This book was actually just about what I'd wanted based on the premise: A female pirate and a male assassin, bound by a curse, traversing about with magic on their heels. Ananna, our piratess, is just the right amount of brash. She plays it by ear and does make mistakes every now and again, but she isn't stupid, which is a relief. I enjoyed her dialect, which reminded me of a light version of Huckleberry Finn. Some double negatives, casual slang (read: "proper" grammar no-nos), and an air of nonexistant formal education. Grammar-Nazis beware; she narrates this book. 
 And our dark assassin Naji is just dark and mysterious enough, and naturally scarred and handsome as well (with a Zuko scar as a bonus). He broods a bit, but not too much. And despite the type of character he is, the whole sex appeal angle teen books tend to drum up for his type isn't much present in this book. I liked that. In fact, there's hardly any romance at all to distract from the plot, though this book isn't so far removed from the norm to eschew it completely. We all know what's going to happen. But it's not thrust up in the reader's face like it typically is. 
 My one gripe, though, is that this is another of those duologies that feels like was originally one book sliced right down the middle. The cliffhanger at the end feels like an exaggerated chapter ending. It's really not too bad though. The book is great. I'd definitely recommend it.