Sea and Sand continues the tumultuous adventure of Princess Nile Greysik. Much like its predecessors, it includes cannons, magic, and Nile hatching crazy schemes to the chagrin of superiors and subordinates alike.

One of the strengths of this book is the addition of co-narrator Kyra (unrelated, but this is the 3rd book I've read with a Kyra in as many weeks). She quickly joins the main squad in terms of depth of character and giving emotional weight to the story. Her part of the narration offers a balance to Nile's fast-paced descriptions of ship life and her inner struggles.

Speaking of struggles: as hinted in the book description, Nile and Domenic continue to butt heads. However, there is growth and resolution so perhaps there's hope.

Tamiath receives a disappointing amount of page time, and most of this is in the beginning exposition. This is understandable, as he is not a naval officer, but we spent so much time getting to know him at the end of the last book that I missed his presence in this one.

Overall, Sea and Sand is a solid read. The beginning was slow, and it made me start to fear for all the things I really wished would not happen (Nile's obstinacy, manipulation through secret revealing, unnecessary angst because of miscommunication), but these did not come to pass. By the second half I was riveted, for the action but also for the development in Nile and Kyra.

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Received book from giveaway. ( )

Explosive is a good word for this novel. This is the third book in a series that follows Nile, now a princess as well as a navy lieutenant/captain, and her companions as they fight to save their countries, and really their world, from Tirik invaders.

If you haven't read the first two books in the TIDES series, I strongly recommend doing so before picking up this book. The world Nile lives is is complex, and very well written, so it would be hard to jump into this book without the background knowledge gained from the previous titles. It was even a little hard jumping back in after having read the first two books many months ago; I almost wished I reread them before starting the third. However, once I got a few chapters into the story, everything started coming back and I was able to fully enjoy this newest installment.

Captain Nile Greysik has been invited to sail to the Diante Empire to meet with their leaders, and hopefully convince them to join as allies to fight against Tirik. "Captain" being the operative word. Nile has supposedly earned her spot in the Felielle Navy, but they struggle with placing her in command of a ship, because of course a woman can't command a warship *sarcasm*. But the invitation from Diante forces their hand to an extent, and the Admiralty places Nile in command of the Helix, in name more than in duty. One of the things I love about this book is that it doesn't gloss over the immense challenge it is for Nile to earn the respect of her crew. Sexism is rampant in the Felielle society, especially within the superstitious environment of a sailing vessel, and I like that this doesn't just disappear because she's a skilled sailor. I think it's an important commentary on the struggles women face even today to be taken seriously doing "a man's work."

But we don't have just one badass girl in this group. While I feel like TIDES is largely Nile's story, the book is also told from the viewpoints of several other characters. One such character, new to this book, is a fire-caller named Kyra. I like this character because while she seems much softer and more "traditionally" feminine than Nile, she's strong in her own way. She has principles and she sticks to them as best she can, and her utter focus on nonviolence and caring for the people around her was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise pretty violent book. (Don't worry, it's not violent in a gratuitous or overly-gory way; but a book about war inherently comes with violence.)

One thing that was slightly disappointing in this book was the relationship between Nile and Domenic. I love them as a couple (even though he's kind of a jerk sometimes), and I wanted to see their relationship continue to develop and grow in this story. I didn't really feel that we got that in this installment, but this is a minor gripe in an otherwise fantastic story.

The main conflict Sea and Sand is the on-going battle with Tirik, and the alarmingly changed tactics of the Tirik navy. Their soldiers have suddenly become more aggressive, and have included never-before-seen suicide attacks, which changes the game and makes the Diante Empire's support even more crucial. I won't spoil anything that our protagonists uncover about Tirik and these changes, but I will say that this book has some darker elements than the previous two titles. What's going on with Tirik is pretty twisted, and I like that it's something you can't really see coming until the characters find out for themselves.

All in all, I really loved this book. I am NOT HAPPY about the cliffhanger ending, only because I want to find out what's going to happen immediately, but at least that's the sign of a great story. If you like seafaring adventures with kick-ass girl protagonists (more than one!), you can't go wrong with the TIDES series. ( )