Review of Seafire by Natalie C. Parker
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Review copy provided by the publisher via Penguin’s First to Read in exchange for an honest review
DESCRIPTION
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?
REVIEW
Seafire was absolutely riveting and is the pirate sisterhood story I’ve been wanting! This is a fascinating first novel in a series with a strong world and nicely fleshed out characters to accompany it.
Caledonia Styx has lived a life on the sea. And with that life comes rules to help protect you and yours from a brutal warlord that never stops taking. Cala knows the rules and has never broken them, until the night comes that she does and loses those most precious to her.
Now, four years later, Caledonia is captain of her own ship. With a capable crew of women and girls by her side, Cala seeks to dismantle the Bullet army and reclaim a freedom she’s never known. That is, until a young Bullet finds himself on her ship, begging for an escape from the enemy force he’s a member of. Will Cala break the rules again? Can she trust the information this Bullet promises to share?
From the start of this book you’re hit with action, an incredible world, beautiful writing and complex characters. I found myself so surprised by the ingenious world building in this, I cannot wait to see more of the Bullet Seas and hopefully beyond the Net in the future!
Cala is the type of main character I love because I still found myself questioning her actions and disagreeing with her rationale at times. She is multi-dimensional, fierce and loyal to her cause. So loyal that she can be blinded by better choices right in front of her. That said, Cala clearly suffers from survivor’s guilt and it is easy to see why she has become so unbending over the years.
In addition to Cala, this story has one of the most engaging groups of supporting characters I’ve come across in awhile. Pisces, Hime, Redtooth, Lace, Nettle, Amina and Oran are all incredibly unique and each bring a new strength to this story, rather than feeling as though they’ve been added in just for the sake of things. This story also doesn’t shy away from tragedy, so be ready to keep your favorites close!
Finally, my favorite character in this story is Lir. We only get brief glimpses of his character but he is a driving force for much of the story and I cannot wait to learn more about him. I so badly need to know what motivates him and if everything he said at the beginning of the story was a lie. Is he just obsessed now or is there anything redeeming about him? Despite his very obvious faults, I want him to be a character I come to love and I feel Natalie C. Parker could make this happen! For much of the story all I wanted Cala to do was hunt Lir down so I could learn more about him.
Overall, I highly recommend this book if you love pirates, rich worlds and sisterhoods built out of camaraderie and respect. The ladies in this book take the cake!
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Library in the Country 
Great review ❤ Seafire is on the top of my reading priority list (after Kingdom of Ash of course haha). I was a huge fan of the Song of the Current and daughter of the Pirate King duologies so I have high expectations for this swashbuckling adventure.
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