The Grassy Sea

by Carol Riggs

For seventeen-year-old Lyndra of Biresk, her standing in the village has always been shaky. As a foundling abandoned by her mother long ago, she’s not honored like her guild sister, a storyteller who creates magical images in the air with mere words. She’s not respected like her beloved guild brother, Tonn, who never shirks his duties. With her keen sense of smell—an odd skill she keeps to herself—Lyndra struggles to balance her desires with obedience in her tightly controlled community. Her Guardian narhound sticks close by her side amidst a deadly sickness sweeping the village and ongoing unrest with the gilled people who dwell across the Grassy Sea.

When the Grassians attack her village’s fishing boats and abduct seven men, Lyndra’s life begins to twist out of control. Soon a staggering secret causes her village to shun her. Determined to prove herself, Lyndra embarks on a dangerous journey into enemy territory, planning to rescue her abducted kinfolk and thwart the Grassian queen’s dark plan to avenge the long-ago murder of the princess.

But as Lyndra finds herself attracted to a charismatic warrior and experiences the exhilarating freedom of Grassian life, she realizes there are no clear choices along the way.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 21, 2021

About the author

Body-swapping and genies and portals--oh my! I'm a writer of clean-read Young Adult fiction who lives in the beautiful green state of Oregon, USA. My sci-fi debut, THE BODY INSTITUTE, explores themes of body image and identity. Its sequel, SPARES, released January 2021.

I have a Studio Arts degree and I'm a longtime SCBWI member. You'll usually find me in my writing cave, surrounded by my dragon collection and the characters in my head. I enjoy reading--mostly young adult novels--as well as drawing, painting, and working jigsaw puzzles. I also enjoy music and dance of all kinds.

Find me on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/CarolRiggsAu...
Tweet with me on Twitter. @CRiggsAuthor: https://twitter.com/CRiggsAuthor
Email me! carolriggsauthor [at] gmail [dot] com
BOOK TRAILER: http://www.entangledteen.com/the-body...

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

When seven of the fishermen from Biresk were abducted by Grassians, and then Lyndra’s guild sister was also abducted, the village’s knowledge of what seventeen-year-old Lyndra was, was out in the open. Abandoned as a babe, she was found by the village elder, Garth and she called him father. The sickness which had swept through Biresk over the last few years finally saw Garth in the infirmary with the illness and Lyndra was terrified they would lose him. She decided to make her way to Grassia, to persuade the Queen to release her guild kinfolk, not realizing the danger she was putting herself in, and what she would discover about herself.

When Jazon, son of the Prince and grandson of the Queen, helped her to Grassia then formed a fragile friendship with Lyndra, the information she discovered was horrific. The years of revenge and bitter hatred after the death of a Princess was hard to fathom. But Lyndra was determined to forge a way to peace. Could it be done? Could she do it, or would she forever be shunned by her village of Biresk?

The Grassy Sea is another entertaining and fast paced young adult fantasy novel by Carol Riggs, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Lyndra is a perfectly crafted character, and I loved her narhound, Rorf, who always remained by her side. Nitta was cute, Tonn and Harl also memorable. I find myself totally immersed in all this authors tales and look forward to her next. Highly recommended.

With thanks to the author for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Tabitha Tomala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: The Grassy Sea

Thank you to Carol Riggs for providing me with a copy of this book! I voluntarily leave this review!

Lyndra wants more out of life than strict routines and prearranged futures. She wants to explore, to have a chance to see who she is outside of guild life. But her guild family views her desire for more as different and wild. When tempers rise within the guild, brought on by sickness and the threat of attack from the sea-dwelling Grassians, Lyndra might just find her wish to see beyond her village granted. But at a terrible cost. Grassians begin to kidnap her fellow guildmates, and long-buried secrets arise. Lyndra’s life will be forever changed.

This coming of age story will win over readers young and old. Lyndra struggles to remain true to herself as she realizes what she wants out of life. Being different labels her as being difficult, even if her intentions are never wicked. Many readers will be able to relate to the pressure she feels trying to fit in. And even as Lyndra tries her best to be one of the crowd, circumstances will force her to reevaluate her life. And while her journey will be difficult, fraught with danger and harsh realizations, in the end, she will find herself.

The Grassy Sea is one of those books that shows readers how long standing feuds can be devastating to hold onto. As Lyndra becomes involved with the feud between her guild and the Grassians, she realizes just how damaging preconceived assumptions can be. She sees the differences between her own people and the Grassians, but instead of wanting war, she wants peace. However, hatred and resentment are hard emotions to overcome, especially when they have been stewing for years on both sides.

Reading Lyndra’s determination to make amends and solve everyone’s problems is an emotional ride. She’s a passionate young woman, and while not all of her choices are for the better, she truly does believe she is trying to do what is right. She carries so much on her shoulders, and at times I wish she could see that it wasn’t all her responsibility.

I enjoyed this dive into a new world and the characters involved within it. The themes of friendship and understanding that developed throughout the story won me over. If you are looking for an easy read with great characters and worldbuilding, then look no further than The Grassy Sea.

[Carol Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was young, I got into bed at night and made up stories in my head about being a mermaid. It was awesome and great fun. Having grown older, I wanted to translate that enjoyment into a novel. But there were already a ton of mermaid books written.

So I set about to make mine different. My book wouldn’t have traditional mermaids, but distant descendants from mermaids—no tails, but gilled with the ability to swim under the sea. (Personally, I’d love to have that handy ability, since I hate swimming with my head under the water.) My gilled humans would live in the Grassy Sea and be a fierce people, strong-willed, loyal, and free. They would clash with their peaceful, more rule-abiding neighbors where my main character lived.

And that’s how Lyndra of Biresk was born. I added a loyal Guardian narhound and a splash of magic, and it soon became THE GRASSY SEA.

[Lynda Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

When illness ravages her village, folk get abducted by the gilled folk which threatens war, and worse, when terrible secrets are revealed, seventeen-year-old Lyndra loses whatever tenuous control she had over her life. She becomes shunned by those she used to call family. But when one of her close friends gets abducted, she becomes driven to right all the wrong. Lyndra takes a dangerous journey into enemy territory and discovers far more than she bargained for.

This is a fun, fast-paced read. I enjoyed the characters and world-building. In particular, I loved Lyndra’s narhound pet. A thoroughly satisfying fantasy adventure with a strong female lead.

[Melissa Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's another great story by Mrs. Riggs. I love her creativity and imagination. I think the saddest part was when Lyndra left Rorf behind and he let loose the howl. I felt that in my soul. Otherwise, this was an interesting, fast-paced read and I'm glad characters ended up where they belonged.

I only have one comment. There was mention of Jazen's fins retracting into his shoes when they arrived in Grassia, as though these fins were previously mentioned, yet I didn't remember reading about him having fins on his feet/shoes in the first place. I could be mistaken though.

[Jennifer Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun Sy-fi book for teens

I liked that the book had a good moral ending with a strong female leading character. She’s head strong and determined to make wrongs right. A fun book for teens but I liked it too.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet YA fantasy with all the torments of teens and the heroism of adults displayed in the same characters. And finished with a happily ever after.

[Lizz Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story with a young female hero's journey. To say more might give away the well constructed plot. I have read several books by Carol Riggs and I have liked all of them so far. She takes characters that could be two dimensional and seems to make them more complex by the end of the story. I look forward to reading more by this author.