Song of the current – that book with the pretty cover .

Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

Genre : Young Adult – Fantasy

Rating : ★★★

Summary : 

Caroline Oresteia is destined for the river. For generations, her family has been called by the river god, who has guided their wherries on countless voyages throughout the Riverlands. At seventeen, Caro has spent years listening to the water, ready to meet her fate. But the river god hasn’t spoken her name yet—and if he hasn’t by now, there’s a chance he never will.

Caro decides to take her future into her own hands when her father is arrested for refusing to transport a mysterious crate. By agreeing to deliver it in exchange for his release, Caro finds herself caught in a web of politics and lies, with dangerous pirates after the cargo—an arrogant courier with a secret—and without the river god to help her. With so much at stake, Caro must choose between the life she always wanted and the one she never could have imagined for herself.

From debut author Sarah Tolcser comes an immersive and romantic fantasy set along the waterways of a magical world with a headstrong heroine determined to make her mark

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My thoughts :

“Words can be weapons too.”

Strong protagonist? Check. Pirates and ships and a wonderful world building? Check check check. This book brings together a beautiful cast and an equally amazing story-line along with a pretty cover. A pretty cover.

What was the best part? 

Caro! While there were so many things that’s great about this book, it was the girl Caro was that makes me want to push this book at you. She’s stubborn, brave, loyal and makes for an awesome protagonist. 

The world building: I loved loved the world Song of the current was built on! Those ships, that ocean, that wilderness! I felt every bit of the river that we floated on and the jungles were so beautiful in my imagi-world. Sarah has created a beautiful world in her mind that she manages to capture with words.

What’s not so great? 

The sailor lingo. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book so hard to follow through because I couldn’t understand what was what. I admit, I kind of skimmed through the story, not bothering to actually understand what meant what. The descriptions were lovely, but I did not really feel inclined to look up every new term (which, I imagine, would have made this book an agony to get through).

And the book was a bit boring at the start. For me, the book picked up when the port was attacked and we started nearing the crate part. The writing was also a bit dramatic at times but come on, there’s a lot of potential in Sarah and I can’t wait to see more refined books from her.

Overall 

It has a compelling plot, with a nice writing style but it went over my head with the terms at times.

Recommendation? Yes.

Warning? It ends in a cliffhanger.

What’s your favorite book set in a pirate world?

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