The Ship of Shadows by Maria Kuzniar

I have had the most amazing run of middle grade fantasy books lately and it continues with The Ship of Shadows. The Write Reads brings us another Ultimate Blog Tour and I had an absolute blast.

“This ship was crafted with the fabric of legends,” Captain Quint had told her when Aleja had asked how it was all possible… “When something is immortalized in stories, it gives it an air of enchantment, I find.” She peered closer at Aleja then, a nearby lantern flashing light on her face in odd patterns. “Every legend you hear about the Ship of Shadows is true. It’s magic is fed by them…”

Pirates, lost treasure, pirate hunters and a kickass sisterhood… Can I get a hell yeah. This book promises adventure and delivers every step of the way.

Synopsis –  Aleja whiles away her days in her family’s dusty tavern in Seville, dreaming of distant lands and believing in the kind of magic that she’s only ever read about in books. After all, she’s always being told that girls can’t be explorers.

But her life is changed forever when adventure comes for her in the form of a fabled vessel called the Ship of Shadows. Crewed by a band of ruthless women, with cabin walls dripping with secrets, the ship has sailed right out of a legend. And it wants Aleja.

Once on board its shadowy deck, she begins to realize that the sea holds more secrets than she ever could have imagined. The crew are desperately seeking something, and their path will take them through treacherous waters and force them to confront nightmare creatures and pitch-dark magic. It will take all of Aleja’s strength and courage to gain the trust of her fellow pirates – and discover what they are risking everything to find.

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Gorgeous settings, plenty of action and kickass characters, The Ship of Shadows is a wonderful, fun, enchanting read. Whether Aleja is at home in her fathers tavern, exploring a magic ship or riding a camel through the desert, Kuzniar’s rich descriptive writing pulls you into the story and brings this world and time to life. I absolutely loved it all.

Every character was superbly put together, each with their own voice. I loved the clothing descriptions, the outfits where beautiful and outlandish and damn it, I want a place on the Ship of Shadows. This book would make a stunning movie.

I’m an absolute sucker for the found family trope and these girls, each with their own skills, wormed their way into my heart and I was cheering for them the whole way. Malika had me gasping, Frances had me laughing and damn it, make sure you have snacks. This is a MUST have snacks while reading kind of book. Like seriously, you are going to want brownies and hot chocolate.

Also, even though we have a found family, Aleja didn’t have a horrible upbringing or massive tragedy that lead to her getting involved with the girls on The Ship of Shadows. I thought this was great as the whole tragedy idea can get quite old. Aleja becomes apart of this amazing sisterhood and a pirate while she is at it.

I don’t want to say to much about the story and give it away, I just want you to get yourself a copy, set aside a couple of hours and immerse yourself in this well written tale, allow the magic to sweep you away and join Aleja and the crew as they take on all the challenges the sea has to offer.

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Get your own copy  –  Amazon  –  Book Depository  –  Booktopia

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Author Bio – Maria Kuzniar spent six years living in Spain, teaching English and travelling the world, which inspired her debut novel The Ship of Shadows. Now she lives in Nottingham with her husband, where she reads and writes as much as she can and bookstagrams at @cosyreads. She is always planning her next adventure.

Website: https://www.mariakuzniar.co.uk/  –  Twitter: @thecosyreader