🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Kat Wallace is a Thrall, a slave, to an unbelievably rich and powerful man. After three failed escape attempts – for which she’s faced almost life ending beatings, she finally manages to stow away on a small plane (or vessel). There, she’s taken into the care of a Pirate Captain, and given the chance to start to live her life.
It is the second half of the 24th century, and earth as we know it has been ravaged. Floods, fires and pandemics (sound familiar?) have decimated land mass and the population. New nations have risen and new civilisations flourish – a Federal Alliance runs most of the planet – protecting its peoples; but as with most civilisations their reach is only so far. In some areas crime, trafficking and drugs are still the main currency.
What follows is a story that meanders beautifully over the next eight or so years of Kat’s life. She’s adopted into the kindly Pirate Captain’s family, and becomes a Pirate herself. She learns to love her new family as well as give her heart to a man. She learns how to be patient, how to stay her hand when the opportunity for revenge presents itself at an unexpected moment. She becomes everything she never thought she would be, a leader, a daughter, a wife and a mother. As Kat’s story unfolds, your heart will break along with hers; you’ll feel her joy and her terror.
As the book reached its climax, I was sobbing. A testament to how beautifully written this was. It was a true rollercoaster – with soaring highs, a few belly laughs, true desperation and overwhelming sadness. I sincerely look forward to the next instalment in Kat’s story.
S.A.
I originally reviewed this book on Reedsy Discovery, via their Advanced Reader Program. You can read the original review here:
You can buy A Merry Life by Sarah Bradshaw on Amazon, in either Kindle or Paperback.