Ahoy there me mateys!  This first book of a series had pirates, pirate hunters, women that sing to storms, and magic tree dwelling creatures.  Nautical flintlock fantasy should float me boat but this did not.  I abandoned ship at 75% (348 pgs).  I read that much in order to find out the major conflict and answers about the magic but was super disappointed when "answers" start to appear.  The magic system seemed fun but ultimately didn't make much sense.  The world building was also underdeveloped and the politics felt nonsensical.  The pacing was extremely slow with very little action and lots of character angst.  The clothing descriptions seemed never ending and also extremely impractical for life spent in a winter sea.  

The main character, Mary, is the storm singer who doesn't know how to control her talent but seems to have extra special powers.  Everyone is out to have her skills onboard.  She seemed super naïve and in lust with any cute male that came along.  Mary also was a bit flat with no interesting inner dialogue or motivations.  Her eventual love interest, Samuel, was not much better.  He is magically "twisted" and misunderstood.  He doesn't seem to use his skills for any real purpose.  Frankly, they both were hard to cheer for and annoyed me.  The misunderstanding between the two would be resolved by some actual conversation.  Also, in general, the characters all seemed to blend together.

I love a good sea yarn but this wasn't it.  Arrrr!