I read this as a buddy read with Mercedes and Brock and I have to say that I read this over a few hours (on just 2 days) and I loved every second! I think there's a bit of a misconception surrounding this book in that it looks and seems like it could be a YA or Children's book because it's shorter than many adult fantasies are, but this is most definitely a solid adult Steampunk book and for one of my first few exposures to Steampunk this book handled that so brilliantly :D



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I read this as a buddy read with Mercedes and Brock and I have to say that I read this over a few hours (on just 2 days) and I loved every second! I think there's a bit of a misconception surrounding this book in that it looks and seems like it could be a YA or Children's book because it's shorter than many adult fantasies are, but this is most definitely a solid adult Steampunk book and for one of my first few exposures to Steampunk this book handled that so brilliantly :D



This is the story of The Ketty Jay and its crew of misfits. The Ketty Jay is a Pirate-like airship (pictured on the cover) which is in a world where airships and steampunk machinery are common, pirates roam freely, and the Navy has a hard enough time trying to calm down the pirates that they leave the small-timers (like the Ketty Jay and its crew) alone.



Frey is the Captain of the Ketty Jay and he's a rather distrusting and mysterious Captain. He is blunt, and stubborn and we see his resolve tested very early in the book. He's the only one who can fly the Ketty Jay, which is pretty much the only reason he's the Captain (because he's a pretty disorganised one!) He's a bit of a scatterbrain at times and his adventures usually end in disaster so when he's offered the chance at a 'big-break' he takes it up...with some crazy consequences...



Next we have Crake who is the second character who is onboard Ketty Jay and he's actually not really a pirate or freeloader at all. He's kind of a stowaway (although we don't know why yet) and he's actually from the Nobility. He also has a 'friend' who he brings on board to help the crew and her name is Bess, she's a Golem (a metal body with a spirit inside). Crake and Bess have a strange relationship to the point where the other members of the Crew think maybe he's actually in love with her!

Crake's backstory was one of the most interesting that we get told about, and also one of the most emotional. He's actually a daemonist which means he can do some really cool things harnessing the power of various demons, and I loved seeing what he could do and how the team used that to their advantages.



Jez is another one who we meet early on and she's the new navigator for the Ketty Jay (as they seem to have been having troubles before she joined getting any to stay). She's a really intriguing character right from the offset when we realise that not only is she actually a pretty decent navigator and therefore an asset to the team, but she's really a very mysterious presence and strange odd things keep happening to her or around her...

We get to learn more as we go through the story, and let me just say that she's a really cool character too. She holds her own on the crew of men and boys, and she was certainly one whom I enjoyed hearing about! :D



Next we have Pinn and Harkins both of whom are the protecters of the ship as they have smaller crafts which they fly to defend it. Pinn is a hopeless young boy who is always getting into trouble and fights and seems to have no sense of self-preservation at all. He loves the idea of fighting in a war and he likes nothing more that to whore around, get drunk and celebrate their latest failure/victory. He was a really funny character at times, and I think his constant battle with Harkins was one of my favourite crew relationships to watch!

Harkins is basically the opposite of Pinn, He's older and he actually did fight in the wars and therefore he's now a quivering wreck who's terrified of any sort of conflict with any one. He loves to fly and he hates to be separated from his craft because that's the only place he really feels safe. He suffers with trauma from the war, but he's a really great character all the same and he can hold his own against Pinn and the others when he really needs to!



Then we have Malvery who is the Doctor of the airship and he's an interesting one because you always get the sense that there's something a little bit more to do with him than first meets the eye, but we don't know exactly what. He's a cool-headed character most of the time and he's a good friend to anyone on the ship. I really enjoyed finding out about his backstory too as he was another very interesting one.



And finally we have Silo who is an ex-slave who is onboard the ship and is a constant presence there. He's very quiet and he doesn't take a huge role in the book, but he is always there in the background fixing things up and generally making sure everything is working alright.

His backstory is a really interesting one and the way that he became a part of the crew is also really interesting so I thought that although we don't see a huge amount of him, what we do see we care about and he's a really friendly and nice presence when you get to know him. He's also good for a joke or two which make me chuckle a lot :D



So that's all the crew of the Ketty Jay, an amusing and wonderful bunch with an excellent sense of fun, adventure and camaraderie. They work well as a team and dysfunction well as a team, they have either no luck or all the luck and this book strongly reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean (which I love so that's great)



Trinica is another character that we meet in the story who also deserves a mention for the way that she's introduced and her backstory too. I certainly felt that she had a 'bad-ass' feeling about her when the crew was trying to defy her, and she was a very dominating character too. She was witty and intelligent, and I liked seeing the way that she handled herself when throwing quips at Frey.

However, equally as we find out her backstory learning what really happened to her and the way she's been forced to live was really interesting and I think it gave her a more human quality. I am certainly interested in if we shall see her in book 2 or the rest of the series...



Overall this was a highly-readable book which was not only super easy to read and get through, but also a load of fun whilst reading. I loved the characters and the plot, I enjoyed the humour a lot, and the whole thing kept me up until 2 am finishing it because it was so fun. I already have book 2 and I very much hope I can squeeze reading that into next month because I want to know what happens next! It's so much fun and I would highly recommend it to anyone!