Review: Storm and Sea by Tereza Kane

Posted April 9, 2025 by Lola in Fantasy, Historical, Review, Romance / 4 Comments

Storm and Sea (Storm and Sea Saga #1)
by Tereza Kane

My Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance
Age Category: Young Adult/ New Adult
Type of romance: m/m

Blurb:
Atreus has carved out a quiet, stable life among humans on the island of Baia Vita, earning their respect while hiding a dangerous truth: he is Mer. Exiled by his own people for the color of his scales, he has learned to navigate life as an outsider, finding solace in the rhythms of the fishing village. But his fragile peace is shattered when Nyel, a naïve and determined runaway Mer fleeing the suffocating traditions of his home, lands on the island.

Nyel’s arrival disrupts everything Atreus has built. Though they clash at first, their growing friendship—and the flicker of something more—forces both men to confront the prejudices and traditions that shaped them. But their personal struggles are interrupted when a powerful criminal family begins stripping Baia Vita’s bay of fish, threatening the village’s survival. As starvation looms, Atreus and Nyel must join forces to save the humans they’ve both come to care for. Yet, with their secrets on the verge of exposure, they must tread carefully. After all, the very people they hope to protect might destroy them first.

Storm and Sea is a heart-wrenching novel by Tereza Kane. If you enjoy found family, mythical creatures, and LGBTQ+ representation in fantasy, you’ll love this captivating tale of acceptance, betrayal, and finding a home in the unlikeliest people.

My Review

I received a free copy from the author and through Netgalley. I voluntarily reviewed it and all opinions are my own.

When I spotted this cover on Netgalley I knew I had to read it. Not only is it so pretty, but the vibes made me really excited for this book and the book definitely lives up to what the cover promises. Storm and Sea is a m/m romance featuring mer set in Italy shortly after the second world war. It’s a story about found family with lots of cozy and sweet moments, but also can get dark and heavy at times with the threat to the island as well as some well done mental health rep. It has the fish-out-of-water trope (literally as it involves mer on land) and the main romance has grumpy-sunshine vibes. I really enjoyed this book and had a great time reading it.

I hadn’t expected this book to grab me as much as it did, but from the first chapter I was hooked and wanted to keep reading. This book had such a great balance between the fun and cozy scenes, but then also could be hard hitting with the emotional scenes. The characters, plot, romance and world building are all so well done. My only complaint might be the few times there are scenes told from both point of views and the few times a new point of view gets introduced and it goes back in time a bit, as those could feel a bit jarring to me.

The characters are all so well written and feel so real and alive. I really liked reading about them. I probably related most to Atreus and some of his mental health struggles could hit a bit close to home, but I thought it was handled and written very well. I felt so bad for him and how he was abandoned by his family and thought there was something wrong with him. And the moments he realizes he has a family and people who care were so emotional and well done. I really liked the slow burn romance between Atreus and Nyel. They were so good together and I really liked how they lifted each other up and were there for the other. It is a very slow burn, but I liked that and thought it worked well here and fit the characters.

Besides the main romance between Atreus and Nyel there are some side characters as well with hints of their own romance. Most of the time I thought the multiple point of views worked well as the focus stays on Atreus and Nyel, but with enough of the others as well. There is Leo, his point of view was probably the darkest and hardest for me to read and I ended skimming some of them when he gets into trouble as I couldn’t handle those bits. Nephi’s point of view could be tough to read as well, he has been trough a lot and is still struggling, but I also kept feeling that sliver of hope that he would find his way eventually. Then there is Marina and I liked the insight her chapters gave in her personality, the parts she didn’t show on the outside. She was always happy and sunny and it was interesting to see the struggles she had as well. There is a set up for possible romances for all of them.

I thought this would be a standalone, but by the end of the book it’s clear this is only the first book in the series. I am really excited to see what happens next. The romances and plot lines don’t get resolved yet, but I thought it did end in a good place with a feeling of hope. And I can’t wait to see how the series continues.

I loved the world building in this book, it was so well done. I liked reading about the mer and their culture, I liked how we get to see a bit of Nyel at home in the sea before he goes on land. I liked how there are different types of mer. I also liked how they are not the typical mermaid with a tail instead of legs, instead these mer have legs like humans, but they have a tail. And they don’t have hair. I also liked reading about the Italian city and this cozy island setting.

To summarize: I really liked this book. It grabbed me from the start and I wanted to keep reading. I liked the unique take on the mer as well as the cozy vibes, but the book could also get more dark and heavy in places. The balance between the uplifting cozy themes and the more emotional struggles was well done. There is some well done mental health rep as well as one of the character being dyslexic. The characters are all so well written and feel very alive, they were all very interesting to read about although Leo’s point of view could be a bit tough to read and I sometimes skimmed the darker scenes. Atreus mental health struggles could be tough to read about as some of those themes hit close to home, but I did really like reading about him and the moments he realized he has people who care about him were so emotional and wonderful. I liked the way the mer people were described and we see a bit about their culture as well. All in all I had a great time reading this book and I can’t wait for the next one.