The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe

Actual rating: 2.5/5 (rounding to 3/5). We all enjoy different types of books and this one (The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe) just happens to be a miss for me. It's good in a way but ultimately not for me. The only reason why I gave this rating was due to the fact that I wasn't completely sucked in the story. There were times when I just skimmed the pages because it couldn't keep my attention. To start, I've never felt any connection to any of the characters. I don't know if I'm too old for YA at this point but it just didn't connect with me. It almost felt like a chore reading this book. I struggle to talk about what I didn't like about this book because in the end, it's all about preference. For the most part though, this was a fairly ok new release. I think some teens will enjoy reading this book as much as they enjoyed reading Ally's former "Matched" series.

I really ended up enjoying this book. I went into this book without a whole lot of expectations. I think that I might have read one of the author's earlier books years ago but don't remember a whole lot about it. The premise sounded really interesting so I was excited to give the story a try and was surprised by how quickly I was hooked by this adventurous tale. I thought that this was just a whole lot of fun. Most of this book takes place on a ship used to dredge the river for gold. The book opens on Poe's first voyage where things take a horrible turn and the man she loves is killed. Poe is determined to make sure that nothing like that can ever happen again and designs armor that will cover the ships for all future voyages. Poe is put in command of the newest voyage which is the first time she has been out since tragedy struck. It was really interesting to be in Poe's head as she worked to establish her position of leadership while being unsure if all of the members of her crew are trustworthy. When things go wrong, she becomes even more suspicious of the others working on the ship. I loved the fact that this book had plenty of action. There are some fairly violent scenes that had me holding my breath and worrying about the characters. Poe had a hard time trying to figure out who could be trusted and which crew members had their own agenda. I liked that Poe became a true leader because of her actions and that she was willing to take stand even if it came with a lot of risks. Poe was a great character and I thought that the key secondary characters were very well done. I would recommend this book to others. I found this book to be very well done with an interesting world, great characters, and an adventurous story. While I thought that this book stood perfectly fine on its own, I do think that there could be a possibility of future books featuring this world or group of characters in the future. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I received a review copy of this book from Dutton Books for Young Readers via Bookish First.

Poe Blythe has spent most of her life at the Outpost, working in the shipyard and then going on a voyage to mine gold from the river. One night everything changes for her when raiders take the ship and kill her best friend and lover named Call. Poe vows revenge, so she develops special, deadly armor for the ship that will keep the raiders at bay for the next voyage. As the captain of the next big voyage, Poe is forced to make some difficult decisions, and eventually she learns that things are not as they seem. She will learn who to trust, and soon she must find courage to take matters in her own hands in order to survive and do what is right. I enjoyed this book very much. I found it to be unique even though familiar story elements were used. I sympathized with a few of the characters, and I also found myself disliking a few. The writing was descriptive and realistic, and I thought the book had a good message overall. I didn't agree with some of the views presented, but the story kept me interested and it kept me on the edge of my seat towards the end. I hope the author is writing a sequel because there were quite a few loose ends left untied. I would definitely read a sequel, and I am looking forward to finding out what happens next. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good adventure and strong characters. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through the Bookish First program. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.