Mirage

Hoist anchor and set sail!

I was first told about this book by a work friend and thought it would be worth a read. Then while on vacation, I realized I had a sample of the book on my phone. I read the sample, then wished I wasn’t in another country so I could download the full book proper. XD So, without further ado, let’s talk about this book.

Synopsis: Alessandra, known by her moniker Lex, is a former pirate abandoned due to secretly being a woman. Still feeling the call of the sea, she recruits her new friend, Glenn, to help steal a ship and become pirates. At the same time, Ben Avery, a young doctor, works to get back the ship they stole from him by riding along his father’s ship.

Good: I feel the main strength of this novel is the characters in this story, namely our three mains. Lex is a fun, witty schemer with plenty of charm, managing to work together with a small, ragtag band of pirates to overtake mightier forces quite cleverly. Glenn’s charm comes from his party loving, playboy attitude and his friendship with Lex. And Ben is a kind, observant man of faith that manages to stand toe to toe against our secretly female main character. The romance that blossoms between the two mains in this is also quite believable and sweet, providing some time for things to relax.

The crew of the Mirage are also quite loveable, with my personal favorite being the quiet albino, Black. And the villains are enjoyably despicable as well, with pirate hunter Bart being the perfect smug, rude foil to Ben’s humble and polite demeanor.

And finally, I felt the story was intriguing and exciting, especially as it neared the end. I’ll admit, I got more than a little distracted trying to finish it near the end.

Bad: While it is very enjoyable, I will admit I had some small problems with the story. To start, I found the Christian elements a little distracting. I am fine with faith and religion, but at times its inclusion felt noticeable and took me out of the moment. My other issue is, while I enjoyed the pirate crew, some felt less noticeable than others, to the point of blending together a little. I would’ve liked to have some more standout crew members to read about, but these are nitpicks in the grand scheme of things.

Overall: I consider this a fun, exciting high seas adventure worth reading when you have the chance. With adventure, action, romance, and intrigue, this is certainly a tale worth its weight in gold.