Thank you to Netgalley and Crumblebee Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Max and the Spice Thieves took me by surprise, as many ARCs do! I picked up this book because of the aspect of pirates, and I was not let down.

Max and the Spice Thieves follows Max Daybreaker. His world is turned upside down when his mother goes missing. Lucky for him, a crew of Spice Pirates led by Captain Cinn help Max on his dangerous mission across the three sees.
Along the way, an unlikely alliance aids his search-a teenage warrior queen, a 3 eyed seer, and an assassin spy.
Their journey takes them through many treacherous lands while facing an ancient witch, harpies, shapeshifting bears, and the terrifying Djinn, who will stop at nothing to enslave the entire world.
With every new challenge, Max unlocks the secrets of his unsettling past. Powers are awakened inside him, questioning what he knew about the world.
Is Max who he thinks he is?

I want to start out by saying I felt the plot was a little messy, but I think it works for the story. I feel as if the first 25% of the plot is so jumbled, but from that point on, it is great. It progresses so well and I loved every second of it. I did take a star off for that reason, but that is my only issue with the book.

Now for the characters; I LOVED Max. He is a strong pre-teen figuring out who he is throughout the entire book. Reading from his perspective as he progresses through the story is amazing. Since this is a children's book, I did not think that any character would really stand out, but I was mistaken. Max really stands out as a strong male character, which I do not see a lot of. It is such a refreshing story to have a male POV. Max definitely was the most well-rounded character with an amazing character arc. As for the other characters, all of them were amazing. Linzy, Mesha, Sal, Anya, Captain Cinn, everyone was amazing.

The world-building was done in a different way than I am used to, but it was great! It was super simple to understand, and I think that is why it works so well. Being a children's novel, worlds are usually super easy to understand, and Peragine did not disappoint with a well-rounded world that is easy to understand.

I truly enjoyed this book, and hope that people read it when it comes out. Pirates, kick-ass characters, well-rounded plot AND world, end of the world situation, it has got everything! Not to mention the cute love-triangle throughout the book!

I cannot wait for the sequel, I am so excited to see what journey they all embark on next.