The Sea Hawk

The Sea Hawk by Brenda Adcock is a time-traveling pirate adventure.

Dr. Julia Blanchard is a marine archeologist working on the Georgia coast. She and her team are slowing exploring and excavating the ship they are calling the Georgia Peach. She knows it is not the safest plan, but she has to get one more look at the ship. She takes her boat out and anchors to the buoy. But the shadow of another boat looms above as she is diving.

Once her friends realize she is missing, Julia is floating near the marker buoy hoping for a rescue. Unfortunately, a storm is coming in. Rescue boats will not be sent out until it passes. At which point Julia will have been blown away from the sight of the wreck.

Just when Julia is starting to give up hope, a ship come by. When she is brought on board she is sure it is some kind of reenactment. But it soon seems like she is actually back in the 1800s.

Before Julia can get comfortable on her strange rescue ship, that ship is attacked by pirates. Julia is taken captive by a female pirate named Simone Moreau on her ship Le Faucon de Mer. The very ship Julia has been excavating.

Adcock has written a great tale of romance set in two different time periods, perfect for anyone who like stories of swashbuckling female pirates.

Adcock, Brenda. (2008). The Sea Hawk. Nederland, TX: Yellow Rose Books.

The Pirate's Wish (Assassin's Curse #2)

The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke is the second book in her Assassin's Curse series - a curse that was sent in motion when a pirate saved the life of the assassin who was sent to kill her.

Ananna and Naji are linked by a curse, an impossible curse. In order to break it, he has to do three things: he must have the kiss of the woman who loves him; he must hold a princess's starstones, and he must create life out of violence.

Before he can accomplish any of those tasks, he and Ananna must get off of the island they are trapped upon. Their friend Marjani has promised to come back for them, but sailors are superstitious about the island, so it may take some time.

Clarke's second volume of the series features mythical creatures, pirate battles, magic, assassins, friendship and more. It is an adventurous tale of fun!

Clarke, Cassandra Rose. (2013). The Pirate's Wish. New York: Strange Chemistry.

The Assassin's Curse (Assassin's Curse #1)

The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke is the first book in her Assassin's Curse series.

Ananna of the Tanarau is a pirate. And now that she has come of age, she is to be married into another pirate family, the Hariri Clan. But when Ananna meets the young man she is to marry, she is less than impressed. His family spends more time on land than on the sea and he has some strange idea that she would have to listen to him instead of making her own decisions. When she escapes into the city instead of marrying him, he warns her that his family will retaliate. They will hire assassin to kill her.

Ananna has heard of the Assassins. Legend has it that no one has ever lived once targeted by them. And she is stuck in the land of Lisirra as she cannot go back to the harbor where two families search for her. A woman in the market tells her she must fight the assassin. The woman gives her words to say and a potion that will help. But Ananna has always been terrible at magic, not matter how much her mother tried to teach her.

When Ananna saves the assassin out of reflex, she sets off a curse that will change the course of her and the assassin's lives forever. Now they must try to find a cure for what is known as an impossible curse.

Clarke has created a fantastic world of pirates, magic, and legend. Readers will devour this book and head straight to the library for the next volume.

Clarke, Cassandra Rose. (2012). The Assassin's Curse. New York: Strange Chemistry.

VIva Jacquelina! (Bloody Jack #10)

Viva Jacquelina! Being the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Over the Hill and Far Away by LA Meyer is the tenth book in the Bloody Jack series - an historical adventure series featuring a spunky young woman who refused to follow society's rules about her place.

After escaping from a life sentence to the Australia colony, Jacky and her friends are on their way back to the northern hemisphere. Jacky is ready for a quiet life of sailing. However, British Intelligence has other ideas for her. She is being sent to Spain where the British are helping the Spanish rebels fight the occupying French.

Being that Jacky had already served with Napoleon, she should have some insight into the expected French attack plans. But when her general is relieved of duty and sent back to London, he tells Jacky to make her way to Madrid and spy on the French there.

Now Jacky will find herself in the home of Francisco Goya, the painter, trying to earn back some of the money stolen from her by posing as a model. But as nothing with Jacky is that straight forward, she will have adventures that range from running with the bulls to learning the flamenco to living with a gypsy caravan.

Meyer has created the most delightful character in Jacky and fans will continue to wait impatiently for the next book while occasionally rereading the whole series just to laugh out loud again at her outrageous adventures.

Meyer, LA. (2012). Viva Jacquelina! New York: Harcourt.

Remarkable

Remarkable by Lizzie K. Foley is the story of a remarkable town full of remarkable people. Everyone in town is remarkable in some way...except Jane.

Jane is the daughter of Angelina Mona Linda Doe, the famous architect, and Anderson Brigby Bright Doe III, the famous novelist. Her parents had a grand name picked out for her but when she was born she was ordinary and they named her Jane. Jane is the only student who goes to public school in Remarkable. The other kids all have some remarkable skill or talent that got them into the School for Remarkable Children.

Jane's school year will be anything but ordinary. The Grimlet twins are plotting to get kicked out of Remarkable school so that they can join her in public school. A famous pirate captain, Captain Rojo Herring, has just come to town and appears to be hiding from the three filthy pirates who are looking for him. And having so many pirates in town leads Jane's teacher to throw out the regular curriculum for fifth grade and teach her three students to be good pirates.

Foley has written a humorous story of a quirky town filled with quite an array of characters. This is a must read for anyone looking for a light book - or fifth graders who need to do a book report.

Foley, Lizzie K. (2012). Remarkable. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Immortal War (Vampirates #6)

Immortal War by Justin Somper is the sixth book in his Vampirates series.

Almost a year ago, twins Connor and Grace left the lighthouse they knew as home and set sail in their father's boat. After capsizing in a storm Connor was rescued by pirates from the Pirate Academy. Grace was rescued by the Nocturnal, a ship of Vampirates - vampires who refuse to kill humans for blood.

Now a growing group of rebel Vampirates threaten the seas and those now calling themselves Nocturnals have joint with the Pirate Alliance to fight back. Connor and Grace are at the center of the war and according to a 500 year old prophesy will be the ones who influence the outcome - though one may die in the process.

Somper has created a great series for fans of multiple genres. Vampires and pirates - what more do I need to say! Start the first book, Demons of the Oceans, now.

Somper, Justin. (2012). Immortal War. New York: Simon and Schuster.

The Dust of 100 Dogs

The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King is a pirate story with a twist.

Emer Morrisey was born in the mid-1600s in Ireland. After a very eventful, but short life, she was cursed to live the lives of one hundred dogs before she can live another human life. Due to the curse, she will be conscious the whole time while she lives as a dog and longs to become human once again so she can resume her life of piracy - or at least claim the treasure she has buried in Jamaica.

Reborn as a human in 1972, Emer becomes Saffron Adams. She lives in Pennsylvania, much too far from the ocean for her liking. She must bide her time until she can be free of her new parents' house and search for her treasure.

King has created a pirate tale about two lives lived by one woman. The stories are woven together beautifully and sprinkled with the wisdom of dogs. The Dust of 100 Dogs is a must read! It is a great book and will be the most unique book you read this year.

King, AS. (2009). The Dust of 100 Dogs. Woodbury, MN: Flux.

The Mark of the Golden Dragon (Blood Jack #9)

The Mark of the Golden Dragon by L.A. Meyer is the ninth book in the Bloody Jack series about Mary "Jacky" Faber.

Jacky has had many adventures so far in this historical fiction series. She has been in the Navy, a pirate, a school girl, a spy, and a convict. In the previous book she was sentenced to life in the penal colony of Australia. But it did not stick.

Now Jacky is on her way back to England. Most of her friends are on one of the three ships traveling back together. But when a typhoon hits them, she is swept overboard. Her friends think her dead.

But thanks to a lucky piece of the broken mast, Jacky is able to get to land. Sure, she has no idea where she is, but Jacky has more lives than a cat. Now her goal is to get back to England, let her friends know she is alive, and clear her name.

As Meyer continues the series, readers will be delighted to spend more time with Jacky - as great a character as was ever written. Start reading the series today! You will not regret it.

Meyer, L.A. (2011). The Mark of the Golden Dragon. New York: Harcourt.

Captain Hannah Pritchard (Hannah Pritchard #3)

Captain Hannah Pritchard: The Hunt for Pirate Gold by Bonnie Pryor is the third book in her Hannah Pritchard historical fiction series.

After running away and joining a crew to fight the British - and to avenge her family - and after being captured and imprison by the British then escaping - Hannah and her friends are back at sea.

Hannah, disguised as Jack, is the cook on a ship commissioned to fight for the new United States. If they can lose the bad ship following them they will go after the treasure they buried in the last book. But they will still have to dodge pirates and British Navy ships.

Pryor has written a trilogy that will bring early American history to life for young readers.

Pryor, Bonnie. (2011). Captain Hannah Pritchard. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers.

Hannah Pritchard: Pirate of the Revolution (Hannah Pritchard #1)

Hannah Pritchard: Pirate of the Revolution by Bonnie Pryor is the first of a trilogy about a female privateer for the new US against the British.

When Hannah's parents and brother are murdered by British soldiers, Hannah wants revenge. As a girl of fourteen, there is not much she can do. She has nowhere to go and no food or shelter on her parent's property that has been burned to the ground.

After making her way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to work at an inn but she is taken with the ships in port and the idea of sailing the seas to take her revenge on the British. So one morning, dressed in her brother's clothes and using his name, she signs up to be a cabin boy on the new privateer ship Sea Hawk.

Pryor has written a great historical adventure of a strong girl who did not let society's rules get in the way of what she needed to do. Reader's will be pulled in by the end of the first page and keep reading until they run out of words.

Pryor, Bonnie. (2008). Hannah Pritchard: Pirate of the Revolution. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers.

Vampirates: Empire of Night (Vampirates #5)

Empire of Night is the fifth Vampirates book by Justin Somper.

It has been a while since twins Connor and Grace have been living on the sea. Connor is assigned to a pirate ship under Captain Li - a ship that is made up of a crew created especially to fight Vampirates.

Grace is on The Nocturne, the original Vampirate ship - made up of peaceful Vampirates who do not kill humans in their search for blood. They live in relationships with donors who exchange blood weekly in return for eternal life.

But there are now other ships of Vampirates - those who craved human sacrifice for their meals, and those they have since turned into vampires. They roam the seas preying on seaside villages. Now they are turning their attention on pirate ships- both to feast and to build an armada of Vampirates.

In this volume of the series, Connor and Grace play an important role in how things in the coming war will play out as Somper's vision continues to trill readers and leave them wanting more.

Somper, Justin. (2010). Vampirates: Empire of Night. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Steel

Steel by Carrie Vaughn is a brilliant pirate novel.

Jill is sixteen. She lives in Texas. And she loves fencing. She is probably good enough to try out for the next Olympics. But when she loses a match - striking a fraction of a second later than her opponent - she starts to think that she may not be as good as she thought.

A few days after the match, Jill and her family leave for a vacation in the Bahamas. Because she is still focused on her loss, she elects to walk along the beach while her mom and siblings swim. That is when she finds the corroded tip of a sword.

Others might think of the piece of medal as junk, but Jill knows it is from the type of sword that her fencing foil is based on. So she keeps it. Later when her family is on a boat tour of the islands, Jill is knocked overboard.

When she surfaces she is no longer off of the coast of the Bahamas in 2011. She is in the same place, but about three hundred years earlier.

There begins Jill's pirate adventure. While she wants to get back to her own home, she will need to join the pirate crew and do what she can to survive. Vaughn has written a swashbuckling pirate adventure that will be a huge success among readers.

Vaughn, Carrie. (2011). Steel. New York: Harper Teen.

An ABC of Pirates

An ABC of Pirates by Caroline Stills, illustrated by Heath McKenzie is a treasure hunt of fun!

Each page of this alphabet book has a pirate shanty with words about the letter. For example, " S is for shanty a sailor's rhyming song. It cheers us up while trimming sails and toiling all day long."

Plus each page's illustrations include many, many things that also start with the same letter. On the S page, there are 26 things in the picture that start with the letter S.

This is a great book for kids of all ages who like pirates, great and silly songs, and puzzles.

Stills, Caroline. (2010). An ABC of Pirates. Sydney, Australia: Little Hare Books.

The Ballad of the Pirate Queens

The Ballad of the Pirate Queens by Jane Yolen, illustrated by David Shannon, is the story of Anne Bonney, Mary Reade.

Told in verse, this picture book tells of the capture of Calico Jack Rackham's ship Vanity and the notorious female pirates in the early 1700s.

Yolen has done a great job of telling this story for a young audience. Shannon's illustrations are beautiful.

Yolen, Jane. (1995). The Ballad of the Pirate Queens. New York: Voyager Books.

The Pirate Captain's Daughter

The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting is the tale of a girl joining her father on the open seas.

Catherine knows her father is a pirate even though he tells her that he is a Navy Captain. He is away for months at a time while she lives with her sick mother.

When her mother dies, her father comes home to comfort her. He suggests she move in with an elderly aunt, but she insists on joining him on his ship.

Of course, it is bad luck to have a woman aboard according to pirate lore, so Catherine cuts her hair, changes her clothes and is introduced to the crew as Charlie.

Bunting's tale of piracy has none of the swashbuckling fun of some pirate adventures, but show a more brutal side of lawless men bent on murder and pillage. Though listed as a young adult book, it feels more appropriate for tween readers.

Bunting, Eve. (2010). The Pirate Captain's Daughter. Ann Arbor, MI: Sleeping Bear Press.

The Changeling

The Changeling by Alison MacLeod is the tale of the pirate Anne Bonny.

Anne was foretold to be a son - all of the signs pointed to a boy - so when she was born a girl instead she was treated with some suspicion by Annie Fulworth who was her midwife. Anne's mother died in childbirth and so Anne was raised by Annie.

She was born in Ireland but moved to the Carolina territory when she was young. She ran away from home with a pirate, Jim Bonny, and they were married at sea. She took Annie with her when she went and to get around the suspicion of having women on board - Anne went as Anson and Annie went as the ghost of his mother who had unfinished business.

Later she met up with Captain Jack Rackham, aka Calico Jack, and Mark Mead (later to be revealed as Mary Read). Together they terrorized the Carri bean.

Told in a style that reminds me of old-world fairy tales with characters steeped in superstition, the Changeling reads like a novel written long ago. But don't let that lead you to believe that it isn't worth a read. While some of the romanticism of pirates replaced with a more realistic view of the war between ships, it is a fascinating tale of a woman who was not hindered by the gender roles of her time.

MacLeod, Alison. (1996). The Changeling. New York: St. Martin's Press.

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee (Bloody Jack #8)

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, on Her Way to Botany Bay by L. A. Meyer is the 8th book in his Bloody Jack series.

While it is hard for me to pick one favorite book or series in any genre, this series is definitely near the top of the list. It is an historical fiction series about a bold young woman who makes her way through life using her wits. She is a great hero and her adventures are a delight to read. Start the series today!

After Jacky's last adventure, she has some money and is finally expanding Faber Shipping Worldwide by buying a brigantine named Lorelei Lee. She plans to use it to transport people between England and the colonies in the US. Once she receives a letter from her James Fletcher that she has been cleared of all past wrong-doing she will set sail.

Of course, as soon as she leaves another letter arrives from Jamie telling her to wait, that two of her enemies in the British Royal Navy are spreading rumors about her. But by that time she has set sail for London.

Upon arrival she is arrested and sentenced to life in the new penal colony in Australia. To add further insult, her Lorelei Lee is seized and turned into a convict transport ship. She will be locked up in her own ship.

What follows is a plot that only Jacky could pull off - more freedom than the captives of any other convict ship, the ability to make money while in port to pay for a better berth, being forced into marriage, captured by pirates, made a concubine to a famous Chinese Pirate, and more.

This series is a must-read for any fans of action, adventure, pirate stories, history, or just a great read. I LOVE these books.

Meyer, L.A. (2010). The Wake of the Lorelei Lee. New York: Harcourt.

The Sublime and Spirited Journey of Original Sin

The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin by Colette Moody is a lesbian pirate adventure!

Celia Pierce is the daughter of a Tailor and a fine seamstress herself. She is engaged to the town doctor - though she does not think he is a catch other than his status as a doctor.

One evening when she is visiting the doctor - delivering his new outfit for their engagement party - pirates break into his office. While he hides and she claims he is out of town seeing a patient, the pirates decide that a seamstress will do for their purposes.

Celia is kidnapped and taken to the ship Original Sin to tend to the wounded, because their doctor was killed in the recent battle. But being kidnapped by pirates is not as bad as she first thought.

With the captain injured his daughter Gayle Malvern has taken over the ship. She have lived on Original Sin since she was twelve. The crew all respect her and will follow her while her father recovers.

Though Gayle promises to take Celia back to her family in the Spanish colony in Florida, they must make some stops along the way...

Moody has told a great story. It is, perhaps, not a literary masterpiece, but is a swashbuckling tale of piracy on the high seas and worth a read. The Sublime and Spirited Journey of Original Sin won the Lambda Award for Lesbian Romance in 2010.

Moody, Colette. (2009). The Sublime and Spirited Journey of Original Sin. Valley Falls, NY: Bold Strokes Books.

Kingston by Starlight

Kingston by Starlight by Christopher John Farley is a fictionalized account of the famous Irish pirate Anne Bonny and her shipmates Calico Jack and Read.

Anne Bonny, one of the most famous female pirates, joined a privateer ship disguised as a man named Bonn. She sailed under Captain Jack Rackman, known as Calico Jack. Their ship was infamous in the waters around Jamaica.

Beautifully written, Farley creates a story where gender is fluid, mystery and adventure reign, and Bonn's life unfolds as a heroic man and a passionate woman intent to live life to the fullest in spite of the societal norms of the day. Kingston by Starlight is an excellent pirate story as well as a tender account of the path of one's heart.

This book reminds me some of the writing of Anne-Marie MacDonnald and the stories of Ellen Kushner.

Farley, Christopher John. (2005). Kingston by Starlight. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Rapture of the Deep (Bloody Jack #7)

Rapture of the Deep, Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor , Mermaid, Spy by L.A. Meyer is the seventh book in the Bloody Jack series.

Jacky continues to make her way through life and affect history as we know it. In her latest adventure she is about to finally marry Jaimy when she is once again interrupted. The Office of British Intelligence is not done with her and if she does not cooperate they will turn her in for the ship she stole two books ago.

Now Jacky is off on her own ship, the Nancy B., undercover on a scientific expedition. She and her crew are headed to the Florida Keys - controlled by the Spanish - to look for a sunken ship filled with gold.

The adventure and suspense continue in this edition of the Bloody Jack books - great stories that entertain while teaching readers about the time period, being a sailor, a pirate, and a young woman in a time when they were thought to be simple-minded. Jacky proves she is capable of accomplishing things that no other sailor could get done. I love this series and cannot wait for the next book!

Meyer, L.A. (2009). Rapture of the Deep. New York: Harcourt.