*4 stars*

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Caledonia is the captain of an all female pirate crew. They sail through hostile waters owned by a warlord named Aric Athair, who rules most of the world by capturing children and conscripting them into his army. Once he has them, he keeps them addicted to a drug called Silt that makes them bloodthirsty and loyal.

Caledonia and the crew of the Mors Navis created this own family, and they rely on each other for everything. When the chance to get revenge on Aric comes, they band together to fight for their lives and freedom.

Things I liked about this book:
-The friendships and relationships between the girls on board the Mors Navis. Caledonia and her closest friends had intense backstories and feelings, and they leapt off the page.
-The fight scenes and sea battles were engaging and exciting.
-Caledonia was not an easy character to like. She makes mistakes, is stubborn, and hates Aric's army more then anything in the world, which makes her blind to some solutions to her issues., but I like having a complicated main character.

Things I disliked about this book:
-There was a f/f relationship on board, but is was very much a backstory and not really fleshed out. A book about 53 female pirates is the perfect place to showcase a relationship like this, but it didn't feel explored at all.
-Caledonia has a small romance of her own, but I didn't think that it worked. Her best friend spends most of her time with the male character and they seem to form a connection, so I was completely surprised when Caledonia kissed him. It seemed forced.
-I know I put this in the liked category, but Caledonia was unlikable to a ridiculous degree sometimes. She put her friends in danger more then once out of sheer stubbornness, and wanted to kill a bunch of enemies that had surrendered just because she hated them.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read with interesting characters and daring escapades. I am looking forward to reading the next book!

Caledonia Styx makes a mistake that costs her family their lives. She vows to gain revenge by doing everything she can to thwart evil warlord Aric Althair: she captains a ship of women and sails the seas wreaking havoc on Aric's fleets of bullets.
Action lovers will rejoice because this is quite the fast-paced book. The characters were all very distinct, but were oftentimes frustrating because of how stubborn and one-sighted they were. I also found the romance unbelievable. Nevertheless, this was a fun read.

Caledonia and her best friend Pisces have their lives turned upside down when they are about 12 years old when their brother, parents, and their ship are attacked by Bullets, army minions of Aric, a tyrant overlord. In retaliation, the girls salvage their ship, take command of it, and adopt quite the crew --entirely made of girls-- over the next four years. But when they take on a Bullet as a prisoner after he saves Pisces's life, their course changes. The Bullet, Orin, knows where Caledonia and Pisces's brothers are. And even though they've become drugged minions like the other Bullets, Caledonia and Pisces and the crew of the Mors Navis set out to rescue them. It's quite the trip to get there... will they make it in time? Will the crew survive? And when they find their brothers' ship, will their brothers' spirits have survived?

Seafire is an awesome sci-fi story that is set in the indeterminate future with advanced technology, but also with some aspects of modern-day living lost. Caledonia and Pisces are strong female characters who have their own minds, and their all-female crew are diverse in their likes, abilities (one is mute), personalities, and penchant for violence. It is fast-paced and the emphasis is on friendship and how the crew has come together--many of them orphans--to become a family for one another.

There is very little romance, and while the reader gets clear affirmation that some of the girls in the crew are lesbians, we are not 100% sure of Caledonia and Pisces's sexualities. I came away, though, thinking that Caledonia is bi and Pisces is a lesbian.

"Remember, when they call you girl, they're trying to tell you something. They're trying to tell you that they're more than you, that the body you're in makes you less. But you know, and I know, that you're exactly what you need to be."


WHAT TO EXPECT FROM SEAFIRE

🌊 AN EPIC SHOW OF GIRL POWER!
Seafire is a feminist read at its core. More than anything, I think this book aims to empower women. It's a riveting story about an all-girl pirate crew, who strengthen each other, and work together towards a common goal, which is, in this case: to take down the cruel and merciless Alaric, and to keep each other alive and well.

🌊 A SOLID MAIN CHARACTER
The Mors Navis is captained by Caledonia Styx, who is a pretty well-rounded MC. She's imperfect, but in a realistic way. There are times where she makes some pretty bad decisions, but you'll understand where she's coming from. She's a fighter, and she's a lover. It was interesting seeing these two sides of her constantly contradicting each other, and swaying the way she led the crew.

🌊 AN AWESOME ALL-GIRL CREW
It's not just the fact that there's an all-girl crew in this book that's amazing. What's even more fabulous is that they all have distinct personalities! They weren't just the characters who stood by and had no significance. Every girl had an role to play in the story, and you're going to love each and every one of them.

Bonus: I'd like to give a shoutout to my favorite crew member, Redtooth. She was incredibly feisty and snarky, and she never backed down from anything, or from anyone.

🌊 NON-STOP ACTION AND ADVENTURE
You know how almost all YA fantasy books promise a whole lot of action but never really push through? Seafire brings you that and more! There's never a dull moment in this book--every scene brings either action or adventure, or even both! When they aren't fighting for their lives, the Mors Navis girls are sailing the wide seas to various destinations, which brings me to my next point...

🌊 SLIGHT AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER VIBES
Whether they're sailing or walking, the adventurous aspect of this book totally gives me Avatar vibes. I felt like I was exploring the Earth Kingdom a lot, and I got major feels! (This isn't important but it feels so relevant to me as an ATLA fan!)

🌊 FAMILY AND FRIENDSHIP VALUE
In Seafire, family and friends are SO FUCKING IMPORTANT. Everything the girls do, they do for each other, or for their families. They put family and friends before themselves (and love interests), which was just so refreshing to read. Every action taken by anyone here is just so heartfelt.

🌊 A ROMANCE THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE UNNECESSARY
For those who are curious, this book does have a main m/f romance, which I personally think is totally unnecessary. I do see people loving it, though, since it's an enemies-to-lovers relationship that's slow-burn for the most part! There's also a side f/f romance that isn't explored, which I wish would have been--I would have preferred to read about that more than the main romance.

🌊 KIND-OF DETACHED WRITING?
The main reason I didn't rate this book higher's probably because of the writing. There's nothing wrong with it objectively--Parker's writing is easy to read, in fact. I just felt really detached from it, which is more of an it's-not-you-it's-me situation. It was a bit hard to really love the book because of this.

I realized that this was the very first pirate book that I have ever read and I am so happy that it features all-female pirates! But more than that, this is a book about survival, loyalty and true friendship.

“Never underestimate the girls of this world.”

Caledonia, the captain of Mors Navis, is a very unlikable character that’s for sure. She’s stubborn and narrow-minded. She’s brave and fierce but deep inside she’s scared and insecure. She suffers from survivor’s guilt and her regrets affect her actions and decision making. I wished she would at least consider other people’s concerns and opinions especially if they mean well. I did admire her at some point though.

All the supporting characters are incredible. They all have distinct personalities and I really enjoyed seeing them working flawlessly together. They’re all fearless, strong and simply bad-ass. Also, this book has a cast of diverse characters. One of them is mute so they uses sign language to communicate with each other. She’s my favorite character, by the way.

The villain in this book is a corrupt and brutal warlord named Aric. He rules the ocean together with his massive fleet called Bullets. Aric’s name was mentioned a lot of times in this book but we didn’t get to meet him. I found Lir, a Bullet who tricked Caledonia, more intriguing than Aric.

The author’s writing style is really impressive. This book has a mixed of sci-fi and fantasy. The addition of solar powered ships and other high-tech weaponry are really interesting to read. But I wished there was more details about the world. Also, I struggled a little with the ship/nautical terms but it didn’t really affect my reading experience.

I wasn’t a fan of the last minute romance in this book and I personally think that it was unnecessary. Well except the possible f/f romance that isn’t totally explored which is quite disappointing. I was really excited about so I hope we will get more of this in the sequel. But no love triangles. Please!

This book has one of the perfect prologue I have read but I thought the cliffhanger ending was a bit anticlimactic. And I wish there’s a map included. I haven’t seen the final copy yet so I’m not sure if they’ve included one. It’d be helpful for the readers. Plus this is a book about pirates so I think a map is necessary.

Final Thoughts : Seafire is a great debut with captivating story, complex characters, and action-packed adventures. I can’t wait for the sequel!

**Thank you Penguin Random House International for sending this muggle a free copy of Seafire by Natalie C. Parker in exchange of an honest review. This, however, does not influence neither my judgment nor the content of my review.**

My first ever pirate read is Seafire, I decided not to expect anything, that is because I wanted to be surprised, and thank goodness it did not disappoint. Clueless as I was regarding any ship-sailing information when I started this book, grateful I am when I finished it. On top of this brilliant book is a variety of themes and different elements. The book has this kind of action that I was looking for, just the right amount and not too overwhelming, being thrown into action the moment I started the book was a great way to begin with it. Before I forget, I want to add that the use of technology and the mention of cool weaponry in the book made every battle scene picture perfect in my head, too vivid, too realistic.

A story set in the sea, I think, is a difficult thing to write about. This dystopian world was supposed to confuse me, but little by little the details helped me. Descriptive words were crafted masterfully. However, I cannot deny the fact that there was neither sufficient knowledge gained nor a map to guide me deeper into its world.

I was searching for that kind of plot that will blow my mind away, but it wasn’t until I reached almost 3/4 of the story when I appreciated the plot. I was more immersed with the characters, their distinct personalities, and their relationship with each other. To cut it short, Seafire was a character-driven installment. The crew of Mors Navis is a group of bold, fierce, and vengeful, strong females with different stories to tell. It gave focus on some characters, specifically Hime, Lace, Pisces, and Redtooth. I did find it hard to connect with Caledonia at first, for reasons which I cannot quite fathom maybe I just did not like her too courageous and bossy personality, her stubbornness, but after a few more pages her complexity and bravery fascinated me.

Mors Navis’ crew, though not blood related, is family. They all have one goal but different responsibilities. A sisterhood wherein they got each other’s back. It’s the trust, the loyalty, and the love that were built in and out of the ship. The badass female relationship warmed my heart and touched my soul. Who says women are all fight? Who says women won’t and can’t get along?

There was not much of love interest, but I must say that I was surprised. Yes, WHY AM I SURPRISED? Really. I was too invested with the family aspect of the story I have forgotten that stories could sometimes need romance too. I can’t believe I’ll say this but I need more touch of romantic love in here.

To sum it up, I had a bit of an amazing time with this pirate read. From the compelling writing down to the most loved part, the heart-melting relationships. It was overall, beautiful. I’m eagerly waiting for more unbreakable bonds and adventures. Where is the next book? That next installment better include a map!

I feel like this was a really well-balanced story. The plot was action-packed and fast-paced (think Mad Max: Fury Road), but also had some really nuanced themes that readers will be able to mull over long after they’ve turned the last page (how far can you go in seeking justice for the downtrodden before you turn into your enemy?) Definitely recommend for grades 7+, especially your reluctant readers. This would also make a great book club selection.

I can't wait for the second installment in this trilogy!

"Never underestimate the girls of this world."

I mean, it is a girls-only pirate ship. The level of badassery is sky-high. Of course, I wanted to read it.

Seafire was a thrilling and highly suspenseful novel. The sea is ruled by Aric Athair, a ruthless man who takes children from their families, drugs them with Silt in order to make them compliant, and kills everyone who stands in his way. This is how Caledonia Styx lost her family. Four years later, she is the captain of a crew of brave and loyal young women who try to take out Athair's ships one at a time in order to seek revenge and limit his power. But when Caledonia finds out that her brother might still be alive, she is dead set to find him again. The many tricky situations and risky manoeuvres that this crew experienced had me on the edge of my seat. The fact that (most of them) made it out alive is a miracle. Overall, this books had some serious Six of Crows vibes, which is high praise, let me tell you.

I loved the crew of the Mors Navis. Pisces, Redtooth, Amina, Hime, Nettle, all of these girls are fantastic. But I am no fan of Caledonia's. Her narrow-mindedness and stubbornness grew more and more annoying and the stunt she pulls toward the end of the novel did not help in making her relatable. She is the captain of her crew, she praises trust in your sisters over everything else, but she fails to act like it. Suffice it to say, it threw me off.

What I would have like to see, are f/f relationships. Come on, 53 girls and not a single queer romance? Of course, this book's focus is not on romance at all. Yes, Caledonia does fall for a guy at one point, but it is more of a subplot. I think that when you have the chance to showcase a healthy, lesbian relationship, why wouldn't you? Representation matters, so the three hints that there might or might not be something going on between some of the crew members simply do not suffice.

In a nutshell: a thrilling plot and fantastic concept that somehow failed to get me hooked. I am looking forward to the sequels, though! But I hope that it will feature a different main character or at least alternating POV's.

Thank you to PRH International and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

If you are even a little active in the Young Adult book community you will have heard of Seafire by Natalie C. Parker. Not in the least because of that absolutely stunning cover. I was very lucky to receive an arc of Seafire for participating in a blog tour and I was so excited.

My excitement diminished a bit when I started the book. The book didn’t manage to immediately grab me with its characters. Maybe it was because we get thrown into the action right away. Or maybe it was because Caledoina felt a little detached. But once we got going with the true plot, I fell into the book very easily. The writing is easy to get into. The book rarely takes a break from the action despite spending it on sea and ship for about 90% of the book.

There aren’t any kind of surprise elements in this plot, but it also wasn’t like I could guess everything from page one either. Despite that I still enjoyed this book. Having a truly all girl crew on board a ship that has latched onto each other so strongly was just a great thing to have throughout this book. There are also other things that I appreciated being done in this book like not shying over the drug addiction and how realistic they looked at the rescue of certain people. Like Caledonia realizes at some point, there aren’t any easy decisions or any good ways out. You can only do the best you can do in a world that has already set you up with lemons in the form of Aric Athair.

I don’t know why everyone is shelving this as an LGBT+ because there is barely any gay here? Like there is a side couple between two girls that is kind of hinted at but you could easily read over that if hinting isn’t your strong suit. The main couple is straight. I did appreciate that the romance wasn’t a center focus by any means and there was so little of it. Even so I would have preferred the romance to come more forward in later books because she spends most of the book hating on him and the jump was just a bit much.

The characters were great. It took some getting used to Caledoina at the start but once we started seeing the cracks in her revenge filled mask we got to see who she really was and I could more easily understand why she was that way. Pisces is stubborn, has her heart in the right place and is not afraid to tell Caledoina when she needs to reconsider her decisions. The rest of the team is also an amazing blend with Hime who uses sign language, Red who totally will kick your ass if you step a toe out of line, Amina who is a sturdy mech, Nettle who is the youngest and has no qualms about manipulating you to your face. Oran is the only boy we truly get to know throughout this book and for the majority he is gagged. So we don’t really get to know him until the last 25% but once we do, I love his interactions with everyone but especially Red. He never once looks down on any of these girls.