Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

A Kiss of the Ocean's Breath

Rate this book
“Empty wishes make for dangerous dreams.”

Sybine thought she had watched her nightmares go up in flames with the Vindicta. That was until she received a proposal that forced her to choose between heartbreak and death. The sirens had been the target of the royal family for generations, and with the new knowledge of her heritage, Sybine finds herself on the brink of carnage and desolation. She may be the only one able to finally reunite the land and sea. All she has to do is find the courage to sacrifice herself in return.

After a decade of training and planning, Elora finally exacted her revenge. But the freedom from her vengeful bonds came with a price. Despite battling a demon and wielding the Kraken’s Fang, Elora has yet to face her greatest challenge yet. Some trials leave their scars under the skin, and Elora realizes there is a limit to the battles she can fight before the consequences exact their toll.

A Kiss of the Ocean’s Breath is the second instalment of the Dark Depths sapphic fantasy romance series about keeping your enemies close, and your secrets closer.

452 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 7, 2025

Loading...
Loading...

About the author

E.A.M. Trofimenkoff

11 books32 followers
The E stands for Elizabeth, but I also go by Liz. I am a complete Lord of the Rings and cat enthusiast, but not necessarily always in that order. Books hold such a special place in my heart. They have taught me so many things about the world and myself, and of course, plenty of other fantasy worlds as well. If I have learned anything over the years, it's that books can be a safe place. I hope that my words make you feel loved, seen, and accepted. You deserve it.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
17 (45%)
4 stars
12 (32%)
3 stars
7 (18%)
2 stars
0 (0%)
1 star
1 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Zana.
928 reviews375 followers
June 6, 2025
Disclaimer: I'm friends with the author.

A very slow first half, but the political intrigue, romance, and action in the second half was worth it!

There was more worldbuilding and character development in this installment than the first one, but it wasn't overly complex or complicated. This is definitely the type of fantasy duology that casual readers can pick up and give it a try. It has a very Pirates of the Caribbean vibe (pirates, magic, sea creatures, etc.), but make it sapphic.

I'll admit, I'm not a huge romance fan, but I really love the way that the author wove in Sybine and Elora's romance throughout the plot. It's actually one of my favorite things about these books. There were a couple of times where it veered towards romantasy territory, but the author managed to pull back enough to get back on track with the storyline.

I wish the royal politics portion was slightly more complex (it was very YA fantasy and pretty straightforward with visible twists if you're a huge fantasy reader), but that's just a me thing.

I'd really like to read more from this world. Maybe a prequel or two, or a book of short stories. There's definitely potential for spin-offs, especially with all the fantasy and historical lore that was revealed in this book.

Thank you to EAM Trofimenkoff for this arc.
Profile Image for Kaylee (underaninkspell).
232 reviews15 followers
June 6, 2025
"Although our hearts beat first, it is our first breath that truly gives us life. There is some magic to be found in that."

A great sequel and end to Elora and Sybines story! This is the end to their duology but only part of this series as we will continue to follow other characters.

This book was so much different than the first in the trials and things our FMCs had to learn and face. There was a lot of growth in this book for them both and I enjoyed watching them grow together. I really liked the Sirens and the lore behind their way of life. Also our new mysterious character and her occasional POV.

If you're looking for a story with magic and mystery, plenty of queer characters, and a women uplifting women, definitely give this duology a try!

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Profile Image for KMart Books.
1,676 reviews92 followers
June 7, 2025
What a fascinating, emotional follow-up to the first book.

The first was fire and vengeance. This sequel is slower, more introspective, and leans into the emotional aftermath rather than the pirate-swashbuckling of the first. Elora and Sybine are no longer just surviving; they’re trying to heal. And that transition is handled so well. I adored the romantic arc here: the love itself is never REALLY in question, even as they’re stumbling through pain, trauma, and the looming threat of a forced marriage. There’s tension, but it’s rooted in emotions and setting boundaries rather than drama just for its own sake.

And then there's Renfrey.

Oh, Renfrey. Absolute scene-stealer. She has that chaotic, morally ambiguous, “why-am-I-obsessed” energy that makes a character instantly magnetic. If her spinoff dropped tomorrow, I’d devour it with no hesitation. The author clearly knew what she was doing with this baddie, and I am HERE for it.

While I loved the rich emotions and character work, I do wish the politics had more room to breathe since we entered royalty territory. The plot gestures toward big, weighty decisions, but doesn't always explore them in depth. Still, that’s a minor note in what is otherwise a gorgeously written, high-stakes, queer fantasy romance that doesn’t shy away from grief, growth, or healing.

This is the kind of duology that evolves with its characters. It starts with revenge and ends with so much depth. Romantic, yearning, and full of feels. I am now fully feral for whatever comes next. Give me Renfrey’s book and give me emotional damage.

Thanks SO much to the author for the complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Janessa.
114 reviews9 followers
May 1, 2025
I was so excited to ARC read this book as I so enjoyed the first one! Sybine and Eloras journey was one of heartbreak and trauma but also love and perseverance. I did not expect some of the twists in this story, I do love being surprised! The book ended in a happily ever after....for now. We will see what comes of Renfrey and her story! I cannot wait to read more!
Profile Image for Ammie.
284 reviews4 followers
June 1, 2025
4.5/⭐️2/🌶️A Kiss of the Ocean’s Breath by EAM Trofimenkoff is book two in their Dark Depths series.

Blurb:
Sybine thought she had watched her nightmares go up in flames with the Vindicate. That was until she received a proposal that forced her to choose between heartbreak and death.

We pick up exactly where we left off in book one, which if you read book one you already know that cliffhanger. Sybine and Elara have a lot of obstacles to overcome in this book. Elora is not someone who is used to feeling weak and vulnerable. On top of that she is unsure where exactly she stands with Sybine at the beginning of this book. Elora thinks she is doing what is best for Sybine and you can see how painful it is for her.

The relationship dynamic between the two is so well written. It is a perfect representation that relationships are never 50/50, because sometimes one partner may need more. Elora needed more at first in the beginning of the story while she healed and you can see Sybine refusing to give up. It was also great seeing Sybine grow more into herself in this book. She is much more confident and sure of herself. Sybine is no longer going to allow others to make decisions for her or tell her how to live her life.

It was also nice getting more of the siren aspect of the story and the magic. Along with more interesting characters to get to know throughout this installment. Liz does a great job of having you not only feel invested in the MCs but the side characters as well. I am very very curious to see if we see other characters more closely in the future.

Elora and Sybine’s story is part of this duology and you all know how much I love duos! This releases June 7th, happy reading!
Profile Image for Megan.
454 reviews12 followers
June 2, 2025
"Tell Me to Stop"
Re-imagined Sirens
Forced Marriage
Feminine Rage
Emotional Damage
Mental Health and Disability Rep

This is the follow up to the sapphic romance A Kiss of the Siren's Song, and what better time for this book to be coming out than during Pride month! Liz has been telling us for months that we were not ready for the emotions of this book, and now that I have finished it and sat with my emotions for a few days, I can absolutely confirm this is true. If you thought AKOTSS sent you through an emotional rollercoaster, hang on to your hats.

The book is raw and emotional. There are so many things happening all at once. Every decision has consequences - even when you make the best decision available to you, and sometimes those consequences can be soul crushing. Learning to live with that can be difficult, if not impossible, and watching/reading other people dealing with the consequences of their own actions can be... painful. Especially when they are beloved characters like Sybine and Elora. 

Sybine and Elora are one of my favorite fictional couples. Their love is so sweet and pure - even when it's painful. They had me in tears quite a few times in this one for so many different reasons. There's something really beautiful about reading characters that love so completely. I think oftentimes we hold parts of ourselves back from relationships because of past experiences, and it's so refreshing to have characters that don't. Or at least learn not to. They give themselves fully to each other, and I love that about them.

Getting a deeper dive into the sirens and their world was really cool. I loved seeing and learning about where Sybine came from. It's a beautifully woven world full of wonderful characters who have a variety of ways that they communicate with one another, and I felt privileged to be invited to it.

I could go on and on about how amazing this book was and how much I adore these characters. It's one of my favorites that I've read this year. Liz has a way of writing characters that just speak to my soul, and this book was no different. I fully enjoyed this, and I can't wait to see where the next adventure takes us.

Thank you to Liz for an advanced reader's copy of this book. I can't wait to buy my shelf trophy!
Profile Image for Eel Williams.
336 reviews4 followers
May 22, 2025
4.5 Stars
HAD ME SCARED IN THE BEGINNING, I AM NOT GONNA LIE.
This second installment in the Dark Depths series really put me through it, in the best way possible. I was thrilled to receive an ARC of this one after falling in love with A Kiss of the Siren’s Song, and let me just say Sybine and Elora’s journey continues to deliver on all fronts. Emotionally intense, beautifully written, and full of moments that had me gasping, clutching my chest, or yelling at the page.
This story plunges deeper into the aftermath of vengeance, identity, and survival. Sybine’s grappling with legacy and sacrifice pulled at my heartstrings, while Elora’s arc of strength and emotional unraveling was equally compelling. The different POV's were powerful and interesting as the the story unfolded more. Battling more than just outside forces. They’re facing the war within, too.

The romance, as always, was laced with yearning and tenderness, but what stood out most were the twists. Just when I thought I had the current figured out, the story yanked me in another direction. And yet, despite all the tension, trauma, and loss, there’s still hope. There’s still love. And yes, we get a happily ever after… for now. 👀
Because Renfrey’s story? Yeah, I am very curious and interested for what we will get in the next book. That’s going to be a storm in the making, and I am so ready.

If you’re a fan of sapphic fantasy with heart, teeth, and sea salt in the wounds, this is a must-read.
Profile Image for Kaitlyn Corbin.
34 reviews1 follower
June 8, 2025
💫ARC Review💫
A Kiss of the Ocean’s Breath by @eamtrofimenkoff

AKOTOB is the exciting sequel to A Kiss of the Siren’s Song, a sapphic pirate romantasy. AKOTOB picks up immediately after the ending of the first book, which instantly got me my cardio for the day from how fast my heart was beating. Sybine is kidnapped and being held by Erik, Elora is being held by Renfrey. The book starts with high stakes, and it stays that way the entire time. The reader gets to experience more settings in this book: ship adventures, the sirens’ home, and court life.

I loved the new characters that appear in this second book, especially Renfrey. She’s sexy in a dangerous way, makes some bad choices but in my eyes her character is not irredeemable. She can come back to the good side, I can change her if she’d give me a chance… date me Renfrey, I love you.

Anyways.

This book will break your heart and put it back together slowly, piece by piece. There’s spice, court intrigue, pirates, sirens, betrayal, intense backstories exposed, mythology, and a ton of (what I believe are) Easter eggs for the next book… I won’t spoil what I think those are.

AKOTOB is out now, it’s the perfect romantasy to pick up for Pride Month. I’ll just be in my corner commissioning new character art for me and Renfrey, an absolute dark goddess.
May 22, 2025
I received an ARC of this book for my honest review.

Similar to the first book, I was hoping for more swashbuckling, seeing the MCs in action. However, I felt the first book delivered the latter (even with spice) more than this second one. This one just felt plain punishing; the MCs were hampered figuratively if not literally in one way or another for most of the book, especially in the castle, so it all just felt so frustrating. I wish the MCs had more of a plan to kick the baddies’ arses and change the situation rather than getting swept along by circumstances. It even seems that way for me for the end—like, maybe the MCs will get the life they really want in the beautiful place they both want to live someday, but for now, are stuck in their current situation (which still isn’t as bad as it could be, but not what they long for).

Maybe this just feels too close to home in 2025 in the U.S. with a mad king in charge—wanting to change the bad stuff happening but mostly feeling powerless. There are still some good characters (Mags is my fave), and the undersea bits were cool, but it wasn’t enough to balance the rest out for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sasha.
76 reviews1 follower
January 24, 2026
The second book in Sybine and Elora's story, its much slower paced than the first book with more court intrigue and politics and less adventure on the high seas but I actually liked this one better than the first book.

It's a cliffhanger ending (kind of) it wraps up Sybine and Elora's story at least for the time being while setting things up for the next novel where the story will follow someone else.

May 1, 2025
This is totally different than what I was expecting it to be in a pleasantly surprising way. I was expecting more swashbuckling. What we are given instead is a beautiful love story. There is tragedy,hardships, abuse and past trauma throughout within our new group of characters and old. But there is the element of weathering the storm and our two mains grow and develop throughout.

There are some really stunning moments that will make your breath hitch and keep craving more. Can’t wait to read the next instalment and see what happens with Renfrey.

I received an ARC of this story for my honest review. 🤩
Profile Image for Heather.
824 reviews12 followers
June 7, 2025
Wow! What a whirlwind of emotions throughout this story! After that cliffhanger in book 1, I couldn’t wait to read how Elora and Sybine’s story would unfold and I wasn’t disappointed! The world building continued as did the treachery. New characters were introduced. I adored Mags! I hope we get more of her in the stories to come. Renfrey was an intriguing character and I’m already hooked to see where her journey leads. Highly recommend if you enjoy fantasy romance, pirates, sirens, magic, intrigue, all the feels and cliff hangers ;).
Profile Image for Trippentigger.
351 reviews4 followers
April 30, 2025
Hook line and sinker, this author just pulled me into this world in the most delightful way. Love the way these characters were developed (even if you want to Gibbs smack em a time or two) into people you just want to cheer for. The weaving of main storyline, sub plots, and future plots are sure to keep me coming back for more. Definitely recommended reading right here. Voluntary review of an ARC.
Profile Image for Jacqueline Halle.
129 reviews3 followers
June 1, 2025
Book 2 in the Dark Depths series and picks up right after that cliffhanger of an ending Book 1 A Kiss of the Siren's Song.

I definitely didn't see certain things coming and I'm fairly certain I'll be starting the next month with a slight book hangover. 😅

Sapphic stories of Pirates and Sirens. Also great disability rep.
Profile Image for Catherine.
104 reviews
July 8, 2025
2.5/5 ⭐️
I was honestly disappointed in this sequel. The first book had a good setup, but something wasn't followed through with that well. I noticed a lot of discrepancies in the plot that took away from the enjoyment of the story. I enjoyed the characters, and I loved the worldbuilding for the Sirens' oasis.
46 reviews
October 25, 2025
Was so blessed to get to beta read this one for Liz! It really held up to the first book and I enjoyed seeing where the adventure would go next. I'm keen to see what Renfrey's story holds after this but I'm not sure the following ones will live up to Elora and Sabine!!
Profile Image for s.elle.books.
584 reviews8 followers
June 28, 2025
I really enjoyed book 2 of this series!!!

The characters growth and development is so good.
The spice was fantastic!
The plot twists and turns were so good.

I can't wait to read book 3!!
Profile Image for Sarah H.
436 reviews
July 6, 2025
A wonderful continuation of Sybine and Elora’s story. Just a little bit slower than the adventures of the first. Hence, 4 stars instead of 5.
Thank you for the creativity.
Profile Image for Amanda.
43 reviews2 followers
June 2, 2025
I was so excited for this book to be released, and I was not disappointed. It starts out exactly where the last one stopped. The anxiety and stress between Sybine and Elora during the first part of the book was painful. I hated how upset they both were and the divide between the two of them. The more that happened to bring them back closer together the better everything felt. I loved that nothing could keep them apart. Even though things might not be exactly how they wanted, they still made the conscious effort to make it work and stick with it.
Renfrey was a terrible delight. She was such a horrible person but so much fun to read about and I ended up still wanting the best for her at the end.
The book was the perfect length at 68 chapters. I love a good long book. It resolved everything and gave me a nice happy ever after. I cant wait to see what happens next!
Profile Image for Luna.
30 reviews
July 7, 2025
the second installment in the dark depths series and one of my all time favorite books. i can’t begin to express how special this book was to me because it was my first ever beta read and a HIGHLY anticipated sequel. the first, a kiss of the sirens song was my first 5 star read in literal MONTHS. i’m not very generous with my ratings but that book just did something to my brain chemistry that made me excited for reading again. i fell so hard and fast for sybine and elora as well as other very special characters 🥺

reading AKOTOB was so comforting, it brought me back to a world i loved and characters i dearly missed. but rather than get a HEA, our mains go through SO MUCH heartache and physical pain 😩 this book perfectly encapsules a broken spirit, a hero dead set on doing whatever they need to to protect those they love, and a morally gray villain you just can’t help but somehow..like?? what??? yeah. look i can’t explain, you just need to read it for yourself and come to your own conclusion.

also, my ass was BAWLING from the author’s note BEFORE the book even started. that’s how powerful Liz’s writing is. i was an emotional wreck before the book even began. 😭
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews