Mad Kestrel

This rollicking debut combines swashbuckling sea adventure, fantasy and romance with great success. Kestrel was born a Promise, a child with magical talents, and as such sought by the Danisoban mages who control all use of magic. After the Danisoban Brethren kill her parents, Kestrel survives as a street urchin and tavern maid before running away to sea. The sea cancels Danisoban magic, but Kestrel soon learns she retains her untrained ability to command the weather. She signs on with Capt. Artemus Binns, only to see him arrested for piracy and hauled away. Kestrel promptly sets sail in pursuit and finds herself in the middle of a civil war between the Ageless King of the Danisobans and his treacherous and ambitious son, Prince Jeremie. Massey's world building can be a little sparse, but there's enough spirit of adventure to carry Kestrel (and the reader) past the occasional plot hole, with plenty left over for sequels. (Mar.)