment together is driving them closer to what will either be a victory of humanity or an end no mortal will be able to survive. Will love, in the end, truly conquer all or will it destroy them all?
     I was really hoping to like this book but unfortunately theist, like the first book in the series, it just fell a little flat for me. The characters in this book are great, but it’s the plot that I found lacking. This book seems to want to mesh fantasy and romance like other popular series like ACOTAR but the fantasy world-building is a bit too confusing to feel super invested in the story and the romance gets dragged out a bit too much and isn’t heavy enough to make up for the lack of world development.
     The main ideas and plot points are great but it’s the execution of it that has me on the fence about this book. The ending is engaging enough to make me want to read the next and final book in the series, but that’s about it.
     I think this series is worth taking a look into, but if you’re a die-hard fantasy fan who values intricate stories and characters, you might be disappointed. Nevertheless, I still look forward to see what will happen next for these characters.

*I recieved an ARC from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

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