Review: Ocean of Sin and Starlight by Karina Halle

OCEAN OF SIN AND STARLIGHT
Series: Nightwind #2
Author: Karina Halle
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Release Date: June 10, 2024

PRIEST. PIRATE. MONSTER.

From New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle comes Ocean of Sin and Starlight, a dark-fantasy romance with morally gray pirates and monstrous sirens, a standalone spinoff of A Ship of Bones and Teeth.

I wasn’t always a monster.

Once upon a time I had a family, a home, dreams.

Until it was taken away from me and I was turned into a creature only the Devil could love, cursed with bloodlust and immortality.

I spent a century in an isolated monastery for other heathens like me, learning to control my most monstrous impulses, becoming a man of faith so I could put my sins behind me.

I was doing so well.

I was almost…human.

Until I met her.

Larimar, the tempting siren who made me forget my vows, who promised herself to me before she escaped my clutches.

Now I’m obsessed with tracking Larimar down, joining an infamous pirate crew on their ship the Nightwind as we search the high seas for any sign of her.

I don’t know what I’ll do when I find her.

But I know she belongs to me.

And I’ll become a monster once more.

NOTE TO This book can be read as a standalone. HOWEVER, if you were planning on reading A Ship of Bones and Teeth, then I would read that first before you read OOSAS.
ALSO…please head the content warnings inside the front of he book as it has many triggers.

AMAZON

She’s the most stunning creature I’ve ever seen, shining in this watery darkness like a beacon, a North Star, a light that will lead me somewhere. Except I already know she’s going to lead me straight to Hell. And I’m going to go willingly.

A Ship of Bones & Teeth is easily one of my favorite Karina Halle books and I’ve been eagerly anticipating more in this world. And while I may sell my soul for Thane’s book, this one still hit the spot just right. Now while you can enjoy this as a standalone, I highly recommend you read A Ship of Bones and Teeth first. You would appreciate this story that much more, trust me.

You have a filthy mouth for a holy man.”
He seems surprised by my comment. “I suppose only a filthy creature like yourself could bring it out of me.”

Larimar and Priest’s story is not for the faint of heart. It’s not quite dark, but it’s firmly in the morally gray area…for both of them. And well, who doesn’t love a bloodthirsty FMC? And a Syren who eats human organs is my sort of bloodthirsty. And in case you’re curious, there’s a very delicious connection between Larimar and Marin from Ship of Bones and Teeth but I won’t spoil what exactly.

Priest(Father Aragon) is a human witch who gets turned by a vampyre and loses his humanity until the help of stranger turned life long friend saves him. Now he lives a peaceful and secluded life as a holy man and hides his monstrous cravings from humanity until the glimpse of something leads him chasing his bloodthirsty cravings. When he stumbles on a gory scene of what remains of villagers and 3 survivors on a boat who claim to be attacked by a syren. So what’s a holy man to do? Well, go out in the dead of night to capture the syren so you can nail her to a cross and drink her blood, obvs.

He used my body as if it would lead him to heaven, and I used his as if he was leading me to hell.

Father Aragon is a bad bad man. Well, he’s not a man, but you get what I’m saying here. Did I happen to mention that syren blood is basically catnip to vampyres? Yep. It is. But I digress.

What starts as one thing soon starts to build into something more as lust enters the picture. And as much as Larimar hates her circumstance and wants to escape, she finds herself craving Priest’s depravity. I don’t want to ruin the story with too many details but the story is told in two parts and boy did I love the second part, particularly seeing some favorite cameos.

This was a deliciously sinful gray-ish romance that I enjoyed, albeit not as much as Ship of Bones, but it still certainly hit the spot. I loved the way Priest paid his penance to Larimar and I really enjoyed their romance. There’s plenty to twists and turns to keep you turning the pages. And while this is not a story that would be for everyone, this reader certainly enjoyed it.