Reviews with content warning for Trafficking - Sea of Ruin

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.

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gougoulf's review against another edition

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dark

4.0

The plot at the end ahjahja

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megatza's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

1721. Bennett Sharp is a pirate. She’s always felt more comfortable with a deck below her feet than dry land. She is the captain of the Jade, a gift from her father, a notorious pirate himself, and she’s worked to earn her reputation as a fair captain among her crew and a fearsome pirate on the seas. She’s tied herself to another pirate named Priest, who she can’t escape and yet can’t get enough of…until she meets Commodore Ashley Cutler, pirate hunter of the Royal Navy, who captures her with the intent to take her to England to see her hanged. Something electric connects her to Ashley, though, and she’ll fight through the trials of the seas to save him.

First of all, if you haven’t seen this from others yet PLEASE CHECK CONTENT WARNINGS before picking this book up. There are some moments that are very difficult to read, ranging from death to abuse to slavery to assault. If you have concerns, I am happy to chat with you about them. That said, this was easier for me to read than some of the antihero books this spring, as the majority of CWs were from external sources rather than hero against heroine, and read instead like gritty fantasy.

That said, this book was a surprising favorite for me this month. I’ve been obsessed with pirates since I was a child (let’s start by blaming Hook as a seminal childhood movie), and as I told the group on Discord “I’ll do anything for pirates.” In Sea of Ruin, Godwin captures a beautiful balance between the grit and glamor and the adventure and danger of the high seas. It blends adventure and romance in all the ways I crave when I open a book like this: fierce and sensitive characters facing every challenge head on.

Thanks to @reads.by.rae for getting this on my radar in the first place and to our still unnamed romance book club for reading this together! I cannot wait to discuss!

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lea_talisa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I love this so much.

Historical fiction isn’t something I read a lot but let me tell you it was just that good. This is like Pirates of the Caribbean with kind of a love triangle and way more explicit scenes (sexual as well as torturing ones). So please check the trigger warnings on this one !

At 8% of the story (attempted) rape made me reconsider continuing but I pushed through and I was absolutely captured by the book.

After the first half I was very very conflicted about this story. I love the setting and everything. But it hurt my heart to read some of those sex or rather rape scenes.

As problematic as this is for me, the story was still captivating and fortunately I continued reading.

I like Bennett’s character. She’s a strong and intelligent but savage female main character. She earned her respect and has everything it takes to lead but she also has a vulnerable side.

Some quotes:

„I’d never been a woman who depended on a man to save her. This wasn’t their fight. It was mine.“

„I forgave the two men I loved, completely and unconditionally. Not for their sakes. I did it for me. A final gift to myself“

I couldn’t put this book down. Some parts made my heart ache and my stomach sick but it just felt so real and then there were the happy scenes full of hope, trust and love. This book broke my heart quite a few times but never failed to put it back together.

At about 75% I knew this book is going to be a highlight of mine. I just didn’t want this story to end and loved everything about it.

This book isn’t for the lighthearted or for those who are triggered by mostly rape but a lot of other points to. So this time really check the trigger warnings and be sure going into the book that it isn’t going to be pretty.

For everybody who can handle all the featured triggers you’re in for a ride and I hope with my whole heart that you will love this book as much as I did by the end.

Some more quotes:

„And we shall be blinded by our love for life and beyond the ends of the sea.“

„Love had hunted me, captured me, bred madness, and yes, it left a sea of ruin in its wake“

„I was a pirate captain, a rebel queen of the sea, fighting against the conformities of society and the oppressive laws of man.“

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my_corner_of_the_library's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

After my read of To Kill A Kingdom I found myself really craving a sexy, magical pirate story. I wanted Pirates of the Caribbean meets smut…that’s how I found this book, and oh boy…I DEVOURED EVERY PAGE.

Is this my favorite book of all time with absolutely no criticism? Not at all. But, did I love every page and did it fill my need for such a book? YES.

So what did I love? A strong, sassy, MC who is fierce and not afraid to be the badass she is. A tall dark and handsome love interest that is smooth talking with eyes for only our MC and will slay the world to get her back. A loyal crew that is more like friends that stand by our MC through the worst of times without question. A second love interest that is poised and beautiful that falls apart for no one else.

What didn’t I love? Well…
I hate talking bad about this book, but there were things I wasn’t a fan of. The biggest one would be Bennet’s time on the HMS Blitz. I was so looking forward to watching how Bennet navigated being part of ship that wasn’t hers and had such a different culture, but instead we spent literally the entire time in the bedroom obsessing over sex. Now I am as horny as the next smut reader, but it just seemed like too much and really started to feel repetitive and like I was missing out on any plot during that time.

Also…I understand this was a smutty book, and I went into it with the expectations of there being a lot…but the entire plot revolved around sex, and by the end it started to feel like too much. How is it possible that throughout the entire time of this book and every situation Bennet found herself in the one and only focus and solution to any problem was sex?

Need information? Seduce, repeatedly.
Get captured? Immediate SA attempt.
Saved from SA attempt and need an escape plan? Seduce
Taken to another ship? Repeatedly assaulted.
Saved from ship? Reward with sex.
Need another escape plan? Sex.

And that’s like…only half the book. I just felt that there could have been some other focus in the book instead of everything revolving around sex.

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ireadinbed's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Really enjoyed this book because of plot and honestly it just had good sexual tension. Also the characters are really fun. There are some really interesting touches with the love interests that made me very happy to read.

But it has a lot of hard to read subject matter, and while sometime I need that kind of read it would make me super cautious to ever rec.

Also there were some consistent vocabulary choices I really hated. Or I probably would have given a 5

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vero_lee's review against another edition

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A+ for effort. unfortunately, this isn’t my cup of tea. I couldn’t even bring myself to finish it.

I highly recommend skipping the first five chapters, minimum.

I understand it’s a pirate story, so violence should be expected. However, I thought the amount of rape and torture was too much. Gratuitous, even.

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nicole_thereader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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