Tag: pirates

Review: The Devourer by Alison Ames

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Alexis holds a Kindle with The Devourer cover over snow

Alexis:

Happy Pub Day to The Devourer! 

The Devourer is a YA fantasy with pirates, revenge, a monster sinking ships, and magic leaking into the world. It follows Adra, a young pirate captain. When her half-brother Cameron attacks their father and robs him of a priceless treasure map, he leaves him a shell of the pirate captain he once was. Now Adra’s only aim in life is to kill Cameron, retrieve her father’s map, and claim the treasure herself.

But her plans are thwarted by a young pirate captain named Quinn, as well as a monster called The Devourer that’s sinking ships. Now, she must strike a deal with the monster.

What I Liked:

Adra was a morally grey and well-rounded main character, and her relationship with her crew was interesting to read about. Diana, a girl who was turned into an osprey by bad magic, was my favorite character, and I wanted even more of her!

I also really vibed with Ames’ writing style, and I loved her descriptions. 

The story also has sapphic and disability representation. 

I don’t want to give anything away, but the overall plot and premise feels fresh and different, which I really appreciated in a YA read. The atmosphere of the book is fairly dark, but with enough humor to balance it out.

What I Didn’t Like As Much:

However, I found myself wanting even more monsters and mayhem. The premise of the book doesn’t really happen until halfway through the story, so the first half felt a little slow and the plot didn’t feel quite as urgent as I wanted it to. The ending also felt a little abrupt to me; I wanted more scenes with Cameron.

Verdict:

That being said, overall, this was a solid and enjoyable read. I was in the mood for a pirate story, so this hit the spot.

🌊🌊🌊🌊/5 

Thank you to Netgalley and Page Street Publishing for my ARC in exchange for a review!

Review: Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long

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A Kindle ARC copy of Dark Water Daughter lays on a desk on 2 notebooks and next to a pair of pinkish-clear glasses and a candle

Alexis:

Happy Publication Day to Dark Water Daughter!

Synopsis

Dark Water Daughter is an adult historical pirate fantasy. It follows two main characters: Mary is a Stormsinger, a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Samuel is an ex-naval officer who now works as a pirate hunter—with a unique power of his own. Both Mary and Samuel must come face to face with pirate lord Silvanus Lirr as he hunts down Mary for reasons yet unknown while also coming to terms with their pasts.

Worldbuilding 

The thing I love most about this book is the worldbuilding and magic systems. At the beginning of each chapter is a tidbit from a guidebook that details an aspect of the world. I love how this feeds us information about the world without it feeling forced and without having to info dump.

As for the worldbuilding itself, we have ghistings, or spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of Mary’s homeland and the figureheads of ships. I absolutely loved how unique and ghostly ghistings feel! 

On top of that, we have Stormsingers, as mentioned above, but there are also people who can see into a world called the Other, and yet other people who can influence others. The world and magic is so rich and vibrant, and I loved reading about it.

Atmosphere and Characters 

The atmosphere is great: think forest/sea/winter. Think Pirates of the Caribbean but darker. I love both Mary and Sam’s backstories. There’s a whole host of side characters, but they never feel flat. And there is an amazing twist in the second half that really gets the story moving and gives it another edge. 

Critiques 

My only main critique is that the middle of this book lags a bit, especially when Mary and Samuel set off on separate adventures—I kept waiting for their storylines to cross again! This book is also in first person perspective, and sometimes I wanted to hear more thoughts and feelings from both Mary and Samuel. (However, this is a common critique I have of adult fantasy books, so it could totally just be me who feels this way!)

Why you should read it!

If you’re looking for an adventurous and dark pirate story with a unique magic system, a complicated plot with a great twist, and plenty of forest, sea, and winter vibes, definitely give Dark Water Daughter a shot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for providing me with an ARC for review! 

VERDICT: ☠️☠️☠️☠️.5/5 

Also, Happy Publication Day to A Song of Salvation by Alechia Dow! You can check out my review of this heartfelt YA space opera here.

DNF: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

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Alexis holds a library copy of the book in front of a bookshelf

Alexis:

Whelp, I DNFed Tress of the Emerald Sea. Given all the rave reviews, this book wasn’t what I expected.

The thing that threw me off the most was the narration style. Even though Sanderson explains this in the back of the book, it wasn’t working for me (or the story, in my opinion). The narrator is a character who appears later in the book. So even though the story is in 3rd person POV from Tress’ point of view, it’s technically actually in 1st person from the narrator’s POV.

The narrator is obnoxious. He’s constantly making side remarks and comments and cracking dumb jokes. It ended up completely taking me out of the story.

It doesn’t help, however, that I feel like I barely got to know Tress as a character. The romance is one dimensional, and the characters also feel one dimensional. The pacing felt off. The spore sea was interesting (the ocean isn’t actually water, but made of fungi spores) but everything else made me put this book down. 

(Also, yes, I’m aware that the book is flipped in the photo 😂)

DISCLAIMER: I haven’t read Sanderson’s Cosmere series, which is where this book is set. I know I would understand the world more if I did! However, since this book is a standalone, I am reviewing it as a standalone book.

Review: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

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A library copy of the book rests on an iron table next to a bottle of Wegman's mango kombucha

Alexis:

Are you looking for a swashbuckling pirate story that has both historical and fantasy elements?

The Adventures of Amina al-Sarafi follows Amina, a retired, middle-aged pirate. She lives far away from society in order to keep her young daughter safe and away from the haunts of her past. But when an old woman (the mother of a former crewman) comes to her door claiming her granddaughter was kidnapped, Amina finds it to be a job she can’t refuse. With the promise of making a fortune that will secure her daughter’s future, Amina comes out of retirement to dive back into her pirate life and finds herself facing the greatest adventure, and threat, of her life that might just leave her a legend. 

I absolutely loved the vibes of this book. The first half has a very strong historical fiction feel with very little fantasy elements, and you can tell Chakroborty did a phenomenal amount of historical research. The second half is very action-packed and becomes high fantasy very quickly. But the whole book has a strong feel of adventure and danger, which is perfect for a pirate story!

Amina is a fun main character with a strong voice. I love the fact that she’s older and has to come out of retirement. I love how she reconnects with her old crew. And I also love how she’s a mother, which plays a large part in her motivations. Amina is Muslim, and her reckoning with her religion also plays a large part in the story. 

Additionally, I like how the story is set up as an oral tradition. Amina is telling the story to an unknown someone (we find out at the end), and there are even tidbits of letters and info placed between chapters. 

I will say, the first half of this book is a little slow. Chakroborty takes her time setting everything up, and I kept wondering, When does this become a fantasy book? A lot of the side characters felt a little flat, but I really enjoyed the character of Dunya, the missing granddaughter. This definitely would’ve been a 5-star read if the first half didn’t drag quite as much.

Additional aspects I liked:

  • If you couldn’t tell from the cover, there’s a kraken-like creature that makes an appearance. 
  • Pirates of the Caribbean plus Life of Pi vibes 
  • Plenty of comedic moments and conversations 
  • There’s a demon with a vibrant personality 
  • Emphasis on myths and legends, alongside storytelling 

VERDICT: 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️/5 

Currently Reading/Review: Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

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Alexis:

When I was a pre-teen or teen, the Matt Cruse trilogy was one of my favorite series. Airborn, the first in the series, is a YA adventure with a Titanic vibe and an undercurrent of zoology, set in an early 1900’s alternate reality where airships are the primary mode of transportation. I know, interesting, right?

As I re-read this, I remember how much I enjoyed the story and the characters. Lately, about 90% of the books I’ve been reading have been from a female POV, and this is a good change of pace. Airborn is from the POV of Matt, a 15-year-old cabin boy of the airship Aurora. The story follows Matt on his adventures with a girl he meets named Kate as they try to track down a mysterious winged creature mentioned in a journal of a dying ballooinst. I really enjoy both Matt’s character and POV, as well as Kate’s curious and spunky character. 

This story is pure action-adventure, complete with pirates and a surivival storyline. I recommend reading the other two books in the series, as well. The series only becomes more interesting as the characters grow older and space travel gets involved!

VERDICT: 5/5