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deathmetalheron's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Sea of Ruin has a lot going for it. The setting is great, the character dynamics are certainly there, the author knows her chops. The romantic tension is palpable.
But the delivery of many of these aspects is disappointingly subpar. The characters go through humiliation parade after parade. The garnish of shipping and naval vernacular immediately gives way to crude words for sexual interaction, the transition between the two being jarring at best and non-existent at worse.
The height of this book comes at Bennett's capture by Ashley Cutler--the dynamics indicated before suggest a conflict between Bennett as a character and her struggle between two loves. I daresay the second fifth to quarter of this book is pretty much phenomenal.
You could see it in my reading journal, but at the halfway point this book goes from a high tension pirate romance to an absolute slog. Some critical decision are made of Ashley's character that really draw the line and make him seem a bit more manipulative and Bennett (who's been characterized as being headstrong and skeptical) brushes them off. I get this is the appeal of a captor-captive romance but the characterization is quite literally strewn off the deck into the sea, NSFWsquirted into the ocean much like Ashley is described as doing repeatedly.
The final act is an absolute slog where Bennett is NSFWkidnapped and raped and then she is kidnapped and tortured. The end of the story basically just happens to her. I was turned off from this book at the halfway point, but by the end I was uniquely frustrated.
Even during the good times, the way sexual interaction is written is hysterical and I saved numerous quotes. In a better story, they would be a fun aspect to giggle about and another layer to add to the story's atmosphere, but given the dark humiliating train to the end they come across as severely out of place and way too lighthearted. I was really hoping this book would be it, but MAN it was not.
But the delivery of many of these aspects is disappointingly subpar. The characters go through humiliation parade after parade. The garnish of shipping and naval vernacular immediately gives way to crude words for sexual interaction, the transition between the two being jarring at best and non-existent at worse.
The height of this book comes at Bennett's capture by Ashley Cutler--the dynamics indicated before suggest a conflict between Bennett as a character and her struggle between two loves. I daresay the second fifth to quarter of this book is pretty much phenomenal.
You could see it in my reading journal, but at the halfway point this book goes from a high tension pirate romance to an absolute slog. Some critical decision are made of Ashley's character that really draw the line and make him seem a bit more manipulative and Bennett (who's been characterized as being headstrong and skeptical) brushes them off. I get this is the appeal of a captor-captive romance but the characterization is quite literally strewn off the deck into the sea, NSFW
The final act is an absolute slog where Bennett is NSFW
Even during the good times, the way sexual interaction is written is hysterical and I saved numerous quotes. In a better story, they would be a fun aspect to giggle about and another layer to add to the story's atmosphere, but given the dark humiliating train to the end they come across as severely out of place and way too lighthearted. I was really hoping this book would be it, but MAN it was not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Torture, Rape, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Colonisation, Racism, Slavery, Alcohol, and Infidelity
amandalachelle's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Slavery, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Homophobia
charliauthor's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
Where do i begin with this...?
A few of my mates said this book was really triggering, a dark romance that was super dark so yes, i read it to find out what the fuss was about. What can i say, sucker for punishment! Ha!
So, Sea of Ruin had a promising start. Well written, engaging FMC with a touching back story and of course it was about pirates! All in all, a good smut rec to start but unfortunately everything after chapter 3 was an endless smut fest with no rhyme or reason for the excessive actions that took place.
Bennett, while a forceful and rebellious character at the start which was endearing and at a point life saving, by the end of the book was extremely annoying. It is not smart to run your mouth in the company of forty pirates who've not seen a woman in a reallly long time and are emphatically telling you what theyre going to do to you without your consent...
(Minor Spoilers here:) This incident aside - which involves some unnecessary and disgusting finger violations - there is a lot of mention of rxpe in this book. While there is only one instance of this actually taking place which we were thankfully saved from any truly explicit description, there was always the threat of rxpe at every corner. One of the standout issues for me is after she is abused, the love interest tells her that she has never looked more beautiful then in that moment because she was brave and endured her ordeal. Please note that she is tied down and naked at this point and this...arouses him?! WTF?!
What makes matters even worse is that she welcomes the attraction and is also aroused. This makes absolutely no effing sense!!! Why would you want rough - he's a spanker and bootyhole invader - after having been violated for two weeks?!
My issue with this entire book more so than the triggering and largely unnecessary content was how accepting the FMC was about her ordeals. There was never any questioning about the actions of those around her, instead telling herself to constantly endure and breathe through.
I found this vile and largely disrespectful to people who have been through such things.
It gets one star for the writing, the author really knows about pirate ships and terminology and there were some very emotional passages that i found interesting. Outside of this its sexually explicit and violent for absolutely no reason and plot choices make no sense.
A few of my mates said this book was really triggering, a dark romance that was super dark so yes, i read it to find out what the fuss was about. What can i say, sucker for punishment! Ha!
So, Sea of Ruin had a promising start. Well written, engaging FMC with a touching back story and of course it was about pirates! All in all, a good smut rec to start but unfortunately everything after chapter 3 was an endless smut fest with no rhyme or reason for the excessive actions that took place.
Bennett, while a forceful and rebellious character at the start which was endearing and at a point life saving, by the end of the book was extremely annoying. It is not smart to run your mouth in the company of forty pirates who've not seen a woman in a reallly long time and are emphatically telling you what theyre going to do to you without your consent...
(Minor Spoilers here:) This incident aside - which involves some unnecessary and disgusting finger violations - there is a lot of mention of rxpe in this book. While there is only one instance of this actually taking place which we were thankfully saved from any truly explicit description, there was always the threat of rxpe at every corner. One of the standout issues for me is after she is abused, the love interest tells her that she has never looked more beautiful then in that moment because she was brave and endured her ordeal. Please note that she is tied down and naked at this point and this...arouses him?! WTF?!
What makes matters even worse is that she welcomes the attraction and is also aroused. This makes absolutely no effing sense!!! Why would you want rough - he's a spanker and bootyhole invader - after having been violated for two weeks?!
My issue with this entire book more so than the triggering and largely unnecessary content was how accepting the FMC was about her ordeals. There was never any questioning about the actions of those around her, instead telling herself to constantly endure and breathe through.
I found this vile and largely disrespectful to people who have been through such things.
It gets one star for the writing, the author really knows about pirate ships and terminology and there were some very emotional passages that i found interesting. Outside of this its sexually explicit and violent for absolutely no reason and plot choices make no sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual harassment, Death, Cursing, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Confinement, Rape, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual violence, and Colonisation
cryptidcucumber's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
LOVED THIS. A little cliche, and comes with a long list of trigger warnings but by golly I wish I could be the pirate captain Bennett.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Gore, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Infidelity, Confinement, Slavery, Murder, Grief, Death of parent, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
Moderate: War, Rape, and Vomit
jburson's review against another edition
I hit the point where the first true hookup between one of the two romantic leads for the FMC happens and it's him literally anal raping her and like 10 min later she's forgiven him so... this is definitely not my thing. I sometimes enjoy dark romance but, and I guess this is a hot take, but IMO physical, emotional, and mental abuse isn't romantic no matter the situation. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Torture, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
whathollyread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Woah… this was a whole lot. A friend recommended this book to me and I trust anything with pages that she throws at me. I went in thinking this was going to be a fun smutty pirate book. And it was! But my god was it sooo much darker than what I bargained for. Once it started it didn’t stop and I felt like I kept reading for the light at the end of the tunnel!
I absolutely loved the author’s dedication to writing in the narrator’s voice for her time period and adding in all the nautical terms (like we knew what any of it meant). Speaking of the narrator, Bennett, I loved the strength of this woman! She was strong and I loved her inner dialogue and her will to live through every horrendous thing that happened to her.
I’m not going to get into all the issues with this book (e.g. white savior, rape, rape-ish behavior that is quickly forgiven…), because I read other reviews that I think do it better justice.
At the end of the day this book… it didn’t steam roll - I need a boat metaphor- maybe it gave a big heave ho over my heart.
I absolutely loved the author’s dedication to writing in the narrator’s voice for her time period and adding in all the nautical terms (like we knew what any of it meant). Speaking of the narrator, Bennett, I loved the strength of this woman! She was strong and I loved her inner dialogue and her will to live through every horrendous thing that happened to her.
I’m not going to get into all the issues with this book (e.g. white savior, rape, rape-ish behavior that is quickly forgiven…), because I read other reviews that I think do it better justice.
At the end of the day this book… it didn’t steam roll - I need a boat metaphor- maybe it gave a big heave ho over my heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Confinement, Slavery, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Death of parent, Racism, Vomit, Grief, Gore, Death, Classism, and Sexual violence
mollyjeansutter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Rape, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Confinement, Infidelity, and Blood
Minor: Infertility
sarahtheshark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Explicit sex and pirates
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Confinement, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Death, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Gore, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Slavery, and Sexual violence
koistyfishy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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
4.0
This was the first Adult Pirate Romance I have ever read and has been on my radar for quite a while. The only reason I had not yet picked it up was that I had heard that it was on the far side of Dark Romance and could be quite difficult to stomach for some readers. However, it remained niggling at the back of my mind, and since I have recently started exploring that avenue of romance I kept being drawn back to the whole "should I/shouldn't I" with regards to reading the book. My mind was almost made up for me when I saw Nenia Campbell was going to be doing a Buddy Read. It was almost like the stars aligned and the universe was screaming that I had to jump at the opportunity to join.
This book follows Bennett who has been raised by her mother to fit into the mold of a proper lady. We also find out pretty early on in the book that Bennett is the daughter of a very revered and famous Pirate. Bennett has a secret relationship with her father and absolutely adores him. She would do anything in the world for him and wants nothing more than to run away from her life and have adventures by his side. Unfortunately, Bennett's father is killed and her mother on the same day commits suicide; leaving a 14-year-old girl thrust into the pirate life, with nothing but a ship, a jade necklace, and a compass her father left her as her destiny.
I would describe the experience of reading this as "something"... I had a REALLY great time reading it, but it was also truly frustrating and agonizing but in a good way. Since this was a buddy read I couldn't read this in the manner I normally do - which is being solely dedicated to one book at a time, with no distractions, and no other side hustle books. BUT NOOOOOO - Nenia made me cheat, as to keep this buddy read fair for readers of various speeds - I could only read 50 AGONIZING pages a day. As luck would have it, those 50 pages would end ON EVERY "CLIFFHANGER" chapter imaginable.I am talking about when she was torturing Priest with oranges or when she was spying on a sexy naked commodore on balconies ...it was just mean!
I really enjoyed the setting of the book and how it felt really authentic to the history and culture of Pirates in the 1700s. I felt like I was on a ship right there with them and could tell this book was thoroughly researched by the descriptions, the terminology, the way illnesses and wounds are treated, and the general language and behavior of the pirates. Some parts of this history, culture and misogynistic treatment of women can be difficult to read. Pam Godwin did not shy away from making our girl Bennett suffer (in some cases I felt she might have suffered a little bit too much). But in some ways, it felt disgustingly raw and truthful, as the way she was treated is pretty much how I imagine bloodthirsty pirates to behave toward a beautiful half-naked woman.
I love Bennett, she is mostly everything you want to see in a FMC. She is fierce, strong-willed, a fighter, a survivor, and obviously godly beautiful. The way she is able to handle what comes at her is beyond admirable and is inspiring. She is a role model for her strength an willingness to survive all that is thrown at her. But she is also mildly annoying and insufferable at times. I still don't seem to understand why she ran from Priest just because he cheated on her. I get she was angry, but her reaction was childish and overly dramatic and I couldn't understand the motive or narrative behind why she was running (besides the whole needing it for the plot to actually happen I mean).
Ashley and Priest were both characters I absolutely loved. You need to fan a girl down when it comes to these two. Priest was smart, arrogant, cocky and a flirt of note. Ashley was poised, controlling, and commanding. I was rooting for both of them for Bennett as they both seemed to care for her, and would do anything for her - and in my mind, there was no way for this love triangle to resolve itself without one of them dying... Then the last 25% of the book happened and I docked a star for a few reasons.
Firstly I felt everything that had been built for Ashley's character was a lie. We went through quite a ride for the development of Ashley and Bennett's love to develop -but when he described the fact that he wanted her from the moment he saw her - the enemies-to-lovers part fizzled up and dried up and it went way too much into "disguised instalove" which is an instant turn off.
Secondly, the last 25% of the plot felt way way too convenient. I cannot count HOW MANY TIMES I rolled my eyes at the events in the end. The last bit also felt very drawn out, and it was almost like we got numerous epilogues that didn't need to be there. Ultimately I think the end could have wrapped up a lot quicker and a few of the scenes could have been removed.Bennett went from being raped on the Admiral's ship, to being captured and beaten to an inch of her life, and I believe the admiral part could have been removed whilst still having something quicker happen that could have brought our characters to the events of the Mutiny
Overall I would recommend this book if you like the following:
▹Love Triangles
▹Pirate Romance
▹Captor/Captive Romances
▹Dark Romance (in general)
BUT PLEASE PLEASE read the trigger warnings in this before you pick this up, because it does not glorify the life of a pirate and captive pirate at all
This book follows Bennett who has been raised by her mother to fit into the mold of a proper lady. We also find out pretty early on in the book that Bennett is the daughter of a very revered and famous Pirate. Bennett has a secret relationship with her father and absolutely adores him. She would do anything in the world for him and wants nothing more than to run away from her life and have adventures by his side. Unfortunately, Bennett's father is killed and her mother on the same day commits suicide; leaving a 14-year-old girl thrust into the pirate life, with nothing but a ship, a jade necklace, and a compass her father left her as her destiny.
I would describe the experience of reading this as "something"... I had a REALLY great time reading it, but it was also truly frustrating and agonizing but in a good way. Since this was a buddy read I couldn't read this in the manner I normally do - which is being solely dedicated to one book at a time, with no distractions, and no other side hustle books. BUT NOOOOOO - Nenia made me cheat, as to keep this buddy read fair for readers of various speeds - I could only read 50 AGONIZING pages a day. As luck would have it, those 50 pages would end ON EVERY "CLIFFHANGER" chapter imaginable.
I really enjoyed the setting of the book and how it felt really authentic to the history and culture of Pirates in the 1700s. I felt like I was on a ship right there with them and could tell this book was thoroughly researched by the descriptions, the terminology, the way illnesses and wounds are treated, and the general language and behavior of the pirates. Some parts of this history, culture and misogynistic treatment of women can be difficult to read. Pam Godwin did not shy away from making our girl Bennett suffer (in some cases I felt she might have suffered a little bit too much). But in some ways, it felt disgustingly raw and truthful, as the way she was treated is pretty much how I imagine bloodthirsty pirates to behave toward a beautiful half-naked woman.
I love Bennett, she is mostly everything you want to see in a FMC. She is fierce, strong-willed, a fighter, a survivor, and obviously godly beautiful. The way she is able to handle what comes at her is beyond admirable and is inspiring. She is a role model for her strength an willingness to survive all that is thrown at her. But she is also mildly annoying and insufferable at times. I still don't seem to understand why she ran from Priest just because he cheated on her. I get she was angry, but her reaction was childish and overly dramatic and I couldn't understand the motive or narrative behind why she was running (besides the whole needing it for the plot to actually happen I mean).
Ashley and Priest were both characters I absolutely loved. You need to fan a girl down when it comes to these two. Priest was smart, arrogant, cocky and a flirt of note. Ashley was poised, controlling, and commanding. I was rooting for both of them for Bennett as they both seemed to care for her, and would do anything for her - and in my mind, there was no way for this love triangle to resolve itself without one of them dying... Then the last 25% of the book happened and I docked a star for a few reasons.
Firstly I felt everything that had been built for Ashley's character was a lie. We went through quite a ride for the development of Ashley and Bennett's love to develop -
Secondly, the last 25% of the plot felt way way too convenient. I cannot count HOW MANY TIMES I rolled my eyes at the events in the end. The last bit also felt very drawn out, and it was almost like we got numerous epilogues that didn't need to be there. Ultimately I think the end could have wrapped up a lot quicker and a few of the scenes could have been removed.
Overall I would recommend this book if you like the following:
▹Love Triangles
▹Pirate Romance
▹Captor/Captive Romances
▹Dark Romance (in general)
BUT PLEASE PLEASE read the trigger warnings in this before you pick this up, because it does not glorify the life of a pirate and captive pirate at all
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Confinement, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Death, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Homophobia
prologues_epilogues's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Literally the worst book ever written, don't waste your time reading something marketed as some cool pirate adventure story when it's just some disgusting r-pe fantasy, and the fetishization of queer men. No one in this book actually likes each other, they just like power and power dynamics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Confinement, Rape, Torture, Sexual assault, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Violence