The Roses Garden and the Sea

The Roses Garden and the Sea, by Jackie McCarthy, free

Everyone in Illiamna knows the Tale of Benson Rose, a bedtime story beloved by adults and children alike, but few know the story behind their national hero. Would they be surprised to learn that Benson Rose did, in fact, live? Would they be surprised to know he was actually a woman? 

Raised as a fisherman's daughter in the crumbling Kingdom of Illiamna, Rose knows nothing of magic, secrets, spies, or sailing ships—she is content playing pranks on her neighbors with twin brother Benson at her side. Her idyllic lifestyle is not to last, however, and her tiny village is destroyed, thrusting upon her young shoulders responsibility for her helpless family. In order to protect her mother and sisters in unfriendly lands (fending off thieves, thugs, and an uncle who intends to sell them for gold), Rose must dress as her missing brother. In this disguise, she receives the help of Fenric, a mysterious scribe from the merchant ship Turnagain, and the charismatic Captain Kaille, a man to whom she feels drawn by fate. Little does she know that, with these interactions, she begins the journey that will sweep her into Illiamna's most clandestine intrigues and endear her to time as Benson Rose, the man who saved the kingdom in its darkest days.

This is the first in the Rose's Garden and the Sea series.