Hello everyone!
Today’s book is a fun one! I’ve been watching Kelsey Impicciche’s content since she worked at Buzzfeed and when she mentioned in a YouTube video she was publishing a book I knew I had to check it out. If you’re into The Sims 4 and games similar to that I would check out her YouTube channel. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the advanced copy of book in exchange for an honest review of the book.
Let’s get into it!
Here are the quick facts:
eBook
Publishers: Blackstone Publishing
Publishing Date: April 22, 2025
Genre: Romance/Sci Fi & Fantasy/Teens & YA
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
432 pages
There were a lot of things I liked about this book. The setting and world building were done well for a debut fantasy novel. The main character, Celeste, was a good narrator and I loved a lot of the side characters. I think this was a solid debut novel and I'm really looking forward to the sequel. I also didn’t realize the book took inspiration from The Little Mermaid, specifically scenes from the Disney movie. It helped me find story beats especially at the beginning when there was a lot of info dumping/world building.
I did find that the pacing was a bit strange, it felt like that the first part of the novel really dragged only for the climax of the novel be rushed in the last few chapters. At points it felt that there was too much description of insignificant information but major plot points were glossed over. The fact that the title of the novel was a major aspect of the plot that wasn't introduced until the last 30% of the novel was very confusing to me. I didn’t think the Voice of the Ocean had any sort of significance and just assumed because sirens sing they were the voices. I know it was probably done that way to set up for a second book but I hate going into stories believing they’re standalone novels only to find out they’re actually the first book in a series. It doesn’t deter me from reading them but I would have been better prepared for an incomplete story arc.
Overall, I thought it was a solid debut and I’m looking forward to the sequel. I think there’s a lot of potential for the next book and I think this book is a great launching point. Debut novels always set the tone of potential for the author and I know Kelsey has great story telling skills from her creative storylines for her let’s plays on her YouTube channel. I really did enjoy the majority of the novel and the characters. I’ll make sure to link places below where you can preorder the book as well as Kelsey’s YouTube channel.
Until next time!
Voice of the Ocean releases on April 22, 2025
Links
Kelsey Impicciche: https://www.youtube.com/@kelseydangerous
Blackstone Publishing: https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/products/book-hx7x
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