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sneeps's review against another edition
4.0
Hoo doggy. Lotsa stuff not so great! But the melodrama was at its peak in this penultimate installment!
Cw: racist slurs; orientalism; yellow face; substance abuse; drugging; kidnapping; child abuse; so much misogyny; cussing.
***Light spoilers***
Any pretense of subtlety this series had is fully gone now. An unpleasant prostitute called Glory Wholey?? That's like the adult version of a particularly on-the-nose joke character from ASOUF. Like if Esme Squalor wasn't written for children. I feel like as the series has gone on, Meyer has gotten away with more and more in terms of avoiding censorship and now he's not even trying to be YA anymore, he's just like Damn shit gets real in 1809 also heres another loving description of a ship!
We had some fun gay times with Clarissa and Jacky, gayer than ever, and absolutely the gayest she's ever been, even including the times she's pretty heavily implied she had sex with Mamselle Claudine and Cheng Shih. Jacky, looking at Clarissa and thinking about kinky shit "oh yeah that's good." I was not at all feeling this book until Clarissa showed up tbh, I wish she'd had a bigger part. But like I guess having a big gay cocaine-fuled bender in New Orleans is a pretty big deal.
Who even cares about Jaimy? He's always been Soooooooooo dramatic but this takes the cake. This is some 90s anime Chiba Mamoru shit. Jaimy dressing up as a Chinese hunchback to spy on Jacky as part of a weird maladjusted plot to leave her is the Bloody Jack Adventure equivalent of the Sailor Moon R breakup arc. Also like Jaimy knows all this shit Jacky's done, he literally witnessed her and Captain Allen NAKED together, and seeing a nudey painting of her signed "with all my love" is his last straw? Didn't he shack up with Bess? And Clementine? And possibly Sidrah? Hypocrite as always.
Jaimy holding a grudge against Robbie Raeburn as if he's not the only person who even remembers that guy.
Something that I've been reflecting on as I read this series as an adult 1-8 reread, 9-12 for the first time: Jacky is a Mary Sue of sorts and that can't be denied. By the 6/7th book it becomes impossible to ignore. But I think it's fairly balanced because Jacky has a lot of really huge flaws, and they always come back to bite her. Though we see her mature in some ways, these essential character flaws (greed, need for attention, pettiness, horniness) remain the same and consistently get her in trouble. She is aware of them to some extent, and often says "I can't help myself." I think these are interesting flaws to see in a character, and I like that she hasn't fixed them. It's who she is. Jacky is gonna run up on stage and perform and be cheeky, and does her skill make her a Mary Sue? Sometimes, but she's always gonna pay for it. Plus there's something charming in the archetypical lovable rogue who always comes out on top.
I do like the development she had in this book where she cared about finding Jaimy, which has always been one of the driving forces for her, and her ultimate goal, but that was sort of on the back burner while she was concerned about her business and her son. I love that she calls Ravi her son. I love that she realizes the worst thing she's ever been called is an unfit mother. That felt real to me, and showed her maturity. We've seen before her motherly instinct with Baby Jesse (whichever book that was), but she was a child then. Now, as (essentially) an adult, her devotion to her child(ren) is a welcome development.
On a final note, I love Ravi and every time he calls her Mommy I want to fucking punch a hole in the wall PROTECT RAVI
Cw: racist slurs; orientalism; yellow face; substance abuse; drugging; kidnapping; child abuse; so much misogyny; cussing.
***Light spoilers***
Any pretense of subtlety this series had is fully gone now. An unpleasant prostitute called Glory Wholey?? That's like the adult version of a particularly on-the-nose joke character from ASOUF. Like if Esme Squalor wasn't written for children. I feel like as the series has gone on, Meyer has gotten away with more and more in terms of avoiding censorship and now he's not even trying to be YA anymore, he's just like Damn shit gets real in 1809 also heres another loving description of a ship!
We had some fun gay times with Clarissa and Jacky, gayer than ever, and absolutely the gayest she's ever been, even including the times she's pretty heavily implied she had sex with Mamselle Claudine and Cheng Shih. Jacky, looking at Clarissa and thinking about kinky shit "oh yeah that's good." I was not at all feeling this book until Clarissa showed up tbh, I wish she'd had a bigger part. But like I guess having a big gay cocaine-fuled bender in New Orleans is a pretty big deal.
Who even cares about Jaimy? He's always been Soooooooooo dramatic but this takes the cake. This is some 90s anime Chiba Mamoru shit. Jaimy dressing up as a Chinese hunchback to spy on Jacky as part of a weird maladjusted plot to leave her is the Bloody Jack Adventure equivalent of the Sailor Moon R breakup arc. Also like Jaimy knows all this shit Jacky's done, he literally witnessed her and Captain Allen NAKED together, and seeing a nudey painting of her signed "with all my love" is his last straw? Didn't he shack up with Bess? And Clementine? And possibly Sidrah? Hypocrite as always.
Jaimy holding a grudge against Robbie Raeburn as if he's not the only person who even remembers that guy.
Something that I've been reflecting on as I read this series as an adult 1-8 reread, 9-12 for the first time: Jacky is a Mary Sue of sorts and that can't be denied. By the 6/7th book it becomes impossible to ignore. But I think it's fairly balanced because Jacky has a lot of really huge flaws, and they always come back to bite her. Though we see her mature in some ways, these essential character flaws (greed, need for attention, pettiness, horniness) remain the same and consistently get her in trouble. She is aware of them to some extent, and often says "I can't help myself." I think these are interesting flaws to see in a character, and I like that she hasn't fixed them. It's who she is. Jacky is gonna run up on stage and perform and be cheeky, and does her skill make her a Mary Sue? Sometimes, but she's always gonna pay for it. Plus there's something charming in the archetypical lovable rogue who always comes out on top.
I do like the development she had in this book where she cared about finding Jaimy, which has always been one of the driving forces for her, and her ultimate goal, but that was sort of on the back burner while she was concerned about her business and her son. I love that she calls Ravi her son. I love that she realizes the worst thing she's ever been called is an unfit mother. That felt real to me, and showed her maturity. We've seen before her motherly instinct with Baby Jesse (whichever book that was), but she was a child then. Now, as (essentially) an adult, her devotion to her child(ren) is a welcome development.
On a final note, I love Ravi and every time he calls her Mommy I want to fucking punch a hole in the wall PROTECT RAVI
schung13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
elfbread's review against another edition
3.0
This book was mediocre at best. It felt like a major filler novel and there wasn't nearly enough of the book devoted to Jacky actually being at sea and being her usual self. I came to hate Jaimy in this book, seriously, he was incredibly annoying and unreasonable. I'm hoping the next book is better. :(
hmnborczon's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
2.0
I love the Bloody Jack series so much, I can't believe that I'm giving this installment only two stars. But the last 15-20 minutes of the audiobook have actually made me angry. I can't believe this. If there were more than one book left in the series, I would stop right here but I'll go ahead and finish it off. I hope Jacky punishes a certain someone. Consider my feminist buttons well and truly pushed.
katiegrrrl's review against another edition
3.0
Less adventure and more annoyance. It seems like anything that can go wrong for Jacky does. When I started this I was hoping this might be the end of Jacky's tale.
vorpalblad's review against another edition
3.0
The penultimate book in the Blood Jack series, Boston Jacky is excellent in some ways and a serious disappointment in others. I tend to take reviewers to task when they don't like a book simply because the romantic relationships don't turn out the way they like, so I'm treading a thin line when I say that my dislike of Jaimy is responsible for much of this lower three star rating. Why Jacky pines after a man that plays games, is himself a total hypocrite is beyond me. In fact his last two actions in the book had me so infuriated I could barely see straight.
The positives: I love Clarissa's development. She is a frenemy in the truest sense of the word. And I'll admit that her machinations are part of the reason for Jaimy's actions, but I don't care. I love her. Also, the historical aspects of this novel. The American embargo of 1807 doesn't sound that thrilling, but the way it is woven into the story gives a good idea of the escalating tensions between the British and Americans. Irish workers being unwelcome in America, temperance movements and their integration with women's suffrage are all explored. The most interesting to me was the early private fire departments/fire insurance companies and how they worked.
And of course, the plot is fast-paced, fun and Jacky is a born business woman, investing in anything she thinks can make a dollar. So, despite my less than warm feeling for Jaimy, if you're in it for the history (or if, like me, you're invested in the series and have to know what happens in each episode) I think you'll find something to enjoy in Boston Jacky.
The positives: I love Clarissa's development. She is a frenemy in the truest sense of the word. And I'll admit that her machinations are part of the reason for Jaimy's actions, but I don't care. I love her. Also, the historical aspects of this novel. The American embargo of 1807 doesn't sound that thrilling, but the way it is woven into the story gives a good idea of the escalating tensions between the British and Americans. Irish workers being unwelcome in America, temperance movements and their integration with women's suffrage are all explored. The most interesting to me was the early private fire departments/fire insurance companies and how they worked.
And of course, the plot is fast-paced, fun and Jacky is a born business woman, investing in anything she thinks can make a dollar. So, despite my less than warm feeling for Jaimy, if you're in it for the history (or if, like me, you're invested in the series and have to know what happens in each episode) I think you'll find something to enjoy in Boston Jacky.
kschmoldt's review against another edition
4.0
Well, this is not the ending I would have hoped for, but I have come to expect nothing different from L. A. Meyer and his Bloody Jack series. There is still one more book in the series and I shall be very put out when it is over.
librarianeno's review
3.0
At this point, I'm just trying to get to the end of the series. Unfortunately, this one didn't really impress me that much. I feel like nothing much happened until about the last 1/8th of the book.