Scan barcode
brims's review
5.0
It took me a long time to warm up to this, and even considered dropping it at one point, but I’m very glad I kept going. Around the halfway point, the action ramped up and everything started to evolve.
I was worried Kit would be too much of a damsel, and that his self-righteousness would drag on the whole book and become tiresome. Neither ended up being a problem, and I grew quite fond of him by the end. I had a similar experience with Griffin - I had some reservations in the beginning, but needn't have worried.
I can’t vouch for the historical accuracy - the “good” pirates are romanticized and the “bad” pirates are vilified. A bit of a conveniently tidy divide, perhaps, when the reality would have been much more messy, but to its credit, it doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of piracy. I enjoyed it very much.
ETA: Bumping up my rating to 5 stars. It's lingered with me.
I was worried Kit would be too much of a damsel, and that his self-righteousness would drag on the whole book and become tiresome. Neither ended up being a problem, and I grew quite fond of him by the end. I had a similar experience with Griffin - I had some reservations in the beginning, but needn't have worried.
I can’t vouch for the historical accuracy - the “good” pirates are romanticized and the “bad” pirates are vilified. A bit of a conveniently tidy divide, perhaps, when the reality would have been much more messy, but to its credit, it doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of piracy. I enjoyed it very much.
ETA: Bumping up my rating to 5 stars. It's lingered with me.
ehmannky's review
I am all for a slowburn romance but I was nearly 100 pages and the love interest and the main character hadn't even spoken to each other yet. And it just wasn't well-written enough to like...keep me invested to the point that they would theoretically speak.
tendoheart's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Racial slurs
becka6131's review
4.0
So engrossing. Kit's character development (i.e. the slow removal of the stick up his arse) was handled very deftly and the rest of the crew on Griffin's ship were a joy to read about. The romance was slow and intense and thoughtful, and although there was a lot of sailing vernacular being thrown around I never got bored because the historical detail was kept interesting but not overwhelming. I appreciated that the author didn't shy away from the brutality and paint everything as rosy.
I was also really on the edge of my seat in the last chapter SCREECHING that if things didn't work out I was going to throw my kindle at the wall, and honestly I think the reveal about Griffin at the end could have been explored more. After everything they went through, the ending did feel a bit abrupt. But God, what a ride! Definitely recommended.
I was also really on the edge of my seat in the last chapter SCREECHING that if things didn't work out I was going to throw my kindle at the wall, and honestly I think the reveal about Griffin at the end could have been explored more. After everything they went through, the ending did feel a bit abrupt. But God, what a ride! Definitely recommended.
papercranestitches's review
3.0
*** 3.5 Stars ***
[b:On a Lee Shore|16757396|On a Lee Shore|Elin Gregory|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1355538066s/16757396.jpg|23005302] has likable characters and an interesting story, but the book is heavier on plot that it is on romance (and that wasn't really what I was looking for). I was ultimately disappointed that the characters spent little time on page together and that the "L" word was never declared.
[b:On a Lee Shore|16757396|On a Lee Shore|Elin Gregory|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1355538066s/16757396.jpg|23005302] has likable characters and an interesting story, but the book is heavier on plot that it is on romance (and that wasn't really what I was looking for). I was ultimately disappointed that the characters spent little time on page together and that the "L" word was never declared.
kentcryptid's review
4.0
An uptight young naval officer meets a pirate captain... A lot of fun: great sense of place and a nice slow-burn romance. On the minus side, the resolution was a little pat and, after the amount of build up that takes place, the sex scenes feel perfunctory.
eemms's review
4.0
This book is mostly a queer pirate adventure novel with a m/m romance that slow burns its way to the forefront over the course of the book. The adventuring itself is excellent, I'd honestly read a whole book of just their pirate adventures, and the burgeoning romance slots in neatly when Kit's feelings start to collide with his background and morals.
I love a romance where a repressed historical boy is slowly drawn out of his shell by his large, handsome, intelligent captain. Some of the kissing is a little bodice-ripper style dubcon (not a critique just a heads up for those who need it) but the slow burn was excellent for me and I was very into the main pairing.
I did find Kit's switch from "gay sex is inherently immoral" to "actually it's fine" to be a little inexplicable. Not abrupt, exactly - there are pains taken to show Kit good things, and he does slowly on page become more and more aware of the ways in which queer shipmates are good, moral people who love each other, and more and more OK with his own feelings, but it was like one moment he's conflicted by his feelings and then next time he's not.
Similarly, the very end of the book drops a major revelation that impacts....all the previous events of the book and left me very much wanting an explanation I didn't get. It wasn't bad, just, suddenly "all this time [ ] was [ ] ?? what?? explain!!" and there was no explanation!
But those were really very minor disruptions in my enjoyment of this book. I basically didn't put it down until I'd finished it. The naval battles are gripping, the characters are all very well drawn. I recommend it and I'm glad I finally picked it up!
cw: past sexual abuse (mostly not of the main character/on screen), not sexy flogging, near death experiences, genre typical dubcon kisses
I love a romance where a repressed historical boy is slowly drawn out of his shell by his large, handsome, intelligent captain. Some of the kissing is a little bodice-ripper style dubcon (not a critique just a heads up for those who need it) but the slow burn was excellent for me and I was very into the main pairing.
Spoiler
At one point the captain has to have Kit flogged in order to maintain order and the captain making sure Kit was tenderly taken care of after and feeling real bad about the whole situation was great for me.I did find Kit's switch from "gay sex is inherently immoral" to "actually it's fine" to be a little inexplicable. Not abrupt, exactly - there are pains taken to show Kit good things, and he does slowly on page become more and more aware of the ways in which queer shipmates are good, moral people who love each other, and more and more OK with his own feelings, but it was like one moment he's conflicted by his feelings and then next time he's not.
Similarly, the very end of the book drops a major revelation that impacts....all the previous events of the book and left me very much wanting an explanation I didn't get. It wasn't bad, just, suddenly "all this time [ ] was [ ] ?? what?? explain!!" and there was no explanation!
But those were really very minor disruptions in my enjoyment of this book. I basically didn't put it down until I'd finished it. The naval battles are gripping, the characters are all very well drawn. I recommend it and I'm glad I finally picked it up!
cw: past sexual abuse (mostly not of the main character/on screen), not sexy flogging, near death experiences, genre typical dubcon kisses
suze_1624's review
5.0
An enjoyable, fun pirate yarn. Put your feet up, get a drink and sit back and enjoy a ride with Kit as he goes from disgraced Navy man, to being kidnapped and reluctant pirate, to less reluctant pirate, a captured man and eventually back to England as a crab fisherman.
The additional characters of Davy, Lewes & Protheroe, Val, Saunders and others, all made for extra colour.
Kit's relationship with Griffin developed slowly and for those readers wanting lots of sex scenes, then you may be disappointed. I enjoyed the story and didnt mind the off page element of their relationship.
With recent pirate films in mind, it was easy to picture the action in the book.
The author made some of the issues of being on a boat full time come alive. And I did enjoy Griffin moaning about having 2 baths inside of 3 months!
The additional characters of Davy, Lewes & Protheroe, Val, Saunders and others, all made for extra colour.
Kit's relationship with Griffin developed slowly and for those readers wanting lots of sex scenes, then you may be disappointed. I enjoyed the story and didnt mind the off page element of their relationship.
With recent pirate films in mind, it was easy to picture the action in the book.
The author made some of the issues of being on a boat full time come alive. And I did enjoy Griffin moaning about having 2 baths inside of 3 months!