A Jewel Bright Sea
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
A whirlwind of intrigue, lies, politics, and adventure swirls around one woman—and the prize she’s been sent to reclaim . . .
It was her talent for tracking magic that got Anna Zhdanov sent to catch a thief. A scholar’s daughter sold as a bond servant, she has no desire to recover the Emperor’s jewel for herself. But a chance to earn her freedom has driven her to the untamed Eddalyon province, awash with warm breezes, lapping waves, and more danger than she could possibly guess.
Within days her cover as an indolent noblewoman is in question, and it’s clear there’s more to Anna’s task than she knows. Soon she’s the captive of the unpredictable pirate captain Andreas Koszenmarc, hunted by the Emperor’s guard, besieged by a brigand queen, and at odds with her only friend. She must trust someone if she is to survive. But when all that’s certain is that everyone is hiding something, it’s no simple thing to choose . . .
Praise for A Jewel Bright Sea
“This is a fast-paced sword-and-sorcery pirate adventure filled with magic and double-dealing and high stakes for the characters, and I enjoyed it a lot.”
—Martha Wells, New York Times bestselling author
“If you want rousing adventure with capable heroines and mysterious heroes, along with magic, swashbuckling, romance, and pirates, Claire O’Dell delivers the goods. I highly recommend A Jewel Bright Sea and can’t wait to read more!”
—Darlene Marshall, award-winning author of Castaway Dreams.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The superior creativity and subtlety O'Dell displayed in her Janet Watson Chronicles aren't evident in this strictly by-the-numbers romantic fantasy series launch. Bonded servant Anna Zhdanov hopes to gain her freedom from her master, Lord Brun, by retrieving a stolen jewel whose special powers enabled the emperor to conduct wars that expanded his territory. Posing as a noblewoman, Anna uses magic to follow the trail of the thief, Aldo Sarr sz, for months; just as she hits a dead end, Anna and her best friend, Mat , are captured by a de rigueur hunky pirate, Andreas Koszenmarc, who, of course, turns out to be a nobleman disowned by his father. Romance fans will find what follows predictable: Anna and Andreas end up as allies searching for the missing gem, encounter danger in the form of other pirates (who are actually evil), and find themselves increasingly attracted to each other. Superficial worldbuilding and characterization won't encourage readers to seek out book two.
Customer Reviews
Rich world-building
A story in O’Dell’s world of River of Souls, but starting a different series (Mage and Empire) that combines threads of romance, adventure, and mystery. You get plunged into the world with its rich geography, history, and politics pretty quickly, so it may help to have read other books set in the world to have a solid grounding. For some reason I didn’t love it as deeply as I did the River of Souls series and I’m not entirely sure why. I think I felt too off-balance with regard to where the plot was going and following all the twists and turns, betrayals and allegiances. O’Dell does fabulous world-building and I enjoyed exploring new aspects of that, but didn’t quite connect with the protagonist as much as I hoped to.