Stormbreak is the third book in the Seafire Trilogy.  It continues the adventures of Caledonia Styx and her steely crew as they continue to rid their world of Bullet leadership and make the seas safer and more friendly.

This is the third book in the trilogy, so readers should be warned that they need to read books one and two before hopping into this one.  The author doesn’t spend any time on backstory of the characters or what is going on, but instead, jumps right into the action.  Readers who haven’t read the first two books will be quite lost and will miss so much of the rich detail in this book without the overall background of characters and storyline.

The pages fly by in this one.  Just like the previous two books, the action is extremely fast-paced, and the narrative is so well done that reading really does feel effortless.  Vocabulary is simple, so less proficient readers shouldn’t be wary of the length of the book.  There are very few new characters added to this story, so while the cast is still larger in number, if you’ve previously read the first two books, you won’t find yourself confused and unable to keep who is who straight.

The beautiful themes that were so present in the first two books again ring true here.  Loyalty, camaraderie, courage in the face of insurmountable odds and family definitions.  But here, we also see Cala tackling new challenges.  In this novel, she tackles the cost of winning and the huge burdens of leadership and life-altering decisions.  Cala must balance how she protects her crew against the tough decisions she so desperately wants to shield them from.  We also see multiple characters struggling to love in a world where tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Stormbreak is the perfect crown jewel for this trilogy.  It is a fast-paced adventure on the high seas makes for enjoyable reading for a wide range of audiences.  I, for one, cannot wait to see what comes next from Natalie C. Parker. 

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Razorbill

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  20 mild obscenities.

Violence/Gore:  Numerous multi-page battles on ships and with hand to hand combat resulting in injuries and death with some violent depictions of blood and gore; multiple instances of dead/decaying bodies being strung along ships; multiple verbal threats and threats with firearms or weapons; recall of mass casualties or people being killed without detail; explosions to ships and factories; girl is forcibly grabbed/dragged by hair; various injuries with depictions of blood or mutilation of body parts.

Sex/Nudity:  Multiple instances of hand-holding, hugging, or kissing between same sex and opposite sex characters; multiple couples throughout book are same gender; sexual activity implied between adults; man makes comment about woman’s body; hands on bare man’s chest; hands around woman’s waist; couple sleeps in same bed throughout book without detail.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death, war, abandonment, addiction, same-sex couples, murder.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Use of addictive drug called Silt; drinking of alcohol.