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lighthartedreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
frawst_disasta_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Marem has regretted the choice made as a 16yo, giving up her legs for someone who fell in lust with a beautiful and mute girl. But when the pair are kidnapped by pirates, maybe Marem can escape her husband.
I thought this book was about fifty pages too long, but overall I loved Marem. She just wants to be safe and loved, but she doesn’t shy from her rage. I love a fully-formed female main character, especially one who eventually manages to find herself.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Murder
jordanbolker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault
marypetrushko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Blood
koistyfishy's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5
The whole time thinking about what to write in this review, that TikTok sound clip of "Paige, you were good. I'm waiting for you to be great" played on repeat in my mind, as that is exactly how I feel about this book.
Do not get me wrong, it was enjoyable the same way a Marvel Movie is, and contains so many annotateable and memorable lines. But going in I wanted the next Endgame or Guardians of the Galaxy, and instead was given Black Widow. The one that is not "technically" bad, but it's not "technically" good either.
This book is a Dual POV story that follows Maren, a little <s>mermaid</s> syren, who was hungry for experience and adventure after growing tired of her life under the sea. She makes a deal with a sea witch to turn her human but is lied to about what life is truly like with feet. Soon Maren finds herself married to an abusive prince, where she is expected to be seen and not heard. On the voyage home, our dear Captain Ramsey captures their ship and takes her and the prince hostage...but soon Maren learns that things are not always what they seem on board with the Brethren of Blood.
Before I elaborate on what kept this from AMAZING I want to touch on what I did like. The worldbuilding is absolutely exceptional. Considering this is standalone, there is not often a lot of time given to this to set the foundation, but it was there. I could smell the ocean, I felt like I was on that Pirate ship. There was a fully-fledged magic system and lore that truly paid homage to the vibes of The Little Mermaid mixed with Pirates of the Caribbean. I also really enjoyed the writing as a whole and the style. It was easy to follow and as I mentioned, the number of lines I highlighted in the book truly gives a testament to how much I enjoyed the general quotability of the book.
It was clear that a lot of time and care was put into understanding the life of a pirate as well as the mechanics of sailing a ship. My vocabulary-loving brain practically squealed at the amount of nautical terms that I learnt reading this.
So why then is this only good? Firstly there are a lot of action scenes in this book but every single one of them felt like they had this intense build-up to a climax that would be instantly over or brushed off very quickly. I honestly thought I must have been missing pages or chapters as the story would move on and not line up. It was like aspects of the plot were just missing, conversations were not had and the consequences of the events weren't ever shown.
We were just told things happened and not shown how they happened. Big events would just be mentioned in a passing line and wouldn't have the reaction expected. I would have not minded this if it happened once or twice but it happened numerous times, to the point that I got frustrated. This bled into the smut and the inopportune time that the smut happened.
There were also factors of the plot and writing that felt like they were added purely to elicit a shock from the reader. Added to create a feeling of being unhinged for the sake of being unhinged.
The relationship switches from lust to love with the main characters feeling very quickly. They both lack some characterization and development. For a captain who has been mourning his dead wife and his daughter for so long to move on almost instantly because he found someone to warm his sheets felt weird. I would have liked to see him going through that emotional struggle to accept this. And I felt that any time anything was borderline serious or crossing into that emotional exploration, it would move on very quickly into action or smut.
The tropes you can expect in this are:
▶ Enemies to Lovers
▶ The Little Mermaid X Pirates of the Caribbean
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Hidden Identity
▶ Revenge Plot
▶ Morally Grey MMC
Ultimately it's still good...I'll still recommend this as I had fun with it but it had so much potential to be more...
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
calliecuriosity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
kkxmac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
bangiebangs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So this is my first pirate romance (ever), and it delivered! I love Ramsay and I love Maren, and I read this off two lines quoted in some short video and knew nothing else about anything. Which was exactly the right way to read this, I think!
The pacing is really good, there is humor, it's frustrating sometimes (so angsty all around) but the characters' actions make sense. They talk about what is going on with them emotionally. Maybe not always instantly, but the fact that this doesnt have a lot of the miscommunication trope is a HUGE plus. It actually felt so much more real: sometimes you can tell what's up, sometimes you need a while to get the courage to speak. You grow, you leave things behind.
Idk why this gripped me so much, but pretty sure that this detail sold me 100%, and I'm sure I will re-read this.
“Play nice,” he warns, his grip tight and bruising as he presses me against the wall.
I manage to move my throat enough to spit in his face. My spit lands on his forehead, a sliver of fish bone in it. He grunts and reaches up with his other hand, wiping it away.
“Do it again,” he whispers, eyes dancing darkly. “This time in my mouth, please.” He opens his mouth, showing me his tongue, wanting it. Damn it. Everything that’s uncouth and repulsive about me he somehow loves.
He shuts his mouth and grins. “Fine. Just know I will be returning the favor one day.”
Like omg yes.
By the way, I didn't get the Jack Sparrow vibe that others talk about here. Yes, there is rum, but Ramsay often stays sober, isn't some whacky figure, just a hard-ass pirate (and kinky af).
So TL;DR this is dark romance, it's believable, it has pirates and sirens and cursed ships and it is dark. Heed the CNs, and if you're sensitive to violence,
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, and Death of parent
seaofbooks3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
millenialglowworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Kidnapping
Minor: Child death, Confinement, and Death of parent