Final Curse of Ophelia Cray, The [Hardcover]

Storms and pirates are nothing compared to the evil within mens hearts.

After a lifetime of abuse at the hands of superstitious townsfolk, Ophelia Young, a bastard child of the notorious pirate queen, is tired of paying for the sins of her mother. Despite playing by the rules her whole life, shes earned nothing but spite and suspicion. So when a naval officer saves her from the jeering crowd at her mothers hanging, Ophelia hatches a new hope of enlisting in the navy to escape her mothers legacy and redeem her own reputation for good. But Ophelia soon discovers that a life at sea isnt as honorable as she hoped.

Betsy Young is as different as she could be from her half-sister Ophelia. Shes a nervous homebody who wants to keep her family safe and longs to be in love. So naturally, shes devastated when the son of their familys business partner rejects her hand in marriage and her sister joins the navy. But when her father contracts a life-threatening illness as well, Betsy has to bring Ophelia home to save the family business.

Unfortunately for the Young sisters, Betsy trying to get Ophelia recalled reveals that Ophelia enlisted fraudulently under Betsys name, a secret which Ophelia struggles to keep from crewmates who would kill her if they knew she was the pirate queens daughter. To save Ophelia from the naval authorities, Betsy will have to board a ship during hurricane season and brave all the dangers of the sea to get them both home safe.

Christine Calella lives in a place she refers to as New York Cityadjacent. She spends her spare time singing show tunes in the shower, drinking more chai lattes than is strictly necessary, and either over- or under-watering an unfortunate string of houseplants named after sitcom characters.The Final Curse of Ophelia Crayis her debut novel.

Readers looking for high-seas action and teen girls defying their eras stereotypical gender roles will be in for a delight.
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