I didn't like this one quite as much as the rest of the series. There was less science, and almost no ecology, an aspect I loved in previous books. Also I was hoping for more explanation of the big world building mysteries than we got. Still Sophie is great character and I was glad to spend some more time with her and see the end of her story arc.

Aurora Award finalist. I've quite enjoyed this series and would be happy to read more if the trilogy ever gets extended. Good pacing, cool world and magic, complicated relationships and an engaging main character had me racing through this one.

A pretty satisfying conclusion to the series that still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. I could definitely see more stories in this world, either following the same characters or as a spinoff. While we return to the same characters we know and love, the plot in this final installment focuses more on the politicking as opposed to the ecology and science that were so prominent in the first two books. (I will say that I expected there to be more pirates in it given the title!). Like the secon...

It's ok. Wish the first half of the book hadn't been a refresher on the first two books. Just get back to the story! Continued enough interesting world building to leave plenty of room for more books.

Third books of trilogies have a lot of heavy lifting to do. They need to advance the plots that have kept readers entranced for two books, and to tie up as many loose ends as possible. In many cases, they leave their conclusion open-ended so that the author can revisit the world again. The Nature of a Pirate pulls off all these tasks without seeming rushed or burdened. I’d love to read more Stormrack fiction, but if the series ends here, it ends well.

Still a great series -- all the characters are smart/competent, the plot and world are interesting, and the interpersonal relationships are fascinating. I actually don't really relate to Sophie at all, but I still really enjoyed reading all the Hidden Sea books.There are still a lot of unanswered questions after this book, and I feel like there could definitely be more, but it's a satisfying enough ending to the trilogy that I'm fine with it. It's actually kind of nice; leaves a lot up for furth...

This was a thrill read from first to last...

So what is a scientist with an insatiable curiosity, visiting a fantasy seafaring world, do to keep herself on the right side of the powers that be? She founds an Institute of Forensics and sets about solving crimes.Sophie’s weakness is that she hates being manipulated, and begins to see mind-games everywhere. Sometimes it’s helpful, as when she is looking for clues, sometimes she’s just spinning her wheels and can’t figure out who to trust. She also learns that a moral high horse isn’t always t...

A solid conclusion to the series. The science-focus has shifted away from biology and toward forensics, which is fine, though since the former is perhaps underrepresented in SFF compared to the latter I confess to being ever so slightly disappointed. I was also quite surprised by how much was left unresolved at the end of the book. The main thrust had a satisfying resolution, yes, but there would still be a lot left to explore in another book or two.The worldbuilding remains the absolute star of...

So “The Nature of a Pirate” (Tor, $28.99, 364 pages) was intriguing enough that I decided to jump in on a volume three (after trying to catch up by reading reviews of the first two books of the Hidden Sea Tales). The move was successful enough that I enjoyed the book and didn’t feel too left out.The setup is similar to Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber, for those readers of a certain age out there, in that there is an alternate world that is much different from modern day Earth. Sophie Hansa m...

I’ve said before that I have yet to read anything by Dellamonica that I dislike. Her latest novel, The Nature of a Pirate, fits firmly into my expectations, and I think is the best of the series so far. It doesn’t quite have the magic that the first book held for me, the wondrous discovery of a new world, but the story really comes to a head, and this was a real page-turner and such an amazing read for me.Sophie Hansa is firmly set on dragging Stormwrack into the age of curiosity, introducing gr...

3.5 starsSophie Hansa was adopted as a baby and never knew her biological parents, for good reason: they belong to another world. Stormwrack is similar to earth during the Age of Sail, but with significantly less land mass…and magic. Governed by the Fleet, a floating city comprised of hundreds of ships, Stormwrack is a place where people’s names are powerful ingredients in working spells or intentions; and it’s also a place where Sophie’s knowledge of science is scorned. Sucked into Stormwrack a...

While billed as a trilogy, this series has more room to run. While the ending is not a cliffhanger, it's has lots of unresolved mysteries. Also the romance aspect kicks in with an Austenisque situation where Sophie must be engaged to be considered an adult. Is she being manipulated by her sociopathic, control freak father? A fun read.

The plot of this novel was a bit more clear than the second book but still felt like there were details left out or not explained well. It also didn't really feel like the end to a trilogy, but left open possibility for future books. I love Parrish! I wish there was more Verena, and even Beatrice. Once again I like that Sophie is more of an academic than a fighter, it's refreshing.

So it took me the longest time to get into this book, and I couldn't figure out why I wasn't clicking with the characters or why I was so confused by where the characters were at the beginning of the book, and then I did find my groove with it and then I finished it and turned it over, and then it turned out that I had gone from book 1 to book 3 without stopping at the second book in this trilogy along the waySo........................whoops, A.M. Dellamonica, I bungled that one pretty goodBy th...

This trilogy started out slow for me (caveat: I have the attention span of a squirrel when I'm battling depression, which is always) but by the third book had built into a cherished favorite. I grabbed this as soon as I could and devoured it as fast as I could. I've become very fond of the characters, the world, and where the books are going in the big scheme of things. It goes to show that some series need a few books to really establish the world and start blooming.. and are worth the stick wi...

i have no idea how the third book in a series ended up on my tbr but i can't wait to read the others. love the world building. cool magic, lots of pirate-y nautical details, and fascinating ceremonial rites. love the characters: complicated, full people. love the concept: and alternate earth or possibly a future earth either way its different and some people can go between the two.

A fun, clever addition to a fun series. I continued to enjoy the scientist-as-MC conceit and found myself missing Verena's interactions with Sophie (although Sophie and Bram was always solid). I still felt like Parrish was a bit 2D but he and Sophie had some good scenes in the later half. As before, I really enjoyed Cly (mostly because Sophie is so very judgmental and, while you don't love him, he's not really evil) and Beatrice (whom we get a little extra glimpse of through several other charac...

Finally Sophie grows up some. As expected, she tries to drama-queen herself out of her romance, but the plot necessitates a different direction, so I was spared from throwing this book against the wall.Ergo I enjoyed it more than the previous two, simply because I wasn't annoyed by Sophie on every third page. Alas there wasn't as much science here, though there were some awesome bits about the magic -- the way mermaids were made was very cool.Too bad this is the end. I kept enjoying the world it...

Really enjoyable and interesting—Stormwrack is such a fascinating place. I am always amazed at the unexpected places things go in this series. The characters are awesome—the whole aspect of Sophie being inscribed at birth added a real twist to her already trying to figure out her identity. I love the whole idea of inscriptions, and that Bram is studying them. Introducing 19th Century fingerprinting techniques in was a really cool idea. The frights were genuinely freaky. The political subtext and...