OATHBOUND

Magic, piracy, and romance meet in this adventurous first entry in a new series.

Emme hates everything to do with piracy, the water, and Arabella the Ruthless, her infamous pirate mother who left her family behind in search of a life of adventure. But when Emme discovers she has Paslkapi, her late father’s fatal illness, and that the only thing that can cure her lies across the seas on the fabled Island of Iilak, she has no choice but to join her best friend, Arn, and his pirate crew. Arn has an oathbind with a prize on his head, and finding a legendary buried treasure on an island far away seems like the only solution to save his life and make some money. Good thing he manages to convince Emme—who learned swordplay from her mother and whose knowledge of the sea is unmatched—to come along. Adventure, swashbuckling, and danger follow as Emme and Arn try to keep the truth about their motivations (and about the romantic feelings they are nursing) from each other. With a narrative that alternates between dark-haired, olive-skinned Emme and blond, blue-eyed Arn, this fast-paced novel is full of nonstop action, unexpected plot twists, mythical creatures, magic, and ghosts—as well as a slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance. It thoughtfully handles Emme’s complex feelings about her mother and the consequences of Arn’s ill-advised decisions in the buildup to the cliffhanger ending.

Aye, this is a breezy and fun piratical tale.