Read Your Writes Book Reviews: CARGO OF BONES by Z. Lindsey ~ Guest Post & Giveaway

Cargo of Bones (The Saltwater Chronicles, #2)
by: Z. Lindsey
Series: The Saltwater Chronicles
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Release Date: June 24, 2024

Devilish intrigue in a magical library...

Devil bureaucrat Essimore Darkenchyl barely made it out of the jungle alive, but next she’s going straight to hell—aka her hometown. When she finds out about a dark and desperate plan for immortality originating from her own people, her family ties, her sense of right and wrong, and her silly sense of humor will all be put to the test.
A strong and geeky female lead
A doomed romance
A dark but hopeful storyline
Llamas!
In the second book of The Saltwater Chronicles, the stakes are higher, the villains are scarier, and the jokes about cannibalism are more common.

The main character of my new book CARGO OF BONES is Essie Darkenchyl. She’s a young bureaucrat who works for a not-so-secretly-evil shipping conglomerate. She’s also a devil, with horns and magic powers and a close relationship with the god of death.

I love the attitude Essie brings to problems. She’s a naturally-gifted problem solver, and she tries her best to use words. She’d prefer to confuse you into submission, but she’s not afraid to threaten, either. And if you do need the stick, you’ll get the stick. But that’s her last resort.

She’s a hero, although she’d never think of herself that way. That’s because she’s a natural hero. She’s not in it for power or glory. She doesn’t like to be a hero. She’s got better things to do with her time than save innocent people--like update payroll. But if innocent people (or her rather non-innocent friends) are in danger, she won’t think about jumping in and getting involved. In fact, she won’t think at all--she’ll start helping and make up her plan as she goes.

Her family comes from a city humans know as a sort of realm of torture and fire. To Essie it’s more like the hometown from some pop punk song: a boring place where your old crush lives and everyone thinks you’re not good enough. She left as soon as she could, abandoning her future as a bookkeeper for the god of death to sail the high seas. (Well, there’s actually only one sea on this planet, but it’s a big one.)

But when one of her people dies far from home, Essie becomes responsible for returning the bones. It’s not a task she wanted, but because she cares about her people and her family, it’s a task she takes, despite the objection of her bosses. On the way, she learns about a plan to kill the god of death. That might sound like a good idea, but as a former servant of the god of death, Essie knows better: It will cause terrible consequences, including the eventual end of the earth. Without death, nature couldn’t take care of itself, and life would become like a tumor.

Although Essie’s usually optimistic, this book is the second book in the trilogy, so she’s kind of at her worst. She’s been dragged through the crap of the first book, and now dealing with a new threat in the second book that’s pitting her against her own people. What she wants out of life is a hammock and a nap, and what she gets are weird cultists and dead friends. You kind of spend the whole book wishing she would just sit down and talk about her problems with any of the many folks who ask, but she’s thick-headed that way.

It’s a fantasy novel, so Essie’s got her whole little squad: Essie’s bestie Two Rabbit; the cowardly security agent Merritt; the one-armed, grumpy doctor; the former pirate goblin Boon; and the guy who talks like a 1990s stoner. A typical group, I’m sure. Also she’s got the voice of the monster from the last book floating around in her brain for spoilery reasons.

While these characters from the first book are important, and you need to see what horrible thing Merritt accidentally eats, a lot of the fun comes from the new characters.

Most of those are devils like Essie. There’s Vashon, the handsome geek Essie used to crush on before she left for school. He’s probably the person that gets Essie more than anyone (except for Two Rabbit), but their love is doomed: He can’t leave the city and she refuses to stay. Classic reversed Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) situation.

But my favorite new character is Dumin. She’s like if Obi-Wan Kenobi were an alcoholic llama herder. Although she was once a highly-respected noblewoman with an elitist attitude, years of living alone in the desert have made her a little crazy, and she loves nothing better than to drink alcoholic hot chocolate and cuddle her llamas. She’d be fun to hang out with, I’m sure, and by “hang out,” I mean sit silently and read in the same room as her.

“You nicked me in the dance, remember? The council might be scandalized if we slept in the same tent.”

She laughed, remembering how embarrassed she’d been as the other girls gasped and the doctors swarmed him. Her dad said, ‘Essie, if you didn’t want Vashon to be eligible to marry you, you just had to poke him! You didn’t have to stab so deep!’ But she did like him. It wasn’t her fault he couldn’t block. And it had been nice to think the one boy she liked couldn’t marry her. There had been more important things than boys. Like Gossen’s Guide to Shipping Law.

“Nicked you?” she asked as she stood and walked for the tent. “Sir, I stabbed so deep they had to use medical magic to get the knife out.”

Vashon touched his shoulder where the knife had been.

“Yeah, like I said, you nicked me. I’ll sleep outside.”

Essie put a hand on her hip.

“It’s too cold, Vashon.” She crouched and crawled into the tent. “It’s not like you’re proposing. If you keep your underwear on, I’m sure the council will forgive us.”

“I’m not wearing underwear,” he said.

“Oh.”

Vashon cleared his throat.

“It’s not part of the cossetter’s ritual outfit.”

Essie bit her lip and looked away.

“Of course.”

“The first cossetters practiced naked to be closer to essential—”

“Okay, I get it!”

“So—I should sleep out here?” he asked.

“Get in here,” she said, then blurted, “but stay on your side.”

Purchase Cargo of Bones from:

Amazon | Goodreads

(Affiliate Links Used)

The Saltwater Chronicles Series:

The River Against the Sea (Book 1)

Cargo of Bones (Book 2)

Zac Lindsey is an anthropologist and a linguist who focuses on the Maya people of Quintana Roo. Since childhood, he's had a not-so-secret love of weird, silly, and well-structured fantasy. When other people's parents were reading them picture books, his mom was reading him Terry Brooks. He typically writes hopeful and character-driven fantasy.

Today, he lives in Quintana Roo, Mexico with his wife, daughter, and various stray cats.

Places to find Z. Lindsey:

Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

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