Book Review – The Ferryman and the Sea Witch by Diana Wallace Peach

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I’m delighted to share my review of The Ferryman and the Sea Witch by Diana W. Peach. The book cover intrigued me when Diana first revealed it. She then announced the book release and posted the trailer on her blog. She is the master of trailer creation. I loved it. Diana’s books kept me up at night. I read The Ferryman and the Sea Witch almost in one sitting, only one and a half chapters short of finishing because I promised my hubby to watch the Netflix series with him. We watched until midnight. After he went to sleep, I was tempted to get up to finish the chapters but didn’t because I would want to write the review right after that.

The story is sensational, the language is beautiful, like music playing on the harp.

About the book

Blurb

The merrow rule the sea. Slender creatures, fair of face, with silver scales and the graceful tails of angelfish. Caught in a Brid Clarion net, the daughter of the sea witch perishes in the sunlit air. Her fingers dangle above the swells.

The queen of the sea bares her sharp teeth and, in a fury of wind and waves, cleanses the brine of ships and men. But she spares a boy for his single act of kindness. Callum becomes the Ferryman, and until Brid Clarion pays its debt with royal blood, only his sails may cross the Deep.

Two warring nations, separated by the merrow’s trench, trade infant hostages in a commitment to peace. Now, the time has come for the heirs to return home. The Ferryman alone can undertake the exchange.

Yet, animosities are far from assuaged. While Brid Clarion’s islands bask in prosperity, Haf Killick, a floating city of derelict ships, rots and rusts and sinks into the reefs. Its ruler has other designs.

And the sea witch crafts dark bargains with all sides.

Callum is caught in the breach, with a long-held bargain of his own which, once discovered, will shatter this life.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Ferryman-Sea-Witch-Wallace-Peach-ebook/dp/B095J5X8DW

My Review

Diana Wallace Peach’s The Ferryman and the Sea Witch is a well-constructed fantasy world with implications of reality. Her writing is beautiful and poetic. The leaders of the two countries had the power to defeat and overcome each other. Their needs and limitations held them back from exerting their power. They also didn’t want to jeopardize something of life and death of their own in the destruction of other countries. In order to keep the peace, the two countries traded infant hostages as a commitment until the prince and princess turned 16 years old. The time finally came, and Callum was the one who could do the swapping.

Brid Clarion’s officers captured a merrow, the Sea Watch Panmar’s daughter, in the mesh. Callum, the ferryman, demanded to free her, but the captain refused. The Sea Witch and merrow came in a swell to rescue. Finally, the caption allowed Callum to cut through the net. The Sea Witch’s silver tail splashed the swell, and her fin ripped the ship, which sank to the Deep.

Callum survived. The Sea Witch’s daughter died because Callum delayed in setting her free. Since Callum attempted to save her daughter, Panmar allowed him to be the only one to cross the Deep between the countries of Brid Clarion and Haf Killick. The punishment for Callum was that he couldn’t step on land, and the price for crossing was a human sacrifice until royal blood satisfied her vengeance.

The queen of Haf Killick Caspia gifted a ship to Callum because he was the only captain who could cross the merrow’s trench for the trade without wrecking. She needed the fruits, vegetables, cloth, and other livelihood items for her country and the return of her daughter. She wanted to kill Thayne, the king of Brid Clarion, and take over his country, but her ships couldn’t cross the Deep.

The king of Brid Clarion, Thayne, didn’t pay the royal blood to satisfy the Sea Witch’s vengeance and cost hundreds of lives of Brid Clarion and Haf Killick as sacrifices. He kept the trade going with Haf Killick because he needed the treasure from that country and the return of his son.

Diana W. Peach skillfully constructed the twists and turns of the story throughout the book. It surprised me to find out Callum had a secret that kept him going as the ferryman and negotiator for the bargains that Panmar, Thayne, and Caspia wanted. His secret was revealed gradually in the second half of the book. The secrets and deceits from the two countries toward each other motivated them to continue their dealings as long as they could. Panmar, the Sea Witch, was not a wicked witch who started evil. She exercised her power only when humans didn’t keep their bargains. Caspia was the worst evil and manipulator of all three leaders. She got away with almost every mistake she made.

It was their secrets that kept me turning the pages until the last chapter. I was satisfied with its surprising ending. You would be into a treat by reading this book.

Ratings: Amazon Goodreads

The Trailer

Meet Diana Wallace Peach

Best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life after the kids were grown and a move left her with hours to fill. Years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books, and when she started writing, she was instantly hooked. Diana lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two dogs, bats, owls, and the occasional family of coyotes.

Author Links:

Website/Blog: http://mythsofthemirror.com

Website/Books: http://dwallacepeachbooks.com

Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/D.-Wallace-Peach/e/B00CLKLXP8

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Myths-of-the-Mirror/187264861398982

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dwallacepeach

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Thank you for your visit and reading. We welcome your generous comment.

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137 comments

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