3.5 stars

STARTED STRONG.

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I genuinely went in with the best of hopes for this one. And the first 40% were solid. I was intrigued by the magic system and world and all things pirates. A burgeoning romance was upon the pages and things seem settled for an amazing read.

And then I thought some aspects went downhill. The rest of the book was in one location and I needed more movement. There was also a lot of world building and magic explanations that felt info-dumping because we didn’t really see those in action. Having the book only in one place stopped a lot of expansion opportunities.

Then we had the love interest disappear for a bit on his own adventure which left the progress there become stagnant. I still don’t know if I like them together honestly. It does appear there will be a second book? I don’t have plans to pick it up though.

The last 25%ish picked up with some good twists and reveals. The villain monologues went on a bit but I was surprised by some scenes. I think I’m most obsessed with Captain Shade who absolutely needs his own POV.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy Romance
- Language: low
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: high