LOVE me some MAD KESTREL! Seriously, y’all, there are some go-to series in my reading life and anything Kestrel is on the list! It’s Pirate Fantasy for YA and up, and I have been waiting (very patiently) on book two in the series for ages!
MAD KESTREL (first in the series) eBook is on sale 10-30-22 — 11-05-22. WHY? Because book two, KESTREL’S DANCE is now available!
(Here’s the Amazon link to book one on sale now!) Amazon
(Here’s the B&N link to book one on sale now!) B&N
A little about KESTREL”S DANCE:
Kestrel, the King’s Privateer, is preparing to wait out the annual storm season when she receives an unexpected royal order to capture and deliver a rare creature for the king’s menagerie. Before she can weigh anchor, news reaches Kestrel of a long-ago friend in desperate need of help—in the opposite direction of her assigned voyage. In addition, her ship may be haunted by something big, loud, and terrifying.
Before Kestrel can plot a course, she crosses paths with an enigmatic dancer who offers an enticing bargain: sail her home to the Continent, an ocean away, and she’ll reveal the mysteries of magic Kestrel has longed all her life to know.
The temptation of answers endangers her crew and might ruin her privateer status. Worse, taking on this passenger could thrust her into the clutches of the ever-watchful Danisoban mages who lie in wait for her to make the perfect mistake.
Every decision is fraught with danger. Each wrong turn may mean her death or the death of her crew. And Captain Kestrel can walk away from none of them.
Kestrel, the pirate who can whistle up the wind, returns in book two of the Mad Kestrel Series. Captain Kes will defy the king, gamble with her friends’ lives, and run the risk of capture by evil mages to get her hands on the magical knowledge so long denied to her.
The lizard stretched its neck, and peered over the edge, its snout inches from Shadd’s head. It pulled back out of sight, then peeked around the other side. It reached out and snagged one of Shadd’s messy curls, releasing it to bounce near his ear, then ducked back like a shot. Kestrel bit her lip nearly hard enough to draw blood. Her abdomen was shaking from holding in the laughter.
Shadd waved an absent hand at his hair. “Ye need to take this a wee bit more serious. Yer ship was dang near shook to bits, dragged across the sea, there could be raiders sneakin’ about belowdecks, and ye’re laughin’?”
Above Shadd’s head, the lizard peeked again, then dropped down. Up, down. It was playing peeksie-boo, like a little child. It nipped another of Shadd’s curls.
“Ow.” He grabbed at the captive lock of hair, and turned around. The big gunner and the lizard froze, face to face. Shadd’s mouth dropped open.
The lizard tilted its head mischievously. The glow in its eyes brightened.
Kestrel stopped laughing. “No, don’t,” she began, but the lizard didn’t wait.
With a silken rustle, it spread its wings wide, and wailed.
Shadd stumbled backward, nearly toppling a chair in his haste and bumping against the round table. His eyes were wide as gold octavos, and his face had gone pale, a gleam of sweat shining on his brow. “What in Pantheus’ belly is that thing?” he whispered. He fumbled at his waist as if trying to draw a blade.
“Calm down, Shadd.” She touched him, but he jerked away as if burnt.
The lizard waved its wings. Shadd backed up another step and grabbed the brass candle snuffer from the table behind him. “Stay back,” he warned, “I can get it.” He swung the snuffer, making it sing with the force.
“Stop that right now!” Kestrel stepped between Shadd and the bookshelf. “You’ll hurt it.”
“I’ll hurt it?” Confusion played over his face. “Kes, get out o’ my way.”
She held out a hand. “Give me the snuffer.”
His gaze shifted from his captain to the lizard and back again. “Ye’re sure it’s harmless?” he asked, sounding plaintive. Kestrel nodded, fighting hard not to smile. The last thing Shadd needed was for her to laugh at his trepidation. After one more suspicious glance at the lizard, he relented, and laid the snuffer in Kestrel’s hand.
“Thank you. Take a seat.”
He did as she said, sinking into the chair closest to him. Kestrel crossed to the sideboard and opened the door, getting out a black bottle and two mugs. Popping the cork loose, she poured a generous cupful. Immediately the cabin filled with the rich scent of rum. She handed the mug to Shadd. “Drink.” The lizard folded its wings and was looking as innocent as a new lamb. Kestrel stuck out her finger and shook it at the little creature. “That,” she scolded, “was not funny.”
Massey debuts with a colorful romp through strange lands and stranger seas. In a world in which magic is a monopoly of the Danisobans, and all children showing signs of power are taken from their parents and raised by that order, young Kestrel had hidden her talent and eventually escaped to sea, where magic is cancelled by water. Now risen to the post of quartermaster of a pirate ship, she loves her life. But to keep it, she must never let anyone know that she can magically control the wind. When her captain is entrapped and arrested, the young quartermaster must gather and command the crew for a rescue. That takes all the strength and wit Kestrel can command—and guarded use of her magic. This Errol Flynn–ish swashbuckler features loads of action and larger-than-life characters, plausibly grounded in the realities of life at sea. A real page-turner, and a successor is in the works.
Check it out on Amazon: KESTREL’S DANCE Amazon
Check out B&N: KESTREL’S DANCE B&N