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scepter's review
4.0
This book made me think of Pirates of the Caribbean and Black Sails, but in a wonderful YA way.
I enjoyed the overall story and the characters, with Csilla, Kane and Flynn being my favorites. This is a multiple POV book and I think the author handled it well. The reader gets to see the unfolding events through three character's eyes which come together on THE pirate island after the Pirate King's death.
The story has it all: great characters, adventure, pirate shenenigans, rivalry, a sea battle, mysteries, some kind of supernatural elements and romance. And damn, the romance. There are two couples in this book, one where the characters broke up due to *spoiler*, the other being a wonderful slow burn... until the book comes to the end.
And that's why the book don't gets five stars from me. The ending.
Everything in this story is fine, the pace, the adventure, the friendly banter, the fights, the race for the pirate throne, the slow burn. Until the last chapters. Suddenly everything feels rushed to get to the ending. And while it's still great writing it makes it seem like parts are missing from the story. The celebration for the new Pirate Royal feels shallow, the delicious slow burn is suddenly resolved and the book ends without giving the reader that sense of wow that it had promised.
In other words, I wanted more after truly devouring the story for the great part of it. I expected more. The characters deserved more.
As it is, Crossbones is a book to enjoy, the pirates and adventure in it are everything you could wish for. It's just the ending that doesn't do it justice.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I enjoyed the overall story and the characters, with Csilla, Kane and Flynn being my favorites. This is a multiple POV book and I think the author handled it well. The reader gets to see the unfolding events through three character's eyes which come together on THE pirate island after the Pirate King's death.
The story has it all: great characters, adventure, pirate shenenigans, rivalry, a sea battle, mysteries, some kind of supernatural elements and romance. And damn, the romance. There are two couples in this book, one where the characters broke up due to *spoiler*, the other being a wonderful slow burn... until the book comes to the end.
And that's why the book don't gets five stars from me. The ending.
Everything in this story is fine, the pace, the adventure, the friendly banter, the fights, the race for the pirate throne, the slow burn. Until the last chapters. Suddenly everything feels rushed to get to the ending. And while it's still great writing it makes it seem like parts are missing from the story. The celebration for the new Pirate Royal feels shallow, the delicious slow burn is suddenly resolved and the book ends without giving the reader that sense of wow that it had promised.
In other words, I wanted more after truly devouring the story for the great part of it. I expected more. The characters deserved more.
As it is, Crossbones is a book to enjoy, the pirates and adventure in it are everything you could wish for. It's just the ending that doesn't do it justice.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
jennagarcia's review
4.0
Definitely YA, slow, sort of confusing start, but by the end I was really into it!
ameserole's review
4.0
I have received this ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Crossbones was a wild adventure from start to finish. Then again, what else would you expect when you get a book full of pirates. In it, you will meet Csilla, Kane, and Lorelei. After meeting them, I started making my little predictions of what was going to happen. I'll even admit that I wasn't completely shocked when my predictions were starting to become true. Some things were just way too obvious - I'm looking at you Rove and Rhoda.
Other than that, I did actually like the little treasure hunt and a potential heir mysteriously hiding. I also thought it was kind of unique that the pirates were teaming up to help find the pieces throughout the trial. Then again, the one group was filled with people who were basically friends and grew up together. While the other one was full of evil traitors who were going to either meet their deaths or karma soon enough.
In the end, I liked how this all ended. I'm not sure if this is going to stay a standalone or not but I wouldn't mind seeing another pirate adventure with them.
Crossbones was a wild adventure from start to finish. Then again, what else would you expect when you get a book full of pirates. In it, you will meet Csilla, Kane, and Lorelei. After meeting them, I started making my little predictions of what was going to happen. I'll even admit that I wasn't completely shocked when my predictions were starting to become true. Some things were just way too obvious - I'm looking at you Rove and Rhoda.
Other than that, I did actually like the little treasure hunt and a potential heir mysteriously hiding. I also thought it was kind of unique that the pirates were teaming up to help find the pieces throughout the trial. Then again, the one group was filled with people who were basically friends and grew up together. While the other one was full of evil traitors who were going to either meet their deaths or karma soon enough.
In the end, I liked how this all ended. I'm not sure if this is going to stay a standalone or not but I wouldn't mind seeing another pirate adventure with them.
katiejohn_'s review
3.0
I love pirates and this was fun to read. Took me way longer than it should have because I’ve only been able to read in 30 min parts because I’ve been so busy. Don’t know that I’d read following books, but it was a fun swashbuckling adventure that was fairly predictable
whitleyray's review against another edition
4.0
I can’t tell if authors enjoy keeping information from readers or if they write and publish so fast, things get missed.
I liked this book and was hooked on the story pretty quickly but I felt the pacing was on and so much was missing. The characters, world, magic system, everything was so cool but felt so rushed.
I liked this book and was hooked on the story pretty quickly but I felt the pacing was on and so much was missing. The characters, world, magic system, everything was so cool but felt so rushed.
jessential_reads's review
4.0
The pirate king is dead and since there is no heir the window is open for the Trials, a competition made for the Captains of the pirate ships and they will risk everything to get that Bone Crown. Csilla Abado, captain of an all-women crew, eager to show her strength to every pirate she will defy her own limits to be the first Pirate Queen. Kane Blackwater, captain by legacy but had to do very dark things to keep the boat afloat (haha get it) and he feels this is his chance to get a clean state. Lorelai Penny, has always been told to never trust a pirate but after her mother is killed by one this has never been more true, however she has to ally herself with another pirate in order to seek revenge but doesn't know that she will be caught in the middle of a deadly battle.
This book was really entertaining, it had Pirates of the Caribbean vibes. The plot was very fast paced and had a lot of action. I feel like this could be a series because there were so many elements I wanted to know more of, the world building was ok, but I felt like the focus was on the history of the pirates and of the magic elements that came with it that were really great but I still wanted an extra UMPH. I wanted to immerse myself in that world fully but I also needed to understand it, same thing with the characters, I liked them very much, the loyalties, the friendship, the comic relief it was awesome and had a bit of their background but I wanted MORE!. (I'm so greedy, I know) Mrs.Vale are you sure you don't want to make a sequel? Anyways, I enjoyed it, I had fun, it was an easy read, I do recommend it and I would definitely read it again to get out of a slump.
This book was really entertaining, it had Pirates of the Caribbean vibes. The plot was very fast paced and had a lot of action. I feel like this could be a series because there were so many elements I wanted to know more of, the world building was ok, but I felt like the focus was on the history of the pirates and of the magic elements that came with it that were really great but I still wanted an extra UMPH. I wanted to immerse myself in that world fully but I also needed to understand it, same thing with the characters, I liked them very much, the loyalties, the friendship, the comic relief it was awesome and had a bit of their background but I wanted MORE!. (I'm so greedy, I know) Mrs.Vale are you sure you don't want to make a sequel? Anyways, I enjoyed it, I had fun, it was an easy read, I do recommend it and I would definitely read it again to get out of a slump.
leapearlreads's review
4.0
Okay, first of all...that cover! It's gorgeous, completely the reason I decided to give this book a read and I was not disappointed! It has everything a great pirate book should; swashbuckling adventure, a pirate treasure, dueling, and even some romance.
Kimberly Vale wasted no time setting the mood in Crossbones, opening with one of the main characters, Csilla, being lead to the gallows to hang. From there, there's no real lull in the adventure, each chapter alternates between three POVs, Csilla, Kane, and Lorelai, giving a great look into the plot as a whole. Unfortunately, the characters felt almost forced together and therein, they just automatically liked each other...I mean, they're pirate captains, where's the edge and grit? The relationship and character arcs could have been better suited to being steal-your-booty, swashbuckling pirates.
I think, for a debut author, this is a fantastic first book. It's fast-paced and quite fun to read. I definitely recommend giving it a go!
Huge thank you to Wattpad Books via NetGalley for the e-ARC to read and honestly review.
Kimberly Vale wasted no time setting the mood in Crossbones, opening with one of the main characters, Csilla, being lead to the gallows to hang. From there, there's no real lull in the adventure, each chapter alternates between three POVs, Csilla, Kane, and Lorelai, giving a great look into the plot as a whole. Unfortunately, the characters felt almost forced together and therein, they just automatically liked each other...I mean, they're pirate captains, where's the edge and grit? The relationship and character arcs could have been better suited to being steal-your-booty, swashbuckling pirates.
I think, for a debut author, this is a fantastic first book. It's fast-paced and quite fun to read. I definitely recommend giving it a go!
Huge thank you to Wattpad Books via NetGalley for the e-ARC to read and honestly review.
jolietjane's review
I DNFed this one around 75%. Not because it wasn’t delightful, it was. I think this book is very interesting, but not really what I was looking for right now.
Let me start by saying this is a wattpad published book that I received an ARC Of. I was really excited about it because the description is really awesome, and it’s a standalone pirate book with a little bit of a heist twist. The characters are absolutely wonderful, and the plot moves at a fantastic pace.
I will probably finish it eventually
My problem with this book is that it is a standalone, but it wants to pull the emotional intensity of a series. Characters have deep dark secrets, and really emotionally intense conversations that sometimes don’t feel earned. Well the plot pace is excellent, sometimes the characterization can feel like it’s going a little bit too fast. I can imagine reading this on wattpad And being completely starry eyed. It’s just excellent work for being such a short piece of fiction, but if we’re going to treat it as a published work it actually really should’ve been longer, which is some thing I don’t see a lot.
If you like pirate stuff, multi POV, great characters, and bickering romances, I think this book will really hit the spot. The writing is a little bit juvenile but it’s easy to follow and it’s not bad at all. The author draws you into the characters almost immediately and they’re really fun to follow. Again, I probably would’ve finished this book if I was more in the mood and I didn’t have a large backlogged TBR.
Let me start by saying this is a wattpad published book that I received an ARC Of. I was really excited about it because the description is really awesome, and it’s a standalone pirate book with a little bit of a heist twist. The characters are absolutely wonderful, and the plot moves at a fantastic pace.
I will probably finish it eventually
My problem with this book is that it is a standalone, but it wants to pull the emotional intensity of a series. Characters have deep dark secrets, and really emotionally intense conversations that sometimes don’t feel earned. Well the plot pace is excellent, sometimes the characterization can feel like it’s going a little bit too fast. I can imagine reading this on wattpad And being completely starry eyed. It’s just excellent work for being such a short piece of fiction, but if we’re going to treat it as a published work it actually really should’ve been longer, which is some thing I don’t see a lot.
If you like pirate stuff, multi POV, great characters, and bickering romances, I think this book will really hit the spot. The writing is a little bit juvenile but it’s easy to follow and it’s not bad at all. The author draws you into the characters almost immediately and they’re really fun to follow. Again, I probably would’ve finished this book if I was more in the mood and I didn’t have a large backlogged TBR.
kiloxxo's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0