Review of The Petticoat Pirate

Blurb: Josephine Teversin was fifteen years old when her father was murdered by pirate hunters. She’s the last of her kind—an immortal pirate without a ship or crew, and her magic is unstable at best.

It’s 1773, and tensions are rising between England and the American colonies. Rumors of war are running rampant. But immortal pirates never choose sides…until the hunters find her again.

Josephine is kidnapped and brought face to face with her father’s murderer—Garreck Skulthorpe. Her choices are simple: become his spy or face the hangman’s noose. A female who sword fights and picks pockets will be a useful undercover agent after all.

Armed with a fan, an exploding pocket watch, and erratic powers, Josephine is drawn into a deadly battle between pirate hunters, a rogue witch, and the Patriot rebels. She must risk her very life in order to thwart Skulthorpe and his nefarious plans for the colonies—all while wearing a stuffy ball gown.

And everyone knows…pirates do not wear petticoats.

Review: Josephine Teversin is the daughter of an immortal pirate, and her father gave his life for hers, murdered by a cruel Patriot named Garreck Skulthorpe. As war looms in the future between England and the American colonists, Skulthorpe finds Josephine again and blackmails her into working for him. She's trained as a spy and must work with the infuriating agent, Nathaniel. Yet his past and hers are tangled, and Skulthorpe's plans for them are far more nefarious than they could imagine. Can Jospehine figure out his devious plot before she ends up hanging from a noose?

This is a fantastic first book in the YA historical fantasy series, Immortal Pirates. I would say it's more of a New Adult (NA) read though. While Josephine is 18 going on 19, she is far more mature and experienced than the teens in the vast majority of YA books out there. She read more as an adult, which I was appreciative of, and while she was naive in a few aspects, she had a thick history and tons of experience in many other ones.

I loved the worldbuilding. We start right off in the prologue with the daughter of a mysterious immortal pirate and the myths surrounding them. Jo is used as bait to lure her father to his death. It's a world of swords and magic right when the American colonists are about to revolt against England. Yes, there are sword fights and pistols firing, but immortal pirates are magic, and they're created by witches who have a ton of magic. There is more spy action than pirate action in this book, but it is very well done. There are even spy gadgets, which seem a little magical themselves!

I was immediately rooting for Josephine. She has a lot of spunk and cunning. She was great as a spy, but I really want to see her in her pirate role. (I've already picked up the next two books where they'll be at sea!) Be prepared for a love triangle. (I'm not a fan of that trope.) Oliver was a pirate on Jo's father's crew, and he has long been in love with her. He's a teen too and super possessive, which didn't sit well with me. She actually sees him as more of a brother until she learns he likes her, and then her feelings change(?). I'm not on Oliver's team. The other man is a young spy named Nathaniel. It's an enemies to friends hopefully to lovers plot. Fingers crossed! The tension between Jo and Nathaniel was great. He has a lot of character growth, and his feelings for Jo feel more natural even if he's conflicted by them. There was a marvelous cast of characters, but my favorites are Genny (a middle-aged French witch) and Beau (a dandy spy).

You can find C. R. Pugh on her site and buy the book here.