The Last Leviathan

Miller debuts and launches her Guardians of Farlight Isles series with an overheated romantasy pirate yarn that sails through a diversely populated fictional world patterned after the 18th-century golden age of piracy. At 22, Maeve Cross, Princess of Farlight, longs for freedom. She’s spent her life locked up in a tower by her father, wicked King Varric, who now wants to marry her to sadistic Lord Nathaniel Pike as a strategic move in his plot to dominate the world. Just after the wedding, however, Maeve savagely bites Pike and flees, finding refuge on the pirate ship Ollipheist. She instantly melts at the mere sight of hunky Captain Leviathan, leader of the motley pirate crew, who is capable of shape-shifting into a fearsome sea dragon. Between their sizzling encounters, Maeve quickly learns to love cannon-shooting, deck-swabbing, and cutlass-slashing, all of which fuel her growing determination to help the captain regain the throne that Varric stole from him. The character development isn’t particularly believable, and the dialogue is frequently anachronistic. Still, the sex scenes will be the main draw, and they are undeniably steamy. For all it’s flaws, this is sure to find an audience among those looking for raunchy adventure. (June)