Restless Sea is the fifth book in a series about Galen's life. While it is about two monks, one of whom people think is a saint, it is more about friendship and dealing with adversity. This installment in the series offers some exciting twists, while the elements that make this series great are still strong.

Marina Pacheco, the author, writes fantastic friendships. I remember reading her book "Sanctuary" and was struck by how real the main friendship was. I really believed that these people were friends and that their relationship mattered to them. The Galen books include more of those wonderful friendships.

In this book, Galen's relationship with Alcuin is a bit different than in previous books, as Alcuin ends up being seasick, while Galen is doing pretty well. This gives us a chance to see Galen interacting with more people than usual, and in a fairly controlled environment. As I said before, Marina Pacheco is great with friendships, and even the brief relationships formed over the course of this book are really satisfying. Of course, the characters face difficulties on several different fronts, and I have to say, the resolutions are especially satisfying.

The endings to previous books in the series have been wrapped up enough that you could close the book feeling that things are going pretty well for the characters. This book, though, ends with a cliffhanger. While I normally don't enjoy cliffhangers, I can accept this one without complaint. It isn't like the author put it in to force you to read another book. If you finished book 5 (and it is a really good book 5), then you are probably planning to read book 6. Also, it isn't like you just struggled through thousands of pages to get to an ending that isn't an ending. No, this book it quick. Also, the ending fits the action of the story. Things have changed for the characters, and they are going to have serious issues to deal with in book 6.

Probably obviously, I will be reading the next book. This book has set things up so that I am especially looking forward to it.

Should you read this book? Yes. The story is especially accessible and enjoyable. The only concern I would have would be for people who really dislike religion. However, I don't think that the story is written in a way that you have to believe in God to enjoy it. It isn't about religion. Religion is just part of the setting. I could imagine saying that it is magical realism, although I think that the story is a bit less goofy than the magical realism stories I've read.

Unlike the other series that I read, I think you could probably get away with reading this book first, if you wanted to, and then go back to read the earlier books. Obviously, there would be spoilers for the books you skipped, but I don't think you would be totally lost if you started with this one. Also, the early books are compelling enough that I'm pretty sure that after reading this book, someone who enjoyed it would want to read them too.