Tag Archives: pirates

Review: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

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Cover of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

Y’all, this was so fun. Cecilia Bassingthwaite is a very proper young lady and also a very proper scoundrel. She is thrilled to find out, in the first pages of the novel, that someone has put a hit out on her. Maybe she’ll finally be invited to become a full member of the Wisteria Society. Plus, the assassin who has been sent to kill her isn’t at all terrible to look at and that is a nice bonus.

Cecilia and her Aunt become involved in highjinks. There are flying houses, other lady pirates, some of whom are on their side and some of whom are dirty traitors. There is a villain who is obsessed with Branwell Brontë and who also happens to be Cecilia’s father. Can Cecilia prove that she is nothing like the terrible rogue? Can she save the day?

I know I’ve already said this, but this was incredibly fun. I liked Cecilia and the cast of characters who surrounded her. The back and forth between her and her charming assassin was delightful. Her Aunt was a hoot. The flying houses were thrilling. I enjoyed every second of this book and I cannot wait to get my hands of the next one, as soon as its available from the library.

I purchased my copy of this from The Ripped Bodice; when I am not supporting my local library, I enjoy supporting independent bookstores. (Not to pat myself on the back or anything. Think of this more a little reminder to myself to keep putting my money where my mouth is ;))

Quick Review: The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

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This was a book club pick way back in January and there’s no good reason why I haven’t already reviewed it. The story of Amina Al-Sirafi and her legendary pirate crew as they come out of retirement for one last job. Amina doesn’t particularly want to leave the safety of her home and her daughter, but when a fallen comrade’s daughter, Dunya, runs off with a dangerous, European treasure hunter, she can’t help but take the job.

The story is told as an interview, with two narrative voices. Amina speaks to her scribe, Jamal. She tells the story of the present narrative of the search for Dunya with flashbacks that fill in what happened to her fallen colleague, why she retired, and how she came about building her crew. The second set of narratives are told by Jamal and they tell the tale of the Moon of Saba, a legendary treasure.

The adventure in this was exciting, the characters were delightful, and the ending was very moving. I really enjoyed this one and I do believe that there will be a sequel, which I’m pretty excited about. If you like pirates, adventure, mystery, treasure hunting, or found family, then this one is for you!

Review: Stormbreak by Natalie C. Parker

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I will miss this series. Caledonia and crew are special and took me on a quite of adventure. When the series begins the crew’s motto has run and hide and stay away from bullet ships. They are no longer running or hiding. They are striking back in hopes of creating a new world. Despite of all the trials Caledonia and crew continue to inspire others to join them and fight. They do it by giving the people the power of choice. They can stay and help them or they can go back to their life of servitude but for once it’s their choice. They all grow as characters but this is Caledonia’s story. She starts guilt ridden and angry, seeking revenge on Lir and Arik’s Bullet army to killing her family. Her need for vengeance often got her in trouble. Her inability to let it go and to not let her sisters in made her fail over and over again. It wasn’t until she was able to let go of her own wants and needs and let her crew burden some of the responsibility did they succeed. The book doesn’t sugar coat her flaws. It doesn’t gloss over her mistakes and her bad decisions. Her own personal struggles with who she is and the choices she has to make. She knows that to win they have to be as ruthless as their enemy but how do you do that without becoming them. She does it by again letting people choose their own destiny. When the fight is over it doesn’t mean that everything is now perfect or that she can go back to living as she did because life doesn’t work that way. She may have succeeded but now she has to live with everything she did to get there and that’s not easy. Caledonia wasn’t the only one who grew over the three books. Picses was always Caledonia’s second in command. There to help and follow Caledonia’s lead. She was Caledonia’s moral compass when she ever went to far but seemed at the beginning only wanting to follow. Over the series, she found her voice and began to not only challenge Caledonia more but also take more of the lead until she was the one giving orders. It’s great to see.

This books is full of great characters of all spectrums that anyone can see themselves represented. They all brought their own strengths to the crew and made it possible to win the day. From Amina to Hime to Nettle to Tin to Oran to Pine, Sledge and more. I don’t think there was an unlikeable character. Lir, our big bad was a good villain. He did unthinkable things but it wasn’t just for evils sake but born out of years of violence and abuse. It doesn’t excuse his actions but makes sense to the story and motivation. I do hope that someone buys the rights to this series because it would make a great series or movie. I would say TV show then movie because there is just so much into that it would lend itself well to an episodic format. So yes read this series from beginning to end. Especially if you liked Mad Max: Fury Road. You won’t regret it.

Quick Review: Steel Tide by Natalie C. Parker

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I really love this series. It just gets better. Caeldonia and her crew have been separated because Cala couldn’t help herself and tried to take on Lir at the end of Seafire. Fortunately for her she was saved by the Blades, a group of former bullets. They heal her and she convinces them to help her get her crew back, even though it would mean for them to go back to some old bullet homesteads and put them in danger. The great thing about this book is that we truly get to see why Cala is the captain and why people are so willing to follow her. She had strength in the Seafire but we had met her after she had assembled her crew. In Steel Tide, we get a glimpse of her she was able to assemble her crew in the first place and earn such loyalty from them. Cala is a little rough behind the edges but she is so smart and brave that it’s hard to believe she can do everything. She has the ability to see every aspect of the situation and come up with the plan and execute no matter how impossible it may seem. Her belief that she is right and able to make the impossible possible make people follow her. Cala confidence also grows, she is still unsure why she is the leader and doubts her own skills but she knows something has to be done and is willing to do it. She has given people hope so the next book is going to be epic. I can’t wait to read it.