Seaswept

Seaswept is the second novel in the trilogy called The Seabound Chronicles by Jordan Rivet. In a world where extreme weather events have pushed civilization to the sea, people have survived by living in a variety of ships or barges. After saving her home, the cruise ship Catalina, Ester, the ship’s mechanic, is focused on solving a critical problem: fuel. If she can develop the technology to generate biofuel, the Catalina would be free to move about the ocean rather than drifting and only sparing their fuel reserves for specific voyages. However, once the technology is developed and works correctly, the turbulent question of whether, if, and how to share it emerges. Caught in a variety of political factors, Ester is determined to risk it all to save the man that she might love, David Hawthorne, when the politics surrounding this fuel source get out of hand.

Seaswept continues the sweeping adventure from the first novel. This is a fast-paced story that is filled with a lot of action and gray-areas as different characters fight to do what they believe is right. The powerful question of whether to horde a life-changing technology or to share it with everyone, and the consequences of decisions made regarding this question drive this story. However, as with before, it is really a story about people trying to survive and maintain both healthy relationships and their humanity. It’s easy to become invested in the characters' lives and want to scream at or cheer with them. As this is the second installment, the world is already well fleshed out and the main characters are well known, which makes it easy to jump into the story. Also, the complexity of the world makes it possible to layer motivations of main characters, especially Esther, which is nice. Even some of the supporting characters make a brief, but lasting impression. However, there are so many new minor characters that it was hard to keep track of them.

The narration by Ray Greenly was also well done. He does a great job with voice characterization. I’m not sure if this is the voicing or the writing of the characters themselves, but all the young characters sound exceedingly young and naïve, which makes this story feel like a young adult novel, which it is not necessarily. The production quality was good. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes unique post-apocalyptic and action & adventure stories featuring a female protagonist.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

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Esther's apocalypse at sea continues! Book two has quite a bit more action than the first. Esther creates a game changing new technology that improves sea travel without having to rely on oil. Definitely a game changer!

The romance between Esther and David gets a bit complicated and the tension between is obvious to everyone but them.

If you haven't read the first book yet I highly recommend listening to it first. This book is fine on its own but you'd be missing a good piece of the story. I loved book one and book two is great as well.

A friend asked if this is something she could listen to with her son. Absolutely! No sex and no swearing. Instead of swearing, they use words like salt or rust. This series is great for all ages!

Another great performance by Ray Greenley. He does an excellent job keeping each of the characters sounding different, including a few accents.

Great series so far and I'm looking forward to book 3! I did hear the narrator mention at the end of book two that there was a prequel to listen to called Burnt Sea. I don't see it on Audible yet but I definitely want to find it!