Review by Booklist Review
Ever since her father died, Emme has worked in the tavern, which is where her friend Arn, a pirate formerly in the kings's navy, tells her about a treasure on a mysterious island. Usually Emme refuses to join his quests, but this time, she pays attention because she has a secret: she is dying from the same disease that killed her father, and a rumored cure grows on that mysterious island. Despite her loathing for the sea, she joins Arn on his voyage, and he's happy to have her; she is the daughter of fierce pirate Arabella the Ruthless, though Emme wants none of that legacy. Meanwhile, Arn is in debt to dangerous Admiral Bones and needs that treasure to settle his account. Will their secrets put them in more danger? The narration rotates primarily between Emme and Arn, recounting a bevy of swashbuckling fights, narrow escapes, eerie sea magic, and enough adventure to keep readers breathlessly engrossed. Ideal for fans of plot-driven fantasies and, of course, pirates.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Eighteen-year-old Emme, who has olive skin, has avoided the sea ever since the death of her infamous pirate mother, but she's dying from a rare disease, and her sole hope rests in a substance found only on a distant island. When her friend Arn, 21, the white captain of a pirate ship fallen upon hard times, asks her to join him on a journey to claim the treasure left behind by another pirate on that same island, Emme and her estranged brother Emric join up. But the voyage is long and arduous, filled with danger at every port and no certainty of success once they arrive. As they battle kidnappers, ghosts, and sea monsters, Emme and Arn face their long-buried feelings for each other, but their respective secrets may tear them apart. In this nautical fantasy, a trilogy opener, McCombs (Heir of Roses) keeps the stakes high, maintaining a melodramatic dynamic between the protagonists that emphasizes their youth and relative inexperience against more seasoned enemies, and tracing Emme's progressive weakness alongside the face of a threat of mutiny. Characters cue as white. Ages 12--up. (Feb.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Magic, piracy, and romance meet in this adventurous first entry in a new series. Emme hates everything to do with piracy, the water, and Arabella the Ruthless, her infamous pirate mother who left her family behind in search of a life of adventure. But when Emme discovers she has Paslkapi, her late father's fatal illness, and that the only thing that can cure her lies across the seas on the fabled Island of Iilak, she has no choice but to join her best friend, Arn, and his pirate crew. Arn has an oathbind with a prize on his head, and finding a legendary buried treasure on an island far away seems like the only solution to save his life and make some money. Good thing he manages to convince Emme--who learned swordplay from her mother and whose knowledge of the sea is unmatched--to come along. Adventure, swashbuckling, and danger follow as Emme and Arn try to keep the truth about their motivations (and about the romantic feelings they are nursing) from each other. With a narrative that alternates between dark-haired, olive-skinned Emme and blond, blue-eyed Arn, this fast-paced novel is full of nonstop action, unexpected plot twists, mythical creatures, magic, and ghosts--as well as a slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance. It thoughtfully handles Emme's complex feelings about her mother and the consequences of Arn's ill-advised decisions in the buildup to the cliffhanger ending. Aye, this is a breezy and fun piratical tale. (Fantasy. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
