City News
Seafire by Natalie C. Parker
Review by Kate
Caledonia Styx, captain of the entirely female Mors Navis, has a secret. She blames the death of her family and friends on herself due to what happened one night four years ago. In a world where everyone is controlled by corrupt warlord Aric Athair or running from him, she fights to stay alive and protect her crew. But with the regrets of her past and a need for revenge, how long can she stay safe from Aric’s minions, the Bullets?
Seafire is an action packed pirate tale of sisterhood and the importance of trusting others. Caledonia loves her crew, but she doesn’t trust them or herself enough to share her secrets. This leads to conflict on the Mors Navis and a cliffhanger ending where Caledonia’s fate is unknown. The crew of the Mors Navis would stand with Caledonia through anything, especially Pisces, her childhood friend.
Aric Athair controls the seas and land below the net, the border along his control. His recruits are made loyal due to Silt, a drug he uses to make them dependent on him. Caledonia and her crew work to fight back against the man who ruined their lives. All of the girls aboard the Mors Navis have a thirst for Bullet blood and an urge to fight. Parker’s words make you feel the girls need to avenge those they have lost to Aric and his bullets.
Caledonia Styx is a strong character with a driving need to protect and kill. She is loyal and loving, but hides it behind a hard, cold exterior. She believes that caring is a weakness that can be taken advantage of due to an encounter she had with a Bullet that led to the death of her parents. Caledonia’s distrust of Bullet’s is tested when she discovers her brother has become one, and a strong one at that. I liked Caledonia, although she wasn’t very relatable. Her experiences are unlike anything I have gone through, and she is distrusting of the world as a whole.
Seafire had a slow beginning, and it took a while for me to become invested in the characters and their fates. The action was well written, but there weren’t that many fighting scenes throughout the book. Compared to other pirate books I have read this book was a little boring, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected I would. There were no funny or entertaining characters in the story.
Seafire also didn’t give much of a backstory on the characters in Caledonia’s crew other than Caledonia, Pisces, and Hime. I suspect this will come later in the series, but I think I would have connected more with the characters if I knew more about the trials they had faced and overcome. Caledonia’s crew was made up of 54 people by the end of the book, but I only knew about 10 of them.
I would rate this book a six out of ten stars. It had well described settings and a strong plot, but I didn’t love the characters. It was hard to get through, especially when the Mors Navis was down on their luck. I would recommend this to someone looking for a book about female pirates, but only if they were alright with a slow read.