A Review of The Vengeance by Emma Newman

*SPOILER ALERT* This review contains plot details of The Vengeance.

This title will be released on March 6, 2025 by Solaris.

Morgane’s short life hasn’t been an easy one—she grew up on the sea, leading a violent, dangerous life as the daughter of Captain Anna-Marie, the ferocious captain of The Vengeance. However, after Anna-Marie is mortally wounded during a rage-fueled attack on a Four Chains Trading Company vessel, she confesses this was not the life Morgane should have had as she is not truly her mother. What’s more, the captain of the Four Chains Trading Company vessel was contracted not only to slay Anna-Marie but return Morgane to her wealthy and powerful birth family.

Morgane isn’t the only one in need of rescuing, however. Upon finding a letter from her birth mother on the trading company vessel, Morgane learns her birth mother may be facing some danger of her own, even from within the apparent safety of her castle. Author Emma Newman takes readers on a frantic journey through 18^th century France and all its haunting decadence as Morgane desperately tries to reconcile conflicting internal feelings about the mother she’s known all her life, while trying to save the one she was stolen from.

Those feelings are a central element of this novel’s overarching theme: confronting and overcoming generational trauma. While readers only know Anna-Marie for a short time, it’s immediately understood she is deeply affected by an experience she had with Morgane’s father in the past. This experience impacts her in a profound way and shapes who she is as a person—she can be coldly angry, distant, and abusive at times towards Morgane. These emotional issues have a major impact on how Morgane sees Anna-Marie, which she acknowledges internally but cannot voice aloud: “That was what she remembered most about the woman who wasn’t her mother: the constant anger just beneath the surface.” However, beneath her hard exterior is a woman in emotional turmoil, still reeling from a betrayal twenty years earlier. Anna-Marie’s coldness is a defense mechanism—something built up to protect herself from future betrayals. Morgane recognizes this but still carries a level of resentment towards her for it. This is further complicated once she learns Anna-Marie is not her biological mother.

Throughout the novel, Morgane carries a similar coldness. On one hand, this can partially be explained by her circumstances: She is alone in a strange country and surrounded by social conventions that feel stifling, especially compared to the previous looseness of her life at sea. On the other hand, her behavior is reflective of Anna-Marie’s coldness. Despite conflicting feelings over how to view Anna-Marie, it’s obvious she inherited many traits from her, from the anger she expresses when she feels vulnerable to the hatred and mistrust she expresses towards her father once they are reunited. Newman illustrates this theme expertly through the conflicts Morgane’s defensiveness creates, even among the few allies she makes in France. Readers will finish scenes feeling just as furious and frustrated at Morgane as she is towards herself—a familiar feeling for anyone working through their own generational trauma. Watching her start to overcome some of that trauma and allow herself to be vulnerable with characters like Lisette was one of the strongest parts of this novel.

Speaking of Lisette, Newman does a great job depicting a strong relationship between her and Morgane. One of the most enjoyable aspects of The Vengeance was watching the initial animosity between the two bloom into tentative friendship, and then romance. Both are thrust into a dangerous situation and must learn to lean on each other throughout the novel; Morgane must trust Lisette to safely guide her through France and its unfamiliar customs, while Lisette must trust Morgane to protect her from the terrifying new enemies that emerge during their quest to rescue Morgane’s birth mother. I particularly loved the quiet moments in their relationship, such as the scenes at the inns they stay at along the way where Lisette takes the time to teach Morgane how to read. This gap in knowledge is something Morgane is embarrassed of but doesn’t know how to fix on her own. These scenes were a great demonstration of her character’s vulnerability and Lisette’s endless patience. They are great foils for each other throughout the novel.

The romance, overall, is one that plays out naturally once it develops. However, the initial transition between romance and friendship feels a little rushed—it happens suddenly and lacks the slower build-up of their friendship I enjoyed earlier in the novel. For example, their first kiss occurs suddenly and without much build-up. Prior to that moment, neither of them expressed much interest in each other romantically. After that scene, their relationship grows much more naturally. Slowing down the transition from friendship to romance would provide more time to develop and explore Morgane’s reactions as, prior to this point, she’s never had a serious relationship and grew up watching Anna-Marie discard lovers quickly. It’s a small thing, but one that could add another layer of nuance to the relationship and the secondhand understanding of romance Morgane learned from Anna-Marie.

I also would have liked to see the fantastical elements of the novel expanded upon earlier. About half-way through The Vengeance, Morgane and Lisette encounter a creature that is clearly supernatural. They acknowledge this, but then the supernatural aspect of the plot does not return until the end of the novel. Though the series is called The Vampires of Dumas, that element of the plot is given very little time on the page. Rather, the novel leans more towards the historical fiction genre—a different direction than marketed.

Overall, Newman’s prose is fast-paced and approachable, making it work well in the high stakes action scenes throughout The Vengeance. This novel is perfect for young adult readers looking for a fun, spooky-at-times romp around 18^th century France with a pirate on a mission to save the mother she has never known.