AUTHOR: Alexandra Rowland

SERIES:

GENRE: Fantasy

AGE: Adult

BLURB:

Avra Helvaçi, former field agent of the Arasti Ministry of Intelligence, has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world―and the only place to flee with a secret that big is the open sea.

To find a buyer with deep enough pockets, Avra must ask for help from his on-again, off-again ex, the pirate Captain Teveri az-Haffar. They are far from happy to see him, but together, they hatch a plan: take the information to the isolated pirate republic of the Isles of Lost Souls, fence it, profit. The only things in their way? A calculating new Arasti ambassador to the Isles of Lost Souls who’s got his eyes on Avra’s every move; Brother Julian, a beautiful, mysterious new member of the crew with secrets of his own and a frankly inconvenient vow of celibacy; the fact that they’re sailing straight into sea serpent breeding season and almost certain doom.

But if they can find a way to survive and sell the secret on the black market, they’ll all be as wealthy as kings―and, more importantly, they’ll be legends.


Thank you to TOR for an arc!

Queer rep
Very funny
Pirates
Horny sea serpents (not…that kind)

This book is so strange it’s good? I honestly have no idea what to make of it. It’s like…drugs…and more drugs. I have no words, because this book was just bonkers. There was nothing serious going on this entire book. I was ??? all question marks at points, because I was “what is the point?!?!?”

This book was absolute nonsense from beginning to end. If you like funny books, pirates, and queer characters then you’ll probably get a good giggle out of this book. If not then…maybe you should pass. Because do not go into this book expecting any plot, because there really isn’t any. Any plot I mean. At least, not in the first half.

The author is a seriously talented writer, to make something so absurd read SO WELL. I am duly impressed by their talents.

HOWEVER, while all of this was entertaining in the first half, by the third part I was struggling to stay interested because it felt like the same thing over and over again.

This book is definitely going to appeal to a lot of people!