Soulgazer by Maggie Rapier is the story of a sheltered woman named Saoirse who touched a soulstone and had been cursed with visions. Afraid of her power, her father has kept her sheltered and away from others until agreeing to wed her to the Stone King. However, she decides to run away with the Wolf, a pirate who will help her get rid of her gift as long as she uses it to help him find a mythical island first with a short deadline. However, to do so, they must wed for protection from her angry father and fiancé. Will they find the island in time? When sparks start flying, will they give into temptation?

I thought this was a well developed romantasy. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, but once I did, I didn’t want to put it down. I loved the main characters and their relationship, and also the crew’s relationships as well. I can’t wait to read book two!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Saoirse had been kept hidden away, as her family views her magic as dangerous… Also doesn’t help when her very father is abusive and mean. To add to his cruelness, he barters Saoirse off in an alliance of marriage to the vindictive Stone King. The last thing she wants is to become another person controlling her, so she decides to run away and hide. And who better to hide her than Faolan, the pirate known as The Wolf of the wild. Little dose she know, that Faolan wants to use her magic to find a lost mythical isle.

Full of adventure and a strong female lead, this story has you entranced! Not to mention the falling for your semi enemy. There's a good amount of angst and banter, that has you hooked. I mean you really can’t go wrong with a sexy pirate to be stranded with. I also loved the myth and lore thrown into it.

I loved this book. Soulgazer swept me away from the first page with its rich worldbuilding and emotional resonance. Saoirse is the kind of heroine I’m always drawn to, powerful, haunted, and determined to take charge of her own fate, even when the odds are stacked against her. Her journey from fear and self-loathing to agency and tentative trust was so beautifully handled.

And Faolan? The feral, silver-tongued pirate with too much charm and too many secrets? I fell hard and fast. Their dynamic sparkles with tension, banter, and vulnerability, and their fake marriage setup delivers all the emotional payoff I was hoping for.

The magic system is elegant and original, woven deeply into both the world and Saoirse’s arc, and the Irish-inspired setting lends a windswept, lyrical quality to the entire narrative. Add in a mythical lost isle, curses, gods, and a high-seas adventure, and I was hooked.

Final thoughts: Pirate curses, slow-burn romance, forced marriage, emotional healing, and epic stakes, Soulgazer is a dazzling debut, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

What a surprise this book was! I was immediately drawn to the cover, having recognized and loved the artist's work. Soulgazer is a beautiful story that delivered on all fronts, succeeding in ways other pirate books and romantasies have fallen short in my experience. It unspools a beautiful Irish-inspired mythology, high-stakes quest, and an arrangement that had me kicking my feet and pulling an all-nighter on a weekday to read more of it.

Maggie Rapier manages to perfectly balance pining and conflict with the romance's physical and emotional delivery, informed by the characters' identities, as well as what they do and don't learn about each other during the progression of their unique situation. Never would I ever think I would enjoy any aspect of miscommunication (and it wouldn't be fair to label this the miscommunication trope), but this book illustrated the ways in which a person's vulnerabilities and experiences shape their perceptions of another, in turn influencing the steps taken in the dance of becoming known. Importantly, I felt that Saoirse and Faolan were whole characters in different stages of personal growth, and it was fun to watch them become entangled in each other's worlds. While romance is a large element of this story, it is earned and complicated: music to the ears of any reader who dislikes insta-love.

In regards to the world-building and the story's quest, I enjoyed how Maggie unveiled additional complications and intricacies to both the stakes and relationships over the course of the journey. Without revealing specifics, it felt realistic in holding space for each character having their own pasts, and the natural discovery of information over time. She also established trust in caring about details, as no conflict or intricacy felt as if it arose unsubstantiated to bolster the plot.

I do think think that the beginning of the book is muddied by convoluted prose. Although there is a great style element, I felt it was used too heavily at the forefront, which was an initial barrier to me understanding the world and diving all in. However, I appreciated that the text named some aspects of Saoirse's situation quite clearly; establishing that she wasn't a perfect, worldly protagonist, as well as not shying away from nor romanticizing the future she risked, signaled to me that this story would likely take a feminist approach to her agency and personhood (especially important when the premise is marriage of convenience).

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Ace for the arc; I am greatly looking forward to this series!

While I enjoyed the premise of this book and want to see more pirate books in the romantasy/fantasy space, the execution of this book left something to be desired. I feel that Rapier is still learning to hone her craft, as descriptions were often underdeveloped and lacked finesse. I do think that she has potential, but it was not exactly what I was hoping for.

what even happened in this book?

simply put, this was a beautiful word salad. i really like what the author was trying to do here, but unfortunately it went over my head. without solid world building and a confusing magic system, i was completely lost. from the beginning i felt liked i was dumped into a story and i was expecting for things to become clearer as i read, but they never did. that’s not to say i didn’t enjoy some parts (the worship scene), but it wasn’t enough for me to connect to this story. the romance lacked chemistry and felt more like convenience especially since the fmc was starving for attention and affection. it just felt like she clung to the first person to show her these. the author has a lot of potential and i’d definitely try her out again in the future. but this particular duology just wasn’t for me.

content: vague open door

3.5 stars - Thank you to Ace Publishing for the free book - all opinions are my own!

I was so intrigued by this book when I first read the synopsis. It felt like a really unique and interesting story, and when you add in a rakish pirate and a marriage of convenience - I was fully in. As I started reading it, I liked the world building, the characters had a lot of potential, and the soul stones and how Saoirse's magic worked was fascinating. Unfortunately, as I continued reading, I got pretty bored. I felt like there were a lot of repetitive moments, the rules surrounding the magic were inconsistent, and I don't know if I understand why Saoirse and Faolan really like each other.

I think this was well written in a way that other people may really like it, I just didn't connect with it the way I hoped.

I will admit that the cover of Soulgazer is what initially drew me in. I will also admit that I'm not a lover of stories with pirates and sea voyages. However, I did enjoy this book and I would recommend it to other readers, especially readers who love pirates and adventures out on sea. Even though this book is an adult book it did read a little young adult, this is not a bad thing for me since I do enjoy young adult books but it may turn some readers off to the story. I will be keeping my eye out for the second installment in this duology.

I really wanted to love this! Unfortunately fell a bit flat for me. There was so much potential for lush world building, but the way things were written, I was confused the whole time. The plot wandered, and between moments of action, the mundane was repetitive. Truly it felt like a lot of the book was written in riddles. And maybe it's a personal problem, but there were other parts that made perfect sense. I get that when the main character has been misled and doesn’t understand her power, there needs to be an arc of self/discovery and reckoning with the past. However, I kept feeling like different memories and descriptions were contradictory, which left the reveals feeling underwhelming. That paired with the absolute lack of romantic chemistry, and I was, unfortunately, bored. If you’d asked me to guess how many pages this was, I would have said over 600. It just meandered so much while seeming to do both a lot and very little at the same time.

When I tell you I've been LOVING this book since the moment I read the description. I've been searching for another pirate romantasy for awhile now and this is what I've been looking for! I ATE IT UP!

I also can't believe this is a debut but omg I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT'S NEXT!

The magical elements, the ship crew, found family, banter, humor, adventure, THE ANGEST?!?! etc it was all here and it came and served. I was sat the entire way and simply enjoyed the entire adventure. I will be looking for this book to add to my shelf and keeping an eye out for the future release.

I also loved our heroine Saorise! Truly all the characters even the crew had their moments I was rooting and siding with them and keeping on my toes with the suspense of adventure.

My fascination with pirates—particularly the charismatic Jack Sparrow—drew me to Maggie Rapier's "Soulgazer," a tale that delivers on its seafaring promise while charting some unexpected waters.

The quest and adventure elements shine brightest in this fantasy. Rapier crafts a journey that starts compelling enough, but when the stakes dramatically rise midway through, the narrative transforms into something far more engaging. The characters' desperation becomes palpable as their mission shifts from simple escape to something far more consequential.

The world-building, however, demands considerable effort from readers. I found myself working overtime to piece together how magic functions in this realm—the rules never quite crystallize into something I could fully grasp.

Saoirse proves a frustrating protagonist. Her constant apologizing and submission wear thin as pages turn. Her desperate hunger for her cruel father's approval feels authentic yet exhausting. Her relationship with her magic—mostly characterized by paralyzing fear rather than curiosity—left me wishing she'd discover even a fragment of courage within herself.

Faolan provides a welcome counterbalance with his charm and mysterious past. What a twist his revelation brings! Still, I craved more scenes featuring the legendary "Wolf" operating independently, away from Saoirse's shadow.

Their romance builds a bridge between them but never quite ignites. Their connection generates more gentle warmth than crackling heat, though Saoirse's innocence creates moments of genuine humor.

Both seek freedom—from curses, expectations, and pasts—and in finding each other, they glimpse potential liberation. Yet this isn't their happily-ever-after; their journey toward true freedom remains unfinished, leaving me curios for what comes next.

The audiobook elevates the experience further—Collins captures Saoirse's emotional journey perfectly, while Nolan's epilogue performance as Faolan brings sensual depth to the pirate's character.

Special thanks to Ace, NetGalley and Penguin Random House Audio for providing the free e-book and audiobook for review, though all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

4.25 stars

Give me found family, an epic quest, and a slow burn, and I am THERE. Add in a touch-starved FMC and a grizzly pirate? I am SEATED. I loved this story so SO much. The writing and prose were phenomenal. I loved that the prime focus of the plot was NOT on the romance, but instead the epic quest to find an island people have deemed ‘lost’. The pacing was great, and I was hooked from the start!

Saoirse and Faolan? O b s e s s e d. Saoirse, my soft-hearted, fanciful FMC. I love her so. She is sweet, and soft, and tragic, and yet so all consumingly powerful. Faolan, the rakish pirate determined to be a legend no one will forget. He was the perfect pairing to Saoirse. From the first time these two met, I was enchanted. I love that he SEES her, and she, him. The tension between the two happened right from the start and I enjoyed every second of the buildup.

While the world building felt completely natural and easy to immerse myself into, I did feel it start to get a taaaad jumbled around the 40-50% mark of the story. There were a few times I found myself a little confused. But, understanding that this is a duology, it didn’t bother me too much or pull me away from the story.

I LOVED the ending. It was a breath of fresh air, considering that so many duologies and trilogies end in a shocking cliffhanger. This almost felt like a little tease, where you get somewhat of a taste of a happy ending, but underneath the surface, there is so much more is brewing! I cannot wait to read the sequel to this!

Will update review with links, once shared on socials!

I'm going to be so serious right now...PICK UP THIS BOOK ASAP!!!! Soulgazer had me hooked from the first page and didn't release it's chokehold of me the entire story. I loved the Celtic folklore and vibes, along with a fun crew that becomes a found family to Saoirse. Faolan was such a little shit but I would absolutely 100% also fall in love with him because he's actually a good bean and I'm obsessed!! Maggie is able to write such strong emotion and my favorite books feature heavy themes. I'm in awe that this is a debut, it was that good. I rarely get reading hangovers but since finishing Soulgazer, I literally can't stop thinking about it and nothing else is grabbing my attention nearly as much as this one did. I'm incredibly excited to see where the story goes in the second book and I can't wait to see more people fawn over this book once it publishes. If you're looking for an emotional, magical, and romantic fantasy that features main characters who overcome trauma and find themselves and true friendships, while also becoming legends, give Soulgazer a try!

Thank you to Ace Publishing and the author for sending me an early copy!

I have really mixed feelings about this one. There were definitely elements I enjoyed, but overall, I came away feeling more confused than satisfied.

Let’s start with the good: this book had so much potential. The concept was intriguing, the romance was genuinely sweet (men written by women really are chef’s kiss), and I loved the found family and pirate vibes—those are both huge weaknesses of mine, and this story did deliver on those fronts. The first interaction between Saoirse and Faolan had me giggling and kicking my feet; their dynamic was fun and charming from the start.

However, the execution just didn’t fully come together for me. A lot of scenes felt underdeveloped or rushed, with little to no description or buildup. There were moments where I had to stop and reread multiple times just to figure out what was happening—and even then, I often still wasn’t sure. The magic system especially left me in the dark. The soulstone is supposed to be central to the plot, but I finished the book not really understanding what it was or how it worked. That kind of foundational confusion made it hard to feel grounded in the world or emotionally connected to what was at stake.

Despite all that, I didn’t hate it. There’s a lot here that I wanted to love, and I do think the right reader might connect with it more than I did. If the worldbuilding had been clearer and the pacing a bit more balanced, this could have easily been a new favorite.

thank you netgalley, the author, and publisher for giving me arc access!!

this book was so good!!! we have magic, we have dead gods, we have sexy pirates, we have marriage of convenience that is also a slow burn, we have satisfying but slightly not happy ever after ending to set up sequels.

I really enjoyed seeing Saoirse come out of her shell as a character and seeing Faolan start to be more genuine and less of a legend. I think their relationship progression was super realistic with lots of pining. the rest of the cast of characters did contribute to the story even when you thought they wouldn't. characters who could have easily been background and ignored got moments to show depth and be relevant to the story and that was fun. I need Saoirse to have soft things jot that down for book 2.

I can't wait for the sequels this book will undoubtedly spawn and def recommend this book to anyone who loves an ocean/pirate fantasy and a tragic heroine who is sort of doing her best.


tw for self harm throughout the book! blood magic yay

Thank you Ace Pub and Netgalley for the eARC, all thoughts are my own.

I’m undecided between rating this a 3.75 or a 4 but I think I’ll do a solid 4 since I can’t stop thinking about it!

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect with this one. I went in not knowing anything about it so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a pirate adventure with some romance and a marriage of convenience! Every time I picked up this book I did not want to put it back down. The adventure was intriguing and the relationship between Saoirse and Faolan was what made me want to keep reading.

My favorite thing about this book has to be Saoirse’s character. I loved the self discovery journey she goes on and it was amazing to follow along with. Faolan was also a great love interest and all the characters were equally captivating. Back to Saoirse, “soft girl” archetypes are severely lacking in the romantasy/fantasy romance genre so I really, really loved how the author wrote her. AND no dark haired morally grey MMC, instead he’s a chaotic man with golden retriever energy and wild stories. Loved everything about their relationship.

The Irish influences were great too. My only gripe is that if you’re going to write a book heavily influenced by Irish myths and culture then you could at least spell “Kiara” as “Ciara” lol.

I do think the world building could have been explained better in the beginning, especially Saoirse’s “curse” and the soul stones but I did have a good grasp of it by the end of the story. I also think the book was a touch too long.

All in all I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to book two!

Thank you Berkley Publishing for my gifted ARC!

Yo ho! What a fun debut!

This story had me in my pirate feels with Celtic brogue lore, and adventures over the seas.

Saorise runs off with Faolan, the legendary Wolf of the Wild, to avoid an arranged marriage to the cold-hearted Stone King. Together Saorise and Faolan journey to search for a lost mythical isle.

The writing is a little poetic, and the world-building and magic were initially a little hard to decipher. About 40% into the story, I was able to settle in and enjoy the adventure.

Saorise was isolated most of her life, and the conditions with her family were rough. What life she had, she tried to live very small so she wouldn't bring attention to herself. Faolan swoops into her life with a big, roguish personality and coaxes Saoirse into the woman she's meant to be. He's antagonistic and playful, pushing her to remember her purpose, and when he calls her "Wolf Tamer" and says: "Tell me who hurt you, love"... I'm dead!

I loved the unique creatures that carry magical elements and the family Saorise found in the ship's crew and Wolf pack.

This is book one of a duology, and I'm excited to see where book 2 takes us.

Romance Content: It's open-door but very vague.

“I don’t need to be a story, but I won’t be nothing either”. - Saoirse

Saoirse is cursed with a magic that she cannot control and wants nothing to do with it. After a tragic event seven years ago, and being locked away for the last seven years, she’s now betrothed to the heartless Stone King.

In order to get out of this marriage, and break this curse, Saoirse strikes a deal with the one they call Wolf to help him reach the Isle of Lost Souls, which will free her and everyone.

This was emotionally devastating in the best possible way.

Saoirse lives a very sheltered and horrid life. She’s treated like an object and not a person. She’s not treated as if she has a choice or control over the cursed magic running through her veins. It’s so awful to read about how she’s been treated and how she’s this rather meek, reserved person that comes off as naive, and yet, she’s survived some horrible things, and to me, that makes her one of the strongest in this book.

When she decides to take her life into her own hands, it’s like her true self comes more into the light. She goes from living this sequestered life, to marrying a pirate captain, to living with said captain and his crew on their ship sailing all over trying to find this lost island, while also trying to fight this draw she has to the captain.

I loved Saoirse and her story. She was so inspiring. I loved that for once we don’t have this female MC whose first instinct is to stab someone. She’s kind, and soft, but she also has a fiery side that comes out sometimes, especially when the captain aggravates her 😂 which just made the banter and the interactions between the two and the rest of the crew very entertaining.

I also loved the way a lot of the relationships developed. It wasn’t a found family that developed quickly. They were suspicious of her and wary, they warmed up to her and then something happens and they’re wary again. They all truly built a relationship that seemed more normal and real to me. They EARNED the trust from the other and turned into this adorable found family of wolves.

And then the romance. Gahhhh, the romance! It was a lot of push and pull. Such a slow burn. Faolan is such a sassy attention-grabbing sort of person. He loves the spotlight. And then we have Saoirse who’s the opposite and yet they attract, and I have to say, opposites do attract. They are so opposite of one another it’s amazing they got along, but they balanced each other out and there were just some scenes in here that made me swoon and want to throw the book. Especially at the end. When it gets emotional, it’s the best part, even if it’s heartbreaking, but wow, my heart went through A LOT. But again, in the best possible way.

There’s also other wonderful characters I loved, and some that show up at the end that I hope will have a bigger part in the next book.

There’s also adventure, and I always love a book set at sea. My favorite setting, and then make it a fantasy romance, even better.

This was such a wonderful and emotional adventure. I’m very much looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had to sleep on my thoughts, and it pains me to say this but I didn't enjoy hardly anything about this.

This has all the markers of a story that I should enjoy with pirates and magic, but everything about it felt so...surface level. In addition, the elements actually in the story were so underdeveloped that I ended up with way more questions that answers and the longer it went on, the more questions I had.

The characters all were sort of giving too stupid to function, and the romance didn't make a shred of sense. Everything happening in this was dragged out for what felt like no reason because every answer they need is so clearly obvious, but you have to watch the characters running around with intentional blindfolds on for almost 500 pages before they acknowledge what you figured out in chapter 10/55.

The worst part though is that I just straight up didn't care about any of these characters or anything that happened to them. By the halfway point, I felt like I was reading just to read.

The plot: First of all, this story starts and you're dropped into a festival scene that clearly is supposed to be important, but is never explained. You can make inferences with context clues but it's sort of silly to have this be the main catalyst for the actual adventure (the bulk of the story) and you don't know wtf is going on.

As it goes on, this literally just reads as scenes strung together. Nothing about what they're doing actually ever makes sense within the context of the larger plot. You know they have to find this island, but every decision BOTH main characters make seems directly in contradiction to that plot? They are also doing this under a time frame of 6 weeks and literally spend like HALF of those 6 weeks doing literally nothing of value to the quest???? WITH a timejump!

The characters: I'm sorry but Saoirse the fmc was an idiot. She has this unexplained magic and her evil father abuses her and literally starts the story trying to marry her off because "her magic kills people" so she runs away. The whole reason she runs away is to discover the truth about her magic and ~to be free~ but then for the next 60% of this story she literally AVOIDS thinking about her magic and NEVER ONCE thinks "maybe my father was lying to me". Literally every stop this pirate ship makes involves a magical creature or scenario and every single time Saoirse's magic reacts, she crashes out like NO IM CURSED MY FATHER TOLD ME THIS SHOULDNT HAPPEN!! NO!! I CANT GIVE IN TO THE MAGIC! why tf are you on this quest then?

It's annoying because it's so blatantly obvious that her father is a liar and is trying to subdue her magic by every means possible and she never once questions anything he's told her OR done to her even after she runs away TO DISCOVER THE TRUTH ABOUT HER MAGIC. stop wasting my time!

Faolan is also sort of an idiot because he gives away the literal treasure map thats the key/point of this entire story before the book even begins and it's like ...what type of pirate that can find mystical fairytales in real life is stupid enough to give away the treasure map? Someone gave you a magical ring through a vision during which you made a bargain TIED TO YOUR LIFE FORCE and didn't think it was important????

The romance: perhaps the biggest offender? First of all, it's strange that the basis for Saoirse wanting to even run off with "The Wolf" is because she heard stories of him growing up and "it was amazing what someone only 4 years older than me could accomplish" and that 4 years is such an oddly specific sticking point to me. Why make him 4 years older? Why not just make him...OLDER??? How old is she supposed to be? People call her a child, and treat her like a child, but she's clearly at least 21 but I'm supposed to believe that this man being 4 years older is like....part of his charm? what?

The basis of this romance is ~fake-marriage~ but Saoirse picks and chooses when she wants the marriage to be real and when she doesn't which was annoying to me. It was her idea to get married because it was the only way to escape her ACTUAL marriage and her excuse for her father not coming after her (I got married to someone I chose instead) but then she'll say "this marriage isn't real Faolan!"

She'll call Faolan "my husband" when thinking to herself, but when he refers to her as wife she goes "this marriage isn't real!" WHICH ONE IS IT? IS IT REAL OR NOT?

Faolan wants to kiss her but she's like "no you said this marriage wasn't real!" but then in the next breath goes "I just want to be free!" idk how much freer you can be on a literal pirate ship away from home, but PLEASE make up your mind!

She gave me so much whiplash it was honestly starting to piss me off a little 😭 like girl make up your mind! She goes on and on about wanting to be out of her father's cage and experience life and it's like...the only person putting cages on your life experiences for these 500 pages is you.

On top of that, they just have negative chemistry. You can tell that the author wants to think it's deep and that they ~see each other~ but Faolan just flirts with her and calls her different nicknames every chapter, while Saoirse tells him the marriage is fake. Until of course, they are suddenly in love for reasons.

IDK! The more I think about it the less I like it which is really unfortunate because I feel like the premise is so good but the world building was severely lacking, the romance was unbelievable in a bad way, the main characters both acted like immature idiots the entire story, and the side characters are attempting to give found family but you don't really get enough background about anyone to make any of this worth the 500 pages.

I was starting to skim at the end because I was getting increasingly frustrated because this gave me way more questions than answers and even the characters themselves seemed to be confused at wtf was going on for most of it. This just needed....more. It didn't feel deep but I could tell the book wanted me to take away that this was some deep journey about finding yourself and finding romance but I didn't buy any of it.

I didn't mean to rant in this review, because I've read worse, but this just wasn't good 😭. I'd be willing to read the sequel to see if these issues get cleared up but this felt to me like it needed another round of editing to flesh out the bones of the world and the magic....which are the entire point of this story.

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Berkley, Ace, and Netgalley!

This book is everything! I am so obsessed with it! This makes me want to become a pirate even though I get super sea sick lol. I don't know if I should start with how much I loved the characters, how much I loved the storyline, or how much I loved the world. It was honestly all amazing. I wouldn't change a thing other than I wish book two was already out.

Faolan and Saoirse were amazing main characters and the romance was great, but I loved how the crew was such a great found family too. I'd like to join their crew immediately!

Maggie Rapier created a fascinating world and wrote a great story. You really just get it all with this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.