Description

Our Flag Means Death meets Six of Crows in this queer pirate adventure from the author of A Taste of Gold and Iron.

‘Come for the irrepressible gremlin of a narrator, stay for the plot-relevant cake competitions! A whip-smart, hilarious and exuberant high seas romp’ – Freya Marske, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Marvellous Light

Avra Helvaci, former field agent of the Arashti Ministry of Intelligence, has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world – and the only place to flee with a secret that big is the open sea.

To find a buyer with deep enough pockets, Avra must work with his on-again, off-again ex, the pirate Captain Teveri az-Haffar. Together, they will have to risk journeying to the isolated pirate republic of the Isles of Lost Souls. The only things in their way? A calculating new Arashti ambassador to the Isles; Brother Julian, a beautiful, mysterious new member of the crew with secrets of his own; and the fact that they’re sailing straight into sea serpent breeding season and almost certain doom.

But if they can find a way to survive and sell the secret on the black market, they’ll all be as wealthy as kings – and, more importantly, they’ll be legends . . .

‘Uproariously funny, exquisitely witty, brimming with buckling of swashes and scuttling of butts’ – Premee Mohamed, Nebula Award-winning author of Beneath the Rising

Publisher Review

Come for the irrepressible gremlin of a narrator, stay for the plot-relevant cake competitions! A whip-smart, hilarious and exuberant high seas romp — Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light Simply a masterpiece. Uproariously funny, exquisitely witty, brimming with buckling of swashes and scuttling of butts, an adventure tale peppered with heartfelt moments and the power of friendship like so much grapeshot. Put me in a rowboat and tow me behind the ship if I tell a lie — Premee Mohamed, author of Beneath the Rising I’ve never fallen so instantly in love with a story as with Running Close to the Wind by the inimitable Alexandra Rowland. Incredible fun, endearing characters, and a beautiful message wrapped in a sea-serpent bow — Seth Haddon, author of Reborn A delightful romp. Fans of Our Flag Means Death are going to flock to this hilarious and unabashedly queer pirate adventure — Booklist, Starred Review Alexandra Rowland has written the ideal antidote to the past indeterminate number of awful years, as well as a cure for the Our Flag Meets Death hiatus — LitHub Humorous. . . . The characters and the world they inhabit are developed in striking detail. . . . Fans of Our Flag Means Death will want to check it out — Publishers Weekly A delicious tangle of romance, fealty and dangerous politics — Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne on A Taste of Gold and Iron As indulgent and satisfying as your favourite fanfiction — Tessa Gratton, author of Blood Magic on A Taste of Gold and Iron Witty, clever, and often extremely funny . . . somehow manages to be both soft and hard-edged, clever and kind. And sexy! — Jenn Lyons, author of The Ruin of Kings on A Taste of Gold and Iron