The Mermaid the Witch and the Sea

<p><b>In a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic a desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial lady find a connection on the high seas.</b><br>Aboard the pirate ship <i>Dove</i> Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora former starving urchin the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don&#146;t trust don&#146;t stick out and don&#146;t feel. But on this voyage Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa who is headed to an arranged marriage she dreads. Flora doesn&#146;t expect to be taken under Evelyn&#146;s wing and Evelyn doesn&#146;t expect to find such a deep bond with the pirate Florian. Neither expects to fall in love.<br><br>Soon the unlikely pair set in motion a wild escape that will free a captured mermaid (coveted for her blood) and involve the mysterious Pirate Supreme an opportunistic witch double agents and the all-encompassing Sea herself.<br><br>Deftly entwining swashbuckling action and quiet magic Maggie Tokuda-Hall&#146;s inventive debut novel conjures a diverse cast of characters seeking mastery over their fates while searching for answers to big questions about identity power and love.</p>