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Fin Deep
ebook
Published April 24, 2026
About the author
Regina Sage
12 books48 followersRegina Sage is the pen name of a land-locked linguist who loves the ocean. When they aren’t writing about spicy sharks in space, they're narrating books for indie authors and spending time with their co-pirate.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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February 4, 2026loved this shark shifter romance! lots of mystical, underwater fun and deep, heartfelt ruminations on identity that spoke straight to my enby heart.
May 2, 2026
I don't often read shifter stories; I lean more into monsters and paranormal, but the promise of trans rep (especially first person, mid figuring things out!!) and a unique type of shifter (sharks?!) drew me in. 🦈
⭐⭐⭐ (3.25) | 🌶️ (1)
This isn't your usual romantasy shifter style book. While most of the elements are there, this is much closer to Magical Realism. It's set in our very much real world as we know it, in 2019.
The writing was a bit off from what I prefer. For example, in dialogue there's sometimes cheesy innuendo - sometimes it made me laugh, sometimes roll my eyes - but it's also done outside of dialogue, and being written in third* person POV, I find it off putting. The author also breaks the fourth wall on one occasion, which completely caught me off guard and left a bad taste in my mouth.
As much as it sometimes bothered me, it didn't effect my want to read, so. 🤷
The plot and the story pace is a sloooow one. We go mostly day by day, which fits the story being told really well, and the occasional week and month skips are used expertly to summarize and not bog the reader down too much.
The lore/world building around the Ocean Kissed is SO interesting! I wanted so much more of it, which I suspect will be revealed later in the series.
Overall I'm not sure how I feel about character development. Kaley is done really well. Keith, not so much - at all. I suspect that's going to happen in the next book, but as of right now, I actively dislike him enough to not want to know. It would take a LOT for me to come around - the story is billed as second chance, which isn't my favorite, but I don't mind - but that the second chance resolution would take me reading the next book? Unfortunately, I'm not up for it.
I'm not sure whether the author intended for us to dislike (hate, tbh, in my case) Keith so much, but damn.
The relationship in this came out of nowhere - it's not in the blurb at all, and not who I assumed it would be. That said, I actually ADORE Kaley with the person they end up involved with! It's so healthy and helps them in a very affirming way that warmed my little grumpy trans heart. 🥰
There's a great representation of transness here that I don't often see written or even talked about, and it made me feel so seen. The struggle of realizing you may not fit the identity you've always assumed was yours. The fear of others not understanding or accepting. The experimenting with blended pronouns, and ultimately deciding to abandon your originally assigned set. The complicated feelings towards your body not being right, but also not hating it. The first time you tell someone… Ugh!! It was so good. 😭 I would recommend this book for that alone.
There's also non-traditional family structures and polyam representation that came out of NOWHERE, but damn if I'm not here for it.
The ending? Bit bizarre, ngl. It does wrap up as a HEA, but there's also a huge cliffhanger? I'm delighted by the HEA. It's exactly what I wanted, and so I think I'll be wishing Sage much luck on the next book, and ending here. I loved this world, and I really DO want more, but I'm not behind that second chance situation I mentioned above. I have very strong feelings about it. 😬
I may still watch for reviews though, and maybe dip my toes back in. Still, this is worth the read, and I think a lot of readers’ tastes would leave them a bit feral over the cliffhanger and desire for more!
⭐⭐⭐ (3.25) | 🌶️ (1)
This isn't your usual romantasy shifter style book. While most of the elements are there, this is much closer to Magical Realism. It's set in our very much real world as we know it, in 2019.
The writing was a bit off from what I prefer. For example, in dialogue there's sometimes cheesy innuendo - sometimes it made me laugh, sometimes roll my eyes - but it's also done outside of dialogue, and being written in third* person POV, I find it off putting. The author also breaks the fourth wall on one occasion, which completely caught me off guard and left a bad taste in my mouth.
As much as it sometimes bothered me, it didn't effect my want to read, so. 🤷
The plot and the story pace is a sloooow one. We go mostly day by day, which fits the story being told really well, and the occasional week and month skips are used expertly to summarize and not bog the reader down too much.
The lore/world building around the Ocean Kissed is SO interesting! I wanted so much more of it, which I suspect will be revealed later in the series.
Overall I'm not sure how I feel about character development. Kaley is done really well. Keith, not so much - at all. I suspect that's going to happen in the next book, but as of right now, I actively dislike him enough to not want to know. It would take a LOT for me to come around - the story is billed as second chance, which isn't my favorite, but I don't mind - but that the second chance resolution would take me reading the next book? Unfortunately, I'm not up for it.
I'm not sure whether the author intended for us to dislike (hate, tbh, in my case) Keith so much, but damn.
The relationship in this came out of nowhere - it's not in the blurb at all, and not who I assumed it would be. That said, I actually ADORE Kaley with the person they end up involved with! It's so healthy and helps them in a very affirming way that warmed my little grumpy trans heart. 🥰
There's a great representation of transness here that I don't often see written or even talked about, and it made me feel so seen. The struggle of realizing you may not fit the identity you've always assumed was yours. The fear of others not understanding or accepting. The experimenting with blended pronouns, and ultimately deciding to abandon your originally assigned set. The complicated feelings towards your body not being right, but also not hating it. The first time you tell someone… Ugh!! It was so good. 😭 I would recommend this book for that alone.
There's also non-traditional family structures and polyam representation that came out of NOWHERE, but damn if I'm not here for it.
The ending? Bit bizarre, ngl. It does wrap up as a HEA, but there's also a huge cliffhanger? I'm delighted by the HEA. It's exactly what I wanted, and so I think I'll be wishing Sage much luck on the next book, and ending here. I loved this world, and I really DO want more, but I'm not behind that second chance situation I mentioned above. I have very strong feelings about it. 😬
I may still watch for reviews though, and maybe dip my toes back in. Still, this is worth the read, and I think a lot of readers’ tastes would leave them a bit feral over the cliffhanger and desire for more!
An ARC of Fin Deep was freely provided to me by the author - thank you!
Please keep in mind that although ARCs don't often change much, if at all, before publishing: it is possible, and this review is based on pre-released content.
May 3, 2026
Fantastic! This is what I call a chewy book (complimentary). There’s so much here that my brain wants to chew on and ponder over that I can only read a few chapters at a time before going into thinking mode.
On the surface this is a romance starring shark shifters. Which already is a glorious thing! But to me the romance is secondary and this is more of a coming of age tale about identity and self discovery. Hence the wonderful chewiness!
This does end with a ‘to be continued’ and what is maybe a ‘happy for now’ for one of our main characters and a world of regret for another. Some might say that regret is well deserved (it’s me, I’m that some). I will definitely be on board for the next book. I adore Kaley and would love to spend more time with them.
This is a spin off of an existing series and I had no problem going in as a first time reader. I’m definitely going back to glom up that original series though!
** I received an eARC from the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review. **
On the surface this is a romance starring shark shifters. Which already is a glorious thing! But to me the romance is secondary and this is more of a coming of age tale about identity and self discovery. Hence the wonderful chewiness!
This does end with a ‘to be continued’ and what is maybe a ‘happy for now’ for one of our main characters and a world of regret for another. Some might say that regret is well deserved (it’s me, I’m that some). I will definitely be on board for the next book. I adore Kaley and would love to spend more time with them.
This is a spin off of an existing series and I had no problem going in as a first time reader. I’m definitely going back to glom up that original series though!
** I received an eARC from the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review. **
Review of advance copy received from Author
I did not expect a shark shifter story to pull on my heart so much, but this one really put me through an emotional wringer.
When Kaley barely survived an attack from a rogue shark shifter, their venom caused Kaley to turn into a shifter herself. Unfortunately she struggles with this transformation, and her mentor Keith, the ER doctor who was thankfully was on shift when she was brought up in after the attack, puts his own personal life at risk to help her
What follows is a beautiful story of Kaley trying to find peace with her new self, and finding friendship and love along the way.
I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a shifter story with a lot of heart 🩶
I received an ARC of this ebook from the author, and I'm voluntarily leaving this review.
When Kaley barely survived an attack from a rogue shark shifter, their venom caused Kaley to turn into a shifter herself. Unfortunately she struggles with this transformation, and her mentor Keith, the ER doctor who was thankfully was on shift when she was brought up in after the attack, puts his own personal life at risk to help her
What follows is a beautiful story of Kaley trying to find peace with her new self, and finding friendship and love along the way.
I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a shifter story with a lot of heart 🩶
I received an ARC of this ebook from the author, and I'm voluntarily leaving this review.
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May 4, 2026I don't really know how to rate this book. I like the premise found the characters interesting but the "will they/won't they" relationship between Kaley and Keith never really worked for me and I actually like the person Kaley ends up with. It also sort felt as if the gender dysmorphia was a late edition to the story as parts were really confusing due to the pronoun changes. I do understand Kaley was still figuring things out but from a reader perspective, it was a bit challenging to follow exactly what was happening when "they" was used when Kaley was with other characters.
I do find the world itself very interesting and I will be checking out more stories in this universe.
I received an advance copy for review. All opinions are my own.
I do find the world itself very interesting and I will be checking out more stories in this universe.
I received an advance copy for review. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
As a shifter romance lover, the story of Kaley was very refreshing and interesting as they are not only struggling to work with their new power, but also struggling with their gender identity.
It's a good read about shark shifters that may originate from aliens?!
It's a good read about shark shifters that may originate from aliens?!
April 24, 2026
Thank you so much for letting me be apart of your ARC team!
ARC Review:
A unique story layered with trauma, growth, and forbidden tension, all centered around pushing boundaries and finding yourself with the support of found family. I especially loved the shark shifter element, and that ending definitely left me wanting more.
- Self discovery
- Nonbinary MC
- Mentor x Mentee
- Slow burn
- Found family
ARC Review:
A unique story layered with trauma, growth, and forbidden tension, all centered around pushing boundaries and finding yourself with the support of found family. I especially loved the shark shifter element, and that ending definitely left me wanting more.
- Self discovery
- Nonbinary MC
- Mentor x Mentee
- Slow burn
- Found family
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews