Review : The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : The Perilous Sea (The Elemental Trilogy #2)
Author : Sherry Thomas
Publication Date : September 16th 2014
Publisher : Harper Teen
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 After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.

Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future.

Personal Thoughts

By now, everyone knows how much I love the YA fantasy genre. With The Perilous Sea, my love for this genre and The Elemental Trilogy only strengthened. I'm completely in love with this series and I'm honestly not sure what I will do when I'll have to part ways with Iolanthe and Titus in the final book of the trilogy.

It's a sure sign of the sheer talent of an author, when the second book in a series is far superior than the first and does not suffer from any form of middle-book-syndrome. I don't think Sherry Thomas even knows how to write a book with middle-book-syndrome and that obviously thrills me to no end. The Burning Sky was a tough book for many readers to get in. It tended to be a bit confusing, but once I was invested in the story, I was completely involved in the book. The Perilous Sea, I reckon, will be a success for most readers. For me, it was beyond amazing and Sherry Thomas had me flipping the pages in anxiety with the unpredictable twists, swooning with the gorgeously written romance and cheering out loudly for these wonderful characters. It was written in two different time lines, present and past. Now, normally that's a writing style that wouldn't work for me, but Thomas wielded it masterfully. I actually thought it made The Perilous Sea even more readable and even more addicting than if the author had simply used one timeline because the reader is left clamoring to determine the events that led Iolanthe and Titus to the present time-line. The beauty of this book was how unpredictable it was. It was overflowing with "gasp-out-loud" revelations that were uncovered as the reader went through the book. It's such a rarity for a book to be so unforeseeable for me, but that got me even more excited than I already was. I want to talk about so many things when it comes to the world building and the plot, but I don't want to unknowingly spoil anyone, but just know that both were excellent and pretty much sensational. Fantasy lovers, The Perilous Sea will knock your socks off with how breath-taking it is.

The plot, the world building and the writing aren't the only elements that Sherry Thomas excels at. Her characters were even stronger than all three of those combined. Along with the series, both Iolanthe and Titus have progressed considerably. We have gotten to know their characters on such a deep and intimate level. With The Perilous Sea, this journey of understanding these two characters moved further. Both Titus and Iolanthe were remarkable because of how real they felt. These two had their strengths and their flaws, which they weren't afraid to show. Titus and Iolanthe are characters that you can get behind because of how genuine they are. You care for them like you care for your friends. I formed a deep relationship with these characters and I couldn't get enough of them. Their romance was even better. This was a relationship that was built on mutual love and respect for one another. Titus and Iolanthe never felt the need to protect each other. Instead, they supported each other. With the dual time lines, we get to fall further in love with them as they fall in love with each other. Like every couple, they came across hurdles to their relationship, but they were willing to work together to make their relationship work. It was a truly beautiful romance that the two of them shared with plenty of emotions and swoony moments. I was also delighted by the pivotal roles played by the boys at Eton. They were a highlight of the previous book for me, but in The Perilous Sea, some of the boys played a crucial part. I was mostly intrigued by Kashkari's character. All in all, the characterizations were great and I can't wait to be reunited with everyone as the Bane (hThopefully) comes down in the final installment.

I just don't know how Sherry Thomas managed to weave all these elements together to craft a book that was astounding in every way. Writing this review was hard for me because I loved this book so much and wanted to do the book some justice with my review and I hope I did. If you're a fantasy lover and haven't yet read this series, please do yourself a service and read it. Trust me, it's worth your time because The Elemental Trilogy is nothing short of spectacular and I have no doubt that Sherry Thomas will conclude this series in a resounding bang.

Rating

Cover : 5/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Teen for the e-ARC of The Perilous Sea.