Esta grows up with her grandmother Sarl, a cantankerous, pious old woman, after her parents perished in a fire, on Eden Isle. Her parents are hardly ever mentioned by Sarl. Esta, like anyone on the island, is not allowed to go in the water as that’s the only way to remain virtuous. Women are expected to become pregnant within a year of marriage, if they don’t, they are tossed into the sea as a sacrifice which is called the Untethering.
During the annual festival, Esta goes into the sea and meets Cal, a beautiful boy, a merman. But the isle’s religious leader has other plans for her, she is to marry Ingram. Esta is now entering her first year of a loveless marriage – will she conceive a child or become one of the Untethered?
Wow, this book is gloomy. The cover is really beautiful. I really disliked a few of the characters: Sarl, also the religious leader and Esta’s sister in law Seren. This book is very good, the build up is slow and the end is not satisfactory… this is why I’ve given it 4 stars.
Read for the Read Between the Lines Reading Challenge 2024.
Prompt 48: A Debut Novel.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
