A review by anitalouise
Swift for the Sun by Karen Bovenmyer

4.0

Wheee!!! This was a rip roaring, rollicking, aye me hardies, roller coaster pirate ship ride!! A combination of Robinson Crusoe, Gilligan's Island and On The Island a MF read from some years ago), this was an engaging, action-packed story of a guy who is impersonating a pirate ship captain, Benjamin, and Sun, a near savage who's been living on Dread Island after escaping dire circumstances. It's never quite clear, at least initially, why Benji has been impersonating a pirate ship captain and smuggler but he finds himself and his crew in a horrible storm and after spending hours tossed about in the ocean, finds himself on an island every ship captain stays away from - Dread Island. Great action combined with some lovely geopolitical intrigue. There was some muddled explanations of the treaties, the colonies involving France, Portugal and Brazil, etc. and it taxed my mind to try to remember who was fighting whom and who conquered whom, but it was still fascinating. Also great weaving of the story of how one defines who is a mulatto and what that meant in the US at that time. Just a bit confusing, though, particularly at the end. Benjamin and Sun are great together. Lots of blood and gore, fighting, and beware, an on page sexual assault. Lots of attention to detail although at times, it appears that the dialogue slipped. This is a new to me author and this appears to be her first novel. Really enjoyed it and look forward to whatever she has in store for her next mm read.