They have so much tension between them, I swear it’s electric.

THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS BOOK holy shit, I would completely give my life for Cas and Swift. I'm hoping these get expanded even more in the sequel, because they're really fascinating. These conflicts build into both Cas' character arc and her budding relationship with Swift. Here, there are conflicts set up between Cas' world of careful environmental regulations and Swift's world, where feeding her family is the main goal. I love narratives where a character realizes the world is more complex than they thought and then have to figure it out. There's also a map of the world half-flooded, which as usual makes everything better. It feels instead like a natural result of a world that remains based in making profit even at the expense of others. The entire concept of this world is really out there, but it's never unbelievable this world doesn't feel alien. Is that not the most badass book concept ever? Do you not desperately want to read this? The brilliance of the worldbuilding here lies in the fact that it is believable without too much exposition or focus of the plot. The book manages to be super fast-paved and also have a coherent plot arc and coherent character arcs, in a super short page space, and it’s iconic. Even in moments where the book slows down, it's never a remotely boring read. Also, Cas literally talks to him like we all talk to our cats. I’m terrified of her but I also kind of love her? Oh, and then there’s Bao, Cas’ Reckoner pup, who is so adorable and annoying and great. Even the book's villain, Santa Elena, is wonderful to read about. Swift's character is equally as complex and wonderful and also, is kind of the ultimate sapphic dream girl. All the characters feel developed and real, especially for such a short book. She has such a classic antiheroine arc, going from from morally upstanding, mostly, to completely morally ambiguous – but also realizing the dimensionality of the world, and that maybe she was the villain all along. Oh my god, y’all, Cas Leung is the gaysian icon we need in our lives. Here are five reasons you should read this book. This book is about pirates, and sea monsters, and a really cool antiheroine, and also she falls in love with and kicks ass with a pirate girl who is On The Other Side of The Great Environmental Pirates vs. Which is a travesty, because The Abyss Surrounds Us is one of my personal favorite books ever. So like, I know that I boost my review of this book every day and it’s annoying, but every single time there is someone who says they haven’t read it, or worse yet, have NOT HEARD OF IT. If she keeps that promise she made to me, I’ll show her the truth I’ve learned on her boat. I played my cards, I lay in wait, I let myself be beaten and manipulated.

The abyss surrounds us series