Review:

In the nautical world of Seafire, Caledonia Styx has a mission to bring down the oppressive regime run by war-lord Aric Athair. A ship under the authority of Athair was responsible for the murder of her family when she was a pre-teen. Since then, she has become a captain of her own ship (Ghost), supervising a crew of fifty-two females who have also suffered at the hands of Aric’s men. Her crew aims to take down ships in Athair’s Bullet fleet.

Caledonia’s best friend, Pisces, is her second-in-command. When Pisces is captured by a Bullet crew, Caledonia fears the worst. However, Pisces escapes with the help of a rogue Bullet. Caledonia has always had a strict no-male rule on her ship, but her rules are challenged when the Bullet tells them he has important information that might help them take down Athair.

This book caught my eye when I was browsing in my library. The cover art is absolutely stunning, and the story drew me in from the first page. Parker has created a cast of characters that are complex and multidimensional. She gives them rich backstories, and I found myself wanting a book written on each one of the five women in Caledonia’s command crew. Thankfully, this is the start of a trilogy, so we’ll get to follow the story of the women of the Ghost! I highly recommend you add this to your to-read list.

Favorite Passage:

“On the back of the sea, who do we trust?” she called.
Her crew answered together, “Our sisters.”
Caledonia raised her voice a little more. “When our ship falters, who do we trust?”
“Our sisters.”
She shouted, “In a storm of Bullets, who do we trust?”
Their voices spiraled together, rising up like the early morning sun. “Our sisters!”
With a grin, she finished the call. “We fight together.”
And they responded, “Or not at all!”
Chapter Thirty-Seven

What I Loved Most:

The crew on the Ghost are a diverse crew, including a character (Hime) who uses sign language to communicate. Her signing is normalized in the book; the other members of the crew also sign when they talk with her. Hime is a complex character – we get to hear about her backstory, which includes trauma and addiction, in addition to her romantic relationship with another crew member being a low-key side story. I loved how Parker didn’t make it a big deal that Hime doesn’t speak verbally – it was a part of who she was, but not her whole identity.

Read this book if you like:

Strong female protagonists, diverse characters, adventure

Book Details:

• Author: Natalie C. Parker
• Publisher: Razorbill
• Date of Publication: August 28, 2018
• Age Recommendation: High School
• Find Seafire on Amazon if you’d like to own a copy!
• Find Seafire on WorldCat to see what libraries around you have this title available!