Of Mountains and Seas by Emily Renk Hawthorne

Of Mountains and Seas by Emily Renk Hawthorne
Publisher:  Hawk Ridge Press
Published:  January 7th, 2025
Format Read:  Hardcover
Number of pages:   354 pages
Source: Books Forward

Opening Lines from Prologue: "The first glimmers of consciousness seeped in and with a start, Randall Sun realized he couldn't see."

Davis Sun is a Static, a person born without magic.  This makes him an outcast in his family of Shifters, who can transform into various animal forms.  Desperate for his father's approval, Davis is willing do anything to gain power and the shapeshifting abilities he lacks.  

Meanwhile, Iris suffers from a mysterious illness that requires a strict medication schedule, closely monitored by her mother.  And in the small town of Yuras, California, Ling has been raising her granddaughter Nivi, a Static child, ever since Nivi lost her parents in a freakish accident when she was very young.  

Each of these characters lives and stories eventually intersect as the narrative unfolds across multiple timelines spanning from 1935 to 2000.  Their stories span generations and are told through multiple points of view, each revealing another piece of a long-buried mystery.  There are themes of struggles to gain power, identity and the desperate need for a father's approval shaping every choice and consequence across decades.  

Reading this feels like you're trying to piece together a mystery across time.  Sometimes questioning how the various events and characters are connected with one another, until you get to the very end and the whole picture becomes clear as the timelines begin to synch with one another.  The story is riveting and layered, rooted deeply in themes of pro-integration and the universal struggle to belong.  Inspired by Chinese mythology and The Classics of Mountains and Seas, it blends together an elaborate plot, large cast of characters and multiple points of views.  It's perfect for readers who crave a mystery filled with shapeshifters, hidden histories and connections that lock into place in a climatic ending. I also received a copy of Book 2, From the Depths, which releases on June 9th and can't wait to dive into it.  

**A huge thank you to Books Forward for the review copies in exchange for an honest review**