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afantasysky's review against another edition
3.0
Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland was not what I expected. I absolutely loved A Taste of Gold and Iron and this is set in the same world so I immediately wanted to read it. It is however a very different vibe and fundamentally a comedy. This means that if the humour suits you, you'll have a great time, however if you're like me and tire of sex jokes quickly, you'll probably want to give up a couple chapters in. I didn't give up, and did end up having fun while rolling my eyes at points. ⭐⭐⭐
Avra, ex-intelligence agent, has stolen the biggest state secret and ends up teaming up with his ex Teveri, the captain of a pirate ship, to sell it for unimaginable amounts of money. Unfortunately it's not that simple and many antics ensue. First they have to decode the secret, but luckily the crew just picked up a scholar. The extremely beautiful Julian, a monk with "an inconvenient vow of celibacy". You can probably guess what comes next.
The main character Avra is extremely annoying at first. He rarely takes things seriously and is constantly trying to get people's attention by screaming and whining. He does get a bit more depth as the book progresses and that meant I enjoyed the second half of the book more. The most interesting thing about him is his luck, he is believed to be blessed by the goddess of luck. That leads to him winning all games of chance and an unlikely number of lucky coincidences.
The plot is fun, I enjoyed getting to see the pirate republic and the cake competition was highly entertaining. I did laugh at bits even if it wasn't all my kind of humour. I have more mixed feelings around the dynamic between Avra, Teveri and Jullian. Some of it is so well done as they get to know each other and see past the surface. However, I felt like a lot of the emotional depth we got in A Taste of Gold and Iron was missing, and instead we get a lot of talking and thinking about sex. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but personally I've never found sex as a character motivation particularly interesting, I wanted more focus on the feelings.
Running Close to the Wind is out June 13th, thanks Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the eARC!
Avra, ex-intelligence agent, has stolen the biggest state secret and ends up teaming up with his ex Teveri, the captain of a pirate ship, to sell it for unimaginable amounts of money. Unfortunately it's not that simple and many antics ensue. First they have to decode the secret, but luckily the crew just picked up a scholar. The extremely beautiful Julian, a monk with "an inconvenient vow of celibacy". You can probably guess what comes next.
The main character Avra is extremely annoying at first. He rarely takes things seriously and is constantly trying to get people's attention by screaming and whining. He does get a bit more depth as the book progresses and that meant I enjoyed the second half of the book more. The most interesting thing about him is his luck, he is believed to be blessed by the goddess of luck. That leads to him winning all games of chance and an unlikely number of lucky coincidences.
The plot is fun, I enjoyed getting to see the pirate republic and the cake competition was highly entertaining. I did laugh at bits even if it wasn't all my kind of humour. I have more mixed feelings around the dynamic between Avra, Teveri and Jullian. Some of it is so well done as they get to know each other and see past the surface. However, I felt like a lot of the emotional depth we got in A Taste of Gold and Iron was missing, and instead we get a lot of talking and thinking about sex. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but personally I've never found sex as a character motivation particularly interesting, I wanted more focus on the feelings.
Running Close to the Wind is out June 13th, thanks Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the eARC!
grace_astudentreading's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Advanced reader's copy review
This book sells itself perfectly: “queer pirates and comedy.” It is the definition of lighthearted. And also raunchy. And I loved every page. For starters, I loved the main character Avra so much. He is chaos personified, and had me in stitches every scene. Yet he also clearly cared so much about the people in his life and was so sweet in his own obnoxious little way. I also loved Tev and Julian and the rest of the crew just as much. Especially Tev, but I know wrapping them up in a warm fuzzy blanket the way I want to would get me stabbed. But even more than I loved any one character, I loved Avra and Tev and Julian together. Now, as for the plot, I honestly forgot about the main plot at points due to all the ‘side quests’ that were going on. But the side quests were so much fun, especially the cake competition. And in the end everything came together brilliantly and perfectly. Lastly, in terms of other stuff I liked how well the world was developed when it mattered and the other little cute bits of fantasy setting and whimsy. Overall, a fantastic read!
Thank you Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for the free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
This book sells itself perfectly: “queer pirates and comedy.” It is the definition of lighthearted. And also raunchy. And I loved every page. For starters, I loved the main character Avra so much. He is chaos personified, and had me in stitches every scene. Yet he also clearly cared so much about the people in his life and was so sweet in his own obnoxious little way. I also loved Tev and Julian and the rest of the crew just as much. Especially Tev, but I know wrapping them up in a warm fuzzy blanket the way I want to would get me stabbed. But even more than I loved any one character, I loved Avra and Tev and Julian together. Now, as for the plot, I honestly forgot about the main plot at points due to all the ‘side quests’ that were going on. But the side quests were so much fun, especially the cake competition. And in the end everything came together brilliantly and perfectly. Lastly, in terms of other stuff I liked how well the world was developed when it mattered and the other little cute bits of fantasy setting and whimsy. Overall, a fantastic read!
Thank you Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for the free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
pagingmrsvarnum's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Imagine reading a Shakespeare comedy about pirates in modern language. Now imagine that the Fool in the play is actually the main character and that the entire story is told from his point of view. Now imagine that the Fool is pansexual, mysteriously lucky, and an accidental traitor to the crown. And then you have the basis for what was an unexpectedly hilarious and heartwarming story about science, luck, accidental treason, and cakes.
I did NOT expect to fall in love with this book! In fact, I made a note a few chapters in that said, “this is funny, but will the tone get tiresome?” In actuality, as the chapters went by, I actually think it got funnier. I love a good comedy, but it needs to have heart and adventure, and this book definitely has each of those elements. What put it over the top for me was the anger underneath everything - the idea of upsetting the system, reclaiming your identity, and righting the wrongs that society has instituted over time.
This is one of those books that makes me so badly wish I could picture characters in my brain (especially Tev who was my favorite)! I have no problem imagining settings, but the best I can do with characters is have a body type and hair color but no discernable facial features. I love these characters so much and want to know them more!
My love for this book was summed up best by the author’s words in their acknowledgements: “The best comedy comes from a place of deep, righteous anger - and as long as you can laugh, there’s still a part of you that’s free.” Speaks right to my angry justice-seeking heart! My next-favorite quote was, “Behind everybody’s sanity mask is someone who is unalloyed batshit in one way or another.” Did I mention that I LOVED this book?!
thievingmagpie's review
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
library_rift's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for an ARC copy of this title.
I've had this author on my to read list for a while and though I certainly enjoyed this book, I'm not sure I would have stuck with it if I'd picked it up later on my own.
This book is primarily dialogue and the main character is a chaotic gremlin (affectionate) who's speach pattern is to talk in spiraling circles. It can be a lot, and I struggled through the middle of the book as it continued and my patience for it was tested.
Despite that, the story is interesting, the world building and characterization well done, and overall a book I'd recommend to people who don't mind chaos and, I say this having not watched it, comedy similar to Our Flag Means Death.
I've had this author on my to read list for a while and though I certainly enjoyed this book, I'm not sure I would have stuck with it if I'd picked it up later on my own.
This book is primarily dialogue and the main character is a chaotic gremlin (affectionate) who's speach pattern is to talk in spiraling circles. It can be a lot, and I struggled through the middle of the book as it continued and my patience for it was tested.
Despite that, the story is interesting, the world building and characterization well done, and overall a book I'd recommend to people who don't mind chaos and, I say this having not watched it, comedy similar to Our Flag Means Death.
midnight_xviii's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were endearing, the humour was perfectly silly, there were actually some great emotional moments and the plot was so much fun. The author mentions that they initially wanted to make the story gritty and dark, but I can't imagine the cake competition not being a vital part of the story. The plot was actually well developed, and there were some really fun twists. I think Avra's luck was also used as a pretty interesting device throughout. I will say, however, that if you do not like Avra as a character, the book will probably be downright unreadable. He does have character development, but since the book is written from his POV and he has a strong personality, he might turn people off.
Docked the quarter star because there's a couple of things that bothered me, but it's still wonderful. This is my third book by the author and they've all been different vibes and I've loved them all.
Thank you to NetGalley and PanMacmillan for providing the ARC.
Docked the quarter star because there's a couple of things that bothered me, but it's still wonderful. This is my third book by the author and they've all been different vibes and I've loved them all.
Thank you to NetGalley and PanMacmillan for providing the ARC.
nerdbrarian's review
I found the pacing to be a bit slow for me and the main character was not likeable to me.
laelyn's review against another edition
1.0
Nautical fantasy, especially involving pirates, is one of my favourite subgenres ever. Any book with pirates immediately peaks my interest, but when it's also compared to OFMD, one of my favourite comfort shows, I just really NEED to read it. I have read Rowland's previous novel set in the same fantastical world, and I admit I didn't like it much. But I'm always willing to give an author another chance, mostly because I WANT to read all the great books. So yes, my expectations going into "Running Close to the Wind" were a mixed bag, but I was hoping for greatness.
After having finished the last pages of this novel, well... I fear that Rowland just isn't the author for me. This new book has entirely different vibes and a completely different tone than "A Taste of Gold and Iron", its predecessor. I don't mind at all, I love it when very different kinds of stories are told in the very same world. And the world here does seem to be an interesting one - we don't learn that much about it, though. The world building is both scarce and superficial and infodumpy at the same time, and it's disappointing because there is so much interesting political intrigue hidden behind chapters and chapters of pure and utter sillyness. Because that's what this book is. Just silly.
Now, I love comedy in my fantasy. I enjoy more comedy-focused approaches to fantasy, too. But "Running Close to the Wind" offers nothing else beyond it, and its comedy is cringeworthy at best. It reads like a weird fantastical sketch comedy, with every situation, every plot point existing purely so that our main character can do something silly.
Speaking of said main character, Avra - I'm not sure I actually consider him a character at all. He is a caricature, he exists purely to be funny in a really really over the top, cringey way. He is not grounded in reality, his flaws are never truly explored. He is OBNOXIOUS. He doesn't act nor talk like an actual person, he doesn't have any depth nor complexity, and I was absolutely flabberghasted when the book told me he was supposed to be a 35 year old man. No grown up man, not even the silliest man alive, would act like him. He's childish and insufferable, and his supposed charm wears off after about 10 pages of having to endure his antics. He'd work maybe as a minor character, a comic relief that our main characters meet at some point, but he cannot carry a book.
Not that the other characters were any better. There are two more major characters in this - Avras on and off lover, the pirate captain Teveri, and the mysterious new part of their pirate crew, the very hot priest Julian. I could not take Teveri seriously at all, and I WANTED to love them because nonbinary pirate captain?? Hell yeah! But they didn't act like a captain and noone in their right mind would follow them. Their captain's log consisted mostly of dirty thoughts about Avra and Julian. Julian, who is just hot and intelligent and celibate but used to be a complete slut, which is why celibacy was the sacrifice required of him when he joined his religious order. The relationship between the three of them never actually conveys any kind of emotional depth, there's just nothing beyond lust. Whenever there seems to be an emotional development you can be sure the next silly scene is right around the corner negating any effect it might have immediately.
All they think about is how horny they are, like 80% of their dialogue is about sex. And nothing ever comes of it either, this isn't a spicy book. There are glimpses of an actual personality between all the sex jokes, visible only once the book decides to finally give us something resembling a plot, but whenever there was finally something interesting about either of them, it was immediately ruined by yet another silly scene filled with sex jokes. We get it, everyone is horny. Please stop, please give me ANYTHING else! The sex jokes aren't even funny, they get increasingly cringey and unbearable. The main joke is just how Avra and Tev keep completely objectifying Julian in the most uncomfortable ways. That's the humour level we're at.
There is also something to be said about how Avra is treated by most of the other characters. They are unnecessarily cruel and abusive, physically but especially emotionally, but it's funny because Avra is just so annoying and he's kinda into it, you get it??
The writing in this is alright, but Rowland relies way too much on (often unnecessary 'funny' filler) dialogue, and the pacing is completely off because of it. For its actual content, this book is way too long.
Mind you, I'm clearly in the minority here. There are a lot of reviewers who very much enjoyed this novel, so take my little opinion with a grain of salt. Still, from purely a craft perspective, this book has too many issues for me to recommend it to anyone. I skim read after the 50% mark only because I was hoping for it to get better, but quite frankly, I should have followed my instincts and dnf'ed this one. 1,5 stars maybe, because the very beginning is a little funny?
Many thanks to Tor and Netgalley for the arc - I wish I could have loved it!
After having finished the last pages of this novel, well... I fear that Rowland just isn't the author for me. This new book has entirely different vibes and a completely different tone than "A Taste of Gold and Iron", its predecessor. I don't mind at all, I love it when very different kinds of stories are told in the very same world. And the world here does seem to be an interesting one - we don't learn that much about it, though. The world building is both scarce and superficial and infodumpy at the same time, and it's disappointing because there is so much interesting political intrigue hidden behind chapters and chapters of pure and utter sillyness. Because that's what this book is. Just silly.
Now, I love comedy in my fantasy. I enjoy more comedy-focused approaches to fantasy, too. But "Running Close to the Wind" offers nothing else beyond it, and its comedy is cringeworthy at best. It reads like a weird fantastical sketch comedy, with every situation, every plot point existing purely so that our main character can do something silly.
Speaking of said main character, Avra - I'm not sure I actually consider him a character at all. He is a caricature, he exists purely to be funny in a really really over the top, cringey way. He is not grounded in reality, his flaws are never truly explored. He is OBNOXIOUS. He doesn't act nor talk like an actual person, he doesn't have any depth nor complexity, and I was absolutely flabberghasted when the book told me he was supposed to be a 35 year old man. No grown up man, not even the silliest man alive, would act like him. He's childish and insufferable, and his supposed charm wears off after about 10 pages of having to endure his antics. He'd work maybe as a minor character, a comic relief that our main characters meet at some point, but he cannot carry a book.
Not that the other characters were any better. There are two more major characters in this - Avras on and off lover, the pirate captain Teveri, and the mysterious new part of their pirate crew, the very hot priest Julian. I could not take Teveri seriously at all, and I WANTED to love them because nonbinary pirate captain?? Hell yeah! But they didn't act like a captain and noone in their right mind would follow them. Their captain's log consisted mostly of dirty thoughts about Avra and Julian. Julian, who is just hot and intelligent and celibate but used to be a complete slut, which is why celibacy was the sacrifice required of him when he joined his religious order. The relationship between the three of them never actually conveys any kind of emotional depth, there's just nothing beyond lust. Whenever there seems to be an emotional development you can be sure the next silly scene is right around the corner negating any effect it might have immediately.
All they think about is how horny they are, like 80% of their dialogue is about sex. And nothing ever comes of it either, this isn't a spicy book. There are glimpses of an actual personality between all the sex jokes, visible only once the book decides to finally give us something resembling a plot, but whenever there was finally something interesting about either of them, it was immediately ruined by yet another silly scene filled with sex jokes. We get it, everyone is horny. Please stop, please give me ANYTHING else! The sex jokes aren't even funny, they get increasingly cringey and unbearable. The main joke is just how Avra and Tev keep completely objectifying Julian in the most uncomfortable ways. That's the humour level we're at.
There is also something to be said about how Avra is treated by most of the other characters. They are unnecessarily cruel and abusive, physically but especially emotionally, but it's funny because Avra is just so annoying and he's kinda into it, you get it??
The writing in this is alright, but Rowland relies way too much on (often unnecessary 'funny' filler) dialogue, and the pacing is completely off because of it. For its actual content, this book is way too long.
Mind you, I'm clearly in the minority here. There are a lot of reviewers who very much enjoyed this novel, so take my little opinion with a grain of salt. Still, from purely a craft perspective, this book has too many issues for me to recommend it to anyone. I skim read after the 50% mark only because I was hoping for it to get better, but quite frankly, I should have followed my instincts and dnf'ed this one. 1,5 stars maybe, because the very beginning is a little funny?
Many thanks to Tor and Netgalley for the arc - I wish I could have loved it!