This book had some really great elements to it, but it just never really came together for me. This is a found-family story of Buc and Eld, who are hired to solve the mystery of why ships are disappearing along a southern trade route. A notorious pirate is suspected, but Buc has to track her down and prove her guilt. The world contains mages at war with each other who serve either a variety of Dead gods (older), or Ciris (newer). I loved the worldbuilding idea of merging mages and pirates, and I also enjoyed the thinker + hitter duo as main characters. I can't quite put my finger on what didn't resonate with me, but it just felt like the needle never really hit the groove. Buc never seemed to develop as a character, and there were many battle scenes that didn't hold my attention like I would have hoped. Maybe it's just not my kind of book - I hope others find this more enjoyable!