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Gray Seas by Hailey Edwards Narrator: Stephanie Richardson
Series: Black Hat Bureau #8
Published by Tantor Audio on April 16, 2024
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Length: 8 hours and 17 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Purchase Links: Amazon*Libro*Kobo*Chirp
Goodreads
After the challenge for the throne of Hael went sideways, Rue expected Stavros to place a bounty on Asa's head, but she didn't expect him to pin an even bigger target on her back. Then again, it was her fault he was forced to turn tail and run from the fight during a live broadcast to the entire kingdom. That had to sting his pride. Life would have been so much simpler if only he had been incinerated by her magic along with the rest of the arena.
But simple is one thing Rue's life has never been. And things keep getting more complicated when a stalker turns to murder, carving messages into the bodies of his victims. With a killer on her trail, she ought to be focused on staying alive, but a hot tip on another case leads her into the bowels of the Black Hat compound, where Rue discovers a world of secrets and lies that just might bring the Bureau crashing to its knees.
Contains mature themes.
©2023 Black Dog Books, LLC (P)2024 Tantor
Also in this series: Black Hat, White Witch, Black Arts, White Craft, Black Truth, White Lies, Black Wings, Gray Skies, Gray Witch, Gray Tidings
Gray Seas is the eighth book in Hailey Edwards’s Black Hat Bureau series, narrated by Stephanie Richardson.
Picking up just four days after the events of Gray Court, Rue and her team are focused on getting back into the Director’s good graces so she can finally initiate much-needed changes at the Bureau.
While I’m not quite as hooked on this series as I was in the beginning, it’s still an enjoyable urban fantasy, and I definitely plan to finish the series arc. The action kicks off immediately with a bomb nearly taking out Rue and her friends. From there, the plot keeps moving with multiple assassins on their trail and an ongoing hunt for Luca, the Black Hat traitor.
On the character front, I love how settled Rue and Asa have become in their partnership, built on solid mutual trust and affection. The overall found-family dynamic remains a huge highlight. However, what held this installment back for me was the amount of repetitive internal reflection on Rue’s part, which slowed down the momentum.
Audio: Stephanie Richardson continues to deliver a great performance. Her strong, confident voice fits Rue’s first-person POV perfectly, and she does a wonderful job tailoring distinct voices for the cast based on age, gender, and species.
Overall, Gray Seas was an okay listen for me—it didn’t completely capture my full attention, but the big ending revelations and shifts definitely have me curious to see how everything wraps up.
Rated: 3 Stars
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About Stephanie Richardson
Winning first place at a storytelling festival as an 11 year old, I knew I was destined for life behind a microphone. Nearly 20 years later, with a background in theatre, professional vocal training, and teaching I finally began my audiobook journey.
I have a degree in history and editing but also studied some dance and musical theatre in college. I love fruit and vegetable gardening and am often obsessively researching varieties of fruit trees and trying to figure out which part of my backyard I can get away with digging up to plant something new in. Family and children are especially important to me and I spent several years teaching music, swimming, and history to elementary-age kids. Now, I’m a part-time narrator, and full-time mom. While not enjoying a book I can be found playing zoo-keeper to my 6 rambunctious kids, playing nerdy board games, or talking to my plants.
About Hailey Edwards
USA Today best-selling author Hailey Edwards writes about questionable applications of otherwise perfectly good magic, the transformative power of love, the family you choose for yourself, and blowing stuff up. Not necessarily all at once. That could get messy.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2026 Audiobook Challenge
- 2026 Beat the Backlist Challenge
- 2026 COYER Out To Lunch Again
- 2026 Library Love Challenge
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