Just What This Reader Ordered
Hello, I’m tired, who are you?
Last night after a long week and weekend of being an author and a social and a busy, I turned into a tired. Grabbing the next library book on my stack, I opened it up.
This library book is no ordinary one–it has the most gorgeousest cover ever and a really intriguing synopsis. Like suppose the female version of The Man in the Iron Mask had a sister who was an embittered Cinderella, and they played a Prince and the Pauper trick. Also, the cover?
80 pages in, I knew it really wasn’t the best thing for my mood. The story is tiring, not because it’s badly written or something, but because it is angstful–mostly because of the embittered Cinderella. I set it aside with the feeling that I probably wasn’t in the best mood for it. This morning, I still wasn’t ready to pick it up again. But I still wanted to read something.
That’s when I remembered I had a shiny ARC (advanced reader copy, though the book is out now, so I guess it’s just a reviewer copy) just waiting for me to read it. 
[image error]
Yes, please!
Phantoms by Denver Evans is a YA fantasy novel with a side of romance, steampunk, and paranormal. (And INVENTING!! )
“Being captured by pirates wasn’t part of the plan. And they’ve never met pirates like these…
After his adventure with the mermaids, Emerson is happy to get back to normal life, and he is thrilled that his days often include visits from pretty Saria Beggley. Not all is right with the world, however. Pirates have begun terrorizing ships around the eastern islands in the chain; and ships, sailors, and even passengers are going missing every day.
Blown off course by a freak storm, Emerson and Saria are captured. They discover the pirates are not what they thought—even moreso the feared Pirate King responsible for it all. When a legendary phantom ship shows up in Cayan waters, the mysterious crew enlists Emerson’s help in stopping the ever-expanding menace of the pirates.
As Emerson’s feelings for Saria begin to blossom, he wants nothing more than to see her safely home to Chadwick. But the only way to safety for any of them is by thwarting the plans of the Pirate King.” (from Goodreads)
Did that make any sense to you? Probably not, because Phantoms is actually a sequel to Shallows, Denver’s debut novel which I read a couple months ago. Shallows surprised me by being adorable, adventurous, and surprisingly meaningful, so you can guess why I was so excited and suddenly un-tired to read my copy of its sequel. 
