Swords, pirates, and a teenage girl who finds herself catapulted three centuries back in time. Carrie Vaughn's third standalone novel "Steel" centers around all three of these things, and it turns out to be a solidly enjoyable swashbuckler with a "fighting woman" slant, and a semi-realistic look at the life of a pirate. 
 Jill is still smarting over losing an important fencing match when her family goes on vacation in the Bahamas. But she does find a personal "treasure" -- a rusty rapier tip buried in the sand. That tip somehow transports her back in time, right next to a real-life 18th-century pirate ship -- the Diana, commanded by the stern Captain Marjory Cooper. 
 And since she has no idea how to get home, Jill has no choice but to join the pirate crew. However, the metal shard that transported her back in time also has some powerful significance for Captain Cooper -- it's part of the magical sword of Captain Blane, a cruel cutthroat who wants to establish a pirate empire in the Bahamas. And Jill's fencing skill might just come in handy in stopping Blane. 
 When most people think of pirates they think of yo-ho-hoing men with big bristly beards, but Carrie Vaughn has obviously does some research into the FEMALE pirates that existed in real life. And she doesn't hold back from the gross and unglamorous parts of pirate life -- one fun scene has poor Jill scraping barnacles off the bottom of the boat. 
 The story itself is a pretty simple, straightforward one -- most of it involves the search for Blane, and Jill dealing with the day-to-day life of being a reluctant pirate and trying to find a way home. Vaughn's prose is smooth, strong and full of robust life, and she actually weaves the whole "fencing/sword" theme into the story. 
 The biggest problem with the book is that for a pirate story, it's rather bloodless. There are some gruesome moments (AMPUTATION!), but the Diana's crew doesn't ever have to really kill people. Even the slave traders are left alive. 
 But the characters are all solid -- Jill is an endearing 21st-century heroine, who struggles with 18th-century life but thankfully doesn't whine much. She has a semi-romance with one of the pirates and befriends a few others, but the real chemistry here is with the fiery pirate Cooper, who is a strong, independent woman with a terrible past. 
 Swords, piracy and time-travel form the core of "Steel," a simple but entertaining tale of swashbuckling on the high seas -- for people who appreciate butt-kicking girls.