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Seafire #2
Steel Tide
The second book in a heart-stopping trilogy that follows the captain of an all-female ship intent on taking down a vicious warlord's powerful fleet.
Caledonia may have lost her crew, but she's not done fighting yet. After nearly dying at the hand of a powerful foe, Caledonia is pulled from the sea and nursed back to health by a crew of former Bullets that call themselves Blades. The Blades escaped Aric Athair's clutches and now live a nomadic existence, ready to disappear at a moment's notice should trouble come their way.
But Caledonia wants to do more than just hide. She wants to find the Mors Navis and her beloved sisters. She wants to continue fighting Aric's fleet and to take back the Bullet seas. She'll need to do everything in her power to convince the Blades that fighting is their only option, that there has to be a life better than the one under Aric Athair's reign, and that finding the women of the Mors Navis is the first step to revolution.
Caledonia may have lost her crew, but she's not done fighting yet. After nearly dying at the hand of a powerful foe, Caledonia is pulled from the sea and nursed back to health by a crew of former Bullets that call themselves Blades. The Blades escaped Aric Athair's clutches and now live a nomadic existence, ready to disappear at a moment's notice should trouble come their way.
But Caledonia wants to do more than just hide. She wants to find the Mors Navis and her beloved sisters. She wants to continue fighting Aric's fleet and to take back the Bullet seas. She'll need to do everything in her power to convince the Blades that fighting is their only option, that there has to be a life better than the one under Aric Athair's reign, and that finding the women of the Mors Navis is the first step to revolution.
448 pages, ebook
First published September 17, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 426 reviews
March 1, 2020
SO GOOD! I didn't expect that twist coming. A character I liked died I won't say who cause of spoilers but man. Didn't see it coming!
Now I have to wait untill November for the third and final book in this trilogy and with that cliffhanger I will deftinly finish this sereies this year.
1) Seafire 3/5 stars
2) Steel tide 4/5 stars
Narrator of audiobook was: Rebecca solar!(:
Now I have to wait untill November for the third and final book in this trilogy and with that cliffhanger I will deftinly finish this sereies this year.
1) Seafire 3/5 stars
2) Steel tide 4/5 stars
Narrator of audiobook was: Rebecca solar!(:
June 30, 2019
I could not put this book down and just read the last 300 pages! This was even better than the first book. It has everything I love: pirates, strong women, friendship, sibling love, adventure, romance, and more! Caledonia is such a complex, amazing character and I cannot wait where the final book will take us! I want it right now!
October 25, 2019
Captain Caledonia Stix cares deeply for each member of her crew and wishes she could protect all of them, but with her crew growing in numbers and what seems like an inevitable fight coming there way keeping them all safe might not be possible. She chose revenge over her crew once, but shes slowly learning to share her desire to fight with her crew and trust them to have her back no matter what she decides. I loved Caledonia relationship with her second in command Pisces and how they handle disagreements between them. Another two characters I adored were Nettle and Triple. I wasnt the biggest fan of the romance between Caledonia and Oran in the first book, but he's grown on me. The fact that he is constantly judged for his reputation and past as one of the bullets five commanders under the warlords leadership makes me sympathize with him.
Im so happy Caledonias attraction to both men and women was confirmed. Its not the main focus, but we know many of her female crew enjoy each others intimate company. We do see more of Hime and Amina sweet sapphic relationship as they are some of the major side characters. We also get a new gay romance between two of former bullets Caledonia adds to her crew. Compared to Sledge, the defected bullets caring and fair leader, it took me a while to warm up to Pine. I thought it was wonderful how commited he was to learn Himes sign language so he could communicate with her. We dont get to see much of the villain, but Arics cunning and cruel methods of control have managed to make him one of my most detested antagonist. Demanding children from everyone as a form of tax and then drugging them into compliance so he can make soldiers out of them was despicable.
The plot was a little slow to get started with Caledonia being stuck recuperating after the events of the first book, but some of it was needed for her to get to know the defected bullets who patched her up. Once they put their prison break plan into action things start to pick up. I loved their strategizing, daring escape and all the actions scenes. Caledonias time at Cloudbreak making new allies was also one of my favorite parts. The story managed to surprise me quite a few times. I appreciated how the topics of consent and addiction were handled with care. I tend to love books featuring pirates. Theres just something about the bonds between crew members that just speaks to my soul. I also like how the boat and open ocean setting adds a level of exciting danger, especially in this book where Aric Bullet fleet patrols the waters to make sure no one can leave his territory.
I enjoyed getting to discover more of the world in this sequel. I had originally thought increased water levels was the cause of the characters different way of life, but we finally learn that people are living off the seas and the coast due to the land further in being dead and poisoned from some unknown event generations prior to the first book. I would categorize this as a scifi post apocalypse. Theres still some interesting bits and pieces of futuristic technology left over from before the unknown event wiped out so much of their world. I do wish we got more details about this event and the world in general. The writing had that simple and easy style enjoy when looking for a quick and entertaining read. Ill definitely be picking up the third and final book in the trilogy as soon as I can. Id totally recommend this is you're looking for more pirate stories in your life.
Diversity:
Multiple Gender Attraction MC, Sapphic SC, M/M SC Romance, Mute SC, Sign Language, Addiction Recovery,
Trigger/Content Warnings:
Violence, Death, Murder, Torture, Drowning, Gun Violence, Children Taken From Their Homes & Forced to Become Soldiers, Forced Drug Addiction As A Method of Control, Addiction Withdrawals & Cravings, Starvation, Fear Of Tight Spaces,
(Feel free to DM for more info)
*This book was received for an honest review
Im so happy Caledonias attraction to both men and women was confirmed. Its not the main focus, but we know many of her female crew enjoy each others intimate company. We do see more of Hime and Amina sweet sapphic relationship as they are some of the major side characters. We also get a new gay romance between two of former bullets Caledonia adds to her crew. Compared to Sledge, the defected bullets caring and fair leader, it took me a while to warm up to Pine. I thought it was wonderful how commited he was to learn Himes sign language so he could communicate with her. We dont get to see much of the villain, but Arics cunning and cruel methods of control have managed to make him one of my most detested antagonist. Demanding children from everyone as a form of tax and then drugging them into compliance so he can make soldiers out of them was despicable.
The plot was a little slow to get started with Caledonia being stuck recuperating after the events of the first book, but some of it was needed for her to get to know the defected bullets who patched her up. Once they put their prison break plan into action things start to pick up. I loved their strategizing, daring escape and all the actions scenes. Caledonias time at Cloudbreak making new allies was also one of my favorite parts. The story managed to surprise me quite a few times. I appreciated how the topics of consent and addiction were handled with care. I tend to love books featuring pirates. Theres just something about the bonds between crew members that just speaks to my soul. I also like how the boat and open ocean setting adds a level of exciting danger, especially in this book where Aric Bullet fleet patrols the waters to make sure no one can leave his territory.
I enjoyed getting to discover more of the world in this sequel. I had originally thought increased water levels was the cause of the characters different way of life, but we finally learn that people are living off the seas and the coast due to the land further in being dead and poisoned from some unknown event generations prior to the first book. I would categorize this as a scifi post apocalypse. Theres still some interesting bits and pieces of futuristic technology left over from before the unknown event wiped out so much of their world. I do wish we got more details about this event and the world in general. The writing had that simple and easy style enjoy when looking for a quick and entertaining read. Ill definitely be picking up the third and final book in the trilogy as soon as I can. Id totally recommend this is you're looking for more pirate stories in your life.
Diversity:
Multiple Gender Attraction MC, Sapphic SC, M/M SC Romance, Mute SC, Sign Language, Addiction Recovery,
Trigger/Content Warnings:
Violence, Death, Murder, Torture, Drowning, Gun Violence, Children Taken From Their Homes & Forced to Become Soldiers, Forced Drug Addiction As A Method of Control, Addiction Withdrawals & Cravings, Starvation, Fear Of Tight Spaces,
(Feel free to DM for more info)
*This book was received for an honest review
November 16, 2020
Star Rating: —> 5 Stars
HOLY SH*T! This absolutely BLEW ME AWAY!!!!
RTC
HOLY SH*T! This absolutely BLEW ME AWAY!!!!
RTC
September 21, 2019
Steel Tide was 5 star awesome. There was action, action and more action. The novel was worth the wait.
August 17, 2024
CRITICALLY UNDERRATED !! Why do I keep finding this book at thrift stores :( Keep it. Read it. Love it. Stop donating it.
I thoroughly enjoyed Seafire, but somehow, Steeltide managed to raise the bar even higher. This book is so incredibly well written. It can feel a little long at times, but other than that, I couldn't find a single fault. Every single character is compellingly written, especially our formidable main character, Caledonia. There's queer representation, found families, and incredible moments of female camaraderie. And the fantasy writing .. quite simply, this is the most compelling and realistic pirate book I've ever read. The battles are exciting and draw you in, there's interesting moral dilemmas, and the villian is absolutely brutal. As are the plot twists. Really, I cannot recommend this series highly enough. It's unlike any other young adult book I've read!
I thoroughly enjoyed Seafire, but somehow, Steeltide managed to raise the bar even higher. This book is so incredibly well written. It can feel a little long at times, but other than that, I couldn't find a single fault. Every single character is compellingly written, especially our formidable main character, Caledonia. There's queer representation, found families, and incredible moments of female camaraderie. And the fantasy writing .. quite simply, this is the most compelling and realistic pirate book I've ever read. The battles are exciting and draw you in, there's interesting moral dilemmas, and the villian is absolutely brutal. As are the plot twists. Really, I cannot recommend this series highly enough. It's unlike any other young adult book I've read!
October 4, 2019
This was even better than Seafire! The action is relentless and the pacing is fantastic. I had some feelings about how this might end and was totally on point. I’m ready for the next one!
July 16, 2019
Good God, that was literally the best second-of-three book I've ever read. The pace is unrelenting, the stakes are ridiculous, and the ending is amazing. This is the perfect continuation to Seafire and I loved every second of it!
Want to read
April 1, 2019Great cover models 😪
- - -
So excited!!!
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So excited!!!
September 24, 2019
OMG IT WAS EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST ONE!!!!
April 29, 2020
I liked the first book in the series because of the main characters interactions with the side characters, and this one did not have the same feel or connection. The new side characters took a while for me to like and connect with. But once the original side characters came back things got better especially with the new characters. And this book had a very sad character death that I was not ready for because I fell in love with her character. Also, in the last book we got mentions of Donnally, Caledonia’s brother, and I kind of wished there were a few chapters in his POV. But I hope that the author does it in the next book because we learned a lot more about him Another great things about the characters especially Caledonia was that it was shown that she is bisexual, while Seafire just alluded to it. As well as the pacing, it took about 100 pages to get into the series again. The world building was fantastic, I love books that are set on sea and have pirates. The writing is simple and easy to follow along with that made it a very fast read once the story picks up. Overall, this was a really fun read and I can’t wait to see what is in store for Caledonia and her crew.
August 22, 2020
I absolutely loved the first book in this series, so my expectations were super high. While I enjoyed this book, it did feel pretty filler to me. A lot of it seemed like set-up for the next book, so this wasn't as fast paced.
A few new characters were introduced in this one, and while I liked them, once again, the characters in the first book are much closer to my heart. I can't stand the hinted at romance between Caledonia and Oran, I honestly shipped him and Pisces much more. I'm embarrassed to say it, but I ship Caledonia and Lir. (i've read too much enemies to lovers, whoops) I really wish we could've read more about Ares, considering that so much of the first book was dedicated to finding him.
I did like the way that this sets up for the next book. I'm totally expecting an explosive finale, especially with how this ended. I'm really hoping that we get a bit of romance in the next book, I think it would really add another dimension to the characters. Waiting eagerly for the next book in the series!
A few new characters were introduced in this one, and while I liked them, once again, the characters in the first book are much closer to my heart. I can't stand the hinted at romance between Caledonia and Oran, I honestly shipped him and Pisces much more. I'm embarrassed to say it, but I ship Caledonia and Lir. (i've read too much enemies to lovers, whoops) I really wish we could've read more about Ares, considering that so much of the first book was dedicated to finding him.
I did like the way that this sets up for the next book. I'm totally expecting an explosive finale, especially with how this ended. I'm really hoping that we get a bit of romance in the next book, I think it would really add another dimension to the characters. Waiting eagerly for the next book in the series!
September 3, 2019
When I read Seafire last year, I couldn't wait to pick up the sequel. Steel Tide, then, does not disappoint in any way. It's action-packed, full of strong female characters, and such a fresh take on the pirate genre. Slow-paced sequels are a turn-off for me, and Steel Tide doesn't suffer from this problem at all. It's packed from start to finish, and features a lot of great character development. I loved this book, the newer characters, but also the older ones, and I can't wait to see how Parker wraps up this series in the final instalment. What a treat!
**Thank you to Penguin and Edelweiss for providing me with a review copy
**Thank you to Penguin and Edelweiss for providing me with a review copy
December 7, 2019
Vivan los piratas, la revolución, la pedazo de protagonista que es Caledonia, las relaciones entre los personajes, la batalla final y el plot twist!
Qué ganas de leer el siguiente.
Reseña: https://librosdelcielo.blogspot.com/2...
Qué ganas de leer el siguiente.
Reseña: https://librosdelcielo.blogspot.com/2...
April 19, 2020
4,5*
Takto sa píšu pokračovania!
Takto sa píšu pokračovania!
September 20, 2019
*Source* Publisher
*Genre* Young Adult, Fantasy
*Rating* 4.0
*Thoughts*
Steel Tide is the second installment in author Natalie C. Parker's Seafire trilogy. Steel Tide opens almost immediately where Seafire ended. Caledonia Styx threw herself overboard after being impaled on a Bullet Ship’s spire by Fiveson Lir who has been playing a long game against Caledonia for years. Caledonia is helped back to health by former Bullets, now known as Blades. They claim to have escaped from Aric's hold somehow and they now live in a small community, mostly keeping to themselves.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
*Genre* Young Adult, Fantasy
*Rating* 4.0
*Thoughts*
Steel Tide is the second installment in author Natalie C. Parker's Seafire trilogy. Steel Tide opens almost immediately where Seafire ended. Caledonia Styx threw herself overboard after being impaled on a Bullet Ship’s spire by Fiveson Lir who has been playing a long game against Caledonia for years. Caledonia is helped back to health by former Bullets, now known as Blades. They claim to have escaped from Aric's hold somehow and they now live in a small community, mostly keeping to themselves.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
June 17, 2024
A great sequel. This one dragged a bit. I liked book one enough to borrow book three from the library while still reading it. And that ending - what a cliffhanger! Starting the last book right away.
June 21, 2021
I took my sweet time reading this one because I wanted to soak up the badassness that is Caledonia. I was not disappointed.
FRTC
FRTC
February 13, 2021
This was a good sophomore book. It was full of action with an unexpected twist at the end. Can’t wait to see how this story ends in the third book.
May 17, 2021
This is book #2 in the Seafire trilogy. I liked this one. I liked the first one too, but book #2 was non-stop action that kept me hooked as it rolled from one scene to the next. Caledonia, the MC, is the kind of character who is easy to root for as she kept rising and growing with each new hurdle in her way. The other characters, both friend and foe, were also assigned their detailed armor. It was all solidly done, painting a vivid picture.
I liked the world building. The landscape, the tone, the theme were all detailed with highlights and shadows. This trilogy has been a nice escape from some of the more serious stuff I've been reading and that I have before me. So 4 stars for the fun.
I liked the world building. The landscape, the tone, the theme were all detailed with highlights and shadows. This trilogy has been a nice escape from some of the more serious stuff I've been reading and that I have before me. So 4 stars for the fun.
October 17, 2021
(4.5)
Did I read the book in less than 12 hours? Yes, I did. I dedicated my whole Sunday to Steel Tide.
Now, this was more my ally than the first one. My wishes were heard and they did not leave me disappointed! Damn it there was action and I lived for it!
”Hell — Of course that was you. Even though you were dead, I knew it had to be you.”
God, I loved how this book turned out. I still freaking respect the fact that Natalie C. Parker has written these characters, especially the MC flawed. That she takes risks in the aftermath of fights. Cause let’s be honest no one likes the fact that in a deadly fight no one dies. What just me? Haha alright. I like and respect when authors kill or hurt the cast. It makes the stakes in fights way more real! And after the last book, it kept me on the edge of my seat.
The -0.5 stars are cause I’m still not sure about the romance. In the first book, it was like ”wait that happened” when I thought it was gonna be a one-time thing but it continued. I like that it’s a slow burn. Yes, love that. But it’s still nagging me cause the MC has stronger relationships with other characters that I think would be better together.
Did I read the book in less than 12 hours? Yes, I did. I dedicated my whole Sunday to Steel Tide.
Now, this was more my ally than the first one. My wishes were heard and they did not leave me disappointed! Damn it there was action and I lived for it!
”Hell — Of course that was you. Even though you were dead, I knew it had to be you.”
God, I loved how this book turned out. I still freaking respect the fact that Natalie C. Parker has written these characters, especially the MC flawed. That she takes risks in the aftermath of fights. Cause let’s be honest no one likes the fact that in a deadly fight no one dies. What just me? Haha alright. I like and respect when authors kill or hurt the cast. It makes the stakes in fights way more real! And after the last book, it kept me on the edge of my seat.
The -0.5 stars are cause I’m still not sure about the romance. In the first book, it was like ”wait that happened” when I thought it was gonna be a one-time thing but it continued. I like that it’s a slow burn. Yes, love that. But it’s still nagging me cause the MC has stronger relationships with other characters that I think would be better together.
November 14, 2019
I read this in one go...accidentally.
Natalie Parker still has: lady pirates, good plot motivation, characters with different abilities and sexualities and weaknesses
I felt like this was a really good blunt instrument; a sledgehammer that does everything you want it to.
Natalie Parker still has: lady pirates, good plot motivation, characters with different abilities and sexualities and weaknesses
I felt like this was a really good blunt instrument; a sledgehammer that does everything you want it to.
Want to read
March 20, 2019HELLO YOU FIERCELY BEAUTIFUL LADIES
May 18, 2020
Después de perder a su tripulación y casi morir, Caledonia se despierta en un campamento de antiguos Bala. Con la desconfianza a flor de piel, tendrá que aprender a confiar en el enemigo si quiere derrotar a Aric y reunirse de nuevo con sus hermanas.
La verdad es que este segundo libro me ha gustado tanto como el primero. Caledonia, nuestra protagonista, sufre una gran evolución con respecto al primer libro, pasa de recelar y considerar enemigos a todos los Balas a pensar que quizás no todos sean iguales, e incluso verlos como posibles aliados. En esta segunda parte, tenemos una visión más clara de cómo es el mundo en el que se desarrolla la historia, y por qué tiene tanto poder Aric Athair y su agriflota. Además conocemos un poco más la jerarquía de los Balas, quienes son los Cincohijos y qué hay que hacer para convertirse en uno de ellos lo que ayuda a entender todo bastante mejor. Así como descubrimos que hay gente que vive en tierra, los colonos y el papel que ellos desempeñan en el plan de Aric. En cuanto a los personjes, he de decir que todos me han gustado, creo que están bien desarrollados aunque algunos comportamientos que tienen me parecen algo forzados o raros, no sé no me parecen muy normales, sé que la autora quiere dar esa idea de hermandad entre las tripulaciones pero creo que en ocasiones se pasa. Destacaría a los Espadas, un grupo de balas rebeldes que reniegan de su pasado pero dispuestos a luchar por una vida mejor. También me ha gustado bastante el personaje del Rey Astuto y Lir me sigue fascinando, tiene una personalidad muy peculiar. El que me decepcionó algo fue Aric, me esperaba más, igual que de la trama romántica que en este libro aparece de una forma muy diluida. Otra cosa que me gustó fue conocer más sobre el pasado de Oran y la idea de los barcos sumergidos, así como las batallas navales que creo que están muy bien descritas. Lo que unido a la idea de Nuberrota, que se me asemejaba a la Cala de los naufragios de Piratas del Caribe me haya recordado bastante a esa saga de películas, aunque aquí en vez de a un intrépido capitán tenemos a una joven capitana con un espíritu de liderazgo y unas ideas que fácilmente se pueden igualar a las del capitán Jack Sparrow. En definitiva un libro al que no le falta de nada, con piratería y mujeres fuertes que luchan por lo que realmente creen.
La verdad es que este segundo libro me ha gustado tanto como el primero. Caledonia, nuestra protagonista, sufre una gran evolución con respecto al primer libro, pasa de recelar y considerar enemigos a todos los Balas a pensar que quizás no todos sean iguales, e incluso verlos como posibles aliados. En esta segunda parte, tenemos una visión más clara de cómo es el mundo en el que se desarrolla la historia, y por qué tiene tanto poder Aric Athair y su agriflota. Además conocemos un poco más la jerarquía de los Balas, quienes son los Cincohijos y qué hay que hacer para convertirse en uno de ellos lo que ayuda a entender todo bastante mejor. Así como descubrimos que hay gente que vive en tierra, los colonos y el papel que ellos desempeñan en el plan de Aric. En cuanto a los personjes, he de decir que todos me han gustado, creo que están bien desarrollados aunque algunos comportamientos que tienen me parecen algo forzados o raros, no sé no me parecen muy normales, sé que la autora quiere dar esa idea de hermandad entre las tripulaciones pero creo que en ocasiones se pasa. Destacaría a los Espadas, un grupo de balas rebeldes que reniegan de su pasado pero dispuestos a luchar por una vida mejor. También me ha gustado bastante el personaje del Rey Astuto y Lir me sigue fascinando, tiene una personalidad muy peculiar. El que me decepcionó algo fue Aric, me esperaba más, igual que de la trama romántica que en este libro aparece de una forma muy diluida. Otra cosa que me gustó fue conocer más sobre el pasado de Oran y la idea de los barcos sumergidos, así como las batallas navales que creo que están muy bien descritas. Lo que unido a la idea de Nuberrota, que se me asemejaba a la Cala de los naufragios de Piratas del Caribe me haya recordado bastante a esa saga de películas, aunque aquí en vez de a un intrépido capitán tenemos a una joven capitana con un espíritu de liderazgo y unas ideas que fácilmente se pueden igualar a las del capitán Jack Sparrow. En definitiva un libro al que no le falta de nada, con piratería y mujeres fuertes que luchan por lo que realmente creen.
April 28, 2020
A definite solid sequel. I can’t wait for the third and final book!
October 8, 2020
| Reader Fox Blog |
I love books like this; you know, the kind that improve drastically upon an already pretty brilliant first novel in a series, the ones that aren't what you expected and instead are even better. Steel Tide by Natalie C. Parker is like that for me. I wouldn't quite say that the series is perfection or scream that it's become one of my all-time favorites that I'll reread multiple times over the next year, but I will say that Parker did an excellent job with her follow up novel to Seafire.
The story opens up where it left off, with an injured Caledonia Styx having jumped from the enemy's ship and escaped beneath the waves of the ocean. There were a number of places where she could have ended up, but in the hands of defected blades was probably not what she or anyone else would've expected. Soon finding herself pulled toward the question of what happened to her crew of sisters after she'd left them, Caledonia will lead this new crew of unexpected allies against the tyrant who has hurt them all, Aric Athair.
I loved so much about this story. In every way it was an improvement upon the first and, as I've already said, the first was pretty exceptional. Where in the first novel I found myself mildly annoyed by Caledonia and Pisces, I fell in love with them both in this one. Even better, I feel in love with the crew of Bullets Caledonia finds herself in the care of after she washes up on shore unconscious from her injuries. I cannot even begin to describe how deeply I cared for these new characters. In so many ways they were just wonderful.
And of all these characters, the one I loved most was Pine.
I loved him so much, in fact, that I was legitimately ready to throw my hatred of love-triangles out the window and hope for him to take on the larger role of becoming a love interest. Unlike in the last novel, where I saw and felt no chemistry between Caledonia and Oran, I actually saw and felt it between Caledonia and Pine. Of course, if this is your hope, it's not to be as Pine has eyes for another--I won't say who, though. And ultimately I'm still left feeling as though ship in this novel is a large flop. Floppier than a fish on a deck.
I just don't see why they give a damn about each other.
The most fortunate thing about this, though, lies in the fact that Seafire and Steel Tide are not love stories. The relationship takes a backseat to everything these characters have had to deal with. And I would say that the shining point of Steel Tide is the concept of consent, something that is peppered throughout the story and I could not have loved more. Characters who have had their consent stripped away over and over in the past are now determined to have it within their future. Incorporated through every aspect of the decision making, consent takes a center focus for the majority of this novel.
It was amazing, it was brilliant, it was needed, and it was something I will forever look upon this novel with gratitude and pride for. I don't have enough words to express how grateful I feel for the fact that this concept was brought to light and addressed so many times within the course of a novel to present it in such a positive and necessary way. If nothing else, Steel Tide deserves a standing ovation for this. I never realized how desperately I needed this commentary until now.
The rest of the story comes from the plot which, while not exceptionally unique, is wonderful all the same. Murphy's Law seems to be hitting the characters still, but a little less obviously than it did in the last novel. The progression keeps you on the edge of your seat, eagerly turning pages to uncover more. And then the ultimate villain of the story is revealed and while I have to admit that I probably should have seen it coming, I genuinely did not. And that, in and of itself, kind of amazed me.
Keep these books on your radar and on your shelves. Believe me, they're well worth it.
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I love books like this; you know, the kind that improve drastically upon an already pretty brilliant first novel in a series, the ones that aren't what you expected and instead are even better. Steel Tide by Natalie C. Parker is like that for me. I wouldn't quite say that the series is perfection or scream that it's become one of my all-time favorites that I'll reread multiple times over the next year, but I will say that Parker did an excellent job with her follow up novel to Seafire.
The story opens up where it left off, with an injured Caledonia Styx having jumped from the enemy's ship and escaped beneath the waves of the ocean. There were a number of places where she could have ended up, but in the hands of defected blades was probably not what she or anyone else would've expected. Soon finding herself pulled toward the question of what happened to her crew of sisters after she'd left them, Caledonia will lead this new crew of unexpected allies against the tyrant who has hurt them all, Aric Athair.
I loved so much about this story. In every way it was an improvement upon the first and, as I've already said, the first was pretty exceptional. Where in the first novel I found myself mildly annoyed by Caledonia and Pisces, I fell in love with them both in this one. Even better, I feel in love with the crew of Bullets Caledonia finds herself in the care of after she washes up on shore unconscious from her injuries. I cannot even begin to describe how deeply I cared for these new characters. In so many ways they were just wonderful.
And of all these characters, the one I loved most was Pine.
I loved him so much, in fact, that I was legitimately ready to throw my hatred of love-triangles out the window and hope for him to take on the larger role of becoming a love interest. Unlike in the last novel, where I saw and felt no chemistry between Caledonia and Oran, I actually saw and felt it between Caledonia and Pine. Of course, if this is your hope, it's not to be as Pine has eyes for another--I won't say who, though. And ultimately I'm still left feeling as though ship in this novel is a large flop. Floppier than a fish on a deck.
I just don't see why they give a damn about each other.
The most fortunate thing about this, though, lies in the fact that Seafire and Steel Tide are not love stories. The relationship takes a backseat to everything these characters have had to deal with. And I would say that the shining point of Steel Tide is the concept of consent, something that is peppered throughout the story and I could not have loved more. Characters who have had their consent stripped away over and over in the past are now determined to have it within their future. Incorporated through every aspect of the decision making, consent takes a center focus for the majority of this novel.
It was amazing, it was brilliant, it was needed, and it was something I will forever look upon this novel with gratitude and pride for. I don't have enough words to express how grateful I feel for the fact that this concept was brought to light and addressed so many times within the course of a novel to present it in such a positive and necessary way. If nothing else, Steel Tide deserves a standing ovation for this. I never realized how desperately I needed this commentary until now.
The rest of the story comes from the plot which, while not exceptionally unique, is wonderful all the same. Murphy's Law seems to be hitting the characters still, but a little less obviously than it did in the last novel. The progression keeps you on the edge of your seat, eagerly turning pages to uncover more. And then the ultimate villain of the story is revealed and while I have to admit that I probably should have seen it coming, I genuinely did not. And that, in and of itself, kind of amazed me.
Keep these books on your radar and on your shelves. Believe me, they're well worth it.
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August 11, 2020
this was such a good sequel!! usually the middle book of a trilogy is the weakest one, but this was just as good as the first one (maybe even better!)
the first book hinted that the world was a dystopia (mentions of the “old world”) but this book dives deeper into that
this book also gives the first glimpse at the colonists perspective and more details about aric’s reign (conscription, monopoly over farming)
it had same level of action as the last book, so i never got bored, and the found family expands even larger here. i loved all the new characters just as much as the original cast, and oran and pisces got more depth. however, we still didn’t see much of oran, so i never rooted for the romance between him and caledonia
i found that this book still had the same issue as the first book. the romance between all the pairings (except amina and hime) felt forced as they kinda appeared out of nowhere without any chemistry or any interactions leading up to it. but, the romance played such a small part that it didn’t detract at all from the book, it just felt unnecessary
4.5 stars
SPOILERS (to remember for the third book)
- caledonia wakes up in a camp of former bullets (blades)
- the colonizers tell the blades they need to leave or else they’ll inform aric of their presence (because they didn’t want to be affiliated with caledonia’s bombing of the bullet ship)
- they take over a bullet ship
- caledonia finds out her crew was captured 2 days ago so the blades agree to help her rescue them and they sail to slipmark
- they get attacked by a submarine (not a bullet ship) and they take it down
- they call the bullets for help, disguising themselves as bullets as they tow them to slipmark
- pine kills a bullet who he thought was a threat to caledonia
- caledonia sees oran being tortured and sledge reveals that oran is the steelhand (everyone is afraid of him — he created new torture methods)
- gloriana (bullet) recognizes caledonia
- gloriana wants out so she agrees to help her escape and rescue her crew
- gloriana plants bombs but on her way to the ship she gets chased by bullets
- nettle goes to save her but she gets shot and triple goes to help her
- triple fights the bullets to give nettle time but she dies
- they don’t know where gloriana is so they start to leave on the stolen bullet ship
- they reach the tide cans and start letting girls out when they get shot at
- gloriana has her own ship and she shoots back at the bullets, giving the girls time to board and the ship to escape
- pisces never wanted to be captain and she’s mad that caledonia left them without asking pisces if she was okay with it
- caledonia finds out sledge locked oran in the hold instead of the medbay so she frees him (things are tense with sledge)
- nettle says the deepships (submarines) are the sly kings (hesperus)
- they are attacked by 5 bullet ships, who ram into them, making 2 breaches in the hull, and they try to push them into a whirlpool
- sledge and pine kiss
- caledonia finds out that donnally is one of the finalists to become a fiveson
- they reach cloudbreak and hesperus gives caledonia control over his fleet of 11 deepships
- nettle is hesperus’ niece
- oran tells caledonia how he became a fiveson — he made a group of children kill each other
- the colonists fought back against the bullets (uprising) and the potential fivesons are planning to stage a demonstration
- caledonia plans to draw aric to cloudbreak and kill him
- nettle stole aric’s soiltech and caledonia gives it to hesperus to try and figure out
- aric figured out that they had deepships and used his new tech to fire at them
- she throws a bomb that releases shrapnel (oran’s creation) at aric’s ship but he uses bullets as a human shield — dozens die
- she gets ready to fire at aric again but he has donnally in front of him
- lir kills aric just as he was getting ready to shoot donnally
- theres an explosion and lir is knocked out
- caledonia reaches donnally but he refuses to leave lir, calling him his brother
- lir signals his retreat and caledonia won the battle
- caledonia asks oran to be her steelhand and the book ends
the first book hinted that the world was a dystopia (mentions of the “old world”) but this book dives deeper into that
this book also gives the first glimpse at the colonists perspective and more details about aric’s reign (conscription, monopoly over farming)
it had same level of action as the last book, so i never got bored, and the found family expands even larger here. i loved all the new characters just as much as the original cast, and oran and pisces got more depth. however, we still didn’t see much of oran, so i never rooted for the romance between him and caledonia
i found that this book still had the same issue as the first book. the romance between all the pairings (except amina and hime) felt forced as they kinda appeared out of nowhere without any chemistry or any interactions leading up to it. but, the romance played such a small part that it didn’t detract at all from the book, it just felt unnecessary
4.5 stars
SPOILERS (to remember for the third book)
- caledonia wakes up in a camp of former bullets (blades)
- the colonizers tell the blades they need to leave or else they’ll inform aric of their presence (because they didn’t want to be affiliated with caledonia’s bombing of the bullet ship)
- they take over a bullet ship
- caledonia finds out her crew was captured 2 days ago so the blades agree to help her rescue them and they sail to slipmark
- they get attacked by a submarine (not a bullet ship) and they take it down
- they call the bullets for help, disguising themselves as bullets as they tow them to slipmark
- pine kills a bullet who he thought was a threat to caledonia
- caledonia sees oran being tortured and sledge reveals that oran is the steelhand (everyone is afraid of him — he created new torture methods)
- gloriana (bullet) recognizes caledonia
- gloriana wants out so she agrees to help her escape and rescue her crew
- gloriana plants bombs but on her way to the ship she gets chased by bullets
- nettle goes to save her but she gets shot and triple goes to help her
- triple fights the bullets to give nettle time but she dies
- they don’t know where gloriana is so they start to leave on the stolen bullet ship
- they reach the tide cans and start letting girls out when they get shot at
- gloriana has her own ship and she shoots back at the bullets, giving the girls time to board and the ship to escape
- pisces never wanted to be captain and she’s mad that caledonia left them without asking pisces if she was okay with it
- caledonia finds out sledge locked oran in the hold instead of the medbay so she frees him (things are tense with sledge)
- nettle says the deepships (submarines) are the sly kings (hesperus)
- they are attacked by 5 bullet ships, who ram into them, making 2 breaches in the hull, and they try to push them into a whirlpool
- sledge and pine kiss
- caledonia finds out that donnally is one of the finalists to become a fiveson
- they reach cloudbreak and hesperus gives caledonia control over his fleet of 11 deepships
- nettle is hesperus’ niece
- oran tells caledonia how he became a fiveson — he made a group of children kill each other
- the colonists fought back against the bullets (uprising) and the potential fivesons are planning to stage a demonstration
- caledonia plans to draw aric to cloudbreak and kill him
- nettle stole aric’s soiltech and caledonia gives it to hesperus to try and figure out
- aric figured out that they had deepships and used his new tech to fire at them
- she throws a bomb that releases shrapnel (oran’s creation) at aric’s ship but he uses bullets as a human shield — dozens die
- she gets ready to fire at aric again but he has donnally in front of him
- lir kills aric just as he was getting ready to shoot donnally
- theres an explosion and lir is knocked out
- caledonia reaches donnally but he refuses to leave lir, calling him his brother
- lir signals his retreat and caledonia won the battle
- caledonia asks oran to be her steelhand and the book ends
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2020
4,5
Mar de acero no solo ha estado a la altura de Mar de fuego, sino que es incluso más adictivo y con más acción. En él volveremos a disfrutar de su gran mundo con los personajes a los que ya adoramos en el primer título y otros que nos ganarán en este.
Reseña: https://voragineinterna.blogspot.com/...
Mar de acero no solo ha estado a la altura de Mar de fuego, sino que es incluso más adictivo y con más acción. En él volveremos a disfrutar de su gran mundo con los personajes a los que ya adoramos en el primer título y otros que nos ganarán en este.
Reseña: https://voragineinterna.blogspot.com/...
July 20, 2020
I somehow accidentally spent the last day reading this novel. I had a weird in-between day before I had to start the next book on my October TBR, so I decided to start this one, and I was immediately hooked.
Steel Tide by Natalie C. Parker is the follow-up to Seafire, and it is a stunning sequel.
Just like in the first novel, Caledonia is an exquisite narrator. Her character development is just so well-done - she is such a well-rounded character who exudes such power, but who also deals with severe insecurity. The reader can't help but root for her.
And in this novel, we get to meet some new supporting characters. I immediately fell in love with all of them. Pine and Sledge left a lasting impact on my heart, and I would truly love to read a spin-off novel about Pine.
We also got to see Caledonia's crew again, and I fell more in love with them this time. The bond between this girls is so undeniably powerful and I would die for the found family trope. Their dedication to each other, their loyalty, their honesty, it is just all so perfect.
Though I didn't fully realize this while reading the first novel, Aric Athair is truly an exquisite villain. The way he made my blood boil...he is such a brilliant villain, as are his Bullets.
Also, there were two gay romances in this novel and I would die for them. :')
This review is barely a review and it is a mess, but I'm having a lot of feelings and at the end of the day I have been so pleasantly surprised with this series and I only regret that I didn't read it sooner.
I cannot wait for the third novel. :')
Steel Tide by Natalie C. Parker is the follow-up to Seafire, and it is a stunning sequel.
Just like in the first novel, Caledonia is an exquisite narrator. Her character development is just so well-done - she is such a well-rounded character who exudes such power, but who also deals with severe insecurity. The reader can't help but root for her.
And in this novel, we get to meet some new supporting characters. I immediately fell in love with all of them. Pine and Sledge left a lasting impact on my heart, and I would truly love to read a spin-off novel about Pine.
We also got to see Caledonia's crew again, and I fell more in love with them this time. The bond between this girls is so undeniably powerful and I would die for the found family trope. Their dedication to each other, their loyalty, their honesty, it is just all so perfect.
Though I didn't fully realize this while reading the first novel, Aric Athair is truly an exquisite villain. The way he made my blood boil...he is such a brilliant villain, as are his Bullets.
Also, there were two gay romances in this novel and I would die for them. :')
This review is barely a review and it is a mess, but I'm having a lot of feelings and at the end of the day I have been so pleasantly surprised with this series and I only regret that I didn't read it sooner.
I cannot wait for the third novel. :')
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