Capitana

In this sweepingly epic YA romantasy—the first in a duology—the seafaring daughter of notorious pirates must prove herself to her empire by rescuing their queen from the most mysterious and infamous pirate alive, while also competing against an infuriating classmate with his own motives. 

Ximena Reale has been training at la Academia to join the cazadores, seafaring hunters who track down pirates outlaws, but her future is still uncertain. Though Ximena is at the top of her class, her parents were the Reales—notorious pirates who were executed when Ximena and her sister were young.

Ability alone won’t earn Ximena the Cazador Cloak. So, when the legendary pirate Gasparilla captures the Luzan Empire’s queen, Ximena offers to bring back the queen and Gasparilla in exchange for a cloak. The empire accepts, but there’s a catch. There’s only one position available in the cazadores, and Ximena’s competition is Dante, an infuriating classmate who has his own reasons for chasing the prize. Reasons that may not be all that clear to Ximena.

With their futures on the line, Ximena and Dante set out on a dangerous quest. But can Ximena sail far enough to escape the legacy of her family?

Cassandra James grew up in a mixed immigrant family with a penchant for storytelling, so becoming a writer was almost inevitable. She recently graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English focusing on creative writing. After traveling solo around the world for several months, she landed in Orlando, Florida, where she now spends her days cooking Colombian food, obsessing over Broadway musicals, and occasionally swashbuckling. Capitana is her debut novel.