And All the Seas Beheld by J.E. Ellis - ARC Review

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I received an ARC from Reedsy Discovery in exchange for an honest review.

In a realm where the light of hope flickers faintly, a destined heir makes a daring choice that will ignite the fire of adventure. He disregards the allure of power and prestige, and embarks on a courageous quest to unearth the hidden secrets of an ancient legacy. Aeden Lannen sails beyond the known world and into danger, sacrifice and loss, driven by his unyielding determination to reclaim the lost knowledge that may hold the key to the salvation of his dying homeland.

And All the Seas Beheld by J.E. Ellis is a fantasy novel that is a brand new favorite of mine and may even make it to my list of favorites for the year. I'm glad I decided to take a chance on this when I spotted it on Reedsy Discovery. I didn't know what to expect since I wasn't at all familiar with the author going into it, but now I can't recommend it enough. In this novel, the Crown Prince, Aeden Lannen, has sailed out on the adventure of a lifetime with the hope of preserving his kingdom by tracking down the potentially magical lost knowledge of the old Empire.

My favorite element of this novel is easily the world building. It's not an overly long novel at around 80,000 words, but the author does a brilliant job of making the setting come alive. The author's rich style and the level of detail in creating and Sar Aeden's home, his travels and experiences, as well as what we learn about his ancestors kept me hooked right from the beginning. I also greatly appreciated Aeden's character arc. You can see that he has really changed over the course of the journey from the place he starts out to where he ends up. When we first meet him in the beginning of chapter one, we realize he's already had some experiences that have caused a fair amount of character growth so by the time we meet him just before he sets out it's a little jarring to notice the difference. In terms of complaints, I can't think of one. That said, though, I wouldn't mind returning to this world again some time in the future.

Overall, And All the Seas Beheld by J.E. Ellis is a favorite that I can't recommend enough. It definitely deserves the attention of fantasy and adventure fans. One tv series that I recently loved that this reminded me of right from the beginning regarding the quality of world building is The Terror (minus the horror elements), so if you're a fan of that show you may want to check this out as well. I will have to try more from J.E. Ellis in the future. Thank you for this opportunity, Reedsy Discovery!

My review is also on Goodreads and Reedsy Discovery.