Review: Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

I simply could not resist reading this gorgeous book when I had the chance to read and review it early. When I got it in the mail, I had to start it right away. And I'm glad I did so. Because Seafire was an amazing book. Not perfect, but so awesome. The ending is pretty rude, however. Very glad that this series will be a trilogy.

Yet how I'm going to manage waiting for the next two books I do not know. The ending isn't that bad, but oh, how I need to know what happens next. I found this book to be so good. Beginning was a little bit slow, and I ended up loving the last half the most. The writing, however, was excellent from the beginning to end.

This book tells the story about eighteen year old Caledonia. It begins by sharing what happened four years earlier, when she and her best friend, Pisces, went to a small island on a supply run. While there, their ship was attacked and their families were killed. They both lost everything that night. And it was pretty sad to read about. Yet written well and I loved it. That night changed Caledonia so much, as she feels blame for the deaths of them all. She has reason to feel blame, and she has not yet shared that with Pisces. They have spent the last years rebuilding the ship that was attacked, and gathering their own crew to run it. A crew of just over fifty girls. No boys on this ship. Getting to know these characters and their stories were all kinds of interesting.

And I couldn't help but adore them all. I feel pretty sure that this book takes place in the future. There is mentions of this world, and why almost everything is happening on the water. But the details were a bit too few, and I really wish there had been more about this world and why it was this way. I was so curious and want to know all of it. Because these ships are not like regular pirate ships. Most of them do not run on sails, but by other means. And that was pretty interesting to read about. I liked this world a whole lot.

Caledonia is the captain of her ship. Pisces is her best friend and second in command. They have a crew of more than fifty girls, girls that they have saved and girls that have joined them because they wanted to. They sail the sea looking for revenge. Their families were killed by the lord of the sea, Aric. And his army of Bullets. Men and boys fighting for him, addicted to some kind of flower drug. We do not get to see Aric in this book, but gosh, he seemed like such a horrible man. And the worst leader possible. A good villain.

Most of this book takes place on Caledonia's ship, and so we get to know some of her crew really well. I very much adored Caledonia. She was fierce and rude and pretty awesome too. I wish she had been a bit less brutal at first, towards a certain boy. But I did like her even so. Getting to know her was the best. Her best friend, Pisces, was amazing too. They are such great friends. Sisters. And I adored getting to know them both and learning more about them. They argued and stuck together and it was written really well.

We do not get to read about all of the crew, but a few of them are there a lot. Amina and Redtooth and Hime and Lace. Those four girls were so awesome and I very much liked reading about them. I loved how close they all were. How they fought together, and how they were all one big family. This book focus a lot on female friendships. And I liked that a lot. But, well, I love reading about girls and boys, and so I was missing boys a lot. I cannot help it, lol. Reading about all girls grew to be a little bit tiresome for me.

But there is one boy in this book. I'm not going to talk too much about the plot. I'm only mentioning that Caledonia and her crew is sailing the sea hunting down Bullets and ruining their ships. They are fighting and just being awesome. And while doing this at the beginning of the book, Pisces gets caught. But she is saved by a Bullet boy. Caledonia very much wants him dead. But he is saved, and is their prisoner for almost all of the book. It was heartbreaking to read about, to be honest. A little cruel too, if I may say so.

I very much liked reading about this boy. It takes some time, but he finally gets a name. Oran. And I very much loved him and adored getting to know him. Caledonia does not trust him one bit. And she is cruel towards him for so long. I did not approve. But near the end, she gets better, finally. And I started shipping them so much. And I am very sure that is the romance that will be in this trilogy. Because of feelings. And I very much approve, because they would be so very awesome together. Hope that it will happen for sure.

Will not share much more about this book. The plot is exciting, and there is a lot happening in this book. I'm giving it a four star because I felt that it could have been a little better at times. But it was also so good and I am very happy about this book. But I'm also feeling a bit conflicted, because this author has blocked me on twitter, and I do not know why. But I still chose to read her book. And I still enjoyed it. Authors are not their books. Anyway. I think that you would all enjoy Seafire a whole lot as well. Go order it right now.

I have to mention something. I saw a lot of people on goodreads wanting to read this book because they think it will be gay. And I have to let you all know that it is not gay. Not at all. Sure, it is a crew of over fifty girls. But not once is it mentioned if any of them are together. The main character is not gay. Just felt like I should mention this, in case anyone wanted to know, so that they do not get disappointed by this book, if they go into it hoping for romance that is not there. Personally just about only read boy-girl books, though.

There is so much I could have shared about this book, but my words have failed me. Seafire was such an incredible beginning to a trilogy. And I cannot wait to see how it all ends. Full of adventure and sisterhood and amazing characters. I am glad that I read this book. A little sad that I did not love it, but it was a great book. And I shall treasure it, always. Huge thank you to Penguin Random House International for sending me the free ARC copy of this book to read and review. Can't wait to own the stunning hardcover of it too.

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