“The Two Lies of Faven Sythe” by Megan E. O’Keefe

Pirates? Check. Space? Check. Sapphic? Check. Eldritch beings beyond human comprehension? Check. Yup, this book has everything.

The protagonist of this book is the titular Faven Sythe. (Aside: I have to say, though I really enjoyed reading this, I just plain hate the title.) She’s a Navigator, a human infused in some way with the technology of the long-extinct mysterious aliens known as the cryst. Navigators are able to chart pathways between the stars for FTL travel, but doing so means their bodies will gradually, inevitably turn into crystal. Faven’s mother has just finished her transformation into a statue when the book begins.

She’s dealing with grief over her mother, anxiety over her own body beginning its transformation, and anxiety over a dear friend and mentor who has vanished and reportedly died on a mission to the dead home of the cryst. She suspects foul play with the last one, and is determined to find the truth. So when she gets a request for a meeting that is very obviously a prelude to kidnapping her - Navigators are very valuable - she decides to take the bait in hopes of getting out of her cloister and finding her friend.

Our co-protagonist is the pirate Bitter Amandine. She sees one of her fellow pirates engaged in a very obvious attempt at kidnapping a Navigator for ransom - a stupid idea to start with, and he’s really not being as subtle as he thinks. So when a Navigator actually shows up and takes what is very clearly bait, Bitter is naturally curious what the Navi’s game is and intervenes. The story unfolds from there, with kidnappings, rescues, escapes, more kidnappings (consensual kidnappings? Is that a thing?), pirate queens ruling over pirate havens, space battles, flirtation battles, shifting loyalties, and many assorted twists and turns.

Standalone, and lots of fun. Strongly recommended, and Megan E. O’Keefe is on my “read it no questions asked” list.