Over Raging Tides is the first book in the Lady Pirates series, and going by this one, I can't wait to continue with this series. Grace has been a pirate since the age of seven, and is now Quartermaster and First Mate of Lady Luck, a pirate ship with an all-female crew. There is rivalry between her and Celia, the other woman who wanted the Quartermaster role. Grace's mother was taken from her when she was younger, by creatures of the sea that aren't friendly! Everyone presumes she is dead, including her love, the Captain of the ship. Things get interesting when Grace rescues two brothers from the Mordgris and brings them on-board. Her life changes and she sees things she never saw before.

This story was amazing and gripped me from the very start. The world building is amazing, and rich in history. The characters are well developed, although obviously some are more than others. One of my favourite characters is Sam, and I can't wait to see what she will do next. There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow, and the pacing was very smooth.

One word for you though - cliffhanger! This is the first book in the series so it does end with one almighty cliffhanger that will leave you wanting book two immediately. Unfortunately for me, it's not actually released yet, so I will have to wait oh-so-patiently!

For a clean, nautical adventure, with magic, mayhem, and a good dosing of rum, then I can highly recommend this book! Another corker by Jennifer Ellision.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa

Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Jennifer Ellision for granting me access to a copy of this book. I am truly grateful. It is an honor.

Grace Porter is the quartermaster and first mate of the Lady Luck, their ship. Her mother was taken by hideous and dreadful monsters called the Mordgris when she was young. She still believes that her mother is alive but hidden where the Mordgris lives. One day, their ship encounters a shipwreck, only to find not treasure but men, the last thing their crew wants to see. On the brink of being devoured by the Mordgris, Grace finds herself saving a boy and his brother and taking them in, which is against their rules. After this, a chain of events start, not just for Grace but also for the Luck.

I like the concept of switching the stereotype of men being the usual pirates. This generation is about change, and being different and unique, standing out. This book just makes the right amount of different because it beats certain stereotypes.

The fact that the origin of this concept was from watching a Pirates of the Caribbean movie adds a drop of awesomeness to the mix. Have you seen that cover? Amazing. Pure beauty.

Every chapter has something different and it relates to an article of the Lady Luck. The format was cool. I admired the writing style because it is comfortable and easy on the eyes, nothing too hard.

For me, I think that it lacks details or descriptions of the pirate world, just a little. I could imagine living the pirate life but something’s missing. As for the characters, most characters are molded great but the supporting could’ve had more “book time.” All of them are different in their own way and I want to be able to learn more about them because they all seem so interesting.

Some parts were predictable but some weren't what I expected. I felt bad about is the lack of pages. That ending left me wanting more. More action. More of the pirate-y life. It just screams a sequel. The book could’ve been much better if it was longer. Also... I need more moments of my ship.

This book would give you: (lady) pirates, sea monsters, betrayal, a strong-willed heroine, an adorable relationship of a captain and her first mate, crew of lighthearted and fierce lady pirates, a protective love between two brothers, a few moments of betrayal, a budding romance, and perhaps some treasure. If you’re up for all that and for a quick and fast-paced read, this book would be a good pick.

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Bree and her friends have come to help Nereidium stay safe from King Langdon and his Ruin Reaping. But as everyone's trying to adjust to the life altering news shared, they learn that Nereidium is suffering from new troubles of their own - earthquakes. Could it be that King Langdon has found an Earth Shaker and looking for their hidden land. King Langdon needs to be stopped before he gains to much power and destroys more than his own lands.

The writing sounds so poetic in how the moment and feelings are described as we open on the beach with Bree and her friends. Grace's narration keeps a rise and fall to the words and sentences that adds to the feeling we get. Very beautifully written.

Grace feels to put a lot of thought in the story as she voices the characters. The sentences flow neatly together, making us feel as the scene and words are together in thoughts. No sentence or words, unless needed to be, feels to stick out as an extra addition. I like this flow. But, with this strong thinking also comes a feel as though the pacing is slow with the drawing out of the words. This was an easy fix for me as I bumped the speed a quarter to keep going a bit faster.

We start at the exact moment Riot of Storm and Smoke ended.

Everyone's lives are changed coming into this book. Bree's true self is known. Which also goes to say for Aleta as well. Caden left his father, the king, and his land. There are so many possible ways this could play out, and for the good in coupling way. But these are drastic, sudden changes.

We also start to get to know new characters that are from Nereidium. In the beginning, Lady Helen seems nice and could be easy for Bree to talk and work with. I feared she would turn on Bree as others had in the past.

We start to see there is more at work than just people and Elementals. The Makers are gods/goddesses that are believed in (though not truly called gods/goddesses) have an influence in what's happening too. They have attempted to contact those of our group in different ways, some ways that may not be direct. It was a gradual draw to this through the books, but we get there and I like it. Though, if the balance in the world doesn't come to an even keel, the Makers may let the world go. I enjoyed this story as we get a connection to the Water Element and gods/goddesses in the world.

We move through time quickly with this book. We get the telling how many days or weeks have passed as we start into each chapter, if time has passed. There are times we don't get a time frame but know they've crossed sea or land to be to a destination point.

We get the story from Bree, Aleta, and Caden's POV. As all in their group are important, these three are the one's impacted the most and have connections we need to know about. Their feelings and knowledge is very important in how things will play out in the end. Bree grows up in this book, growing into a strong young woman. Aleta, strong as she is, has a brief fall but her determined personality returns and she moves on. Caden still has things to work through as he hasn't faced his biggest. Things come together and work, mostly, out after they all fight for their lives and countries.

There were are few moments with these characters that felt breezed over and not 100% believable for me. The separation from Bree, they didn't work harder to see each other and the time frame apart seems long but may not be as long as I got the feel for. They are determined young adults and this seems to not fit for me. Then when they leave Nereidium, the queen is let go easily. Really? After being lost all these years they'll let her leave without argument? Let alone on such a dangerous expedition? Erm... I don't know. I felt these moments could have been strengthened.

One big fight for part of the crew is very neat as it's a battle of Elementals, nature and humans fighting. Lots happening and sounds fast but cool seeing the use of Elemental powers. I've enjoyed seeing them use their powers in small moments and this is bigger and more action.

In the end this was a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I like where the relationships are left. These are young adults with important lives to live. But where the major arc ends is fitting as well.