I've been on a pirate kick lately, and this was a fun twist on pirate romantasy. I loved that the all-female group of witches became pirates who were led by a woman named Alys. I also enjoyed that the backstory was that they all flee Puritanical New England to escape a death sentence, yet the British navy won’t give up so easy. Love the slow burn, enemies to lovers romance this book brings with the captain and the navy officer Ben (who they captured). It was a nice change up seeing Alys as the sexually experienced one teaching Ben instead of the other way around. This book was defiantly well written, but it does end on a cliffhanger, so if you were hoping to just have a standalone this is not the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Witches, pirates, and a romance all in one rollicking good read. Alys and her sister witches fled Massachusetts to the Caribbean where they became pirates. There's good world building and atmospherics for this and the characters, well, they're super. Alys and Ben have a tempestuous and steamy relationship. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Fun.

The setting of The Sea Witch was right up my alley currently. I loved the pirate ship ran by exclusively women and also liked the reasoning behind why Alys started this crew in the first place. She's a fierce FMC who's also honorable. Her interactions with her female crew were always nice, although I would have loved to get to know some more of her crew on a deeper level which I hope we get in the future.

I loved the slow burn, forced proximity relationship between her and Ben. Their animosity for each other along with the chemistry they felt was well written. Their journey was perfectly paced.

The ending also left me so intrigued for what happens next, and I'm going to be impatiently waiting for book 2!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for an eARC of this book!

Pirates, witches, evil sea creatures and feminine rage come together is this seafaring story of a pirate witch who is seeking the answers to the sea beasts that haunt them and the navel officer looking for his father murder.

This is an enemies to lovers tale where Alys, the pirate witch captain, takes Ben, a navel Sailing Master captive to gain information about the sea beasts that are entrapped to the royal navy. The setting is the 1700’s Caribbean and Alys and her fellow female crew members are on the run from being persecuted for being witches in Massachusetts.

As a fellow New Englander, I love when stories take place where I grew up, picturing the Salem witch trials as my inti backdrop for the book.

I enjoyed the slow burn progression of Alys and Ben’s relationship but also really enjoyed reading about the dynamic on the all female pirate ship.

I was lucky enough to not only read this great book but I tandem listened to the audiobook as well! That narrator did a GREAT job adding emotional and charisma to the story. If you’re an audiobook reader then you’ll love this one!

The Sea Witch is a fun, steamy, and magical retelling that blends romance with adventure on the high seas. The characters are bold, the chemistry sizzles, and the world is enchanting. My only critique is that a few plot points felt rushed, leaving me wishing for more depth but overall it’s still a good, adventurous escape.

3.5 Stars

I am very intrigued by the world Eva Leigh built in The Sea Witch, from the all witch pirate crew, to the further magical world (magical education, etc.). The romance wasn’t as fleshed out as it could have been…but maybe fewer men and more lady pirates?

The Sea Witch gave me all the pirate romantasy vibes I didn’t know I was missing—think Pirates of the Caribbean, but witchy and with a fierce, all-female crew. Alys, our sea witch captain, is such a powerful and compelling FMC, and I loved seeing her take charge, rescue other witches, and carve out freedom in a world that wants to crush her. Ben, the captured British naval officer, made for a fun enemies-to-lovers counterpart, and I especially appreciated that their romance felt refreshing with Alys leading both emotionally and intimately.

The book is packed with high seas adventure, magic, danger, and slow-burn tension, with a cliffhanger ending that left me desperate for book two. While some pacing felt a little uneven in places, the overall story completely hooked me, and I loved the mix of strong female characters, mystical elements, and romance.

If you love forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, witches, pirates, and magical adventures on the sea, this is one to pick up.

Wow! I got this book as an ARC through NetGalley. I really enjoyed the characters in this book and how their backgrounds really affected how they moved in this world. It was such a unique take on magic and pirates. It was such a cool story that brought elements of what really happened during that time period and talked about these things in such an empowering way. I cannot wait for the next book!

I’m struggling to rate this book because the things I didn’t love about it are simply personal preference and have nothing to do with the writing. Some of the trope reversals, like the mmc being the “damsel in distress”, are a breath of fresh air for others, but not what I’m looking for in a romantasy. As a result I couldn’t connect with the characters in a way that made me love them. Overall this was okay but would be more somebody else’s cup of tea.

This book was okay. While it was a fun time, it wasn't for me.
The story had a lot of promise, but I wasn't attached to any of the characters that I wanted to keep reading.

2025, The year I fell in love with pirate romantasy! After reading Throne of Glass Series written by Sarah J Maas, I went on a search for a high seas story that felt magical. dangerous and romantic. This lead me straight to The Sea Witch by Eva Leigh!
Follow along as we meet Pirate Captain and Witch Alys, who delivers an all female pirate/witch crew from the hands of puritanical New England where each of them are marked for dead. What unfolds is a story of high seas adventure, Captured at high sea, we meet Ben, a loyalist to the British Royal Navy and a son ready to avenge his father's death. Alys and Ben's fate intermix and what comes of it, only the sea keeps the story of their fate! The reader is left with a massive cliff hanger; highly anticipating the second book!

Read This Pirate Romantasy If You Love:
🌊 Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn
🌊 Witches, Pirates, Female Characters of Strength
🌊 Mystical Creatures, Magic, Fights at High Seas


Thank you Harlequin Trade Press, author Eva Leigh and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of The Sea Witch in exchange of my honest review!

First of all, I think the most important part about this review is to say thank you Eva for writing such an important story! I loved that the focus of this book was on very strong female characters fighting for their independence in a male dominated world. Before I go into my critiques, I want to write about what I absolutely loved about this book (slightly spoiler-y, read with caution!). The Pirates of the Caribbean vibes but make it female and witchy? Yes please. Give me more. I tend to automatically like any book that gives me pirating vibes. Alys as our FMC was incredible. Thinking about her story and how she escaped death and persecution in Massachusetts and liberated herself and the fellow witches in the area, stole a boat, then sailed all the way down to the Caribbean and started pirateering and teaching herself and the group of witches magic? Incredible. Another thing that I absolutely LOVED about this book that I feel we need to see more of in romantasy is the fact that Ben was not a magical all knowledgeable lover! Alys actually had to talk him through their sexual encounters and it was just so refreshing to see a more realistic expectation of a man in the bedroom but with a strong and confident enough FMC to tell him what she needed and have him comply completely. So swoon worthy.

I will say the pacing of the book and especially Alys and Ben's love story was a little off for me, especially in the first half of the book. It felt like their conversations were very disjointed and then their inner monologues about each other jumped to very big cliches and big feelings really quick. There were also some extremely cliche one-liners throughout the book that quite literally made me laugh out loud though.

Overall, I did really enjoy the book and I am so excited for the second book in the series because that cliffhanger?! I must find out what happens next. And of course, thank you NetGalley and Eva Leigh for the e-ARC of this book.

🎧𝑀𝒾𝓃𝒾 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌🎧

𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: 🥀🥀🥀 out of 5 enchanted roses

𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌:

ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ʜᴛᴘ ғᴏʀ ᴘʀᴏᴠɪᴅɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜɪs ᴀʟᴄ!

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽 ʜᴀs ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ—ᴡɪᴛᴄʜʏ ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇ ǫᴜᴇᴇɴs, ғᴏʀʙɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴ ᴇɴᴇᴍɪᴇs-ᴛᴏ-ʟᴏᴠᴇʀs ᴠɪʙᴇ sᴇᴛ ᴀɢᴀɪɴsᴛ sᴡᴇᴇᴘɪɴɢ ᴄᴀʀɪʙʙᴇᴀɴ sᴇᴀs. ᴀʟғɪᴇ sᴛᴀɴᴅs ᴏᴜᴛ ᴀs ᴀɴ ᴜɴᴀᴘᴏʟᴏɢᴇᴛɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀғᴜʟ ʜᴇʀᴏɪɴᴇ ʟᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ᴀɴ ᴀʟʟ-ғᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ-ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴄʀᴇᴡ. ᴇɴᴛᴇʀ ʙᴇɴ ᴘʀɪᴇsᴛʟᴇʏ, ᴛʜᴇ ʙʀɪᴛɪsʜ ɴᴀᴠᴀʟ ɴᴀᴠɪɢᴀᴛᴏʀ ᴛᴜʀɴᴇᴅ ʀᴇʟᴜᴄᴛᴀɴᴛ ᴄᴀᴘᴛɪᴠᴇ. ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴄʜᴇᴍɪsᴛʀʏ sɪᴢᴢʟᴇs—ᴇǫᴜᴀʟ ᴘᴀʀᴛs ᴛᴇɴsɪᴏɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴇɴᴅᴇʀɴᴇss. ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅʙᴜɪʟᴅɪɴɢ ɪs ʟᴜsʜ, ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴠɪᴠɪᴅ sᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢs ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ sʏsᴛᴇᴍ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ғᴇᴇʟs ғʀᴇsʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs.

ᴡɪᴛʜ 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽, ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sᴡᴀsʜʙᴜᴄᴋʟɪɴɢ, ʜɪɢʜ-sᴇᴀs ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴜʀsᴇᴅ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴠɪʙᴇs ᴏғ ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇs, ᴍɪxᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪᴛᴄʜʏ sɪsᴛᴇʀʜᴏᴏᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs sᴘᴇʟʟᴄʀᴀғᴛ ᴏғ ᴘʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴄᴀʟ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ.

ʙᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ ᴍᴇ ғʀᴏᴍ ɢɪᴠɪɴɢ 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽 𝟺 ᴇɴᴄʜᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ʀᴏsᴇs ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴏᴛʟɪɴᴇ ɪᴛsᴇʟғ—ɪᴛ ᴏғᴛᴇɴ ғᴇʟᴛ ᴛᴀɴɢʟᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxᴇᴄᴜᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡᴀᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴛ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛs, ɪ ғᴇʟᴛ ᴛʜʀᴏᴡɴ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ɪɴsᴛᴇᴀᴅ ᴏғ ғᴜʟʟʏ ɪᴍᴍᴇʀsᴇᴅ. ɪᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴀ ᴄᴀsᴇ ᴏғ ʟᴏᴠɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇᴘᴛ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxᴇᴄᴜᴛɪᴏɴ.

𝒯𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈 & 𝐸𝓁𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓈:

✨ʙᴜᴛᴛᴏɴᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ ʙʀɪᴛɪsʜ ɴᴀᴠʏ ʜᴇʀᴏ x ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴀɪɴ
✨ᴇɴᴇᴍɪᴇs-ᴛᴏ-ʟᴏᴠᴇʀs
✨ғᴏʀᴄᴇᴅ ᴘʀᴏxɪᴍɪᴛʏ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ sᴇᴀs
✨ғᴏᴜɴᴅ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ
✨ᴀʟʟ-ғᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ ᴄʀᴇᴡ
✨ᴅᴀʀᴋ, ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ
✨ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇs ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀʀɪʙʙᴇᴀɴ x ᴘʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴄᴀʟ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ
✨sʜᴇ ᴛᴀᴋᴇs ʜɪᴍ ᴄᴀᴘᴛɪᴠᴇ
✨ᴍᴀɢɪᴄᴀʟ sᴇᴀ ᴍᴏɴsᴛᴇʀs

𝒩𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ᴅɪᴅ ᴀ sᴏʟɪᴅ ᴊᴏʙ ʙʀɪɴɢɪɴɢ 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑒𝒶 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽 ᴛᴏ ʟɪғᴇ—ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴏɪᴄᴇs ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴅɪsᴛɪɴᴄᴛ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀᴄɪɴɢ sᴍᴏᴏᴛʜ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴛᴍᴏsᴘʜᴇʀᴇ ᴇxᴄɪᴛɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇs. ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏsᴛ ᴘᴀʀᴛ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀғᴏʀᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴡᴀs sᴘᴏᴛ ᴏɴ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴀ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴠᴏᴄᴀʟ ᴅɪsᴛɪɴᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ʙᴇɴ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟɪᴄᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ʜᴇʟᴘғᴜʟ ɪɴ ᴋᴇᴇᴘɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴅɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ ᴄʟᴇᴀʀᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴀɴsɪᴛɪᴏɴs sᴍᴏᴏᴛʜᴇʀ. sᴛɪʟʟ, ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴇɴɢᴀɢᴇᴅ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ʟᴏsᴛ ᴍᴇ.

𝐹𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸𝓉: ᴛʜɪs ɴᴀʀʀᴀsʏ ɪs ᴀʟᴍᴏsᴛ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ—sᴛʀᴏɴɢ ʟᴇᴀᴅ, ᴋɪʟʟᴇʀ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ғʟɪʀᴛᴀᴛɪᴏᴜs ᴛᴇɴsɪᴏɴ. ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴜᴅᴅʟᴇᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ’ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴀ ғᴜʟʟʏ ɪᴍᴍᴇʀsɪᴠᴇ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴇɴᴄᴇ. ғᴀɴs ᴏғ ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇs ᴡɪᴛʜ ғᴇᴍᴍᴇ ᴇɴᴇʀɢʏ, ʏᴏᴜ’ʟʟ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴠɪʙᴇs ᴡᴇʀᴇ sᴛʀᴏɴɢ, ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀᴇᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇᴛᴜᴘ ᴡᴀs ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ—ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴅɪᴅɴ’ᴛ ǫᴜɪᴛᴇ sᴀɪʟ sᴍᴏᴏᴛʜʟʏ. ᴀ ᴅᴇᴄᴇɴᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴘɪʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ ᴀᴇsᴛʜᴇᴛɪᴄs.

ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ!
𝒜𝓈𝒽𝓁𝑒𝓎
ʙᴏᴏᴋsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ: @ᴛʜᴇᴛᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅᴘᴀɢᴇ
ᴡᴡᴡ.ᴛʜᴇᴛᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅᴘᴀɢᴇ.ᴄᴏᴍ

I loved the premise of The Sea Witch but the execution didn't quite work for me, which makes me sad because this was a book I was really looking forward to and was so excited to read. It did have good moments filled with action, adventure and magic but for the most part this fell flat for me.

However, I loved the trope reversals present in it, dude in distress, pirate heroine captaining a ship of female pirates, kidnapping of sorts.

Another thing was it didn't feel like a Romantasy to me it felt more like a historical romance with paranormal romance elements.

I didn't really care for the characters, I wasn't invested in them fully or their journeys and none of the secondary characters stood out to me. They more or less faded into the background.

All of that said the ending definitely piqued my interest and has me wanting to know what happens next. All in all it was an ok read for me.

The Sea Witch is a thrilling, imaginative romp across the Caribbean, blending high-seas adventure with forbidden magic and sizzling romance. Alys Tanner makes for a fierce and compelling heroine, and the concept of an all-female, magic-wielding pirate crew is as fun as it sounds. The action is fast-paced, full of danger, daring escapes, and clever twists, while the romance between Alys and Ben simmers with just the right mix of tension and reluctant attraction. Overall this is a highly entertaining romantasy that delivers both swashbuckling excitement and heart.

I really enjoyed the strong female characters in this book! I felt like it was a well developed story, interesting/strong plot, and great setting!! Thank you so much NetGalley for sending me an arc, I really enjoyed this one!

A solid pirate book. I like to world building a lot. The relationship was both fast and slow which is didn't mind. It does end on a cliff hanger

DNF @ 5%. This book is not for me. It is well-written and I'm sure the story will be amazing for other people, but personally I could not read it. I don't like historical fiction, especially when it uses period-typical bigotry (racism, sexism, homophobia) as an obstacle for the characters to overcome. That's just not something I enjoy reading about. I read books to escape the real world, not to dive deeper into real-world issues.

Like I said, though, I'm sure there are people who do enjoy that narrative and they would really like this book. It has amazingly strong characters and (probably) a fun adventure.

The line that lost me was on page 2: "Any boy who showed magical aptitude went to be educated at the academies and make his fortune in the larger towns. Any girl who failed to hide her supernatural ability was killed." That is the heaviest-handed world-building I've ever seen and the entire first chapter continues on to include more anti-female, anti-indigenous, and anti-black sentiment. That's just not what I'm looking for in a Romantasy!

This book was such a ride! It had a crew of fierce women taking to the seas as pirates, and it’s every bit as fun as it sounds! It gave me Pirates of the Caribbean vibes, with ships and an enemies to lovers romance.

I loved the twist on the usual trope, with him being the “damsel in distress”, and yet he delivered so much passion and love.

The story perfectly blends romance, history, and magic!

This book was really enjoyable! It’s like a historical fiction book but make it romantasy. We have colonial British naval forces, pirates, Witches who are also pirates, sea monsters, “treasure” hunts to find a needed item, magic and just all the good stuff! It took me a little bit to get into it as the world was building but once I had that all sorted I was HOOKED! This is also an extremely slow, scream at your kindle, slow burn but so worth it at the end! Ends on a cliffy!