I like all her books. ( )

I did book 2 on audio and was skeptical about the Maine accent the narrator was doing, but what do I know? I’ve never been there, and one of the reviews I read said it was good. At 1.5 speed, I got used to it. (Aside: I recently read an article— https://bookriot.com/slow-down-your-audiobook-speed/ —arguing for the benefits of listening to audiobooks at speed. It was a good argument, but I don’t know if I can bring myself to do it).
I sure like the setting for this trilogy. The close-knit community of folk who run the tourist attractions, both magical and fully human, are warm, interesting characters, and their whole vibe makes me wish I were one of them. This is a community that scoops people up, helps them out, and brings them into the fold. I like it quite a bit.
So the fact that not a whole heck of a lot happened for the first half of the book didn’t affect my rating too much, and it didn’t make me quit the book, because I liked hanging out with this group and learning more about them. I could have done with fewer meetings and fewer reports of sunrise, sunset, and high tide, which are the only quibbles I’ll mention.
The action ramped up once Borgan was back, and I’m not ashamed to say the romance perked things up for me quite a bit. I’m on board for the next, which completes the trilogy. ( )

I recieved this Arc from Netgalley and this is my honest review

We once again return to Archers Beach where Kate is dealing with her new responsibility as a Guardian for Archers Beach and worrying about the recovery her mother and grandmothers health after their ordeals in "Carousel Tides"

Kate is also concerned that she has not seen trenvay Borgan since he returned to the sea to heal himself.Is it true what the mystery woman she encounters on his ship tells that hes keeping away from her and blaming her for his injuries?

She hopes its not the case. She just want to see him again.

Luckily she is distracted by the fact she still has to deal with the matter of finding a replacement for the little batwinged horse wich officially "vanished" from the carousel at the end of "Carousel tides"

Out of options she is forced to accept a substitue in form of a rooster that makes her cringe because it looks so out of place among the other carousel creatures. But there is something else about it too something she cant quite put her finger on.

We also get to see the return of bad guy Joe Neiemeier who still is up to no good and after the events of the last book he hasnt particulary good feelings about.

As opposed to the first book in the series I didnt really feel there was a final villain that had to be defeated instead this book dealt more with the aftermaths of the event in that one. There are antagonists but Carousel sun has a lot of side plots that weave together and most of them get a resolution.

But some others I cant help but wonder if they will appear in the third book (if there is one)


There is also romance as Kate and Borgans relationship progress in this book. Shes still a bit wary from her bad memories but he is being the cool dependable guy she needs.

As he tells her The land and the sea does belong together. And I can only agree to this. :)

I liked this book almost as much as "Carousel Tides" but something that I found quite boring in this book though was a side plotline where some inhabitants of Archers Beach wants to extend the Season. When we returned to this throughout buisness talk wich ocassionally felt like the author was writing a a theme into her book for supporting the economy and small buisnesses. And of course thats a good thing but not really what I want to read about.

The descriptions of Kate running her carousel and interacting with her fellow fair ground people are ok with me. They add atmosphere to the setting and is a welcome break from the otherwordly aspects of the world in wich Kate lives and the more mundane everyday one.
It didnt really help progress or add much the plot.

So my final thoughts on this book is that its a good sequel to the previous book and it ties up a lot of threads from "Carousel Tides" if you liked that one you will also like this one.


PS why does Borgan always look like a white guy on the cover as the impression Ive gotten from his description in the book indicates that he has a native american apperance? At least I assume its supposed to be him. ( )

Kate Archer is getting used to be back home in Archer's Beach. She has renewed her connection to the land and, as Guardian, she is making changes. It seems good luck is coming to Archer's Beach. The very early Season was a success and now both the townies and carnies are looking for ways to extend the prosperity by extending the Season.

The midway that is part of Fun Country has a new manager named Peggy Marr and Kate is helpful when she needs to rehire the various concession operators to get ready for the fast-approaching opening day. As it happens, many of the concessionaires are trenvay - earth spirits - that Kate has some influence with.

But all is not sweetness and light, drug lord Joe Nemeier lost his connection with a powerful ozali from one of the other six worlds which has made his operation more vulnerable to law enforcement. But he still has a connection named Ulme who is clearly from one of the other worlds. Folks have also noticed that not all of the tourists recently come to town are there for fun which leads Kate to think that there is some sort of undercover operation going on.

Kate has problems of her own too. She lost one of the carousel horses in the first adventure and needs to find a replacement before opening day or facing fines. She also has to find another employee to keep the carousel open for all of Fun County's open hours. She manages to find a "greenie" - contract worker from the Ukraine - named Vassily to fill some of the hours but he is a man with secrets.

Also, someone from one of the other six worlds is trying to stage a jail break and free one of the prisoners in the carousel that Kate and her family are tasked with guarding and imprisoning.

This was a great contemporary fantasy with excellent worldbuilding and intriguing characters. While you can read it without reading CAROUSEL TIDES first, I strongly recommend starting at the beginning. ( )

It’s difficult to summarize this book, as it’s less a single plot thread and more all the things that happen to Kate when she has accepted the land, is forced to accept her magic, and chooses to accept Borgan. There are conflicts - Borgan vanished after the events in the first book, for instance, and Joe Nemeier is causing more trouble - but the overall themes of the book, and of the series as a whole, seem to be more about Kate learning to accept herself for who she is and allowing herself to accept help and friendship from the people around her.

I like this series, although I do wish that the flashbacks to the abuse were less vivid. It would probably be less of an issue with a paper copy, but with an audiobook, when it's not easy to skip or skim parts, it's hard to handle.

Content warnings (that I remember): mind control, nightmares/memories of sexual abuse ( )