Julia Sarene's Reviews > Drown Deep

Drown Deep by Phil Williams is the second book in the Blood Scouts series, and in my eyes even better than the first!

I adored having Wild Wish as the central character, and seeing her trying to adjust to where life takes her. From being supposed to be an instructor, to a leader, to whatever will be next - it definitely never gets boring around her. Her tone and voice was just super easy for me to fall in love with.

It must’ve taken a series of huge explosions, and indeed a particularly heartless attacker, to destroy such a grand bridge.
“Bloody animals,” Dalliance repeated, shaking his head.
Wish agreed, but silently wondered if the Drail had even done it. It was the sort of thing she could imagine herself doing, even if mostly by accident.

There's a tiny bit of romance, but it fits perfectly well with Wild Wish's character, and didn't detract from the story at all. None of the typical romance tropes, and instead more of a "do I even have time for this?" vibe combined with her confusion about her current place in the world overall gave her a whole other angle. It definitely added to her growth and the character arc over all. If I may remind you, I usually detest romance, so if I think it enhances something, it must be a bit special.

It has been a while since I read the first book, but from memory, this sequel is even bloodier than the first, if only a bit. However it also had me chuckling aloud quite often, which led to strange looks coming my way on a plane. So maybe read this in the comfort of your home, if you have social anxiety like me...

Having been given the quick rundown of the Saints Mire’s generally disagreeable territory,with a particular focus on how brutal the bogs were (and it was mostly bogs), she was informed their best hope was to enter the region via boat, through the delightfully named Paradise Fails. Using the waterways of Paradise Fails, they could easily (as if) reach the equally delightfully named priory of Drowndeep (not one with nuns), before striking out across the land where it was possible to drown.

The mix of (dark) humour and gore galore was just immensely entertaining, while the more thought provoking bits gave the book a lot of depth as well.

Combine this with utterly wonderful worldbuilding, and a setting that is nature in its rawest and harshest form, as well as some ancient monasteries, and it's an amazing allrounder.