Blog Tour: Eternal Seas

I was instantly captivated by the blurb of this book – smugglers? Mysterious relics? The fate of an ancient people? Eternal Seas is a magical kids’ adventure in the finest classic tradition, with loveable characters, intriguing mysteries, and a whole lot of magic to explore.

Book: Eternal Seas by Lexi Rees

Read before: No

Ownership: Paperback provided by the author for fair review.

Such a small parcel shouldn’t cause experienced smugglers much trouble, but this parcel is far from normal. Chased across the seas, Finn and Aria must solve the mysteries within the parcel. What does it mean? Who should they trust? What will happen?

The fate of an ancient people depends on them and time is running out …

Eternal Seas follows Finn and Aria, a brother and sister who live on a boat with their father, a smuggler. They are instantly likeable, and I loved that the book opens with them happily bickering and teasing each other – it’s such a well-written sibling relationship. I think I’ve mentioned before that I tend to prefer a female protagonist in my kids books, but although Finn is the lead here, Aria is well-rounded enough and active enough that she is definitely not relegated to sidekick!

Once the mysterious parcel is introduced, the adventure kicks in with a rush and doesn’t let go until the end! Finn and Aria discover the existence of magic, and realise that the continued survival of that magic is down to them. The excitement never lets up, with storms to be battled, mysterious magical people to meet, baddies galore, and daring rescues! This book is so tightly plotted that to give you any more information would be too spoilery, so you’re just going to have to read it yourself!

I’m a huge fan of elemental-based magic, so I was thrilled to find out about Sea-Tamers and Air-Riders. It seems as though even more of the magic of this world is going to be revealed in later books, which I’m very excited for. I also loved the vivid descriptions of the sea and the storms throughout the book – it felt like you were right there on the boat with Finn and Aria. The beauty and power of the sea comes through so clearly – this would be a gorgeous holiday read.

This is a fast-paced, adventure-filled read that should enthrall anyone who loves stories about the sea. I think it will be particularly good for reluctant readers, since Finn is so engaging, and the plot so roller-coaster-y. The ending is left very open, hinting at an ongoing quest, and I think anyone who reads this will be waiting with bated breath for the next book! Five out of five cats from me!

Lexi Rees spends as much time as possible sailing and horse riding, both of which she does spectacularly badly. Attempts at writing whilst horse riding have been disastrous, so Eternal Seas was written on a boat; the storm described in the book was frighteningly real.

Website – Facebook – Twitter

To celebrate, Lexi is hosting not one, but two awesome competitions!

Win one of two £10 Amazon gift vouchers (UK only)

To enter

1. Share a photo of you with the book (paperback or ebook) on Twitter or Instagram

2. Tag @lexi_rees (Twitter) or lexi.rees (Instagram) and #EternalSeas

3. Closing date 30th November 2018

4. UK only

5. Winners will be drawn randomly

Illustration competition – would your children like to see their illustrations published in a book?

* Six lucky winners will have their illustrations printed in the sequel to Eternal Seas * Winners and runners up will also have their drawings featured on http://www.lexirees.co.uk and on social media

Drawings must be in black and white, and can be in any of the following categories

* Aria flying up in the sky

* a cat

* mountain ponies

* a snow eagle

* a demon-goddess

* a sailing boat

* Finn and/ or Aria

Please see detailed terms for entry requirements

* Open to children aged 13 or under

* You can enter as many categories as you like

* Winners will be chosen by Lexi Rees

* Children’s name and age will be published together with their illustration. Parents/ guardians must confirm they are happy with this when they enter. Other information (e.g email address) will not be shared.

* No purchase necessary

* Closing date 31/1/19

* Entries must be scanned or photographed in high resolution and emailed to lexireads@hotmail.com. The winners may need to post originals if the images are not high enough quality for printing. Postage costs will be covered in this case. * Full entry details can be found on http://www.lexirees.co.uk