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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In Tilly Hornsby’s Guardian of the Depths, when marine biologist Kaia Jones inherits her grandparents’ secluded cottage in a private Scottish cove, she expects solitude and a place to continue her work on the sea. Instead, repeated visits from a mysterious woman arriving by rowboat draw her into a hidden family history linked to pirate crews, ancient magic, and a hereditary role known as the Guardian. As Captain Elodie Love reveals the truth about Kaia’s bloodline, rival ships begin hunting the amulet passed down through her family, forcing Kaia to leave the safety of the shore for life aboard the Neptune’s Dagger. With her bond to the sea awakening and danger closing in from enemies who know what she has become, Kaia must learn why generations before her protected this power and what awaits her.
Tilly Hornsby could not have crafted a better female lead than Kaia in Guardian of the Depths. Once we are in the throes of the storyline, we see her true growth as she settles into life aboard the Neptune’s Dagger, and her commitment to mastering sword training and water magic. I love Elodie Love, the ship's captain. That said, the best, most fist-pumping angle is that the crew is all female. That's right. An all-female pirate ship! The women are a crew with another twist, chased by both rival pirates and pirate hunters. The fantasy world is linked to the Guardian amulet, a gold compass with a red stone, and magic that passes down through the women in Kaia’s family. The prose shines with visual settings, from the moon-shaped Scottish cove beneath Kaia’s cliffside cottage to the storm-darkened deck of the Neptune’s Dagger as merfolk climb aboard. This is the first novel in a series, and I'm excited to see where it goes next. Very highly recommended.
