The Maiden Ship (The Maiden Ship, #1) by Micheline Ryckman

RELEASE DATE: February 7th 2020
AUTHOR: Micheline Ryckman
GENRE: Young-Adult, Fantasy, Adventure.
PUBLISHER: Whimsical Publishing
SYNOPSIS:

Dain Alloway was only nine years old when he began a new life with his father, sailing aboard The Maiden. Eight years later, the aristocratic city-boy turned merchant-sailor feels like he lives with one foot on land, and one foot in the sea. Life floats smoothly by until the night he wakes to find a mysterious woman in his cabin.

The events that unfold after her appearance transform Dain’s world. Now, hunted by empty-faced demons, he finds himself thrown into a dangerous web of intrigue and magic. As the crisis grows, the young sailor discovers powerful gifts buried deep within, talents that might shift the tide of a centuries-old war. Whether or not he’s ready, Dain will have to risk it all for the salvation and freedom of those he loves.

 

The Maiden Ship was an entertaining YA fantasy filled with sea adventure, magic, friendship, and a dash of romance. That beautiful cover was obviously what drew my interest and as a great fan of sea adventure, I couldn’t resist picking it up. Honestly, it’s not my favorite, but I did enjoyed the overall story and for a debut novel I think it was a great start.

The story follows seventeen year old Aristocratic city boy Dain Alloway who’s been   dreaming about getting out of his father’s Maiden Ship and lead his own life on land. For eight years he’s been living on Maiden ship under his father’s control. One night he wakes up to find a mysterious women in his cabin who talks about magic and curses. When Dain finally decides to have his freedom, tragedy struck his life and he becomes the new captain of the Maiden ship. The next day he finds a girl in his room who was recruited by his father. Soon they’re hunted by all kinds of demons and Dain discovers that his father has been hiding many secrets and he will do anything to protect his crew.

I enjoyed Dain’s character! When I jumped into this book, I was surprised to find that the whole book was written in male protagonist POV. At first I was a bit worried that It wouldn’t work out for me because I mostly prefer books with female protagonist but thankfully Dain was an easy character to connect with. He’s sweet and a total gentleman. Sable is quite the opposite. She’s fierce and a stubborn character. I enjoyed the slow burn romance between Dain and Sable. Their first meeting was hilarious. I wish there was more interactions between them. The secondary characters were pretty fun too. I liked all the Maiden ship crew especially Mo, Old Toff, Cassian, and Illiana

The plot was interesting and fun, but the characters made this book more enjoyable. The pacing was a bit slow but it did not bother me much. Sadly, there’s not much action in this book but I hope we get more in the sequel. There are some surprising twists and turns but It was easy to predict that last twist. I saw it coming from the start. The writing was good. I didn’t have any issue with it. The whole book was written in Dain’s third person POV but it would’ve been great if we also got Sable’s side of story. There’s not much world building because it’s a sea adventure. I enjoyed the magical elements and I want to learn more about the demons and their mysterious leader.

Overall, I liked this book! It might have its ups and downs, but It really was a good start to a new series and I hope the next book is even better than this one.

Recommend it?
YES

I recommend this book to the people who loves YA fantasy with Sea Adventures

MY RATING:

[3.5/5 Stars]

So, What do you think of this book? Have you read it yet? Do you Plan to read it?
Please feel free to comment below!

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