”I will have agency until I die.”

I enjoyed reading this book much more than I had expected. I read half of the book in one sitting and then had to ration the rest so I could savor it.
The plot was genuinely captivating and dark. The foreshadowing didn't feel like a death sentence; it was very welcome. Many books hint at darkness, but this one truly delivered.

"You're the moon, and I'm the tides, and every thought, every need, every want, is drawn to you, Maren."

The complexity of the characters and their romance was very refreshing, I had a blast discovering every facet of Maren and Ramsay. I fell in love with them as they fell in love with each other.
Their individual stories tugged at several deep heartstrings. It was comforting to read about them surviving, overcoming, and finding peace with the choices they've had to make, all the while fighting for a better future.

"He told me that we could be king and queen of the high seas, and a secretive part deep inside me swelled with joy. It wanted exactly that - to have a man who sees me as an equal, not someone to belittle or batter around."

"I know that this is where I belong, drowning in this madness with her - two monsters that have found their souls in one another."

I would have also loved to know more about the world of the syrens, the dynamics of the people. Can they communicate with all syrens? How many kingdoms are there? What is the complexity of their creature needs and how does it translate to the agency of their minds, etc.? Similarly, I wish we had gotten more background on the Brethren and their kind.

"Of all the battles we fight, grief is the one that we cannot win.
There is no winning, and there is no losing. Grief makes a home within your bones so that you'll carry it for all time."

PS: Ramsay actually doing to Sterling what he said he would do was so fucking satisfying to read. How many times have we read such threats and have them actually played out?