(WARNING) Before I review this I will say I have ONE issue: the cover. It does not accurately represent the characters in any way. The characters for the most part are dark-skinned. Our protagonist is medium/dark-skinned and of mixed race. The cover art is of a pale-skinned person. That alone makes zero sense. Who is that supposed to be? Because it’s not Amaya.

(Update on this) I got a reply from the publisher and apparently Amaya is half Asian and half Indian? The model is apparently Indian. But I remember Cayo saying she was dark skin so I’m still a bit bothered by this. I won’t let it affect the review though since the BOOK was good and it’s not the authors fault.

ANYWAY...

The book was wonderful. The story was wonderful. I very much enjoyed Tara’s use of swear words in this book considering there were many sailors and captains and such that we encounter. It felt very real to the story.

The plot was fast-paced, full of betrayal, and gambling and intrigue and I was here for all of it.

Onto the spoilery bits.

I enjoyed Amaya. It’s been a while since I’ve actually cared about a protagonist, but she really spoke to me. Her situation with being on a debt collectors ship, having to work to be free, losing her family, it caused me to be sympathetic to her situation. I definitely rooted for her.

Cayo caught my attention more immediately. I love that he’s bi and that he was this boy born to someone of position and power. He was a gambler and had made a dozen mistakes, and I enjoyed that. He wasn’t perfect—far from it. He was the one who destroyed his family—until we realize it wasn’t entirely his fault. But overall I just enjoyed Cayo as a character.

The two together was a wonderful paring. It didn’t feel rushed, didn’t feel instant, it played out perfectly and I rooted for them immediately.

The plot was definitely fun. Amaya saves a man named Boon and book helps her get revenge on the people who killed her father and ruined her life, landing her on the debt collectors ship. Meanwhile Cayo is trying to clean up the mess he created causing his family to go broke and to get his sister—who is dying—the medicine she needs because she is sick with ash fever, which results in death. I liked the connection. I liked that Cayo’s father was the one who screwed Amaya and landed her on the ship. I like that she had to go out and try to use Cayo to get to his father. All of it made for a edge-of-your-seat kind of ride. I was here for the entire thing.

The plot twists were great. Turned out Boon killed her dad, Boon was in on all of it, and Boon was the one who got Cayo’s sister sick. Both of their fathers also played huge roles in the scheme to get counterfeit money out into the world. Counterfeit money that also causes Ash-fever *gasp* that got me.

I cannot wait for the second book. And am highly anticipating it’s release.