Saoirse is cursed with a volatile magic. When she loses control her father offers her in marriage to the ruthless and cold Stone King. Knowing she’s being sent to her death, she’s determined to break her curse. On the eve of her wedding she seeks out the Wolf of the Wild, Faolan, the Pirate King. He’s in search of a mystical isle and swears he’ll help her break the curse if she’ll find this magical isle for him first. Saoirse knows better than to trust a pirate, and if he wants her help, he’s going to have to marry her first.

A debut novel by author Maggie Rapier, Soulgazer delivers on all fronts for this fantastical romantasy. A magic curse- check! A devilishly handsome hero- check! A heroine who has sass, strength of character, and a hopeful heart – check! This novel held my interest from the very first page, which is really hard to do when you’re introducing your reader to a brand new world. It may have been tons of work on her end, but for me, the reader, it seemed effortless.

With strong Gaelic references, the author very kindly gave us a preface to the story that told us how to pronounce everyone’s names. Of course, once I got into the book (I read this as an ebook), I never went back to the preface and my inner voice still butchered all their names. I did remember our heroine’s, pronounce SEER-SHA, or at least that’s why my Irish husband told me and that’s what I went with as I read her story. Saoirse (Seersha) was a most excellent character. What I liked about her the most is that despite being treated like “shite” her whole life, she has retained this inner strength that carries her forward with her mission to help Faolan find his magical island even though she has probably wanted to give in to her fate numerous times.

Faolan is the gorgeous hero pirate. He’s 70% song and swagger, and 30% alpha hero. Once he marries our Saoirse, he is a sworn protector. Is it all because he needs her to find this island? Or does he have true feelings for our girl? His journey with Saoirse and the pirate crew takes the reader on an epic journey that feels very mythological and Sisyphean in nature. I totally dug the tasks and tales as well as the building romance between Faolan and Saoirse. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I hope this author has the majority of book two in the can because I’m ready to keep on reading!

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