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koistyfishy's review against another edition
- 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 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
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia and Fire/Fire injury
ladylaurenexplorer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Everything felt so fast paced and I kept thinking of the x-rated version of Pirates of the Caribbean. 😂
Definitely read the TWs , because a lot does happen to our h. I mean it is a historical and woman usually aren’t treated that well, but female pirates are worse.
I thought this was a good read since I was on a cruise and I felt very good while reading it at sea, but I definitely can’t say that it was a favourite, but I would recommend it!
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Slavery
denacolada's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, and Suicide
joonsmiind'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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
Moderate: Slavery and Death of parent
Minor: Death, Gore, Blood, Vomit, and Murder
imanqblake'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Minor: Death and Suicide
readswithmt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
Spice: 3/5 🌶
Review/What I Thought: OH MY GOD how do I even put this book into words!!
This bloody book!! It was sooo well written and the plot was just SO good. I won’t say anything about the plot because it’s best to go into this one blind! The plot twist at the end was great and I do know some people didn’t like it but I thought it was executed SO well.
I found myself really engaged with this from the 30% mark onwards and I was just hooked. Really needed to know what was going on! I did struggle at the beginning because I had to get used to the writing style as the book was set in the 1700s but once I was used to it, it wasn’t an issue at all! If you find yourself struggling I encourage you to push through the beginning because the ending is really worth it.
This is a historical romance including pirates (yes pirates). There was a good balance between plot, romance and spice and it was just done so so well! There’s no shortage of tropes in this (included the one bed trope) and again these weren’t overwhelming and just added to the story well. The spice was so good too (I found myself into pirates at the end of this!).
Borrow or Buy? Buy/Borrow. I would personally buy.
Would I Recommend? YES, add it to your TBR!
Would I Re-read? 100% I need the physical copy to annotate
This book does contain triggers, please search up before reading
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
vicktorea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
(this is going to be a very scattered review as i just finished this and haven't fully collected my thoughts but anyway) i really enjoyed this!! it was my first ever historical romance and i loved the action and adventure (pirate romances might be a new thing for me [esp if the FMC is a pirate herself!]) along with the FMC (Bennett) and her fierceness - she didn't feel pretentious or annoying!
this was super sexy but also super dark throughout various points of the story (see CWs above).
also, Priest 🥵🔥
This was the first book I've read from Pam Godwin and I'm excited to read more (hopefully she writes more pirate romances 🤞🏽).
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
deesquared's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Fire/Fire injury
megatza's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Slavery and Trafficking
lea_talisa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Slavery, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy