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Steel
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It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.
This was the tip of a rapier.
Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.
The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.
Time travel, swordplay, and romance combine in an original high-seas adventure from New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn.
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Start ReadingBook Information
Steel
Description
It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.
This was the tip of a rapier.
Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.
The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.
Time travel, swordplay, and romance combine in an original high-seas adventure from New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn.
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Reviews
Jill was not a very interesting protagonist. The premise for the book, and the plot was interesting, but when it's being led by a whiney, self-centered brat like Jill it gets harder to enjoy. I thought it was a little weird that there is like, voodoo magic with Blain and the sword, but it wasn't voodoo that brought her back in time, and the power of the sword seemed a bit stronger then is usually shown with voodoo. It's making it easier to fight and 'wanting' to spill blood seems like normal voodoo magic stuff, but it bringing a girl from another time and then sending her back? Not so much. At least the voodoo was portrayed as evil.
There was clearly a lot of research that went into this book and I enjoyed 'accidentally' learning about pirates and ships, but even with the interesting plot, Jill's blandness and whining was enough to bring down my rating to 2.5.
Rating: 3There was clearly a lot of research that went into this book and I enjoyed 'accidentally' learning about pirates and ships, but even with the interesting plot, Jill's blandness and whining was enough to bring down my rating to 2.5.
Another time travel story but with a swashbuckling theme, Steel is the story of a young girl who is a competitive fencer who is at point where she doesn't know if she wants to continue her training. She ends up in the 18th century in the Bahamas on a pirate ship. It's a fun story that is a very easy and quick read. Try it!
Rating: 4Three and a half stars. Probably would have made it four stars if there the author had left out the little smidge of romance towards the end. I had my hopes up that I finally found a YA book with a strong female main character with no romance. Anyone have one of those for me? Not that I don't enjoy a little romance but last year I suddenly became aware that I couldn't think of any YA books, especially fantasy or science fiction, with a female MC that had zero romance.
Rating: 3"Steel" is a historical fantasy about a girl who is thrown into the past and desperately wants to return to what she had not realized she had. It is an action-filled coming of age story set in beautiful Bahamas on the Diana, captained by Marjorie Cooper. It is a story about choices, and how those choices end up defining us. What "Steel" is NOT is a swashbuckling romance.
A large wave surged under them then, sending the boat rocking steeply. Jill, the world-class athlete who'd never yet lost her balance in a fencing bout, fell. Stumbling back, she hit the side of the boat and went over. Grabbing uselessly for the edge, she rolled into the ocean. ....
Waves pitched her, her sunglasses were torn away, the water was cold, shocking after the tropical air. She couldn't catch her breath - swallowed water instead. Flailing, she searched for up, groped for the surface - couldn't find it. Her lungs were tightening. It had been sunny a moment ago - where was the sun?
Someone grabbed her. Hands twisted into her clothing and pulled her into the air. She clutched at her rescuers, gasped for air, heaving deep breaths that tasted of brine, slimy and salty. But she was out of the water. She was safe. She wasn't going to die.
Many people talk about pirates as if they lived a romantic kind of life. I suppose many historical eras have people longing for them. But there was little romance going on in days that were usually all about survival. Marjorie Cooper is the Captain of the pirate ship Jill ends up on. Cooper and the rest of the crew quickly realize that Jill is completely at a loss about everything that has to do with a pirate's life. Suspicions about her being a spy for Edmund Blane (another pirate) are soon squashed by her ineptitude. Even fencing, a sport Jill thought she excelled at, was of a whole different caliber in the Bahamas in the late 1800's.
Jill could only shake her head - no, she'd never fought for blood. Not real blood. Only ranks, medals, and maybe a college scholarship. She bowed her head, embarrassed, when tears fell. She wiped them away quickly. Her still-wet hair stuck to her cheeks. Salt water crusted her clothing. However much she wanted to sit down, pass out - or drop the rapier, which she wouldn't have been able to raise again if Henry came at her in another attack - she remained standing before the captain, as straight as she could, which wasn't very at moment.
"What's your name, lass?"
"Jill. Jill Archer," she said, her voice scratching. She only just noticed that she was thirsty.
"And, Jill, how do you come to be adrift in the wide sea so far from home?"
The tears almost broke then, and she took a moment to answer. "I don't know."
Slowly, Jill learns what it means to be a pirate and also ...
The rest of my review is at Humanitysdarkerside http://wp.me/p2lRqb-2Uj
Rating: 5A large wave surged under them then, sending the boat rocking steeply. Jill, the world-class athlete who'd never yet lost her balance in a fencing bout, fell. Stumbling back, she hit the side of the boat and went over. Grabbing uselessly for the edge, she rolled into the ocean. ....
Waves pitched her, her sunglasses were torn away, the water was cold, shocking after the tropical air. She couldn't catch her breath - swallowed water instead. Flailing, she searched for up, groped for the surface - couldn't find it. Her lungs were tightening. It had been sunny a moment ago - where was the sun?
Someone grabbed her. Hands twisted into her clothing and pulled her into the air. She clutched at her rescuers, gasped for air, heaving deep breaths that tasted of brine, slimy and salty. But she was out of the water. She was safe. She wasn't going to die.
Many people talk about pirates as if they lived a romantic kind of life. I suppose many historical eras have people longing for them. But there was little romance going on in days that were usually all about survival. Marjorie Cooper is the Captain of the pirate ship Jill ends up on. Cooper and the rest of the crew quickly realize that Jill is completely at a loss about everything that has to do with a pirate's life. Suspicions about her being a spy for Edmund Blane (another pirate) are soon squashed by her ineptitude. Even fencing, a sport Jill thought she excelled at, was of a whole different caliber in the Bahamas in the late 1800's.
Jill could only shake her head - no, she'd never fought for blood. Not real blood. Only ranks, medals, and maybe a college scholarship. She bowed her head, embarrassed, when tears fell. She wiped them away quickly. Her still-wet hair stuck to her cheeks. Salt water crusted her clothing. However much she wanted to sit down, pass out - or drop the rapier, which she wouldn't have been able to raise again if Henry came at her in another attack - she remained standing before the captain, as straight as she could, which wasn't very at moment.
"What's your name, lass?"
"Jill. Jill Archer," she said, her voice scratching. She only just noticed that she was thirsty.
"And, Jill, how do you come to be adrift in the wide sea so far from home?"
The tears almost broke then, and she took a moment to answer. "I don't know."
Slowly, Jill learns what it means to be a pirate and also ...
The rest of my review is at Humanitysdarkerside http://wp.me/p2lRqb-2Uj
Great book. kept my interested until the end of it.
Rating: 4Jill was not a very interesting protagonist. The premise for the book, and the plot was interesting, but when it's being led by a whiney, self-centered brat like Jill it gets harder to enjoy. I thought it was a little weird that there is like, voodoo magic with Blain and the sword, but it wasn't voodoo that brought her back in time, and the power of the sword seemed a bit stronger then is usually shown with voodoo. It's making it easier to fight and 'wanting' to spill blood seems like normal voodoo magic stuff, but it bringing a girl from another time and then sending her back? Not so much. At least the voodoo was portrayed as evil.
There was clearly a lot of research that went into this book and I enjoyed 'accidentally' learning about pirates and ships, but even with the interesting plot, Jill's blandness and whining was enough to bring down my rating to 2.5.
Rating: 3There was clearly a lot of research that went into this book and I enjoyed 'accidentally' learning about pirates and ships, but even with the interesting plot, Jill's blandness and whining was enough to bring down my rating to 2.5.
After she loses out on competing in the Olympics, Jill's parents try to comfort her with a vacation to the Bahamas. But instead of having a nice, relaxing time, Jill finds the tip of a rusty rapier buried in the sand--and is abruptly transported back to the early eighteenth century. Now her biggest concern isn't how to win her next fencing bout, but how to survive on a ship of bloodthirsty pirates.
I really liked this. Jill is a very physical character, who works hard and takes pride in her muscles. She's smart and has a good moral center, too. I particularly liked her reactions to the 1700s: her shock at encountering slaves and slavers, her horror at the paucity of medical care, how hard she found the work.
Rating: 3I really liked this. Jill is a very physical character, who works hard and takes pride in her muscles. She's smart and has a good moral center, too. I particularly liked her reactions to the 1700s: her shock at encountering slaves and slavers, her horror at the paucity of medical care, how hard she found the work.
okay plot, not the best ending
Rating: 2Jill loses a major fencing tournament by half a second, and it completely throws her. She goes on vacation to the Bahamas with her family and spends a lot of time trying to figure out if she wants to continue fencing, whether she can handle not winning and if it's worth it. Then she finds a broken piece of a sword, which transports her back in time to Captain Cooper's ship and becomes a member of her pirate crew who is currently embroiled in a feud over the very sword Jill found.
This book was much slower then I thought it would be. I expected that since this was a fantasy/pirate adventure it would mile a minute action, however that wasn't how it was at all, and honestly it worked. There were definitely pockets of adventure but a lot of time was spent on everyday maintenance of the ship and being in Jill's head while she tried to figure out what to do. I would say that this was a historical fiction book with a light touch of magic/fantasy.
I am a sucker for historical detail so I was very interested to learn about Jill's adjustment to being on ship. The kinds of chores that she had to do and how pirate law worked and how pirate raids could actually be kind of nothing sometimes were all really interesting to me. I was glad to find out in the afterward that she did a ton of research.
There was a light romance here as well and I was super excited that a.) it was not a triangle and b.) it wasn't the focus of the story. It was never all about the guy and the romance aspect I think it was more about showing that Jill was more a part of the crew then she thought she was. It's been a while since I've read any YA novel in any genre where the romantic aspects didn't feel like they were taking over the story.
The curse and the supernatural elements of the story were definitely interesting and the story regarding the swords creation and how it seemed to end were also aspects of the story that I really enjoyed. The story of the swords original forging was creepy. The idea of what some people are willing to do for power and to get ahead is generally terrifying to me though so I don't know how much of the credit goes to the story and how much goes to my own mind.
Rating: 3This book was much slower then I thought it would be. I expected that since this was a fantasy/pirate adventure it would mile a minute action, however that wasn't how it was at all, and honestly it worked. There were definitely pockets of adventure but a lot of time was spent on everyday maintenance of the ship and being in Jill's head while she tried to figure out what to do. I would say that this was a historical fiction book with a light touch of magic/fantasy.
I am a sucker for historical detail so I was very interested to learn about Jill's adjustment to being on ship. The kinds of chores that she had to do and how pirate law worked and how pirate raids could actually be kind of nothing sometimes were all really interesting to me. I was glad to find out in the afterward that she did a ton of research.
There was a light romance here as well and I was super excited that a.) it was not a triangle and b.) it wasn't the focus of the story. It was never all about the guy and the romance aspect I think it was more about showing that Jill was more a part of the crew then she thought she was. It's been a while since I've read any YA novel in any genre where the romantic aspects didn't feel like they were taking over the story.
The curse and the supernatural elements of the story were definitely interesting and the story regarding the swords creation and how it seemed to end were also aspects of the story that I really enjoyed. The story of the swords original forging was creepy. The idea of what some people are willing to do for power and to get ahead is generally terrifying to me though so I don't know how much of the credit goes to the story and how much goes to my own mind.
I have enjoyed a lot of Carrie Vaugh’s books and have had this book on my shelf to read for a while. There honestly wasn’t a lot to this story; it was very simple and straight-forward and completely predictable.Jill is a champion fencer and is depressed after losing an important match. Her family decides to go on vacation to Nassau in an effort to cheer everyone up. While wandering the beach alone Jill finds the tip of an old rapier. Then while on a touristy pirate cruise with her family a freak storm pops up and Jill ends up going overboard. When she wakes up she is in the past, on a genuine pirate ship. Jill ends up joining the crew (she doesn’t have a lot of options) and finds out that the magic that brought her here is dark indeed. Jill struggles to find a way home while doing her best to survive both day to day pirate life and chilling battles.This was a very simple story. The whole thing was incredibly predictable and could have been told in a paragraph. There really aren’t any plot twists or unexpected turns in the story. It was a quick read as well.I liked that there is a lot of history about pirates in here. Jill is also a very good fencer so there is a lot about fencing. At times though the story took a backseat to all historical descriptions. The writing was also very simple and written at a pretty simple reading level. Not a lot of complex sentences or description; just very cut and dry.I liked Jill fine and thought some of the details in Nassau were interesting. However, mostly the story was forgettable.Overall a quick read and okay. I just don’t have much to say about it. The story is very simple and predictable. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend unless you are interested in learning a little bit about the history of Nassau (not much history but some).
Rating: 3This was a fun and interesting book that did a good job of staying true to history despite some of the liberties it took (and they were very small ones). Jill Archer is a protagonist that you can get behind. She's brave and yet not some larger-than-life heroine. Her conflict with her surroundings does not sour her to the reader, but endears her to you. There are some interesting characters, and if the story were not YA and was just a bit longer, I suspect we could have learned more about them and had a stronger sense of their presence in the story. As such, most of the focus remains on Jill and what she deals with. There's a sweet little romance with another crew member, a young boy named Henry, but it doesn't develop into anything too deep. There's also Captain Marjory Cooper, who has a strong character and is quite awesome. Finally, there's Abe the quartermaster, who is an ex-slave. The antagonist of the book, Blain, isn't seen till toward the end, and though his story is dastardly, he himself didn't seem to live up to his fantastic reputation. A bit of a disappointment, but strangely enough, it didn't take much away from the ending. There was a great battle, a great many risks taken, and it was all still very riveting. Steel is a fun story, and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves pirates.
Rating: 4I thought this was just ok. It was fairly predictable and didn't really wow me at all. I did like the historical insights though.
Rating: 3STEEL was a fun romp with pirates, swordplay, time travel and a hint of romance. Jill is disappointed with herself for finishing fourth in the fencing tournament that would have taken her to nationals had she been able to finish in the top three. Her parents plan a Caribbean vacation and, while the rest of the family is having fun, Jill is brooding. She goes for a walk along the beach and find the tip of a rapier which she picks up and puts in her pocket. The next day the family goes on a tour boat around the island. A sudden squall tips Jill overboard and when she get to the surface she has shifted time and is in the water after a pirate attack. She is rescued by one of the pirate ships and is given the choice of joining the crew or being put back overboard. She chooses joining the crew and is surprised to find out the captain really wants that piece of rapier that Jill has. The piece will lead her to the rest of the rapier which is in the hands of a fearsome pirate that is the bitter rival of Jill's captain.A lot of time is spent talking about pirate life in the 1700s and Jill swabs a lot of decks as she learns to fit in with the crew. She meets another crew member named Henry who teaches her to use a rapier and fight the way pirates do.All along, Jill is trying to find a way to get back home. She wonders if her captain's rival knows the way since he has the bigger part of the sword. The pirates have a few battles, visit some islands, and hunt for the dread Edmund Blane.This was a fun story for fans of fencing and/or pirates.
Rating: 4I’m a bit sorry to say that I’ve become quite the bit of the pirate book snob. The amusing thing about that statement is that I can’t say I’ve read a huge quantity of pirate books. What I have read, though, are all of the Jackey Faber books which are pretty much supreme in their historic accuracy as well as accuracy in describing all things nautical.
So, I’m trying to approach this book without my pirate bias. Because this was quite a good book. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story focused and revolved around the fact that Jill, the main character, is an incredibly good fencer. The story begins with Jill at a fencing tournament, and the outcome of the tournament is basically her drive throughout the entire book. Especially when a magicked bit of sword sends her a few hundred years into the past to the golden age of piracy.
The ship that Jill is dragged about is the Diana and her captain is one Marjory Cooper. I felt like the book was hastily narrated. I never really got to know any of the crew aside from the captain and the one crewman, Henry. Everyone else was just another man (or woman, as there were two on the ship) on the crew. Everything was kind of set aside for the sake of the plot moving quickly. With that said, the crewmen that we did see I did like. Cooper seemed a blank at times, a stereotypical pirate queen rather than someone who could potentially be quite fierce. Henry was great, though. He was a great romantic interest character. I did like him a lot.
The story revolves around a magicked broken sword, the pirate captain who owns the sword, and Cooper’s need for revenge. Overall, I liked the plot. I liked the revenge twist, the blood magic (blood magic! Oh, happy day! The magic in this was actually really cool, even though it was never really explained. It was a plot device, but I liked it, nonetheless. Usually piracy and magic aren’t mixed…) the viewpoint of a normal girl trying to get along with a pirate crew. What was greatest about the book, though, was the fencing, the swordplay. Jill was a fencer, so all of the terms were correct and the swordplay scenes were really well done. That was what made the book enjoyable for me, especially. I liked that Jill’s ‘claim as main character’ was her fencing skill and it was used throughout the entire book.
My complaints, though, were with the accuracy. Let’s face it, the author even says that though she attempted to be as accurate as possible, there are scenes that are just not. (Let’s put ALL of the famous pirates in the same tavern at once! Yes!) That kind of bothers me. The portrayal of the pirates wasn’t the most accurate either… It just felt like it was toned down for the sake of the YA genre (which, ok, really, the Bloody Jack series proves that you don’t need to tone down anything when dealing with these subjects). Another thing that I had issue with was how every time the ship was described, it just sounded amateurish. Now, I am not a firm believer of writing what you know, but I do believe that when you are writing a novel with pirates, for it to be successful, it has to come off like you know everything about the ships. There was one point when Jill is describing pieces of the ship (after she’s been there for some time) and in the narration she says something like ‘oh and that piece, I don’t remember what that piece is called.’ I mean, that’s an amateur move. If you don’t know what that piece of sail is actually called, either look it up, or leave it out. I understand that the narration was from Jill’s POV and she was a normal, modern, teenage girl and not a well learned sailor. However, there has to be more confidence in the descriptions of the ship and the use of terms.
Aside from those details, the book was enjoyable. I really liked it, it was better than a lot of the pirate books I’ve come across. Though, in my eyes, the Bloody Jack series still reigns supreme. Jacky Faber is still the pirate queen.
Rating: 4So, I’m trying to approach this book without my pirate bias. Because this was quite a good book. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story focused and revolved around the fact that Jill, the main character, is an incredibly good fencer. The story begins with Jill at a fencing tournament, and the outcome of the tournament is basically her drive throughout the entire book. Especially when a magicked bit of sword sends her a few hundred years into the past to the golden age of piracy.
The ship that Jill is dragged about is the Diana and her captain is one Marjory Cooper. I felt like the book was hastily narrated. I never really got to know any of the crew aside from the captain and the one crewman, Henry. Everyone else was just another man (or woman, as there were two on the ship) on the crew. Everything was kind of set aside for the sake of the plot moving quickly. With that said, the crewmen that we did see I did like. Cooper seemed a blank at times, a stereotypical pirate queen rather than someone who could potentially be quite fierce. Henry was great, though. He was a great romantic interest character. I did like him a lot.
The story revolves around a magicked broken sword, the pirate captain who owns the sword, and Cooper’s need for revenge. Overall, I liked the plot. I liked the revenge twist, the blood magic (blood magic! Oh, happy day! The magic in this was actually really cool, even though it was never really explained. It was a plot device, but I liked it, nonetheless. Usually piracy and magic aren’t mixed…) the viewpoint of a normal girl trying to get along with a pirate crew. What was greatest about the book, though, was the fencing, the swordplay. Jill was a fencer, so all of the terms were correct and the swordplay scenes were really well done. That was what made the book enjoyable for me, especially. I liked that Jill’s ‘claim as main character’ was her fencing skill and it was used throughout the entire book.
My complaints, though, were with the accuracy. Let’s face it, the author even says that though she attempted to be as accurate as possible, there are scenes that are just not. (Let’s put ALL of the famous pirates in the same tavern at once! Yes!) That kind of bothers me. The portrayal of the pirates wasn’t the most accurate either… It just felt like it was toned down for the sake of the YA genre (which, ok, really, the Bloody Jack series proves that you don’t need to tone down anything when dealing with these subjects). Another thing that I had issue with was how every time the ship was described, it just sounded amateurish. Now, I am not a firm believer of writing what you know, but I do believe that when you are writing a novel with pirates, for it to be successful, it has to come off like you know everything about the ships. There was one point when Jill is describing pieces of the ship (after she’s been there for some time) and in the narration she says something like ‘oh and that piece, I don’t remember what that piece is called.’ I mean, that’s an amateur move. If you don’t know what that piece of sail is actually called, either look it up, or leave it out. I understand that the narration was from Jill’s POV and she was a normal, modern, teenage girl and not a well learned sailor. However, there has to be more confidence in the descriptions of the ship and the use of terms.
Aside from those details, the book was enjoyable. I really liked it, it was better than a lot of the pirate books I’ve come across. Though, in my eyes, the Bloody Jack series still reigns supreme. Jacky Faber is still the pirate queen.
After an infuriating loss in an epee tournament, Jill goes on vacation with her family to the Bahamas. And sulks, still grumpy over the loss that cost her Junior Olympic trials. But a broken, rusty sword blade she finds transports her back in time. To a pirate ship, headed by a fierce lady captain, Marjory Cooper.
Fencing! Time travel! Historical fiction! Fierce women fighting and being heroic! Even some magic! Also, a really fun ensemble cast! This was great fun. And as an added bonus, it busted me out of a nasty reading slump.
What to read next?
Rating: 3Fencing! Time travel! Historical fiction! Fierce women fighting and being heroic! Even some magic! Also, a really fun ensemble cast! This was great fun. And as an added bonus, it busted me out of a nasty reading slump.
What to read next?
For some reason, I was less enamored with this book as I am with Vaughn's others. The story had a really hard time holding my attention, as evidenced by how freaking long it took me to read this book. The plot was interesting but the pacing seemed off. There wasn't enough action but lots of sailing around, Jill learning about life on a pirate ship and wishing she were home. Another flaw was that I never connected with Jill - her motivation throughout was the get home, but I never got a sense of her beyond that.
Rating: 3A swashbuckling tale of revenge, romance and pirates from the author of the Kitty Norville series!Synopsis:Teenager Jill is on holiday with her family in the Bahamas. She’s fed up because she lost her last fencing tournament. Not wishing to participate on family activities she takes a wander along the beach, only to discover a broken piece of rapier buried in the sand. Jill keeps the shard and somehow transports her back to a time of pirates and magic. Coerced into joining the crew of the Diana, Jill must figure out how to survive amongst a bunch of pirates, as well as find a way back home. Review:I love pirate stories, there’s something about them that’s always so fascinating. As a child I read Treasure Island and Celia Rees’ Pirates! over and over. This is a great pirate story - a coming of age tale, about a young girl looking for her place in the world. On the outset, Jill is not the most likable heroine,she’s a moody teenager and tends to spend her time complaining. This is slightly off putting, but none the less I still rooted for her and she becomes much more likable she learns her place among the crew and fights for her survival, she becomes a very strong protagonist, one who actually fights for her crew mates. Carrie Vaughn provides an incredible amount of detail about the world of sailing and I really enjoyed that aspect. Jill learning how the sails and things work, having to scrub the deck and work as part of the crew are really interesting aspects of the novel. I would have liked more detail on the magical aspects of the story, the time travel and the magic sword felt a little unexplained. Steel has everything you could ask for in a young adult novel. It has a strong heroine, plenty of fighting and danger, and a touch of romance - which I've not really mentioned, but is ever present. It’s quite a short story, and so I felt I didn't get very much time to connect with the characters - at under three hundred pages, I would have loved more information about the other crew members, such as Abe - the quartermaster who was previously a slave, or Jenks - the first mate who is marooned. I really loved the captain of the Diana, pirate Queen Marjory Cooper and would absolutely love to know her back story. She’s a great character, a fearless lady pirate, and probably my favourite in the story. Despite it being a short book, it’s a highly enjoyable story, it’s fun and interesting, and while it’s not completely historically accurate, it gives a great insight into 18th century pirates in the Caribbean.
Rating: 3I finally managed to read books from my own pile! And this read was quick yet very exciting.1. Pirates. Yup, you heard right. Imagine Pirates of the Caribbean but with teens. Freaking awesome!2. Fighting. Lots of good fighting scenes that make your heart race. I simply adored every moment of the sword, the art of breathing in and out, taking note of every move that you make. Simply amazing.3. Crush. There really wasn’t a significant love interest but there was a crush that made the book much more adorable. I could tell just by their grins that being on the boat with them was going to be fun. Nothing is ever boring.4. Pirate Talk. Let me tell you that talking like a pirate is harder than what I though. I tired talking like one for a while and instead found myself frustrated. The pirate talk is cool and it definitely inspire me to try something new for a while.5. Short. My only gripe is that the book is short. I long to go on another pirate adventure. I want to be on the boat. See the waves crush against the ship. Scrub the deck. I want to search for pirate booty and claim land!Steel is an awesome read! Fierce and action-packed, Steel takes the reader on pirate adventure you’d never forget.
Rating: 4Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.Quick & Dirty: This was a fun book filled with good action and adventure. I love the cover and the synopsis was really intriguing, but overall it was a little disappointing.Opening Sentence: Jill shook her legs out one at a time.The Review: Jill Archer loves fencing; it has been a passion of hers for years now. She just recently entered into a competition, but it didn’t go as well as she hoped. She is now questioning if she should continue to fence or if the disappointment from losing is just too much to take. About a month after the competition, Jill and her family go on a vacation to the Bahamas. While there, Jill takes a walk on the beach to try and clear her head and she comes across a tip of an old sword. She decides to keep it. The next day she goes on a tour ship with her family and she ends up falling overboard. When she is pulled out of the water, Jill is in the 18th century.Jill finds herself on a pirate ship captained by the pirate queen Marjory Cooper. Jill has no idea how she got there but she soon has to become part of the crew, and she spends her time scrubbing decks and learning how to sword fight for real. The sword tip she found belonged to the evil pirate Edmund Blane, and Jill knows that it is somehow responsible for transporting her through time. Life as a pirate isn’t what Jill expected and she is worried that she may never get back home. Will a dark enchantment, cute pirate boys, and a duel with an evil pirate captain leave her stranded in the eighteenth century for good?Jill is our heroine in this book and she was a fun character, but at times I had a little bit of a hard time connecting to her. She is a sweet girl and she’s not afraid to try new things which I liked. While on the pirate ship she works hard and really tries to earn her keep. For a lot of the book I felt that she had a whiny attitude, and it got a little annoying at times. She also is a little naïve and immature, which made it really hard for me to connect with her. I honestly think that she would be a great character for younger kids, and I think that it would be a great middle grade read.Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I didn’t partially love it. The plot was fun and full of action and adventure. I enjoyed the world and atmosphere that was created, it was interesting and magical. There was a little bit of romance in the book and it was sweet, but I wish that it had been a bigger part of the story. I liked the characters, but they were slightly forgettable. This is the first book that I have read by Carrie Vaughn and I enjoyed it enough to try some of her other works. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a clean YA Paranormal, and I think that Middle Grade children would really enjoy this book.Notable Scene:Jill was still trying to slow her breathing, which came in gasps. Her heart was racing. She would have died, a wrong thrust and she would have died… And she had been so worried and frustrated about simply losing.The captain’s voice was kind when she spoke to Jill this time. “You know the forms well enough and stand pretty with a sword, but you’ve never fought for blood, have you, lass?”Jill could only shake her head-no, she’d never fought for blood. Not real blood. Only ranks, medals, and maybe a college scholarship. She bowed her head, embarrassed, when tears fell. She wiped them away quickly. Her still-wet hair stuck to her cheeks. Salt water crusted her clothing. However much she wanted to sit down, pass out-or drop the rapier, which she wouldn’t have been able to raise again even if Henry came at her in another attack-she remained standing before the captain, as straight as she could, which wasn’t very at the moment.“What’s your name, lass?”“Jill. Jill Archer,” she said, her voice scratching. She only just noticed that she was thirsty.“And, Jill, how do you come to be adrift in the wide sea so far from home?”The tears almost broke then, and she took a moment to answer. “I don’t know.”FTC Advisory: Harper Collins provided me with a copy of Steel. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Rating: 3I discovered Carrie Vaughn in Brave New Worlds, which I read and reviewed a couple months ago. Her story was one of my favorites, so I put her on my list of authors to watch for. Imagine my surprise and delight to see that she had two books coming out, both with beautiful covers: one adult, one teen.
The cover of Steel describes the novel as "a swashbuckling tale of magic, romance, and pirates." I was so there. The swashbuckling and pirates parts are most definitely true. Jill can be quite a strong lady, when she's not panicking herself into a frenzy. She definitely grows from a bit of an obnoxious whiner at the outset to a strong heroine, able to stand up to even the scariest of pirates.
The magic and the romance were a bit less present in the story. Certainly, magic is pervasive, but only in the rapier which brought Jill through time. Magic served that one purpose and no other. And it really didn't work for me. I think I would have preferred the more standard story where she disguises herself as a boy to run off and gets caught up with pirates. The journey through time just felt too contrived. There is romance of a sort, but it's not particularly romantic, nor is it long-lived or monumental. I did not ship her with anyone and think the romance, such as it was, did little to help the story.
Though I didn't love this one, it was a fairly interesting read. My favorite part was actually reading the acknowledgements, where the author acknowledges which parts of history she altered (knowingly). That is a section of historical fiction novels I have come to appreciate in recent years, nerd that I am. I still have high hopes for her adult fiction book, which I will be reading soon.
Rating: 3The cover of Steel describes the novel as "a swashbuckling tale of magic, romance, and pirates." I was so there. The swashbuckling and pirates parts are most definitely true. Jill can be quite a strong lady, when she's not panicking herself into a frenzy. She definitely grows from a bit of an obnoxious whiner at the outset to a strong heroine, able to stand up to even the scariest of pirates.
The magic and the romance were a bit less present in the story. Certainly, magic is pervasive, but only in the rapier which brought Jill through time. Magic served that one purpose and no other. And it really didn't work for me. I think I would have preferred the more standard story where she disguises herself as a boy to run off and gets caught up with pirates. The journey through time just felt too contrived. There is romance of a sort, but it's not particularly romantic, nor is it long-lived or monumental. I did not ship her with anyone and think the romance, such as it was, did little to help the story.
Though I didn't love this one, it was a fairly interesting read. My favorite part was actually reading the acknowledgements, where the author acknowledges which parts of history she altered (knowingly). That is a section of historical fiction novels I have come to appreciate in recent years, nerd that I am. I still have high hopes for her adult fiction book, which I will be reading soon.
Steel: Jill is a fencer. She enjoys competing in tournaments. But after losing an important tournament, she starts to feel discouraged. Later on a family trip, she finds an old tip of a rapier ( type of sword), and finds herself on a pirate ship, in the 1800's. Historical fiction/Fantasy I saw this book and I thought it looked cool. When I started reading it though it took me a long time to get into it. I don't think this has to do with the book, the book had lots of action and adventure, and makes you want to finish it. The only bad thing I would say about this book was the language. But really if you think about it it's a pirate ship. Of course they had bad language, they're pirates. They're not all sweet and kind. Some of them had good hearts, but they were also cruel. This was a good book. I can't say I'm dying to read it again or go out and buy it, but it's a good book to read.
Rating: 4Oddly enough, I've never read a Carrie Vaughn novel before. Considering many of my books tastes, this is really strange, so I think it was time that I gave Ms. Vaughn a try, and her newest novel, Steel, seemed like the natural place to start.Jill has dedicated much of her life to perfecting the art of fencing, with the hopes of one day competing in the Olympics. But when Jill gets the the bronze metal round of the championships, she finds that she just isn't good enough. Disheartened, Jill considers giving up fencing. To help her unwind, her family takes a trip to the Caribbean, where Jill finds part of an old rapier which transports her back in time to the world of pirates and swashbuckling. I would say that I was a little surprised by Steel, and not really in a good way. It started out somewhat interesting, with quick pacing, and Jill was presented as a fully dimensional character with realistic issues. However, it just didn't hold together. Once Jill joined the pirate world, the action seemed to slow down, her character became so flat it didn't seem to be going much of anywhere and (one thing that really bugged me) Jill's reaction to suddenly finding herself on a genuine pirate ship is far too calm and accepting you would think that she (and the crew) would have been a little more freaked out.I will admit that the research into fencing and pirates did feel very real here, and I appreciate Vaughn's attention to historical accuracy. But unfortunately, everything else about this book just seemed average, mediocre and somewhat dull. The book wasn't even that long, but seemed to go on forever.With a mediocre plot, poor characterization and an overall weak delivery, I'd suggest passing on Steel.
Rating: 2Jill has been a fencer for years, on track to try out for the Olympics. A disappointing tournament leads to a much needed break for Jill. A bit of rapier she finds on a Caribbean beach during a family vacation takes her on quite an adventure. This was a quick read, perfect for summer! The details of pirate life on board a ship were well thought out and I liked the historical tidbits as well. In the end, this was Jill's version of the Wizard of Oz meets Pirates of the Caribbean, but there's nothing wrong with that. It was a great story.
Rating: 4Jill is a competitive fencer. After she loses a bout by a fraction of a second, thus ending her hopes of the Junior Olympics for the year, her family goes on a Caribbean vacation. On the beach, Jill finds a broken fragment of a sword-blade. The next day, she falls off a sightseeing boat and is rescued by a pirate ship several centuries earlier.Not as deeply sad as the other Vaughn books I've read. Jill is a good heroine, and the pirate life is honestly depicted, although I suspect most real pirates were more like Blane and his crew than the ones Jill finds herself among.Add half a star if you're fond of pirates.
Rating: 4Steel is engaging and action-packed, authentic with its pirate history, language and lifestyle. Aside from the Bloody Jack series, you don’t see a whole lot of pirates in YA nowadays, which is probably why I put this book on such a high pedestal and ended up disappointed in the end.Carrie Vaughn is probably one of the most graceful writers I’ve ever read. There’s something almost melodic about the way her words flow together, if that makes any sense. I loved that about this book. But what I didn’t love was how stiff and impersonal it felt. A lot of it is summarized, which is understandable considering her stay on the pirate ship isn’t just a one day thing, but at times I felt like I was speed reading through beneficial parts of the novel. I also wish Jill would’ve had some depth to her. It’s clear that she has all these emotions that play a big part of the novel, especially with her fencing, but she was just a person on paper. She didn’t really come alive for me.I did, however, very much enjoy the pirates in this book. It’s so obvious that Carrie probably worked her butt off researching pirate speak and terms. Even though you won’t have a clue what they’re saying (have no fear! I’m pretty positive the book comes with its own little pirate glossary) It adds a sense of realness to the story.Overall, I enjoyed Steel, but I wasn’t crazy about it. Carrie Vaughn is a beautiful writer, but the story just didn’t capture me. The action and pirates are something to check out though, so if you’re in the mood for something fast-paced and full of pirate ass-kicking, I definitely recommend this!
Rating: 3I think I am going to be kinder in this review then I want to be for two reasons mostly.I read this book after reading a fantastic novel with pirates, seafaring terms and a cast of brilliant characters.I really, really loved the cover. It's gorgeous.In Steel, Carrie Vaughn sets up a story about Jill, a fencing student who just barely falls short of making the mark. The chapter titles are fencing terms, which is interesting in itself and sets the mood for each chapter well.However, it also means that the story is set up to fall into predictability right from the start. With a turn of the page, young Jill is whisked back in time and found by a band of... polite pirates. These aren't the pirates you see in the Pirates of the Carribean movies, these are a much more toned down set of "sort-of-ruffians" complete with a female captain who seeks another pirate captain.Vaughn, in her author's notes, openly admits to some far-reaching ideas being present in her book. She couldn't resist, she said, but far-reaching ideas don't necessarily make for a good story. In this case, it seemed sort of ridiculous and like I was peering into someone's flight of fancy.That all said, this book would definitely capture the imagination of the younger Young Adult set. There's nothing objectionable in the book, it's filled with action, a touch of history and some interesting information about fencing. I just can't see any of the older YA set really enjoying this book without some rolling of the eyes.
Rating: 3