More like 3.5, thanks to Raincoast Books for an e-ARC! This beautiful cover has been catching my eye for some time so I was happy to get the chance to read it. The MC, a 17-year-old girl who’s been living on a dangerous island for years after the death of her mother, gets the chance to sail the seas with a secretive crew to find and reconnect with her father.

There’s a lot of interesting things that happen in the book (I was going to say adventures but they’re all fairly contained so it didn’t feel above and beyond adventurous) but it doesn’t feel like this one really stands on its own. The MC’s motivation for her whole journey, the secrets of her crew members, her own family history, is all carried over to the next book with what felt like so little resolution here, and even a lacking climax.

I am still intrigued by the second book (especially since there are only 2 in the series) and if you love reading about ships and trading, there’s so much rich description about the life of those at sea. But as someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy series, the reliance on a second book for the plot brought my rating down a bit.