Oh wow thank you so much for the kind words. It's been a minute since I've received feedback from someone who met this story for the first time so that's really wonderful to hear. I'll definitely take note of the 'he' thing and see if I can make it better, thank you. Also, no comment on the possible romantic relationship between the two lol. Not that I think there's anyone here I might ruin it for but... I guess you never know?
I just finished reading the first chapter of Burning Water (sorry it took so long btw, work kicked my ass a little this week) and it's wonderful! I think the setting is immediately interesting, and Atha's unique... situation, I guess, is immediately intriguing. I think you did an excellent work with introducing this world without dumping too much information on your readers, while still providing enough details to keep them immersed which I loved.
If I had to point out one thing, I'd say the part where the wagon boat the guides are described could maybe be a shortened just a little since it slows the pacing down perhaps a tad too much, but it's really nothing major. There are also a few places where there's an unnecessary or missing space but... that happens to all of us haha.
Thank you for sharing your work! And for your feedback once again. Here's to more happy reading and writing ^^