Tag Archives: Pirates

Review: This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,
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This Golden Flame
Emily Victoria
Inkyard Press
Published February 2, 2021

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About This Golden Flame

Orphaned and forced to serve her country’s ruling group of scribes, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother, long ago shipped away. But family bonds don’t matter to the Scriptorium, whose sole focus is unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army.

In her search for her brother, Karis does the seemingly impossible—she awakens a hidden automaton. Intelligent, with a conscience of his own, Alix has no idea why he was made. Or why his father—their nation’s greatest traitor—once tried to destroy the automatons.

Suddenly, the Scriptorium isn’t just trying to control Karis; it’s hunting her. Together with Alix, Karis must find her brother…and the secret that’s held her country in its power for centuries.

My Review

I think this book was pretty good. I struggled with a few things, but it’s hard to tell if they’re personal issues or problems with the story. I’ll explain, but I want to talk about the good stuff first.

So first, I enjoyed the setting. Something about it felt vaguely Roman (oops– it’s based on Ancient Greece, so not Roman!) to me. I loved the pirate crew and especially Zara, with her no-nonsense, never-give-up sensibilities. I liked the friendship between Karis and Alix, and the way she identified with him and his past as well as her love for her brother.

All that said, I struggled a bit with Alix’s character. In the story, there are giant machines called automatons that have been lying dormant for a long time, and the people holding Karis captive have been studying them, trying to figure out how to get them working again. In general, it seems like they have kind of an interactive book that can be used to control them. Write a command, and the automaton will execute that command. So they’re kind of like robots operated with magic??

Except then, enter Alix, who is similar to an automaton, but not?? Because he has a personality and LOTS of emotions and the ability to think for himself and choose his own actions. He still has a book that can be used to control him, though.

I guess, I felt like I didn’t really get what he was supposed to be. I kept expecting him to be more like a high level android, with internal calculations and limits and maybe emotions layered on top of that? But it seemed like, no, he was really supposed to be exactly like a person, but also an automaton.

It felt confusing to me. I don’t know if my expectations got in the way of the story or if more explanation would have been helpful? I’m not really sure. But it definitely became an obstacle to me enjoying the story.

Other than that, I enjoyed the story, though, and I thought it was great to see a book focus on a friendship relationship rather than a romance and to center an aromantic asexual character. I thought that was very nicely done.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
The main character identifies as aromantic asexual. One minor character is nonbinary. Another is gay. Other minor characters represent different races and cultures.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between boy and girl. One boy identifies another boy as his lover.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to read or write magic runes that have an effect on objects and automatons around them.

Violent Content
Some reference to human slavery. A couple brief battle scenes.

Drug Content
The captain purchases a round of drinks for the crew at a tavern. (What they drink isn’t specified.)

Note: I received a free copy of THIS GOLDEN FLAME in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog.

Review: Starflight by Melissa Landers

Book Review and Content, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Starflight
Melissa Landers
Disney-Hyperion
Published February 2, 2016

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About Starflight

Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She’s so desperate to reach the realm that she’s willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he’s been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe…

My Review

I’ve had this book on my list for SO LONG. It was really nice to finally get around to reading it, and so rewarding, since I loved it!

STARFLIGHT definitely has that FIREFLY vibe to it– making it on the frontier of space, passengers on a ship on the run from authorities. It’s an upbeat, fun, enemies-to-lovers story that is absolutely what I needed right now to distract me from more serious day-to-day life.

I liked that all of the characters were more than they seemed. I felt like Melissa Landers took some of the usual space characters and added twists and secrets. I loved the crew of the Banshee and the banter and relationships between them.

If you’re looking for a fun, light sci-fi with a great cast of characters and lots of banter, add this one to your reading list!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
One character is bisexual.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. Scenes leading up to sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Battle violence and situations of peril. References to torture.

Drug Content
Some scenes show or reference drinking alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Emily Windsnap and the Pirate Prince by Liz Kessler

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

Emily Windsnap and the Pirate Prince
Liz Kessler
Candlewick Press
Publishes March 12, 2019

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About EMILY WINDSNAP AND THE PIRATE PRINCE

Emily Windsnap ends up surrounded by pirates — and on a life-changing adventure — in the eighth installment of the New York Times best-selling series.

Traveling home by cruise ship should be a relaxing break after Emily’s latest adventure, but things take a turn when the ship is overtaken by a pirate king and his crew. After the pirates collect everyone’s riches, they steal something even more valuable: Aaron. The pirate king’s eldest son takes Aaron captive, forcing him to help guide the pirates to the mythical Trident’s Treasure.

So Emily dives into action and joins the younger son’s crew in hopes of saving Aaron. But while experiencing life on the waves, Emily is surprised to find herself not only enjoying the pirate life, but actually bonding with the crew — especially Sam, the pirate king’s son. Between helping Sam unravel riddles to beat his brother to the treasure and making sure that her friends are safe, Emily realizes that she needs to be true to herself. Will she cast aside her mermaid life to join her new friends, or will she find a way to follow her own path?

My Review

EMILY WINDSNAP AND THE PIRATE PRINCE is the first book in the series that I’ve ever read. I think I own a couple of the others, books I bought when my own older reader was the right age to enjoy them, but we never got around to reading them. I enjoyed the book. It was a super quick read, and even had a few unexpected twists. Emily makes a spunky, fun narrator and the plot moves quickly through a series of challenges as Emily and her team of pirates race toward the treasure and Sam’s chance to be the next pirate king.

I think the series is a great fit for fans of The Frog Princess books or CLIFTON CHASE AND THE ARROW OF LIGHT by Jaimie Engle.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
No race details.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between a boy and girl. (like, a peck on the lips brief.)

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
The pirate king and his older son play by pirate rules — hurling tricks and insults at each other and the crew.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

Review: A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

A Touch of Gold
Annie Sullivan
Blink
Published on August 14, 2018

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About A Touch of Gold
King Midas once had the ability to turn all he touched into gold. But after his gift—or curse—almost killed his daughter, Midas relinquished The Touch forever. Ten years later, Princess Kora still bears the consequences of her father’s wish: her skin shines golden, rumors follow her everywhere she goes, and she harbors secret powers that are getting harder to hide.

Kora spends her days locked in the palace, concealed behind gloves and veils, trying to ignore the stares and gossip of courtiers. It isn’t until a charming young duke arrives that Kora realizes there may be someone out there who doesn’t fear her or her curse. But their courtship is disrupted when a thief steals precious items from the kingdom, leaving the treasury depleted and King Midas vulnerable. Thanks to her unique ability to sense gold, Kora is the only one who can track the thief down. As she sails off on her quest, Kora learns that not everything is what it seems—not thieves, not pirates, and not even curses. She quickly discovers that gold—and the power it brings—is more dangerous than she’d ever believed.

Midas learned his lesson at a price. What will Kora’s journey cost?

My Review
I can never resist an unusual myth or fairytale retelling, so when A Touch of Gold caught my eye, I knew I needed to get ahold of a copy. I found it to be a cool reimagining of a familiar tale.

Right at the beginning, I wasn’t too sure about the book, though. The prologue is long and kind of confusing. It kind of sets up the story by recounting the story of Midas and introducing Kora, but I think a lot of that information could have been included in the early chapters instead. That would have made the opening read more smoothly for me.

Once I got into the story, though, I liked it a lot more. I wasn’t sure about Hettie, Kora’s lady-in-waiting, who at first seems super selfish and complains about EVERYTHING. Eventually she finds some things to be happy about and even stops seeming quite so selfish, which was great. She definitely grew on me as the story progressed.

I worried a little bit as I passed the halfway point, that A Touch of Gold was going to be a straightforward, boring story where it came to the romance. And then, boom! PLOT TWIST! Everything changed. It wasn’t an unpredictable move, but it was a really satisfying one. I loved the story even more after that point.

All in all, I’m glad I read this one. A Touch of Gold proved to be a quick read and an entertaining one at that. If you’re like me, and you can’t resist a retelling that’s a little more unusual, then resist no more – get you a copy of this book.
You might also be interested in A Touch of Gold if you liked Whisper of the Tide by Sarah Tolcser or Goddess Tithe by Anne Elisabeth Stengl.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Kora’s mother was Sunisan. (I’m not sure what ethnicity this maps to, but I didn’t look much beyond a quick Google search. The original story about King Midas would have taken place in Asia in what’s now Turkey.)

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between a young man and young woman.

Spiritual Content
Dionysus cursed Kora’s father so that everything he touched turned to gold. He was told he could reverse the curse by washing everything he’d turned in a river. He only partially completed this task and bears some consequences.
Violent Content
A ruthless pirate called Captain Skulls collects human skulls on his ship. A couple scenes show beheaded bodies. Kora and her friends start a brawl in a tavern to distract their enemies.
Pirates battle Kora’s companions. Some brief descriptions of peril, fighting, and injuries.

Drug Content
Kora and her friends go into a seedy tavern.

Review: City of Thirst by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

City of Thirst (Map to Everywhere #2)
Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published on October 13, 2015

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About City of Thirst
When the magical waters of the Pirate Stream begin flooding Marrill’s world, the only way to stop the destruction is to return to the Stream and find the source of the mysterious Iron Tide. Reunited with her best friend Fin–who has been forgotten all over again–Marrill, her disbelieving babysitter, and the Enterprising Kraken crew must make the treacherous trek to the towering, sliding, impossible world of Monerva and uncover the secrets of its long-lost wish machine. Only there can Fin wish to finally be remembered. Only there can Marrill wish to save her world and all the people she loves. But to get everything they’ve ever wanted, Marrill and Fin may have to give up on the most important thing they already have: each other.

My Review
City of Thirst has been on my reading list since I first read The Map to Everywhere back in 2014. I love the imaginative story world and especially the relationships between characters. Fin, whom the crew continually forgets, and his struggle to become memorable hooked me from page one. I love Marrill and her determined babysitter, Remy, and watching them navigate the foreign world of the Pirate Stream.

I also thought it was really clever that the story opens with a kind of recap in the form of Marrill’s homework assignment which has been corrected by Remy. The essay describes Marrill’s first visit to the Pirate Stream. It gives enough detail to orient readers to this second book whether they’ve read the first one and forgotten it or needed a quick refresher before diving into this second book.

The story explores themes about the value of friendship and what happens when we take each other for granted. It also winds its way into explorations about how desire can be a positive idea when it motivates us to help others but can become a destructive force when we begin to value our own wishes over the needs of others.

Filled with whimsical characters and places, City of Thirst is a great book for fans of adventure and fantasy. I think you could read it without having first read The Map to Everywhere, but honestly, I don’t know why you’d want to, since Map is a fantastic book, too.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Cultural Elements
Marrill and her babysitter are white characters. Fin is described as a boy with olive skin and dark eyes. The rest of the cast includes made up creatures and races from civilizations along the Pirate Stream.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
There’s a bit of boy/girl attraction between a few characters and one almost-kiss. A minor character references and introduces the crew to her “missus.”

Spiritual Content
Some references to magic and prophesies. Fin and Marrill search for a wishing machine which can grant any wish. The cost of the wish may be higher than the wish-maker imagines, though. The story explores some themes about the dangers of chasing desire and letting want for something control one’s actions.

Violent Content
A fire and a magical stream both threaten Marrill and crew at different times.

Drug Content
None.

Review: The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan and John Park Davis

Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

The Map to Everywhere
Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis
Little, Brown Books For Young Readers
Published November 4, 2014

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Master Thief Fin is used to being forgettable. Moments after meeting him, no one remembers who he is. Until he meets Marrill, that is. Danger lurks around every turn when the two are swept up in a daring quest to find the missing pieces to assemble the Map to Everywhere. Fin hopes the key will lead him to his mother. Marrill simply wants to escape the fickle Pirate Stream and get back to her blessedly normal Arizona home. In order to find the map, they’ll have to outsmart a treacherous villain who sees the future and keep him from using it to end the world.

As a fan of an earlier series by Carrie Ryan, I looked forward to reading this book. Since her other book, The Forest of Hands and Teeth was more of a dystopian zombie story – super well-done, by the way – I wasn’t sure what to expect from this very different tale.

This novel is light and playful, full of mischief and warmth. The use of the Pirate Stream was particularly clever, I thought, and added a sense of unpredictability to the story but also made it feel connected to our own world. The unlikely friendship that develops between Fin and Marrill is really charming.

The wordplay is fun and quirky. Fans of Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga will enjoy this book. Because of the light content, it’s a great read for older elementary school-aged readers.

Profanity and Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
Brief battle scenes. Nothing graphic or gross.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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