Amaya has been working on a ship as an indentured servant for the past 7 years. Her contract is almost up, but when she finds a drowning man she decides to rescue him and she fears her actions will cause her contract to be extended. The man offers her some advice and she reluctantly takes it when the captain turns on her.

With the help of this mysterious man, Amaya remakes herself and begins plotting her revenge. The more she finds out about her past, the more she is unsure of her path forward. It doesn't help that the son of the man responsible for ruining her life is actually a decent person who she enjoys talking to. As the two become friends, the game of deception begins to twist itself into a perilous loop.

I'm not very familiar with The Counte of Monte Cristo, so I can't attest to the retelling aspect. But damn I really enjoyed this mystery/revenge story. I loved that the two MCs were constantly trying to out maneuver and manipulate each other. If that's a trope then I love it and need it in more books. I was totally cheering for them both to win though.

There was so much lovely queer rep in this book too! I'm not sure if Amaya was queer, but Cayo was implied bisexual and I'm pretty certain Roach is asexual. There was also a lovely card dealer who was non-binary and they were cute!! They totally flirted with both Amaya and Cayo and I was here for it!

The plot was really fun. I loved all the conflict, so much double crossing happening! And the ending was crazy! I just saw there's a sequel. Now I'm even more excited!!