Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy and a PR package of this book! These are my honest opinions!

Caraway of the Sea is a sweet self-published pirate story featuring a diverse cast and found family. I  enjoyed the writing, and for a self-pub book, I found the work to be quite polished and readable! I loved our MC, Caraway, who is so incredibly snarky and stubborn and guarded, and her journey throughout the story was really compelling.

Though this isn't a fault of Burget's writing, as this is a pirate book, I was expecting more of a plot-heavy fast narrative with lots of swashbuckling adventure and sailing action, but the majority of the story takes place on land (and the parts that are on a boat are just mostly in contained rooms below cabin, so we don't get much of a feel for the ship itself) and is driven by slow-burn interpersonal conflict. I think that for folks who aren't super into pirate-y content but want the general vibe, or people who want to dip their toes into pirates but prefer more intimate dynamics, this book may be up your alley. But because I pick up pirate books to be immersed in the pirate ship ambience, the sailing lingo, and gritty action, I felt this one wasn't quite as much up mine. 

I also want to mention that this book is marketed as fantasy but it isn’t. It’s a second world book, but without any actual fantasy elements or worldbuilding, this just seems like a tool to avoid handling any historical elements. It takes away rather than adds imo.

I'm really  grateful I was sent a copy and got to have a little taste of a pirate story this summer (no summer is complete without one pirate book imo), and I'm happy to see on here that this book seems like it's found its audience!

CW: violence, blood & gore, sexual assault, drowning, dismemberment, character death, death, anxiety, emotional abuse, physical abuse, manipulation, PTSD, gun violence, injury detail, confinement, depression, narcissism, alcohol, alcoholism