I'm Liking That Tough Female Pirate

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The author wastes no time in stirring up the drama. Csilla, the female pirate, has her hands bound and is being marched toward the noose which will end her life. She is not even allowed the dignity of covering her one blind eye. However, there seems to be more to Csilla than "just" a female pirate, because when a woman in the crowd yells out a taunt, Csilla responds with a witchcraft incantation. The look of terror on that taunter's face says a lot. This is no ordinary pirate, no matter what the gender. Of course since this character is a female, there is the obligatory information about her being ripped from the bed of her betrayer with the understanding that she was naked. Thus the makeshift rags covering the body of this pirate ship captain.

There's a hint of a separate kingdom that might be made up of female pirates. I would have liked a few more pages to understand if this is the case or if the females are just part of the military-type forces fighting the evil kingdom of Incendia. I found myself feeling a little unclear about the various warring forces as well as the important fire (trying to avoid a spoiler) at the end of that first chapter.

Although this book did not quite work for me, I think middle grade readers would enjoy the battles in this debut novel. I applaud the author for all of the work that she put into this.