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rissa53's review
4.0
I loved how the story was told in both Harry and Garnet's point of views and in journal style. I enjoyed the humor, the anguish, the love, the fear, the hope, the everything that we the readers were shown through their respective journals.
lauriereadslohf's review
3.0
I really hadn’t a clue about the plot of Blessed Isle when I requested it from Netgalley. It caught my eye and was published by Riptide and that was enough for me to get trigger happy with the “request” button.
Turns out it wasn’t really my thing and it took me almost a month to finish. I’m not a huge fan of adventure-type novels and, well, this was one of those. It’s also a tale of forbidden love set on the high seas in a time when men were not allowed to openly show affection for one another.
It’s told in journal form and is written by both of the main characters. This format makes the read very appealing and charming at times. The two recall the very beginning of their romance and get in funny, snarky little jabs at each other that show how well they know each other. These bits were the best parts for me. I was more interested in their secret romance than I was the danger aspect of the book. But danger and excitement is what the story is mainly about.
Here’s a small snippet so you can get a feel for the way the story is told.
Harry is in charge of transferring a ship full of convicts and a backup fleet carrying supplies and crew. This is his first job as captain which is why he is very wary of expressing any emotion towards Garnet who is a hopeless flirt and far too daring for his own good. As they dance around each other they also must face down illness, a revolt and ship destroying storms. The action never stops so if you like that sort of thing this is your kind of book.
The romance is sweet and well developed but strictly behind closed doors. This is not an erotic tale by any stretch of the imagination. I guess I was expecting one because I found myself more than a bit disappointed to read this:
That’s it! Though I appreciated the beauty in the writing I’d be lying if I said this was a fabulous romance for me. I finished it feeling slightly disappointed at the abrupt ending and wishing it had more of an emotional impact on me.
Turns out it wasn’t really my thing and it took me almost a month to finish. I’m not a huge fan of adventure-type novels and, well, this was one of those. It’s also a tale of forbidden love set on the high seas in a time when men were not allowed to openly show affection for one another.
It’s told in journal form and is written by both of the main characters. This format makes the read very appealing and charming at times. The two recall the very beginning of their romance and get in funny, snarky little jabs at each other that show how well they know each other. These bits were the best parts for me. I was more interested in their secret romance than I was the danger aspect of the book. But danger and excitement is what the story is mainly about.
Here’s a small snippet so you can get a feel for the way the story is told.
“I suppose I should cease this drivel and pick up the account where Harry has left it off. That momentous instant when Cupid’s arrow pierced us both. Straight through one heart into the other it flew. Metaphorically speaking, you understand, though at the time, had I looked down and seen blood, I would not have been surprised. The rosy-dimpled boy, having done his worst, clapped his bow back between his wings and flew off, chuckling. I was left trying not to smile, trying not to flirt or to stare. Trying not, in short, to get the pair of us hanged.”
Harry is in charge of transferring a ship full of convicts and a backup fleet carrying supplies and crew. This is his first job as captain which is why he is very wary of expressing any emotion towards Garnet who is a hopeless flirt and far too daring for his own good. As they dance around each other they also must face down illness, a revolt and ship destroying storms. The action never stops so if you like that sort of thing this is your kind of book.
The romance is sweet and well developed but strictly behind closed doors. This is not an erotic tale by any stretch of the imagination. I guess I was expecting one because I found myself more than a bit disappointed to read this:
“When we woke, that first morning, we made love. Nothing needed to be said; we both understood it would happen as soon as we had the physical resources to allow it. It was sweet and weary and gentle, just kisses and the stroke of calloused palms. Afterwards I held Harry tight”
That’s it! Though I appreciated the beauty in the writing I’d be lying if I said this was a fabulous romance for me. I finished it feeling slightly disappointed at the abrupt ending and wishing it had more of an emotional impact on me.
expendablemudge's review
4.0
A delicious, refreshing return to Author Beecroft's Hearts-of-Oak era. I am always down for another voyage o'er the vasty deeps under Author Beecroft's captaincy. Perchance I'll come back to say more when it's not 12.30 and I'm not sleepy.
***
I've been reading Alex Beecroft's books since her debut, Captain's Surrender (hyperlink because damned book search won't give me any results AGAIN), came out in 2008. I loved it. I gave it to my then-dating partner, Frank, because as a firefighter and a closeted married man I thought he'd really identify with the plight of Peter Kenyon; he ended up coming out, though not divorcing, and pursuing his career as a professional full-time firefighter instead of a cop volunteering as one. "Life's too short," he told me, "and I can't hide anymore."
Well done, Author Beecroft. Your words inspired a positive life change.
So I read all Author Beecroft's books because I like them and because I have a great memory associated with her work. Now this short tale of Paradise Lost and Purgatory Gained is in the Age of Sail, the Hearts of Oak days, and features the same reality that opened Frank's eyes and heart: Hiding your true self for fear of the consequences. Hiding love, impossible as that really is, to protect your livelihood and your loved one's safety. How horribly painful that is for all concerned. How unfair to even the worst of one's associates. No one is unscathed by this level of dishonesty, and Author Beecroft makes that clear, and illuminates the awful consequences to all concerned.
The way the story ends, since this is a romantic work, isn't really in question. There will be the requisite HEA. Maybe that's the strongest calling card for reading romantic fiction: Things work out well, unlike much of "real life." The means by which these two men get their HEA was satisfying in a "nyah-nyah" way. The heat level was, it seems to me, modest, but I am a terrible judge of these things because if it's not out-and-out porn I don't think book-sex is overdone. Usually. It's not overdone here.
And the storytelling format, the journal entry end of epistolary noveling, is a further guarantor that both the HEA and the sex levels will remain clear from the start. Not many people speak openly and honestly about their sexual experiences even in a journal. So, well, some glossing is expected, right?
Another happy Royal Navy Read. Thanks, Alex!
***
I've been reading Alex Beecroft's books since her debut, Captain's Surrender (hyperlink because damned book search won't give me any results AGAIN), came out in 2008. I loved it. I gave it to my then-dating partner, Frank, because as a firefighter and a closeted married man I thought he'd really identify with the plight of Peter Kenyon; he ended up coming out, though not divorcing, and pursuing his career as a professional full-time firefighter instead of a cop volunteering as one. "Life's too short," he told me, "and I can't hide anymore."
Well done, Author Beecroft. Your words inspired a positive life change.
So I read all Author Beecroft's books because I like them and because I have a great memory associated with her work. Now this short tale of Paradise Lost and Purgatory Gained is in the Age of Sail, the Hearts of Oak days, and features the same reality that opened Frank's eyes and heart: Hiding your true self for fear of the consequences. Hiding love, impossible as that really is, to protect your livelihood and your loved one's safety. How horribly painful that is for all concerned. How unfair to even the worst of one's associates. No one is unscathed by this level of dishonesty, and Author Beecroft makes that clear, and illuminates the awful consequences to all concerned.
The way the story ends, since this is a romantic work, isn't really in question. There will be the requisite HEA. Maybe that's the strongest calling card for reading romantic fiction: Things work out well, unlike much of "real life." The means by which these two men get their HEA was satisfying in a "nyah-nyah" way. The heat level was, it seems to me, modest, but I am a terrible judge of these things because if it's not out-and-out porn I don't think book-sex is overdone. Usually. It's not overdone here.
And the storytelling format, the journal entry end of epistolary noveling, is a further guarantor that both the HEA and the sex levels will remain clear from the start. Not many people speak openly and honestly about their sexual experiences even in a journal. So, well, some glossing is expected, right?
Another happy Royal Navy Read. Thanks, Alex!
endemictoearth's review
3.0
I loved the ambition of this book, and the two voices were done well, but I think the story needed a longer book, more room to grow. We had the voices of Harry and Garnet, but not their souls. It hangs together well because of the diary/confession format, but it also allowed for some pretty big plot holes and glossing over of scenes that would have been really interesting to experience through the characters and not just skipped over.
Enjoyable, but too short.
Enjoyable, but too short.
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