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3 stars! This review ill be spoiler free!
Synopsis:
"After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, who have lost their families and homes because of Aric and his men. The crew has one mission: stay alive, and take down Aric's armed and armored fleet.
But when Caledonia's best friend and second-in-command barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all . . . or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for?"
Thoughts:
If an all female pirate-esque crew bent on survival and mutiny doesn’t make you want to pick up this book, what would? We follow Caledonia Styx as she goes through some of the roughest losses and makes the hardest decisions for her crew and herself. I was steadily interested in this story, the plot, and characters. However, after some time and thinking... I realize my enjoyment of this books as rather average. I liked it, didn’t hate it, but also am not dying in love with it.
I liked how the world was a blend of both fantasy and sci-fi, with people living on ships in a world where war is at sea, but having very unique futuristic weapons and barriers. This made for very fun and fast-paced action scenes. I was always anxious to see who would survive, who would get taken, or would they even win this time? The author does a great job of actually making Caledonia and the crew struggle through each battle.
The aspect of an all female crew being the greatest pain in the ass for the warlord “Father” — Aric Athair — was amazing. I enjoyed the dynamics between all the characters, how the main four females calling the shots contrasted with each other. Caledonia was a great leader too, I loved that she stuck to what she thought was right, but also took into account the thoughts of her crew mates. Regardless of the fact that she was withholding this secret of hers, she always tried to put the lives of her crew first. And she was always testing/double thinking herself, making sure she was still being a good leader, that she wasn’t failing them. I liked that she wasn’t just an arrogant leading female.
Something rather random, but what I found to be quite cute, was that on their ship girls-kissing-girls platonically is completely normal. I loved that they could show their platonic love to each other and it wasn’t weird or awkward within the story.
The plot itself barely gave you any time to relax. Something was always popping up, throwing the girls for a loop, causing them to run or fight or outwit their pursuers. The constant ups and downs keep you hooked enough, even though they are rather short. Then the ending rolls around and, maybe it was just me, but I was definitely not prepared for the story to end where it did. Then I read the synopsis for book two and thought, WTF?! THIS is where the next book is picking off of?!
So why did I only give this book 3 stars?
I think it goes to show that it’s only been a few weeks since I’ve finished the story, but am already not really remembering things and kind of losing interest in picking up book two. Maybe it was the writing, but it just didn't stick with me after thinking back on the story. The writing wasn't particularly my cup of tea? Maybe? I think this is because I prefer a story that has equal parts comedy/sarcasm to riveting action, and this book just didn't have that.
After taking some time away from the book, I also knocked off a star because I wanted more fleshed out backstories. Yes, each of the girls had these great personalities, but I wanted to know more about them. I also wanted to know more about Aric Athair, like how did he even happen upon this world? I just needed some more explanation.
Lastly, my other issue was just a personal preference, but I couldn’t stand the fact that she waited so long to tell her best friend “the big secret” she was holding. And then it was rather fast how it passed after waiting so long. No discussion or explanation. That’s just a personal preference, I just think there could have been a more interesting way that could have been handled.
Overall:
If I’m still interested when book two comes out, I imagine I will pick it up! I liked how well the author keeps you hooked in the story with plot twists and lots of action, but could have use a little more comedic relief. And of course, I enjoy strong witty female characters, here we have some very strong and very smart female leads.