SOULGAZER is a debut novel for Maggie Rapier and the beginning of a planned duology  – “The Magpie and the Wolf.” 

The story is about an Irish princess, cursed in more ways than one.  Long ago, Saoirse touched a soul stone and gained a mythical power that is described as “ocean eyes,” revealing to her visions of the Isle of Lost Souls and an ability to see and touch dead souls.  Her father blames her for her brother’s subsequent death, and in an attempt to rid himself of his daughter and her curse, arranges a marriage to a cruel and ruthless king.  To escape her fate, she flees into the arms of a legendary pirate, hoping to find the mythical isle and praying to rid herself of her powers entirely.  Faolan, the pirate captain, known by his legendary persona, “The Wolf of the Wild,” is also hoping to find the isle for his own reasons.  However, Saoirse has a catch before she is willing to sail – she and the pirate must be married. 

The novel is very rich in lore and language, and a very intense amount of longing between the two main characters.  Honestly, at one point, I was calling the novel “the Irish pirate telenovela” because of the deep passion and dramatic yearning.  It conjures rich imagery in the voyage – like the sea and its mysterious depths, the way to the isle is a mystery steeped in old folklore and even a song from Saoirse’s past.  The marriage of convenience transforms on the crossing into an enemies-to-lovers slow-burning romance (emphasis on burn). 

As they get closer to the place where the Isle of Lost Souls is envisioned to be, they encounter obstacles from aboard the ship as well as from the family and ruined marriage Saoirse left behind, as the crew tracks down the origins of her curse.  Saoirse struggles to fit in with a marauder crew, as much as she wants to prove her abilities.  The newly hand-fasted couple also can’t help but pine for each other as they share close quarters, at least when they are not fighting. 

I was a little slow to take to this novel, even though all the elements were very appealing to me – who couldn’t love some Celtic lore and a roguish pirate with a secretly virtuous heart?  But Rapier hooked me in the end – I will be back to see what happens in the next installment of the series.