The Vengeance by Emma Newman

First off I’d like to thank Solaris books for gifting me an eARC of this book. The opinions in this review are entirely my own. Okay, on to the review…

Oh my gods, this is simply fantastic. I think it’s my favourite Emma Newman book so far, and if it truly is the first of a new series I will most definitely be buying and devouring every single one. It starts out as a pirate story, then becomes something of a hero quest, and by about two-thirds of the way through turns into something darker. Yes, there are vampires, but we already know that because the title of the series is The Vampires of Dumas. There are other supernatural creeps in there as well, but you’ll have to read it yourself to find out what sort and how they fit in.

The narrative is reasonably self-contained, and could be read as a standalone, but there are enough loose threads at the end that a second book has plenty to play with. The main point-of-view character, Morgane, is full of sass and attitude, but still manages to have a gentle side as well, and the various supporting characters are nicely rounded and interesting. In fact, there are a few I really hope turn up for the next book, especially Captain de Valois – I need to know what happened to him!

Seriously, if you’re looking for a fun swashbuckling adventure with a touch of the fantastical, some creepy supernatural critters, and a host of engaging characters, you could do much worse than grab yourself a copy of this one when it comes out. I’ll certainly be getting a physical copy.