DRC Review: Capitana by Cassandra James

Release date:  4 February 2025

Rating:  5/5

Book box:  Illumicrate February

Synopsis:  Prepare to set sail with this riveting romantasy—the first in a duology—that’s filled with complex characters, sizzling romantic chemistry, and page-turning action. A must-read for fans of Daughter of the Pirate King, Together We Burn, or Fable!

Ximena Reale has spent most of her life at La Academia training to become a Cazador, a seafaring hunter who tracks down pirates. But her future is uncertain, thanks to her parents’ reputation. They were pirates, traitors to the Luzan Empire, and though they were executed when Ximena and her sister were young, they permanently damaged the Reale name.

Ability alone won’t earn Ximena the coveted Cazador cloak. So, when the legendary pirate Gasparilla returns and captures the Empire’s queen, Ximena offers to bring her back and capture the notorious pirate in exchange for a cloak. But there’s a catch: There’s only one cloak, and Ximena’s competition is Dante de León, an infuriating yet handsome classmate.

With their futures on the line, Ximena and Dante set out on a dangerous quest across the high seas. But can Ximena sail far enough to escape the legacy of her family, or will her relationship with Dante thwart her success in more ways than one?

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Review

I don’t exaggerate when I assert that I HATE pirate books.  Loathe them.  Mostly, it’s the setting.  If I’m on a boat and the water isn’t glass slick, I’m seasick.  Plus, a book setting confined to a ship for a whole novel is a total snooze fest.  HOWEVER.  I loved Capitana.  It was an action-packed thrill ride around the sea with fantastical world building and magical storms.  If you like seafaring adventure stories akin to One Piece and Voyage of the Dawn Treader, you’ll probably love this one.  As a bonus, it is one of very few—very few—YA books from the general B5 market (though it’s indie in the UK) that DOES NOT have adult content in it.  No explicit language.  No sexual content—implied, explicit, suggestive, or otherwise.  If you’re on the fence about this one, just pick it up and give it a try.  If you don’t like it, fine.  If you don’t pick it up and start it to find out for yourself, you’ll never be able to say for sure.

Ximena Reale is a prickly character; she’s no Mary Sue, that’s for sure.  She can open a can and swashbuckle like nobody’s business when she needs to.  Yet, she has spent her whole life stiff, uptight, and desperately trying to appease the predominant power in the Luzan Empire through her stellar performance at La Academia, which is essentially the Empire’s naval academy equivalent.  The poor girl either doesn’t realize or just hasn’t convinced herself yet that no matter what she does or how well she performs, her pandering and performance will not be good enough.  To the powerful of Luzan, she’s a useful idiot and will ultimately only be good enough as long as she remains useful.

To add to that pressure, which I feel the subtext definitely gives the impression Ximena knows is there, she must also look after and take care of her sister, who needs so much oversight that the burden feels heavy even to the reader.  It’s heartbreaking just reading the words of it.  Readers will slowly see over the course of the narrative glimpses of the past building the foundation for their relationship, how they ended up a the academy, and how the two will be able to navigate the hostile, enemy world whose lines they reside behind.  The backstory here ranks among some of my favorites for hero narratives.

Not only does Ximena have to deal with all of the aforementioned stress, she has a hotshot nuisance of a boy to worry about as well.  Enter Dante de León.  The Romeo to Ximena’s Juliet.  Kinda.  The golden boy who can do no wrong.  Sure, he’s handsome, but wouldn’t you know, this is not only a YA-appropriate YA book, but also a book with a romance that doesn’t drive the plot or feature predominantly over the story.  While Ximena strives desperately to not step even the nail of a toe out of line, Dante walks around as though oblivious there are any rules and still comes out in the top running for the Cazador cloak, a guaranteed achievement that, for Ximena, will redeem her family honor and (supposedly) keep the empire’s suspicion off of her and her sister, giving them a bit of space to relax and breathe and not be harassed.

But the same pirate her parents were condemned for turning traitor to has resurfaced and taken the queen of Luzan.  The fast-paced adventure starts, and of course, La Academia throws Dante and Ximena together on a crew to go find and rescue the queen.  Oh, and capture Gasparilla.   Which Ximena will do at all costs.  

I found Ximena and her struggles incredibly relatable.  She has a need to appease in order to achieve a level of peace for her family.  She’s nurtured on ideals that don’t offer opportunities for critical thought and don’t offer every aspect of the truth.  I can see that playing out in more circumstances than hers.  Her journey across Luzan slowly picks at the lies she’s been fed.  She begins to question things.  She drops her guard a bit and lets others show her that she can trust some folks.  I loved watching the nuance of this play out under the main quest to find Gasparilla and rescue the queen.  Oh, and then James drops a fantastic twist.  And a bombshell ending that primes for the next book.  

Overall, I loved the book.  5 stars out of 5.  It’s YA and appropriately written for the audience.  It’s a seafaring adventure story without boring me to tears.  Both aspects are incredibly rare in books today, and they both feature conveniently in this one book.  I can’t wait for the next one, and I’m definitely going to be spending my hard-earned money on several copies of this.

My profuse thanks to the author, Quill Tree Books, and HarperCollins publishers via NetGalley for the DRC, for which I willingly gave my honest review.

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