The Price of Redemption by Shawn Carpenter

TL;DR: If you want an old fashioned Naval fantasy this is it.
Source: NetGalley, thank you so much!

Plot: A young woman ends up assisting in a job to capture a warship.
Characters: I really enjoyed everyone here, especially our flawed main character.
Setting: This is the strongest part of this. So much boat jargon and facts.
Fantasy: This was light, but well implemented in this naval setting.

Summary:

A debut female-led swashbuckling fantasy following powerful sorceress and sea captain Marquese Enid d’Tancreville as she is forced on the run where she meets a vast cast of characters perfect for fans of Patrick O’Brian’s beloved Master and Commander series.

Despite her powerful magic, Marquese Enid d’Tancreville must flee her homeland to escape death at the hands of the Theocratic Revolution. When a Theocratic warship overtakes the ship bringing her to safety, Enid is spared capture by the timely intervention of the Albion frigate Alarum , under the command of Lt. Rue Nath.

The strange circumstances make for an odd alliance, and Enid finds herself replacing Alarum ’s recently slain sea mage. Now an officer under Nath’s command, Enid is thrust into a strange maritime world full of confusing customs, duties, and language. Worse she soon discovers the threat of the revolution is not confined to shore.

Thoughts:

Anyone who has read Patrick O’Brian but also loves fantasy is going to want to pick this up. Anyone who doesn’t love older, classic novels for the style and prose is going to want to skip this one.

Enid is fleeing her homeland, she is an aristocrat and the people of that land have risen up to cast the aristocrats down in a bloody fashion. She’s on her way across the ocean when her ride is captured by a friendly nation, and she quickly becomes volunteered to assist with this new crew as their ship magister, or ‘Spells’. From here we watch her adapt, learn, and come to love the ship and it’s crew.

I can see how this one can be dense, and possibly boring, but I loved this. Likely that was due to the audio book narration on this, but also I needed something different and this style scratched that itch. I also loved how the flaws of our characters were displayed subtly. Enid is a snob, and blind to the damage her class causes. Rue is possibly too good for what he does. It is setting up to be an absolutely fascinating series and I am eagerly waiting on the second.