From the publisher: "Bingtown is a hub of exotic trade and home to a merchant nobility famed for its liveships—rare vessels carved from wizardwood, which ripens magically into sentient awareness. Now the fortunes of one of Bingtown’s oldest families rest on the newly awakened liveship Vivacia. For Althea Vestrit, the ship is her rightful legacy. For Althea's young nephew, wrenched from his religious studies and forced to serve aboard the Vivacia, the ship is a life sentence. But the fate of the ship—and the Vestrits—may ultimately lie in the hands of an outsider: the ruthless buccaneer captain Kennit, who plans to seize power over the Pirate Isles by capturing a liveship and bending it to his will."

Leigh says: This is the first book in the Tawny Man trilogy but it’s the third series in the larger Realm of the Elderlings cycle. For the best reading experience, go back to the Farseer trilogy first. Only then will you understand why this is my favorite installment of the cycle thus far. Fifteen years have passed since we last saw Fitz and much has changed in the kingdom but he's still very haunted by the traumas of his past, and content in his isolated life with his aging wolf, Nighteyes. But he is still the Catalyst to Fool's White Prophet and when Fool finds him, he can no longer hide from his old life. There are devastating developments but there are also sweet, fun moments, like any time Fitz encounters Jinna's cat Fennel. (Content warnings apply.)