This is an amazing story. The mix of historical and fictional is done well. Great characters, writing and dialogue. I rarely leave reviews but this book deserves one!

I understand that writers of historical fantasy tread a fine line. However if you want your world to be based on a real historical world, you need to be aware that completely making up major things will eventually lead readers who already know about the historical period to be jarred into no longer suspending disbelief. Alexander the Great practiced slavery, including selling some of the people he conquered into it, and for me the last straw was when the book posited that he was so heavily anti-slavery that (I’ll redact the rest for spoilers). This after there were already a number of other things over the course of the book that were ahistorical. If you want to make up a new world or a counterfactual world, please do, just don’t pretend it’s the history of the world that your readers live in. I came to this book after reading the entire Nightmarked series (my first books by Ross) in only a week and I finished this one very disappointed.

Initially difficult to follow, The Midnight Sea thrusted me into a completely different world of magic, politics and religion. Nazafareen’s journeys and battles are filled with adventure and mystery that held my attention throughout. After learning about the empire and collection of various beings throughout the chapters, I was able to link together seemingly unrelated events all while getting to know Nazafareen better. I loved the arcs that certain characters demonstrated and can’t wait to read the next in the series, Blood of the Prophet!

I loved this book great start to the series. So many twists and turns always keeps you guessing how things will turn out for the main characters. Onto the second book in the series. Can’t wait!

I love this book! I would stay up all night reading it. Highly recommended

Masterfully written. Enthralling from the very first pages, heart in your throat for most of the rest; a well-crafted and satisfying read.

...Daēva is such a beautiful word! I loved how the true nature of the daēvas was the exact opposite of the teachings of the magi, and look forward to tagging along with Nazafareen and Darius as the search for the prophet.

This book was overall a good read. Research is evident in the writing, as it’s loosely based on the region and events east of the Mediterranean Sea in the time of Alexander the Great, with an infusion of magic and undead. The way in which the author navigates the “bury your gays” trope demonstrates an awareness I don’t often see. Although I found much of the plot fairly predictable, the inclusion, exploration, and development of a diverse cast of complex characters more than made up for it. If I had to complain it would be that there are times in which the author falls into the “sex-track mind” cliche which detracts from the moment at hand, granted they are few. If age group is a factor for you, the story begins when Nazafareen is thirteen and ends when she is nineteen going on twenty, with time skips being relatively early on. If cussing matters to you there is some, but it’s minimal.

This is a very good read. I found it had the perfect mystical /real aspect to it. I felt like I was carried away into the book like a fly on the wall. It was so intense and mesmerizing I feel like I could feel the bond and I was craving more and more of this book! I couldn’t hardly put it down.

Idk