Diverse characters and a strong female MC take the lead in this book. Leira has faced relentless teasing her whole life because she feels no fear and she has a large birthmark that covers half of her face. She is an outsider and finds herself a target. That target takes an arrow right to the center when she is blamed for someone's death, despite her having no connection to it. She needs to escape and she finds her freedom on a ship that collects the dead. Most people fear the ship and it's crew but Leira has never felt fear, and instead of being afraid of the menacing captain, she is intrigued by him. Leira falls right into place amongst the misfit crew. When a brewing rebellion sweeps her up into danger and the threat of war looms, Leira must also decide what she stands for.

It was a unique story with a focus on how people with disabilities or differences are treated. I did have a hard time getting into the book and often found myself putting it down for days at a time and reluctantly picking it back up. The plot did pick up towards the end and I enjoyed seeing how Leira's story panned out but I never fully fell in love with her character. It does though pose an important lesson on acceptance, belonging and purpose. There was also a budding romance that despite a rocky start, actually was a representation of two people with trauma managing to have a good relationship.

I really enjoyed this book. Thank you to NetGalley for proving me a copy.

Everything from the plot to the characters was all fascinating. The plot was well thought-out and progressed nicely. The characters were diverse, fun, and the MC was a strong female lead. The overall book was easy to get into and wasn’t brought down with a lot of intro stuff like world building. The world building slowly happened as the characters travel, which I really enjoyed.

There is representation of the lgbtq and many of the characters has a disfigurement. I thought that was amazing because I’ve never read a book with that. People who are disfigured because of birth or an accident shouldn’t be outcasted or mistreated because they don’t look like a typical person, they still have brains and hearts and are still humans. I love how that was shown in The Catafal’s Crow.

I loved how the book ended as well. It was a nice cliffhanger and I’m ready to read the next book. Throughout the book, I did think some parts weren’t needed or things were restated too much, but that doesn’t take of any points. Finally, I loved how Life, Death, and Fear were personified. I love that and it made me so happy to read!

This is a unique story. I appreciate the author's focus on balance needing both life and death. While the book encompasses several common story elements, they are woven in a way that I have not read before. The story discusses prejudicial treatment of people with disabilities, superstitious views of people that look different, fear of death, and the pursuit of eternal life.

The main character is a strong heroine who finds a group of people that accept her and give her a sense of belonging. I hesitate to discuss too much more of the book, as I do not want to spoil any of it for future readers. This is a great story for readers who enjoy coming of age, adventure, and underdog stories.

I really liked the book. It was fun, had a great plot, moved at a quick pace and wasn’t boring. Only issue I have with it is that it reminds me of a few different books with very similar plots. But there were enough differences that it didn’t feel like I was just re reading a book I’d already read.

I had a good time reading this and I would definitely recommend it to others with similar book interests.

I enjoyed the premise and the characters. A promising start of the series. Intrigue, misfits, hero's and villains, all the necessary components are in here. I'll be looking for book 2.

[I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review]

I will be honest, when starting this book I did not have high expectations. But wow, did this ever deliver. I am honestly shocked by how much I loved this book. The writing style and the overall plot hooked me right from the start. The only complaint I have, it there isn't a sequel already released.

Leira Auberon lives in a small village where fear of anything different causes ridicule and superstition reigns freely. Leira was born different, with a birthmark the color of blood that covers most of her face causing her to be shunned and hated. When a death in the village is blamed on her, she has to escape and her only chance is on the Catafal. A ship that most people fear as it collects the dead from around the kingdom. Leira doesn't fear the ship, instead, she is intrigued by the unique captain, who adorns a suit of iron armor fashioned to look like a hedgehog. She soon learns to embrace and love life at sea, where she can embrace a life of not being judged by her differences. When a group of fanatics attacks the Catafal, the misfit crew is drawn into a rebellion that threatens the kingdom of Agrestis. Ready and willing to defend her new home we follow Leira embracing the twist and turns of her new adventure.

I absolutely love the atmosphere of this world, the details really made it easy to fall headfirst into this book. I was hooked from the beginning, and I ended up binging this book in a day. I really liked the different characters aboard the ship, each brings a little extra to the story.

I will say, the one thing I really liked was the romance wasn't toxic like it is in most books nowadays. At first introduction of the Captain, I thought it would be more borderline abuse but I was very happy that he was nice. Yes, he has his own demons to work through, but not once did he put his own issues onto Leira.

I honestly really like this book and will definitely be looking out for more books by this author. I give this book a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

I loved this book! It is a bit reminiscent of the Fable series- young, auburn haired woman, boards a ship in desperation, proves herself, and beds the captain. Even the covers are eerily similar. That said, there are differing details and enough originality that it is a wholly different story, and to be honest, I do not think I will ever get tired of reading about heroic women on ships, It is a "teen novel" though I am pretty sure my Children's librarian wouldn't have classified it for teens given the amount of innuendo in the book. Very quick read. I;m not sure the characters are as well developed as I would have liked, and there were a few sort of gaps- like how the heroine - is able to suddenly steer and command a ship after being at sea for maybe 3 months...but- that's why it was a quick read, right?
Definitely feel I need to read the second in the series now!