On These Black Sands

Aisling Sea, Book 1

By: Vanessa Rasanen

Narrated by: Sarah Kramer

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

An heir on the run.

In one month, Aoife Cascade will turn 20 and take her seat on the Council of Cregah, an honor she's been preparing for her whole life. But when she lets a secret slip to her mother with devastating consequences, all her plans for the future crumble. Believing her people to be better off without her, she flees Cregah, stowing away aboard a pirate ship bound for dangerous waters.

A Pirate Captain who needs her help.

Captain Declan McCallagh is young compared to the pirate lords, but after 12 years on the grueling sea, he has earned a well-respected ship and the attention of the lords, who'd like nothing better than to see his ruin. All he wants is to leave the Aisling Sea - and his past-behind him. But when his sister demands he find the enchanted dagger her rebel faction needs to overthrow the ruling Council, he'll have to decide whether to cast off all family ties or take the perilous voyage to waters guarded by sirens, only passable with the help of the last remaining fae, currently imprisoned by the Council.

With murder and betrayal at every turn, can Aoife and Declan learn to rely on one another?

Or will the secrets they carry destroy their people-and each other?

©2021 Vanessa Rasanen (P)2021 Vanessa Rasanen

Loved it even more!

I read this book in physical form and really enjoyed it; however, the audiobook made me love it even more! The narrator’s delivery of Aoife with an accent makes her more likeable to me as a reader.

The Irish influence used to develop this fantasy world comes across much clearer in the audiobook.

For fans of fantasy with an Irish flare, complete with morally gray pirates. Declan will forever be my favorite snarky character.

Pirates and Fae??? Yes please

I’m not one to read a book with no spice but this book was phenomenal! I loved the story and fell in love with all the characters! The narration is WONDERFUL. The accents are done so well and I can’t wait to listen to book 2!

Great start to a new pirate fantasy series

If you like pirate fantasies, books with fae, slow burn romance, sheltered/naive MC’s and morally grey characters - pick this one up!

I listened to the audiobook as a reread before reviewing book 2. I have to say it was a pleasure to listen to. The narrator was excellent and I feel the characters were brought to life even more than when I read the book the first time around thanks to the narrator’s performance.

I’ll admit that sheltered/naive MC’s aren’t my favourite but mainly just because they tend to be a tad annoying at first, I do however love their character arcs since they undergo so much growth. I found some of Aoife’s internal monologs to be a bit repetitive and that resulted in the first part of the book feeling a bit slow to me. But wowwweeee does this book pick up speed towards the end. I was left in utter emotional turmoil. Declan is absolutely delicious - as a character and love interest haha - and you can’t give me a great love interest like that and leave me on such a cliffhanger! I absolutely didn’t know what to do with myself after finishing this book the first time around.

A huge thanks to the author for the audiobook code. All opinions are my own.

A compelling pirate story with the perfect blend of adventure and romance

Can I just say how much I adore this story? Aoife and Declan are such great characters, and I loved their unique POVs. Kate was fun too, and I hope we hear more about her in the next one. The narrator was also perfect!
Absolutely masterful with her accents and the portrayal of so many different characters. The world building is amazing, and I’m just holding in all the feels cos I heard the cliffhanger was in.tense. Perfect for fans of Fable or Daughter of the Pirate King with the right amount of sass and spice.

Love this world! Amazing pirate adventure.

Incredible world building, and I love the characters. It’s a well crafted pirate adventure. Can’t wait to get into book two!! Highly recommend.

A Pirate + a Runaway + a Lost Dagger = Adventure

This story crosses so many genres, it's a bit like the love child between a romantic thriller and an epic fantasy, with a touch of regency thrown in the mix. I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing. In fact, it's downright fascinating.

The author has artfully created a world where pirates are commonplace. In one port, these pirates are welcomed openly if they abide by the rules of the Council. Interestingly, this Council and this port are run by women: men have few rights here and must abide by the Council's edicts. It's a place Pirate Captain Declan never intended to return to, but circumstances force his hand. His stay is short but eventful, leaving him to cast off the next day with a stow-away on board. She's not just any stow-away, however. She's an heir to the Council and soon to be matched to a Pirate Lord.

As one would expect, chaos ensues for Declan, his pirate crew, and Council heir Aoife. It seems no one is happy. The pirates don't want a woman on board, Declan doesn't want to deal with the sharp-tongued spoiled rich girl, and Aoife is struggling with a world that is nothing like she thought. Declan and Aoife clash in captivating ways as they both deal with trust issues and a growing interest in each other. An interest that simply cannot be realized.

Readers who enjoy romantic thrillers and/or fantasy tales will enjoy this well-written novel of deception, loyalty, trust, and hope. With a diverse cast of personalities and a tightly woven plot, this story delights, entertains, and satisfies. Well, almost satisfies. Readers should be aware that the story does not end with this novel and should prepare for a cliffhanger ending. But it will be worth it. This story is just too epic for one book.

AMAZING story and characters

Holy cow, I loved this so much! I saw that this book was “similar” to fable, so I immediately knew I needed to read it and I was not disappointed. I loved the strong heroine and watching her chase her passions in a world where life is difficult for her. I thought the writing was so well done and thoughtful. You can tell there’s a clear direction and that this story is going to be smooth through the full series. The creative world was so different and unique. I fell in love with the entire plot line and characters. Another thing that I was really impressed with was Vanessa’s ability to incorporate real life problems and personal hardships in a very responsible and sensitive matter. Absolutely must read and dying for book two!

A big thank you to this author who shared this copy with me. I have left this review of my own decision.

Narrator

I love this book I just do not like the sound of the narrators voice.

Soothed my pirateous soul

I loved this book even more than I thought I would. I cannot wait for the next one!!

A Swashbuckling Romance

I was pleasantly surprised with this book after seeing it constantly on my FYP. I was hesitant to start this book because I generally lean more towards NA books these days over YA. While this book is technically a YA it isn't a true YA and straddles the bridge between YA and NA. There are mature themes covered in this book however nothing is graphic it explicitly described.

The story follows a young woman who has been raised to become a political figurehead. In this world women have all the power. Previously men wrought destruction and violence leading to a new world order where men find freedom in pirating only to have to pay boons to the counsel for safe passage. No violence is allowed on the counsel's island and those who disrespect the rules are exiled. Our FMC discovers that her life among the counsel is not what she believed and flees. She has a random meeting with a fearsome pirate who irks her and enjoys verbal sparring sessions. The two form a reluctant partnership where he agrees to help her flee the counsel's island and she will help him achieve a goal to ultimately harm the counsel's influence. The MMC has his own storyline and motives and the author does a really good job building her characters, even the side characters.

Our two main characters pretty much can't stand each other for most of this book. The MMC does and says some pretty harmful things to her which I wasn't sure he ever really made up for. Our FMC just decides that since he's finally being nice everything will be forgiven. The story is also pretty long, while the ending was much better than I anticipated there are a lot of middle parts of this book that felt like they dragged on. Especially with the amount of self deprecating nonsense the FMC spouts, however it was understandable why she thought and acted the way she did based on how she was raised. But she did bother me a bit, and I'm hoping the next book allows her to get some training, build some confidence and swoop in to save the day and bit more.

This is definitely a swashbuckling good time though, if you're in the mood for a pirate/fantasy/adventure/romance. The romance is light in this book for sure but I think there is going to be much more in the next book. The majority of the book was the development of the relationship between the two MCs both platonic and romantic. If you like banter then this is a great option because these two have some pretty intense sparring match's. One of my favorite parts was the decapitation joke she makes and stuns the guys who just stare at her slack jawed. It was hilarious.

Tropes
✅ One bed
✅ Not a true enemies to lovers, more of a strong dislike to feelings.
✅ Found family
✅ Fae
✅ Tons of banter
✅ Dual POV + one additional POV


The audio was well done as well. The voice actor does a great job with the Irish laced accents and manages to differentiate between each character voice really well.

My hope for the next book is that it leans more towards NA than YA. I'd be down with some spice and some violence. It's about time this FMC takes back some power, knocks the assholes down a few pegs and gets her man.

Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice 🚫 (tension + kissing only)
Audio 🎧🎧🎧🎧