Natalie C. Parker

Caledonia Styx let down her guard once – and her family were murdered by ruthless warlord Aric Athair and his blood-thirsty Bullets. Now captain of a crew of girls who have lost everything to the Bullets, she has sworn never to show mercy again. But when a rogue Bullet saves the life of Caledonia's best friend, she faces an impossible choice. If she lets the boy live, could he help them bring down Athair – or will he destroy them all? High seas, high stakes...and high time for revenge.

Seafire

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.

kelsey

“i'm not made for just surviving.” “what are you made for, then?” “fighting back.”

gotta love badass women. the only thing that made me not give it five stars was the weird hetero romance that had zero development. they just went from hate to randomly kissing lol. but other than that amazing i love women who kick ass

Sarah

This book was amazing. Caledonia is a badass women and she leads her all female crew. Loved this book so much can not recommend enough.

Gabriella

An Amazinggg girl power book with just the right dash of roamnce!

Nicole Dykeman

This was a lot of fun, and I think it’s a perfect beach read. There’s so much action packed into these 370ish pages—it really never lets up. Plus the seafaring adventures made me feel a little more summery with my toes in the sand and a breeze off the water. 

Caledonia is actually a pretty awesome YA protagonist. I feel like it’s rare to see badass, strong ladies who also have a self-conscious streak, at least not any insecurities that authors will actually note. She struggles with her personal flaws and internalized guilt throughout the story, and I appreciated that, though it felt very repetitive after a while. I felt like I was reading the same conversation several times, about how Caledonia needs to have more confidence in herself and trust in her crew instead of carrying the weight of responsibility on her shoulders alone. 

The cast of side characters was lovely as well. I love me a ragtag crew of misfits, and Red, Amina, Nettle, Tin, Pisces, and the others were entertaining and lovable. I loved reading such a girl-centric, positive book. None of the girls are ever tearing each other down, they’re only seen building each other up, which is so important to see for young readers. 

I also appreciated that the romance (which exists because it’s YA, and apparently you can’t have a YA book without romance) was minimal. The focus of the story was geared more toward Caledonia’s platonic relationships with her crew members than with Oran. Even the scenes between Caledonia and Oran were short and sweet, and it certainly didn’t feel like an insta-love situation. This is a slow-burn if I’ve ever read one. 

I’m definitely going to pick up the sequel when it arrives, and I’m hoping to see more of what goes on on the other side of things. I want to see Aric, or some Bullets, and what they’re getting up to. 

I highly recommend this to fans of seafaring adventure!

danielle bush

This was a great book about a crew of bad ass lady pirates.. Led by Captain Caledonia Styx and her first mate Pisces they are going after the man and his fleets who killed their families.. 
Caledonia and her crew are all strong, independent women and girls who have lost their families to Aric who calls himself The Father and takes children as payment.. 
The only people that Caledonia trusts are aboard her ship, when a guy named Oran who was a Bullet (soldier for Aric) saves her friend and defects to her ship.. Cale doesn't trust him for like 80% of the book, but I think slowly starts to realize that he is telling the truth about everything, and that other people on her ship already trust him.. 
Caledonia and her crew end up having a bounty placed on them by Aric and being chased by one of his fiveson which I think is just someone really trusted.. and he happens to be the same guy that killed her family years ago. She goes after him alone not wanting to endanger her crew who are her family in all but blood.. and things happen.. 
I do want to read the next one, just debating if I want to wait until the third book in the series is released or read it now lol

laura

* I got this book for my review for my honest thoughts***

I overall really enjoyed this book. I really loved the focus on sisterhood, adventure and ship dramatics! I struggled with the pacing at the start of this novel but by the end it was super hard to put down. I really loved the unique romance dynamics in this book and found it super hard to predict who would be with who. I also loved the leadership roll that cal was in throughout his whole novel. I overall really enjoyed the book and will def be checking out this sequel. I am curious to see if future books will expand the POV we experience.

Kath Lau

I realized that this was the very first pirate book that I have ever read and I am so happy that it features all-female pirates! But more than that, this is a book about survival, loyalty and true friendship. Read my full review here!

Alexis 

A bit of a let down, I'll be honest. That I think is more my fault than anything as I built this book up in my mind so much. I liked the characters and the plot. I just had issues with getting into the book and staying the in world. I have yet to decide whether or not I will be reading the next book.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this copy from NetGalley and then bought my own copy. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book Series: Seafire Book 1

Rating: 5/5

Publication Date: August 28, 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 17+ (violence, gore, slight romance, and pirates in futuristic quasi-waterworld!)

Publisher: Razorbill

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?

Review: Holy cow this book was amazing! I loved the story, the characters were well done, the story was engaging and not reliant on the romance at all, and the book featured a ton of very tough and powerful women!

However, I do feel like the book could have advertised that the setting was like techno punk futuristic quasi-Waterworld because then I would have read it faster lol.

Verdict: Read this now!

Samantha Bass

I really liked this book and loved the whole plot line. From beginning to end it’s almost non-stop action that carries you from one scene to the next. The one thing i didn’t like? The main character. She was someone I probably wouldn’t get along with in real life and didn’t like reading about. Thankfully, the book is written in third person so it’s not all of her thoughts, but as the main focus it was frustrating reading her point of view. I did like the relationship between the main character and her crew though. I thought it was realistic and sweet. All in all, this book was a fun read and I’m definitely interested to see what happens next!

Celia Adams

3.5 stars- Really good read, I can't wait for the sequel

Roos Kuijper 

Just happy that I don't have to wait to long for book 2 because this book was good and so much fun and full of action! Definitely recommend this!

Ashlee

Review copy provided by the publisher via Penguin’s First to Read

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!

Ashton Reed

This was an enjoyable read, and I can think of only a few flaws to address! Yay! haha anyway...

First of all, I love our cast of characters! They are all well-developed, and their personalities are truly unique and relatable. I, especially, related to our leading lady, Caledonia Styx (what a cool name!) because she's stubborn and loyal to a fault, and I loved that she makes the hard decisions in order to keep her crew's best interests at heart. 

I thought the world was interesting too, though if you want a really vivid, detailed world to immerse yourself in, you might not find it here. Granted, the amount of developing the setting underwent was sufficient for this story, given that Parker focused more on her characters and their conflicts versus the true fantasy side of it, but I'm just warning you if that's not what you're in the mood for right now.

Like I said, I felt like the conflicts, both internal and external, were realistic and understandable given the circumstances. Parker developed them well, and that really got the story moving after a little while.

However, I was very unhappy with the ending. It felt as if where it ends is where Parker wanted it to end, but she couldn't find a better way to get there, you know? The pacing speeds up exponentially in the last 30ish pages of the novel so that we can get to a conclusion, so everything doesn't feel real or developed anymore. 

I also had a little bit of a problem with the development of the romance. I did feel the chemistry a little bit, so it didn't feel weird that they would end up in love. However, there wasn't really a build in the actual relationship until the last 50 pages of so. When their relationship peaks, it feels kinda out of the blue, which is disappointing because they had the potential for some great development.

Now that sounds like a lot of bad, but really those are pretty minor. Overall, this story is an enjoyable read if you want something kind of light but that still has depth to it. Oh, and pirates!! 

Haha, au revoir!



Oh, and if you enjoyed this review, be sure to follow my blog To My Fellow Bookworms so that you can be notified when I post. I also have a bookstagram @ashton_reads if you wanna check that out as well :)

Seafire

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