Shannon Chakraborty
Adult Pirate Fantasy
Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.
Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.
But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.
Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.
-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.
Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.
My Opinion
“That to be a woman is to have your story be misremembered, discarded, twisted. In courtyard tales women are the adulterous wives whose treachery begins the husband’s descent into murderous madness. Or the long-suffering mothers who give birth to proper heroes…. Women are the forgotten spouses and unnamed daughters, wet nurses, handmaidens and harlots. Witches.”
(4.5 / 5) I love a good pirate adventure! One look at that cover and I knew I had to read it. Stunning! Amina is a retired pirate who lives out her days with her young daughter and ailing mother. Until one day, she is given an offer she cannot refuse. Much to her family’s dismay, she packs her things and heads out for her ship.
“Women’s stories are expected to dissolve into a fog of domesticity. If they’re told at all.”
The backstory of Amina and her retirement really shaped her as a character. She had strong and soft sides, and much to live for. While she was still tough as nails, the softer side is what few saw, but carried her through the challenges. Being a female pirate comes with many trials but she is known for her grit and determination. She is searching for a teen granddaughter who has been kidnapped and has very little information to go on, but the adventure begins.
Truly, this was one of the best adventure books I’ve read. Pirates are always fun but throw in sea creatures, bad pirates, good pirates, treasure and magic and you have a story that will keep you turning pages. We meet lovable characters, evil villains and many creatures of the sea. Amina is torn between loving the pirate life and wanting to be home with her daughter. She has much more to live for and so the stakes are high for her success.
I recommend this for adventure lovers, pirate lovers, and those who love a strong female lead.
General content summary: F words= 20+, creature attack (knife, blood), m/m relationship, sedatives given unwillingly, death (choking), bodies found speared to trees, intimacy (closed door), alcohol (multiple), many “slaughtered” bodies found (few details), captivity, sedative given unwillingly, a teen debating/wanting to change gender, creature attack (deaths, weapons, injuries), knife injury, violence (weapons, slit throats, little blood, decapitation, few details, poison), sword death (no details).
Thank you to Bibliolifestyle and Harper Voyager for the previous opportunity to be on the tour!
**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Be the first to comment