Tag: Caledonia Styx

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YA Review: Steel Tide

Title: Steel Tide (Seafire #2)
Author: Natalie C Parker
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 5/5

I’m so pleased I headed straight to the second book in the Seafire trilogy as soon as I finished Book One. After a brief pause for Caledonia to recover from the events of the final pages, the story is off and running again, and I avoided my book hangover by diving straight back in.

Caledonia thought she was protecting her ship and her all-female crew when she sent them away. She refused to involve them in her personal mission of revenge against an old enemy, but when the smoke clears she needs to find them again. Reuniting the family she has built for herself will be dangerous, and she needs the help of new friends to bring them back together. She needs to ensure their safety, and she needs to continue the fight against Aric Athair and his ruthless pirates. And then there’s the problem of the boy she allowed onto her ship. Who is he, and can he still help her to find someone she thought she had lost? Caledonia must convince new friends and old enemies to work with her against Aric, gambling the safety of everyone around her on promises she’s not sure she can trust.

This is a fantastic follow-up to Seafire, throwing Caledonia and her crew into danger again, and raising the stakes in the battle against Aric. Secrets are revealed, alliances are made in unexpected places, and Caledonia is forced to chose between her conscience and her crew. She’s still a fascinating morally grey character, and this book pushes her into darker actions and darker decisions. She continues to be supported by her loyal crew – characters she loves and cares about, and risks everything to protect.

This is another addictive book, and I read it in a single day. I can’t believe I have to wait until November to read Book Three in the series! I’ll be thinking about Caledonia and her crew until the next book is in my hands. This is a story that will stay with me long after the final page, and I’m already wondering how dark the author is willing to make the ending of her trilogy. I can’t wait to find out!

Have you read Steel Tide? What did you think of the story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.

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YA Review: Seafire

Title: Seafire
Author: Natalie C Parker
Edition: Paperback
Rating: 5/5

How has it taken me so long to find this book? Pirates, rebels, sea battles and survival with an awesome all-female crew – I loved it.

Caledonia Styx is the leader of a crew of girls who fight back against Aric Athair’s ruthless pirates. It feels as if everyone else on the seas and islands he controls has given up. They hand over their children to fight for him in exchange for their own lives. They keep his fleet supplied with everything he needs in order to keep themselves safe. Challenging his power would risk their lives, their homes, and their families, so they keep their heads down and survive instead.

But Caledonia has already lost everything – her family, her home, and her safety – to Aric’s pirates. She has built a crew of young women like herself, with nothing left to lose but each other, and she is determined to bring Aric down. Attacking his food barges, and the supply of the drug he uses to control his recruits, has hurt his operation enough to gain his attention. Her crew is a target for every ship under his command, and when she sails into a trap set by the pirates she is forced to reassess her attitude to Aric – and to his recruits. Will she break her own rules to save an enemy? Will she risk her crew for the sake of one of the pirates she fights, and for the information he offers?

This is a perfectly balanced story. Aric and his pirates are unquestionably bad – cruel, ruthless, and power-hungry. Caledonia is fighting for people like herself, and for a world where the pirates don’t abuse their power, and don’t control the sea. She is engaging Aric’s forces on their terms, fighting and killing if she has to, while remaining loyal to the crew she commands. She is certain of her mission and she feels responsible for the lives of everyone on her ship. Her aim is not to defend other people – her aim is to disrupt Aric’s operation and see an end to his power. She might be fighting for the good guys, but she’s a morally grey character – and that makes her a fascinating protagonist.

Add in her wonderful female crew, her ship with its intriguing technology, adventures on sea and on land, and her troublesome prisoner, and you have the ingredients for a gripping, fast-paced, addictive story. I couldn’t put the book down, and when I turned the final page I headed to Amazon immediately to download Book Two.

Have you read Seafire? What did you think of Caledonia’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.