I was excited to support a book on piracy from a debut author. Unfortunately, Capitana’s writing style falls into the common pitfalls of early writing, chiefly overwrought prose and heavy-handed metaphors (and, in this case, especially nautical-themed similes, which heightened the cheesiness). I also became aware of the author’s alarmingly ultra-conservative politics after I received an ARC, which soured my reading experience because the story so clearly reflects her stances. It is exceedingly strange to read a pirate story that aligns with the imperial powers rather than the roguish romance of piracy. I couldn’t finish, enjoy, or endorse this book.

I really enjoyed this book. The story hooked me from page 1 and I enjoyed watching how Ximena's character and priorities change and evolve as the story progresses. She starts off so hard headed and righteous, but once the adventures really begin, she starts to see things from a different perspective. Perfect for fans of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Capitana by Cassandra James is a fierce and empowering tale of resilience, ambition, and self-discovery. Set against a vivid backdrop of adventure and intrigue, James introduces a heroine who commands both the seas and readers’ hearts. With rich world-building and unforgettable characters, Capitana is a must-read for fans of strong female leads and epic storytelling.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

I am a sucker for YA pirate books and this did not disappoint. The mix of dark academia was surprising (in a positive way).
I felt connected to the FMC and found my self rooting for her many times.
Overall it was a fun read that I highly recommend.

Capitana was an absolute blast—if you’re in the mood for nonstop adventure with Pirates of the Caribbean vibes, this is the book to grab. There’s never a dull moment, and the pacing is chef’s kiss. Between pirate attacks, daring escapades, and legendary figures returning from the dead, I was hooked from start to finish.

Ximena is a relatable underdog: smart, determined, and brave to a fault, but burdened by her family’s pirate legacy. Her time at La Academia is far from easy—she keeps people at arm’s length, her sister is struggling, and her rival, Dante, seems to have everything handed to him. Her grit shines through, even when her unwavering loyalty to the crown makes her almost insufferable—a flaw that’s intentional and essential to her growth.

Speaking of rivals… Dante is an intriguing counterpart. Their dynamic crackles with tension, snappy banter, and a slow-burn romance (currently one-sided, with Dante pining). He’s grumpy at first, and not immediately likeable, but I’m hoping the sequel will peel back more of his layers and redeem some of his earlier behaviors.

What sets Capitana apart from other pirate books is its perspective. Instead of romanticizing pirates outright, it begins with the Cazadores—law-abiding loyalists—highlighting the systemic injustices that spark rebellion. I love that the sequel will flip to the pirates’ POV, promising even more depth and nuance.

If I had one gripe, it’s that Ximena’s growth could’ve hit harder by the end. I wanted her realizations to dig deeper, though the conclusion left me eager for more—in the best way. It’s clear the next book will push Ximena further into the complexities of rebellion versus loyalty.

Capitana delivers exactly what it promises: pirates, rivals-to-lovers slow burns, and relentless high-stakes adventure. It’s a five-star ride, and I can’t wait to see where Ximena’s journey takes us next.

This romantic fantasy element was fantastic; it had the desired pirate vibe, and I loved the plot as a whole. This world and the way the characters interacted with the novel's plot captivated me. it was a fantastic beginning to this world and fulfilled every need I had since the first chapter.

I thoroughly enjoyed Capitana. I rated 4.5 stars and rounded up to 5 stars. I thought this was a fun story about a girl, Ximena, that wants to escape her parents' scandalous history of turning pirate. She has no friends and few allies in the academy. Her goal is to become a cazador to show that she is loyal to the crown and the law. She and her biggest rival are in competition for a promotion when the legendary pirate Gasparilla attacks the academy and kidnaps the queen.

While I do not share the author's stance on politics, I also do not condone banning or review bombing books. I think that if you do not want to buy a book based on the author, that is your choice and your ethical obligation and support your decision.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was everything I wanted in a pirate book and more. The concepts of pirates as a whole is an act of rebellion and to build that realistically you need a suppressive government to rebel against but also they need to have loyal and brainwashed subjects. Ximena is the perfect candidate to show and explore how deep the loyalties to everything you’ve ever known goes and how it starts to break and crumble the more the truth is exposed. Plus this being inspired by Gasparilla (a pirate ever close to my hometown) I was so excited. I need book 2 ASAP.

I accepted the eARC before learning about who the author is and what their values are. Abortion is health care and bodily autonomy is a basic human right. I will not be reading a book written by someone who does not believe those facts to be true.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Capitana is a fun and easy read, making it a great choice for those looking for a light, engaging story. The pacing is quick, and the plot moves along without dragging, keeping readers entertained from start to finish. Spme charcters are likable more than others and the author does a good job of developing their personalities and motivations, even though some parts of the narrative feel predictable. While it doesn't break new ground in terms of originality, the book is enjoyable for what it is—a breezy and uncomplicated story that doesn't require too much thought. Overall, Capitana is a solid read for those looking for something easy and fun to dive into.

This was a struggle to read. The plot was generic and I was so bored. Ximena was unlikable and the romance with Dante was weak. This was definitely not my favorite pirate fantasy romance.

This was a good take on a pirate story. I enjoyed the plot of the book. Ximena was a likeable, if occasionally frustrating character and I enjoyed her arc.

I really enjoyed this YA pirate adventure fantasy at first. The school angst, the pirate mystery, the pirate attack all kept me glued to the book. The MC starts off rather unlikable and is very pro-empire, blindly following authority like a good imperial soldier, but she slowly starts waking up to the injustice. The book reminded me a little of Some Desperate Glory and A Language of Dragons for its criticism of imperialism and cyclical violence. However, the pirates aren't all altruistic freedom fighters/Robin Hoods. It seemed like most of them weren't even good people (they give silver to the common folk but are totally down to torture and kill teenagers), so yeah. Both sides sucked, and I didn't really buy into Ximena's about-face to the side of good/piracy when there WAS no clear side of good. The real happy ending would be sailing away to another country and not looking back.

I really, REALLY disliked the romantic interest. It's definitely enemies-to-lovers, but I hated Dante so much at first that I thought HE was the villain (or one of them at least) and the real MMC had to be showing up later on. But no, it's Dante, he's the one, and he's only awful because he's so jaded by their government and society and his mom. Cool, he should be jaded, this place sucks and so does his mom, but he was basically a bully. A lazy, irresponsible one, which is much more insulting than a bully with a good work ethic. For me to like him as the romantic lead, he shouldn't have been so unpleasant at first, or maybe there should've been more hints of him pining. I think Pia had the potential to be a better love interest ("Don't worry...I won't let you fail alone"), but I read a lot of sapphic romance so that's the gay in me coming through.

The hook for the sequel was good. This was well-written and entertaining novel, but Ximena's self-awakening arc, her love interest, and the pirate villainy needed more development for me.

So, according to various people online, James is a zi0n!st, pro next-electorally-elected-president/convicted felon, and has opinions regarding autonomy rights that aren't pro-women's rights. Forgive me for the censors, but if Goodreads is taking down reviews with certain words, I want to be careful, but I don't want to skirt around this, either. I tried to look into these claims myself, but the her direct opinion articles and the pics she took in a certain country have been scrubbed off the base web. I wish I knew about these things before I grabbed the ARC. No wonder it was free without request.

Regardless, I only continued because I was curious. If James is who people say she is, then what is she doing writing a book about the evils of imperialism and colonialism? How can an author write a story about a protagonist learning the errors of the mindset instilled by an empire while believing in what she does? These types of questions run through my head every time I see/hear about American conservatives loving/supporting a piece of media whose themes and messages directly contradict their own values down to the core? It's like seeing the aforementioned convicted felon unironically attend a Green Day concert. In the wise words of Billy Joe Armstrong, "What the f**k are you doing here, dude?"

So, I did not read this to support the author. If anything, I'm read this to spite her, if what was said about her is true. I read this in an attempt to sedate the curiosity I had over this walking contradiction. In the end, I just got a painfully generic fantasy read.

The entire story reads like an Ivy League grad's first draft, which I suspect it is, given that James got the book deal before she graduated Princeton. The book is based on the premise that not everything is as black and white as it seems, but the worldbuilding fails to reflect that. It's obvious from the get-go that the empire is bad, with their divine worship of the laws created by their first ruler 200 years before the story, handing out punishments/killings to criminals and citizens like candy, and the rigid rankings in the school that enforce obedience without question to the top from the bottom. But the pirates, the supposed good guys, aren't much better. Sure, we're told they're heroes and saviors to a lot of people in this world, but on Gasparilla's little pirate island, the one that claims to be a democracy to oppose the empire, the legendary captain literally ordered an imprisonment and no one could object to it because he was clearly in charge. Both sides suck in this book. The cazadores are authoritarian, fanatic hypocrites, and the pirates are anarchist, stereotypical depictions of pirates who are barbarian hypocrites. There is no one to root for in this book.

Speaking of not rooting for anyone, Ximena also sucks. I understand the point of the story is for her to go from aforementioned authoritarian fanatic to a pirate through learning not everything isn't what it seems, but she's too damn one-dimensional for that. For most of the book, her thoughts primarily revolve around following the rules, refusing to engage in social behaviors because she hates friendships, and obsessing over Gasparilla, which is initially looked down on by her admiral until she's inevitably proven right. She's not badass, nor terribly sympathetic, even though she was manipulated as a kid to betray her parents, and her character arc, despite its obvious trajectory, was so clunky and unnatural. Her motivation was purely because [she couldn't live with the fact she sent her sister, who was Gasparilla, to death all so she could become a full-time cop. You should have grown a conscious before you winningly sent her to her death, Xi! (hide spoiler)], and all the sudden she changed for the better. She patched things up with her only friend, kissed the boy, and rode off into the sunset to become a pirate in the span of two chapters. God, this girl was just so frustratingly boring

The hate-to-love romance with Dante was so awful. God, I genuinely hate Dante, because he's another troubled, alcoholic rich boy who bullies Ximena but somehow falls in love with her?? I do not understand what flipped in his brain between the beginning and the end, because he spent so much of this book messing with her so they could spend time together?? They have no chemistry! Ximena spends so much time thinking how much she hates him and how she should turn him in for the treasonous things he constantly says to her, but she doesn't! Again, the hate to love switches in the last couple chapters, and I just hated this relationship so much.

Politics aside, I will implore you: Don't read this book. I did this whole review just to save anyone slightly interested in this book from it. Put that support into other debut authors who need it more. And remember: Always be informed of the person/group behind the media you consume.

Not very exciting and is very predictable. Did not connected emotionally with the characters and felt like it was trying to be Pirates of the Caribbean.

I first want to say this review isn’t based off the author’s viewpoints (I tried to do a search and couldn’t find exactly what they were anyway). With that being said, sadly this was a DNF for me. I just couldn’t get into this one and I usually like pirate books. Maybe I’m out growing YA? I’m not sure. To me it felt like the writing was kind of choppy and I wasn’t a big fan of the dialogue. It was very slow going and I just couldn’t push myself through this one. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

I was browsing NetGalley when I found that this book had been made available for a limited time, so I grabbed it. I am so glad I did. This book was amazing! I wasn't sure what to expect as I hadn't read much about it before reading it, but I devoured it. It was very propulsive and had a great beginning. There was so much adventure and swashbuckling! I felt as though I was on the ride Pirates of the Caribbean but with a better plotline. The characters are also so well written and easily loveable. I loved Ximena and her tenacity to follow her dreams and what she believes in. I do wonder if some of her fault other readers would find annoying, but to me I appreciated her growth as a character.
One of two notes notes I would let readers know is that there is a lot of Spanish in this book. I thought it was great since it added to the authenticity, but I definitely had to use my translator a few times.
Note number two is that this was very mild on the romance scale. It was a slow burn, glacial even and there were no spicy scenes. I appreciated it because of how the story unfolded.
All in all, this was a great read. I plan on buying a paper copy when it comes out and highly anticipate the sequel.

This is your next pirate book obsession. This story had me hooked from the very early pages. I like how we got a very different perspective in this book coming from the Pirate hunters instead of the pirates. And the slow slow burn I feel will be well worth it in the next book! I think this is hands down one of my favorite reads of the year!! Do yourself a favor and order this one now. It has all the piratey goodness we love but with some much more bang.

Dark academia at a pirate academy? Sign me up.

Ximena is out to restore her family’s honor through the academy, hunting pirates and top marks with equal zeal. Similarly, I tore through this book excitedly and finished it in just a few days. A nearly perfect YA pirate story, I found myself shocked and confused by twists in the plot (below), but found myself cheering on the main character the entire way.

This is the first in a duology, and I’m so excited to read the next!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books/ Quill Tree Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!