Anyone who knows me, knows I love tall ships and books or movies related to sailing. So, it wasn’t hard to believe that I bought this book simply because it was about a band of pirates. Better yet, a crew of all-female pirates navigating waters controlled by a merciless drug lord in a post-apocalyptic world.

The hardback edition is beautiful, so it easily caught my eye, to begin with, but its $3 price tag suggested it may not be worth my time. I bought it anyway. This is the second time I have gone against an instinct and thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Parker’s imagery is stunning. I believe an author’s goal in writing should be to choose as few words as possible, then make those words hit the absolute hardest they can hit. Parker does this all throughout Seafire. The author used description in such a way that visually brings the world to life and the reader feels each character’s emotions. More than once, it tugged at my heartstrings dealing with subjects such as addiction, trust, guilt, and loss.

All the skillful wordsmithing is paired with a highly creative setting, events, people, and concepts. Parker uses technology and group names that give this post-apocalyptic novel its Sci-Fi feel. And the people and characters are new and interesting while still relatable.

This is one book I’m glad I decided to judge by its cover!

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?