Serena’s Review: “In the Veins of the Drowning”

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Book: “In the Veins of the Drowning” by Kalie Cassidy

Publishing Info: Little, Brown and Company, July 15

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: The monster is always slain…

Imogen Nel is in hiding. Hiding from a cruel kingdom that believes Sirens are monstrous, blood-hungry creatures. Hiding from a king and his captain who viciously hunt her kind. Hiding from her own alluring abilities. By keeping herself from the sea, Imogen’s bloodlust is dulled, and her black wings remain hidden beneath her skin.

When a neighboring king comes to visit, Imogen can no longer hide. He knows precisely what she is, and he believes she can save both their kingdoms from an even greater monster. But Imogen’s power threatens to violently reveal itself, and the two form a blood bond that protects them both. They flee the kingdom together, traversing waters teeming with the undead. As the lines between duty to their people and desire for each other begin to blur, Imogen worries her own ancestral powers may not be enough to kill what hunts her—the only way to defeat a monster may be to become one herself.

Review: This book had so much potential, but ended up falling a bit flat for me, unfortunately. The concept itself is really interesting, with the focus on sirens rather than the much more common mermaids. I especially appreciated that the author didn’t “clean up” the nature of sirens. Yes, they are hunted and our main character is in hiding. But they are also incredibly powerful and vicious in their own right. At its peak, the book highlighted the dichotomy of beauty and terror, with sirens perfectly representing the mixed emotions we feel when admiring deadly, powerful beings.

The main character also had an interesting set-up, and in the first few chapters, I was definitely drawn into her story and excited to see where she went from there. Unfortunately, it was kind of nowhere? Much of the middle of the book felt as if it was made up of Imogen flailing around, primarily reacting to whatever was happening around her, but not driven by any goals or motivations of her own. I couldn’t latch on to anything as a true driving force for her, and struggled to remain invested in her story.

The writing, while beautifully strung together at times, also lacked in the world-building department. As the book continued, I kept waiting for more clarity with regards to this world’s history, politics, and the lore of the sirens. But unfortunately that information never really came. I’m ok with initial nebulousness in fantasy books, but as the story continued, I was disappointed to find that there simply wasn’t anything more coming and many of my questions would remain unanswered. That said, worldbuilding is very important to me, and those who are more interested in the romance than the fantasy elements may not be as bothered by this lack of clarity.

I also enjoyed the love interest. I thought he was incredibly interesting and well-written. However, the romance itself moved way too quickly for my preference. Yes, I enjoyed what we got, but I would have enjoyed it even more had the book pumped the brakes a bit more and allowed these two to settle in to their burgeoning feelings before jumping right into the actual romance of it all.

I think this is one of those fantasy romance titles that will definitely work better for romance readers than it will fantasy readers. The love story, while too quick for me, was well done and the MMC was appropriately swoon-worthy. There was also just enough worldbuilding to add a fantasy flavor to it all, especially with the interesting subversion of the “monster romance” subgenre with the FMC being the “monstrous” one. However, if you’re more of a fantasy reader who enjoys fully thought out world-building and established lore, this might be a more frustrating read for you.

Rating 7: Scores well on the “romance” side but struggles a bit with the “fantasy” elements.

Reader’s Advisory:

“In the Veins of the Drowning” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Epic High Fantasy/Romance/Mythology in 2025 and “Imogen”.