Review: "Ships, Secrets, and Survivors" by Sarah Rodecker and Helena George

I don't know if you know (well, since I've been shouting about it since...June?, you might), but one of the blogosphere's own dynamic duos is releasing a book! And it's coming out in ten days! And I got an ARC! And I'm SO EXCITED to review it today! (Sarah and Helena, you made an amazing book!)

An assassin trainee fleeing his profession. 

A princess risking her reputation.

A talking ship with a mad captain.

Ravin should be dead. No one forsakes the assassin profession and lives. Attempting to evade capture and certain death, Ravin hides on a ship as part of the crew. Then his name is announced on Selection Day for the annual Scaera Dumeda, despite him never taking the entry test, declaring to the entire world—and the assassins hunting him for revenge—that he is alive. 

Princess Adima Radi Kashinda dreams of more than someday ruling Antovan. She desires to make a true difference for her people. When her name is called on Selection Day, she throws away her title, despite the uncertain future ahead. This may be the opportunity she hoped for.

When some of the other selectees are murdered, Ravin and Adi are among the suspects. With the help of Ravin’s captain and crew, they sail away to hunt down the killer and clear their names. Can they catch the murderer when he always seems to be at least one step ahead?

Worldbuilding/Writing Style

Okay, I'm going to be straight with you: I was here for the talking ships. 100%. And my word, they didn't disappoint! Ships that talk, love music, dance, and are snarky? SO MUCH LOVE! The Scaera Dumeda was clever and cool (although we didn't see all that much of it), and the whole building-of-the-world was understated and classy, with a tiny bit of magic, and I'm sure, a whole lot of love. I'm a bit confused on all the countries, but I'm also bad with place names, so...*shrugs* Also, I loved the whole assassin-families-have-a-hierarchy-and-different-traditions thing! And SEA DRAGONS! Sarah and Helena also have a unique writing style that took me a couple of chapters to get used to, but once I got used to it, I really enjoyed it! It was clever and snarky and fun.

Plot

The plot was really clever! There were so many twists and turns and pirate tropes quietly and subtly worked in! (Okay, maybe the *spoiler* marooning *end spoiler* wasn't exactly subtle...but...you know what I mean!) I was worried at the beginning that it was all going to be about the Scaera Dumeda, but there was plenty of time on board ship for my ocean-loving little heart. And the plot twists! And the surprises! And the ENDINGGGGGG I need the next one immediately, if not sooner. 

Characters

Adi: Such a good twist on the usual "don't want to be a princess" trope--she wants to help her people, but knows she can do better than sitting in boring meetings! But she's also a really great natural leader! But not puffed up! (Can you tell she was my favorite?) 

Ravin: (Okay, maybe Ravin is my favorite) I <3 this assassin who just. wants. to. have. a. normal. life. but gets dragged into alllllll of these scrapes and crazy adventures. I love his crusty exterior (reminds me of me a teensy bit) but also the moments where his heart gets to show through.

Jay Hill: *cries* Jay Hill was so fantastic as the dad of the group, the lover of his ship, the captain who cares about his crew...*cries some more*

Everyone Else: There were a lot of other secondary characters, who I'm not going to individually talk about, but I did think that Sarah and Helena did a great job of making the secondaries each have things that they cared about and wanted to accomplish to distinguish them from the others. I still got a little mixed up sometimes, but that was probably because I was reading too fast, haha. 

Romance

There actually wasn't really any, except Heather and Jay, which was very subtle, and they're married. <3

Content

An implied rape, and an implied attempted rape, but nothing graphic at all, only if you read between the lines. Some murder and attempted murder. 

Overall Rating

Four stars! I really loved this book, and I'm SO looking forward to getting my own hard copy with that gorgeous cover!

Reminds me of...

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (it might be the angsty assassin-y people...or maybe just the subtle fantasy worldbuilding vibe)

Do you like to read indie books? What is your favorite seagoing story? Are you excited for this release?!