Enter pirates on the high seas, a captured sorceress and politics of the land.

The world building is fun and it's a mix of fantasy and politics without overloading on either. The pacing for me struggled at certain parts in the beginning and the middle of the story.

The characters are full of swash buckling banter and war. There is a ton of action but not all the characters are fully developed to truly connect to them. I'd love to have the main characters developed more so that they truly carry this book!

It has a lot of potential and I might give the next book a shot!

Thank you to Saga Press for the free copy for review!

To start out: I have not read the Master and Commander series that this book was based on (heavily?). So maybe some things are the way they are because of that and I'm on the ignorant side.

Anyway, I did end up DNFing this at 31%. I'm not one for DNFing and normally I'd push through, but The Price of Redemption has the misfortune of coming to me at a time where there are SO MANY good fantasy books coming out right now that I don't really have the patience (stubbornness?) to make myself continue.

Some contributing factors to my decision:

- Why isn't this a historical fantasy rather than toted as a full blown fantasy? Obviously the map is just the British Isles and Europe with different names. . . same with language/cultures/governments etc. Like, why make things more complicated than necessary? Not only am I stuck trying to follow every single nuance of 18th century English Naval Command, but now I have to figure out what made up name denotes which country on top of it.

- There is a lot of dialogue. A lot. And it's very stilted at the best of times and unintelligible without heavy googling at the worst. Honestly I think of the 30% I read, at least 20% of it was just people talking. And maybe I might've understood all the jargon if I'd read Master and Commander. Maybe. They mostly talked about how ships work or the command chain or maybe obliquely about magic or introducing more and more characters who are very samey.

- Enid feels very male-gazey. She's noble and handsome and people sniff her/notice her scent and admire her neck and the hollows under her collarbones. In fact if she hadn't used that one paragraph of magic in the first chapter, I'd be willing to believe she was just there to be a distraction to all the men! Also she is literally sniffed, the man is publicly rebuked for it, and THEN the captain who punished him spends an inordinate amount of time waxing poetic to himself about the curve of her neck. Just. Ok. I honestly feel like character dynamics and interactions would've been better/more organic if Enid had been a man.

- I just was not having fun. Enid mentions if they'll go out and have some good old naval battles and whatnot to disrupt trade and Rue literally says oh no we have to sail a week with no fun times to get new orders. At the pace (three to four days had passed so far!!) of the story thus far I am too tired to find out how narratively long that week will be.

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga for this copy. (I do not give star ratings to DNF books on social sites).

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this. I did enjoy how strong the fmc is in this and it’s easy to see its taking place during the napoleonic wars. I do wish there was more fantasy in this. The book it’s slower pace than I enjoy reminds me a lot of moby dick.

Well, this was not my favorite female pirate fantasy of the year. I found myself struggling to get into this one. To me the story just didn’t have enough action to hold my interest, which almost never happens with nautical related books. With magic, politics and fantasy, this could be an enjoyable book for others.

I really liked the premise of this one and the magic woven into the worldbuilding. Unfortunately I didn't really connect with the characters, so I found it difficult to get too invested because the plot didn't move very fast.

Okay this one was a first for me. By that, I mean a first that had a mix of politics and a bit of magic fantasy.

We follow the story of a sorceress, her name is Enid. In beginning her boat has been captured and the story turns for what we think is the worst, but comes out to benefit her.

I loved how this story gave me some fantasy in it and not all politics. I think that is what really helped me to stay within the story. If not, it would have dragged for me. That being said!…..The narrative writing however really didn’t suit me as much as I thought it would. Felt like it was adding in too much. Less is more, as they say.


THEMES: revenge, drama, courage,secrets
ELEMENTS: Politics, seawars,

As for someone who hates political fiction books, somehow I kinda enjoy this story. Could have it been written a bit better? YES! But I still enjoyed the characters and imagery.

Thank you SagaPress for this free digital copy of the book. I am always pleased to receive free books and read them.

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. The world and concept for the story are really cool. We have magic on the open seas, privateers, and a revolution. I am fascinated by the world and the history. The magic was great, but maybe needed more explanation as to how it all worked.

I could not get into the characters, however. They all seemed to sound the same to me and while a few had their moments of distinction, I often had to double check when someone was talking. There were a few deaths that I saw happen but did not feel the loss. I also felt like there was a lot of info dumping happening, whether it be through narrative or dialogue (long dialogues to explain something). If that kind of thing does not bother you, however, I think this is an excellent read.

THREE AND A HALF STARS

If swashbuckling fantasy is your cup of tea, then The Price of Redemption is your perfect summer read. Nath is a very active captain, so there’s lots of action in Carpenter’s book. There is some romance, but it’s not the focus of The Price of Redemption, this is very much an adventure book. So if you want some excitement, this is the tale for you.

This is Carpenter’s first book, but it won’t be his last. It’s only the first in the Tides of Magic series. Nath and Enid end up working very well together. By the end of the story, it looks like they’re poised to become a very formidable duo. I’m interested to see what they’ll get up to next.

Full review at link https://thecosmiccircus.com/book-review-the-price-of-redemption-by-shawn-carpenter/

Fleeing a homeland gripped by revolution, sorceress Marquese Enid d'Tancreville fears all is lost when her ship is captured by another bearing the flag of a Theocratic Confessor. But a third ship under the command of the Albion navy saves her, giving Enid a surprising opportunity: she can join their crew and fight back against the revolutionary forces that have killed everyone she cares about. Enid's never sailed before, but she'll have to learn quickly if she's to use her magic to aid the ship on a dangerous mission in enemy waters.

THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION is a fantasy book in the vein of MASTER AND COMMANDER that fails to do anything interesting with its fantasy elements. I'm perplexed why the author didn't simply make this a historical fantasy novel; as it is, he instead simply took the map of Europe and slapped new names on all the countries. But in doing so, the author didn't create anything new out of these countries. I can't tell you anything about their history or culture that distinguishes them from their English or French counterparts. Even the Theocratic Revolution is just the French Revolution by a different name.

By going to the effort of creating fictitious countries, the author has set the expectation that this world operates differently than our own, and that magic is integral to how it functions. Instead, were I to remove every element of magic from the book, 90% of the story would carry on as if nothing were missing. If this had been a historical fantasy set in Europe during the 1800s, my expectation for world-building would have been considerably lower, and the low magic setting would have fit right in. Instead, the author spends more time talking ABOUT magic than in actually USING the magic.

Much of this could be forgiven if the nautical side of things had held my attention. I came to this story ready to love an old-fashioned adventure; I was raised on HORATIO HORNBLOWER TV movies and have read my fair share of 18th and 19th century authors. Unfortunately, I found the overall story itself to be incredibly slow, more interested in explaining how ships work and the hierarchy of naval ranks than in actually moving the story forward. There are a few naval actions which are engaging in and of themselves, and I did like the overall atmosphere of the story. This is a rare occasion where I can say that if this novel had been trimmed down to a novella, I may have ended up liking it considerably more.

I do want to applaud the author for making this a gender equal society, where women serve on ships alongside men without any comment at all. But again, the author strangely undercuts himself with how his male characters react to the female lead character. For the first half of the book, not a single man can have an interaction with the female lead without ogling her or making a remark about her elegant neck or having internal thoughts about her scent. This constant objectification was off-putting to say the least.

Those who have a strong love for 18th and 19th century naval traditions may find themselves liking THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION considerably more than me. While I did appreciate the atmosphere and tone it was trying to recreate, it ultimately muddied the waters by adding fantasy elements to the world that just didn't aid in the story the author was trying to tell. The result is that THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION is an unfortunate miss for me in every way, making it a hard book to recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press, for the free e-copy for review.

Despite her powerful magic, Marquese Enid d’Tancreville must flee her homeland to escape death at the hands of the Theocratic Revolution. When a Theocratic warship overtakes the ship bringing her to safety, I found myself captivated by the timely intervention of the Albion frigate Alarum, under the command of Lt. Rue Nath, sparing Enid from capture.

The strange circumstances of this encounter create an odd alliance, and I was intrigued to see Enid replacing Alarum’s recently slain sea mage. Now an officer under Nath’s command, Enid is thrust into a strange maritime world full of confusing customs, duties, and language. To make matters worse, she soon discovers that the threat of the revolution is not confined to the shore.

The intertwining of politics in the high seas with magic makes this book a delightfully immersive read. I particularly enjoyed the development of the relationship between Enid and Nath. While I found the pace a bit slow and the dialogue-heavy, it offers a promising start for a series, especially for high fantasy fans with a penchant for naval settings.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Price of Redemption by Shawn Carpenter is a third person multi-POV fantasy set aboard a naval ship. When the sorceress Marquese Enid d’Tancreville is forced on the run from the Theocratic Revolution that killed her family, she is brought onto an enemy ship to take the place of their sorcerer who died in battle. But the Revolution isn't far behind and Enid’s ability to hear ghosts is not welcome on the high seas.

What I liked most was the elemental magic system. Through Enid’s lessons for some of the younger members of the Alarum, we learn more about how undines are used for water magic and salamanders for fire magic. There's hints of a deeper, older history behind the magical theory that help flesh the system out and make things feel more lived in without feeling like an info-dump. The ability to communicate with ghosts was especially interesting to me; I wouldn't have expected for sailors to be against people who could hear the dead, but the in-world explanation of the sea being full of the dead did make sense.

Enid and Merryweather's slowburn Sapphic relationship was a delightful surprise. I wasn't expecting it when I requested the ARC and was even prepared for Enid and Rur Nath, the commander of the Alarum, to have a romantic dalliance, but we instead got Merryweather making her intentions known and Enid receiving them after she rejected the attentions of a few others.

A decent chunk of the narrative is sharing language with people from different cultures. Enid comes from a very different background than the rest of the cast, both culturally and professionally, and how they use idioms and metaphors doesn't always match. Merryweather herself comes from an island nation opposed to the others and Rue Nath’s family has been cursed to have the opposite of whatever their name is come their way (for instance, if one was named Rich, they would always be poor). Language is played with a lot and it can take a bit of recalibrating at times but it's never overwhelming or alienating.

I would recommend this to fans of naval fantasies, readers who love books with elemental magic, and those looking for a linguistic focus and a Sapphic romance in a bigger plot about escaping a revolution.

I really wanted to like this one. The premise is SO cool: set in the era of naval warfare on a reimagined Mediterranean region, except with magic. I *wanted* to read about swashbuckling nautical adventures, and ship workings, and magical battles on sea, and political conspiracies/intrigue.

Unfortunately, the writing style ended up not working for me. The characters talk ceaselessly to one another; dialogue is used not only to provide background information about things such as the world's magic system and the operations of the ship, but also to literally summarize and rehash events and interactions that had happened only a few pages prior. Why? I couldn't see the benefits of doing so, and it slowed the pacing down until it would lose in a race against a snail. The characters just taaaaaaalk talk talk talk and offend and apologize and clarify and explain and act all buddy-buddy... through dialogue.

The odd thing is, THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION chose to have its characters spend pages talking and talking, while blithely summarizing other aspects that I felt could/should have been expanded more. An example of this would be Enid reading the journal of her predecessor. For some reason, the book never lets us see even one journal entry, and instead summarizes the journal contents over the course of several pages. I just... what? Is this a gigantic issue of telling-not-showing?

So yeah, I had issues with the writing, which for me affected worldbuilding and pacing. Characterization was also hit-or-miss. I found none of the characters remotely likeable: Enid is hoity-toity and not making any allies due to her propensity to look down at others through her supposed high-born status, and Nath has the potential to be likable if only he'd stop talking for a few pages and let the reader get to know him and the others on their own terms. Yeah. I think that's what bothers me most about the writing style. So little is left to the reader that it feels stifling. Sometimes reading is most powerful in the spaces left for the readers to draw their own conclusions. This book refused to do that.

I think the comparisons to Naomi Novik's Temeraire series is apt, but I struggle to say that those who enjoyed Temeraire would appreciate this one, because I am one of those readers, and I found THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION difficult to get through.

There is a lot of exposition in this book, whether it’s descriptions of ships, combat, landslides, magic, plays, history, theology, what have you … but it’s handled well and flows naturally in conversations and character reactions rather than being simply dropped into the narration. Even so, it felt to me as if a good 75% of this book, if not more, is just world building. Even so, it’s a fun, quick book that reads like a cross between the Aubrey Maturin series and the Temeraire books — just with the French revolution and mages.

Personally, I’m on the fence with this one. I didn’t really enjoy any of the characters; it’s not that they’re poorly done or even unpleasant, but the way the book is written, the style the author has chosen, keeps them more removed with the focus more on the lifestyle of a naval vessel. While I enjoyed it well enough while reading, and finished it within a few hours of reading, I don’t think this is a book I’ll come back to.

Review: Well call me a sucker for High Seas battles with many buckles being swashed. This was a fun, albeit high in formal prose that spins verbosity to new heights.

Enid is a magister that is filled not only with vim and vinegar but is hotter than a two peckered billy goat. Sadly for the boys that tend to sniff her down, she is from the Isle of Lesbos. Her inner ruminations frequently shift to the saucy first mates pliant lips that fill her scarred face.

Captain Nath really steals the show and should drop Enid off at the nearest port. How he is not tired of a trending narcissist / psychopath after a few months is beyond-o. Still, a fun read that lost a star with poor characterization in the form of Enid.

4.1/5

Pirates and political intrigue? Sounded cool!

I went into this book with high hopes, the summary seemed cool and who doesn’t like pirates? But alas very quickly those hopes were dashed. I had such a hard time getting through this, I even put on SEVERAL Sea Shanty and Pirate ambience playlists to try to help but it was too hard. Personally I don’t enjoy having to look up every other word while reading, it’s cool to have very descriptive eloquently written paragraphs but you have to also make it at least a little bit understandable. I wish I liked it more, may just not be my cup of tea!
2/5⭐️

Thank you to Author Shawn Carpenter, for his work.

Big Thank You to Saga Press and NetGalley for my free ebook copy of “The Price of Redemption”.

This advance review copy was given to me for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Pub Date: 7/9/24

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I usually enjoy nautical fantasy, but unfortunately I just wasn't drawn into the prose. I thought it was boring. The opening scene, for example, had absolutely no urgency even though Enid's ship was about to be captured. There's really no intro to the characters, either, they're just kind of dumped onto the page, like, "here you go." Maybe they develop as we go, but it was hard for me to garner interest in them. Not for me, sadly.

I like being swept away for a nautical adventure, be it by pirate ship, naval frigate, or raft, so when the tides of magic came into port, I was only happy to come aboard for The Price of Redemption. Captain and crew take the reader into battles, but through the eyes of the newest officer, the mage whom the commander of the frigate Alarum rescues and enlists into service, even novices in the life aboard a naval ship can learn of the ways of the sea. The dynamic between the mage (and Marquese) , Enid and the ship's commander Nath add another dimension to the story. Both are interesting in their own ways and by the end of the book, I still felt that we have merely scratched the surface of their allure. I relished every page of this first tome of the series and am eagerly awaiting the continuation of the series. This would be a great read for anyone who enjoys adventure tales be they on land, sea or sky since the author makes it easy to pick up the jargon as the sailors explain things to Enid or thru the index and glossary provided for reference at the end of the book.
I received advanced access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, Saga Press) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.