DiscoverFantasy

By Sea & Sky

By

Loved it! 😍

Zara wants her husband. Karim wants the title of captain. Both will stop at nothing to get what they want. This is a pirate book after all.

The premise of this book drew me in. A woman who would stop at nothing to get back her husband. Her husband. There is not a lot of books out there, even less in the fantasy genre, with a couple that is already married. Your life doesn’t stop with a marriage, as much as some fairytales would like you to believe and to have characters that have an established relationship intrigued me enough. But then you add pirates. Not just pirates but let’s throw in a sea ship for good measured. Sprinkle some magic in there and you have a really interesting story on your hands.


The book is filled with action, to the point where I would have liked a bit more background on some of the side characters and I would have liked to have spent more time with the characters to witness the strong friendships already established and those that are growing. But I do get that it’s a book about pirates and those who capture pirates, and if you are looking for an action filled book with a twist on the traditional pirate ship, this book may be for you.


As a reader you get two sides of the story, Zala, a strong, intelligent and loyal wife intent on doing anything to save her husband. On the other side you get Karim, also strong and intelligent, who has risen through the ranks on account of his hard work and wits alone while dealing with the privilege of those around him who may not necessarily have had to earn their positions like he did. While both are on opposing sides, as a reader you can’t help but feel for the characters and understand what their motivations are.


The friendships and bonds the two main characters have make them human. Make it easier to understand who they are and what they are willing to fight for. Ultimately I think the bonds of friendship is what stands out for me and made me rate this book higher than three stars.


The world building was sufficient enough for you to understand what was happening and the conflict happening in the background but even more background or further explanation of the magic system would have bumped this book up into a five star book for me.


The magic system, from what I understood, consisted of magical creatures plus those who have a gift, e.g. manipulating the elements, creating illusions. I like magic systems that come with a price, a cost involved for wielding that power and this system definitely had that but I will let you read the book to find out what that is.


My overview is that this is an unique book about pirates, yes, and a ship in the sky as well, but it’s also about bonds that form on a ship; it’s about a love that you hope will conquer all; and it’s also about ambition, one that could burn everything to the ground in its quest for higher glory.


What are you willing to fight for? Who are you willing to die for?

Reviewed by

I am an avid book reader and book collector. I have over 1000 books on my shelves to be read so I may have a reading problem. I also love the cuddles from my two rescue dogs while I’m reading, so I named my blog after them. I read diversely and across multiple genres.

Zala

About the author

Antoine lives in Los Angeles, CA with his girlfriend and cat. He is a YouTuber, producing work for his own channel and others. He is also an audiobook engineer. Whenever he has the time, he’s writing books inspired by African folklore, mythology, and history. view profile

Published on June 19, 2020

Published by

100000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Worked with a Reedsy professional 🏆

Genre: Fantasy

Reviewed by