The Edge of the Abyss

Big fan of pirates, simple side love stories, and sea monsters. The action scenes were fantastic and a nice step up from the first book. If you liked the first book, this sequel is worth a read.

**Slight Spoilers** This book is a rollercoaster. A lot of introspection, a lot of action, a lot of emotions. A lot of Cas and Swift. Then we get to the ending, and it builds, and it builds, and then... That perfect final quote never came. And it was a little disappointing.

I'm really excited that this book wasn't a huge disappointment. Usually sequels, especially ones that might not have initially been planned, fall a bit flat in comparison to the first one. I've read sequels where the characters don't quite seem like the same people, and sometimes the plots are a stretch and desperate grab for anything even remotely as interesting as the first plot line. This book was definitely entertaining and had a lot of its own strengths that kept it as amazing as the first. If you read the first book and enjoyed it, then you definitely won't be disappointed by this one!!

If you loved the first book, you need to read this sequel. It expands the world so well and we get to know so much more about what the earth looks like - plus, of course, so much more Cas and Swift. The ending was really satisfying, it leaves you wanting more but there's no annoying cliffhanger either. I really don't want to give away too much but please trust me, if you like TASU, you're going to like this.

A wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable book. I loved reading it and the way that it brought a world to life. I might just wind up dreaming of having a Reckoner of my own fairly frequently.

Pirates and ninjas are staples of adventure novels and I honestly thought there wasn't much one could do with them. But Emily Skrustkie takes has an innovative look at this old trope, adds in some giant sea monsters and hey presto! she's come up with an excellent series. Cas Leung is an imperfect heroine, surrounded by broken people and one nonetheless roots for her to find a path through uncharted and unchartable waters of piracy and politics and human relationships. Cas' relationship with Swift is rocky and realistic and the fact that they are both women is never the issue. They have to deal with a lot of issues between and round them, but that one thing is never part of the conflict, which is appealing. I'd recommend this especially to YA readers looking for female leads with active roles in adventure settings *not* set in a dystopia.

I really enjoyed this book! The sequel to The Abyss Surrounds Us follows Cas as she navigates pirate life as a trainee instead of a prisoner. I found this book more thought-provoking and focused on the characters as opposed to the Reckoner training in The Abyss Surrounds Us.

Good but with much more of a romantic focus compared to book one so some of the world building is lost. The ending is a bit contrived. I think the author could have hatched more interesting character development and a third book if Swift had died with things bitterly unresolved. Would have been interesting to see more about the intelligence of the simian Hellbeasts; maybe the development of another sentient species? Seems like some missed opportunities to pander shallow good guys win romance. Which ultimately is just boring, not heartwarming.

This was an excellent follow up to the first novel, The Abyss Surrounds Us. Sometimes you read a sequel and it takes a while to get going, the author trying to refresh the reader's memory. That's not the case here. We are straight into the nitty gritty. I loved the relationships between all of the characters, not just Cas and Swift. They are so well rounded, they jumped off the page at me. The dialogue and internal thoughts are natural and flow well. The world also continues to be fully believable. There is a bit of a shocking twist towards the end, but it doesn't feel forced because we are sort of prepared for it part way through. I actually liked this book better than the first. The author leaves things open enough that a spin off series could be written in the future. I hope one is, because everything about the Abyss is awesome. Highly recommend.

Menuda desilusión me llevé, es un buen libro, pero la primera parte le pega diez mil patadas a esta. Además sentí como que el final era super precipitado, que la autora tenía ganas de acabar y dijo: hasta aquí hemos llegado, bye. En fin, es una buena saga, pero podría haber dado mucho más.

Edge of the Abyss lifts the bar when it comes to action sequences, complicated romance, moral dilemmas and growing up. I physically struggled to put this book down.

This book had me thrown in a whirlwind of feelings. I laughed, screamed, cried. When I was so invested in the relationship between Cas and Swift during the first book, I could not bring myself to like Swift anymore after the revelation at the end of the first book. But as Cas tried to forgive her, and I understood her struggle, I also tried to forgive Swift like her. But I guess my love for animals was too strong for that. Emily Skrutskie did a fine job at writing this story, the world set up is brilliant and very well thought. Definitely worth reading, if you are even just a little curious about the ocean and pirates all the while loving lesbians!

Such an amazing and thrilling world the author has crafted! (though I personally would not want to be its inhabitant lol). I love munching (and agonizing) over the captain’s mind games, over Cas’s struggle to find her true purpose and feelings in between all this mess, and the kind hearts of the fifteen gang members that shine through the hard times. It is also my dream to be able to create such a grand and complex world and characters like Emily has done so greatly in this book. It inspires me and so definitely gets a 9.5/10 from me! Looking forward to her next installments! XD