This is one of the rare times I actually continue beyond book one in a series! And yes, this is only a duology, but I will still count it as a win.

A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall picks up not long after A Letter to the Luminous Deep ended, with Henerey Clel and E. Cidnosin having disappeared into a mysterious underwater—or possibly otherworldly—place. Henerey’s brother and E.’s sister have pieced together some of what happened, and are now in pursuit, hoping that their siblings are still alive. But getting through a possibly magical portal is more complex than they planned, and meanwhile, on the other side, E. and Henerey are faced with a bizarre new culture. They’ve been accepted as honored guests by these people, but realize quickly that they aren’t being told the truth. They set out to research what’s really going on, and if the rumblings of a mysterious danger are true—especially since this threat seems imminent, and they want to save their loved ones.

I read Luminous Deep a while ago and found it entertaining, if a bit unexpected at the end. I remember being charmed by the characters and their relationships (both platonic and romantic), but not being thrilled by the Atlantis-esque twist ending. This time, I was at least prepared for mermaid-like beings to be involved. (Oh, I guess that was a spoiler for book one. Sorry!) And admittedly, it was cool to see the other realm, especially how cool their underwater dwelling was. E.’s home in book one, the Deep House, pales in comparison to this place, with cool technology and a marvelous oceanic aesthetic.

However, I really wanted to know more about the inhabitants of this place, who I initially just thought of as “ocean Vulcans” due to their stiff attitudes, insistence on scholarship above all else, and the repressing of their emotions. I didn’t quite understand, as E. and Henerey didn’t, what their goals were, their culture, their reason for living the way they did. It was rather frustrating to so desperately want the backstory and lore and not to get it. In fact, it takes until well into the book—probably over halfway—until I felt like I had gained any understanding of this place and its people, which I found frustrating. I’m all for a slow-paced, character-driven story from time to time, but this was way too unbalanced and should have featured more explanations, and sooner.

Luckily, I still love the characters. They’re the best part of this book (and the duology in general). E. and Henerey have a marvelous dynamic, and watching their relationship blossom in this is delightful. I like how they complement each other, look out for each other, and adore each other, quirks and flaws and everything. Their love is so sweet, and—refreshing for the romantic fantasy subgenre—not really very sexual. Henerey is definitely asexual-leaning, and it’s nice to see a male character interact with the world and relationships that way, as that’s a more unusual thing to see in my reading experience.

My favorite character dynamic, though, has to be Sophy (E.’s sister) and Vyerin (Henerey’s brother). Their rapport is fantastic; the two of them getting to know each other was the best part of book one, so I loved how their friendship deepened throughout this installment. Vyerin’s often dry humor really works against Sophy’s sometimes goofy personality, and they just generally have some of the most entertaining interactions. I also like that some of the minor characters from the first book have larger roles here, and characters who hadn’t interacted at all before got to do so now.

There were a couple of new characters, but honestly, they didn’t make that much of an impression on me. This is likely because they were wrapped up in the mysterious new culture that I didn’t know anything about, so I wasn’t nearly as invested in their subplots. Still, it was nice, I suppose, to see this universe expanded.

In the end, A Letter from the Lonesome Shore is a good continuation/conclusion to this epistolary story. There’s excellent character development, brilliant settings with clever details, and high stakes. I don’t think the pacing was great, though, and the lore was not revealed early enough to be well explored or understood (at least by me). But if you want an atmospheric tale with endearing characters, adorable romances and friendships, and oceanic adventure, this might be a good duology for you!

A Letter from the Lonesome Shore is available now!