The Drowning Eyes

I mostly enjoyed this. It's like a slice-of-life story, except the plot is epic in nature, and there are also some serious themes about people (women) relying on each other.

The story is about three women: Shina, who is a pretty standard type of YA heroine, struggling with her magical powers (control over the weather); Chaqal, a young sailor who is only slightly older than Shina but has a very nurturing personality; and Tazir, a grizzled older sailor who suppresses all of her kinder impulses. I found Tazir to be the most interesting character; we see that she is a much more caring person than anyone would ever guess, but I think she herself doesn't even know that.

The writing style is great, clear and direct without being dull. There's also some genre-savvy humor, which I liked, such as the characters acknowledging that Shina is on a quest.

Overall, this book is very different from anything else I've ever read, mostly in positive ways. But I was expecting a prominent romance plot due to some of the negative reviews (people whining about the existence of queer female characters), and there's nothing like that (well, not really). So, I think I will need to reread this book in the future in order to judge it as it is, without incorrect expectations.