Pirates of the Caribbean

Publish Date: July 1st, 2021
Number of Pages: 465 Pages
Publisher: Independently Published
Genre(s): Dark Romance, Erotica, Historical

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

Love isn’t a decision. It arrives unannounced, breeds madness, and leaves a sea of ruin in its wake. Hate him or love him. Either way, he’s in certain hell.”
– Pam Godwin, “Sea of Ruin”

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

Bennett Sharp is on the run.
Wanted for piracy, she fears neither God nor death nor man.
Except Priest Farrell.

The unfaithful, stormy-eyed libertine hunts her with terrifying possessiveness. Nothing will stop him from coming for her. Not his unforgivable betrayal. Not when she’s captured by the ice-cold pirate hunter, Lord Ashley Cutler.
She must escape Ashley’s prison and Priest’s deceit. But can she walk away from their twisted desires?

Two gorgeous captains stand on opposite sides of the law. When they collide in a battle to protect her, the lines blur between enemies and lovers.
Passion heats, secrets unravel, and hearts entangle until they break.
Can love prevail in the sea of ruin?

~~~

First posted book review of 2023!! And it’s also one of the top books of 2022 for me too!

This book actually really surprised me with how much I really enjoyed it, Pam Godwin really sucked me in with her writing and the story that she put together here. This was my first book by her, but it’s also the first book of hers that really intrigued me enough to really want to dive in–pun slightly intended–and read what this book was all about. It gave me Pirates of the Caribbean-meets-Outlander kind of vibes a little bit, just without the fantasy aspects that go with the epic, swashbuckling Disney adventure series. Don’t let that draw you away from this book though, the story is still quite an adventure.

The story is about Bennett Sharp, a high society darling turned woman pirate captain–think very much Elizabeth Swan vibes–who’s currently on the run not only from the King’s Navy, but also her Pirate Husband! Well, soon to be ex-husband? He was caught cheating in an affair, she’s devastated, and was like “Peace out, Bitch,” and sailed off into the sunset, but not necessarily with a happily ever after… Priest Farrell, the accused cheater, isn’t just letting her go without a fight though.

At about 25% into the story, she’s captured by a feared Commodore, Ashley Cutler, and is taken aboard his ship as prisoner. And that is where I’ll cut off my recap of this experience of a book, so definitely give it a read if you want to see what possibly happens next!

This is a book that’s better going in as blind as possible, which is of course ironic with the many trigger warnings that go with this story too, but I say do your research and if this is still a story that sounds like one you’d enjoy, hopefully you don’t see spoilers because how you discover how things come to be is truly part of what makes this such a fun read! I mean, you can kind of guess some based off the synopsis, BUT there’s still plenty more to find out!

~~~

Love prevailed, not in the windless calm of life, but in the ruin.“
– Pam Godwin, “Sea of Ruin”

What I Liked:

The Dialogue Sounded Historically Accurate! One feature I noticed and really enjoyed was the dialogue and how it sounded so historically accurate! Well I mean, I’m no historian so don’t take my word for how accurate it actually is, but what I mean is it didn’t sound like everyone was just speaking modern day English like a lot of novels do these days. Not that that’s a bad thing for me or makes or breaks a book, but I do like when a book actually does sound like it comes from the time period it takes place in. It also still sounded natural too in this book, which I also appreciate!
Lots of Spice! Need I say more?…If you’re looking for a spicy, piratey adventure story, you’ll get that here!

What I Didn’t Like:

The FMC Is In Danger….A LOT….As a female Pirate Captain, Bennett gets into pretty hot water, like, A LOT of the time. Like, seriously….a lot. Half the book is her threatened to be assaulted, or worse she actually gets assaulted…like damn! Lets give her some time to breathe maybe? Or not have to worry about almost every male character and where his penis goes…I bet this is maybe pretty historically accurate what with how much rape is in Outlander….but even I’m like “Okay…this is getting a tad excessive” by a certain point. I think we’re supposed to marvel over the strength of the FMC and all that she overcomes, but YOWZA does this author really put her through the wringer…I guess at least she has her two hotties to make up for it?
LOTS of Trigger Warnings…I’m not an easily triggered reader, so the only reason I really have this listed on here is really for it to be my warning to other readers to look into the triggers that go with this book, and that because of the many warnings, I know I can’t recommend this book to others and be able to talk about it with others…..I know, woe is me, right?

Conclusion:

Overall, this was quite an adventure filled with dark perils and forbidden seduction that absolutely rivets you to keep on steering forward at a purposeful pace. I really enjoyed it, I loved the danger and how I actually worried about the well-being of the main characters, and Pam Godwin’s writing felt so smooth and natural and flowed so extremely well, she’s definitely a pro at the craft.

If you like the following: Pirates of the Caribbean, Outlander, the New Camelot Trilogy by Sierra Simone, or something that’s kind of a mix between all three of them: definitely give this book a whirl and see what you think!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Publish Date: February 4th, 2020
Number of Pages: 384 Pages
Publisher: Imprint
Genre(s): YA Fantasy

Total Star Rating: 3.75 Stars

Boarding a magical ship and following the tail of a wandering mermaid, you’ll be absolutely shanghaied into joining a fearless heroine with ominous magical abilities and her newfound crew as they set sail to save the kingdom!

This title has been one of the more highly anticipated YA Fantasy releases of 2020 so far, and it’s also the author’s debut novel as well! Saying that, it’s a pretty impressive work to say the least, and with a solid first book under her belt, Adalyn Grace has a bright looking future in YA literature. Not much is known about her, but in her short author bio, I thought it was worth mentioning that she was actually an intern on Nickelodeon’s animated show, The Legend of Korra, and is a big fan of burritos; add those two facts with how she’s written a story taking place on the high seas with pirates, mermaids, curses, romance, and plenty of danger, I may have a friend-crush on her!

Adalyn if you’re reading this, you’ve got a bookish friend in me! Let’s grab some burritos sometime and talk bookish topics!

It was a lot of fun to get this book as a surprise in the February Owlcrate box with the theme that was “The Power Within” (For those of you who don’t know, Owlcrate is a YA Fantasy monthly subscription box where there’s a theme, several bookish gift items based off well known books that fit that theme, and a special edition of a newly released book that they don’t reveal until the box literally plops onto your doorstep! I personally recommend trying it out!)

Here’s a link to their official website: www.owlcrate.com

You saw the original cover on the top of this post, but check out their exclusive edition that came with the order:

They added more colors to the scheme of the cover but kept it in shades pertaining to the ocean and it’s many majesties and mysteries, it’s own original foil design inside the jacket, plus was signed by the author herself with a special letter!

Alright, so special editions and gorgeous covers aside, back to the book itself and my reasoning behind my rating. Basically, overall it was a fun read filled with interesting imagery and enjoyable characters, and while the adventure they partake on in the story was action packed it never really blew my mind or made it feel like the stakes were high enough. I never felt like the characters were in real danger. The intensity and emotional impact wasn’t all there, but like I said, this book was fun and pretty impressive for a debut!

What It’s About:

A map of Visidia, image courtesy of fiercereads.com

As princess of the island kingdom of Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer—the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for her, it’s never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the Visidian throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy’s dangerous soul magic.

When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes a deal with Bastian, a mysterious pirate: he’ll help her prove she’s fit to rule if she’ll help him reclaim his stolen magic from a conniving tyrant.

But sailing the islands of their world holds more wonder—and more peril—than Amora had ever anticipated. A destructive new magic is on the rise, and if Amora is to conquer it, she’ll need to face legendary monsters, cross paths with vengeful mermaids, and deal with a stow-away she never expected… or risk the fate of Visidia and lose the crown forever.

What I Liked:

The Main Cast of Characters! Our Protagonist is Amora Montara, who is the princess of Arida, about to ascend the throne if she can showcase her particular soul magic in a ceremony. We also have Bastian, a pirate of a ship named the Keel Haul, and he was a fun & sexy character to add to the story. He’s certainly keeping plenty of secrets, but has a nice romantic dynamic with Amora. There’s Ferrick, who’s betrothed to Amora through an arrangement much like plenty of royal family histories, and he was a little tropey by being the skinny, naive boy who makes it easy for the MC to pick the other love interest, but he does grow a pair later on in the story which I appreciated! Then there’s Vataea, a kidnapped and vengeful mermaid who is rescued by the others in order to save the kingdom. She was vicious and adorable all at the same time if you can believe it!
The Group Dynamic Aboard the Ship! One of the real highlights of the book was the group aboard the ship and their development as their mission is acted out. While Bastian and Amora have an obvious attraction to each other, the author also explores that possibility with the other two, and am curious to see how that plays out in the next book!
Pirates & Mermaids Aesthetic! I’ve always been a fan of them since I’d first watched Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl back in the day! I still consider it to be one of my all time favorite movies, and I’ve always had a love for the ocean and mermaids. Ariel from The Little Mermaid was always my favorite Disney princess growing up! I’m glad to see a Fantasy novel have these qualities that I adore, and not just for that reason but because they aren’t used as often as I’d like!
The Gorgeous Cover Design! Add this book to any list of books that have absolutely stunning and artistic cover design! It certainly draws the eye, both the Owlcrate Edition I have and the original!
7 Magic Systems! People that love well thought out magic systems will appreciate that this novel can boast an astounding number of them! Each island in the story hosts people who have a specific ability as it’s a part of the history of the land and is basically law.
Amora is Morally Grey! She’s not some Mary-Sue, goody-two-shoes type that will bore you to tears; the princess has a dark side! She’s not afraid to draw blood in a fight and smirk at the sight of her weapon protruding out of her enemies, and you really see it in the ceremony in the beginning of the book. Amora having her boss-bitch moment and embracing her dark side had me like:

What I Didn’t Like:

I Wanted More Mermaids…The hype surrounding this book was that there were many vengeful mermaids the characters would come across through their journey, but all I’ve met so far is just Vataea, who says she may be one of the last of her kind! I hope the next book will show us more of the sirens of the deep, and have them be as beautiful and terrifying, much like the ones you saw in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie!
This Was A Little Too Predictable…Honestly, as someone who’s read quite a few Fantasy titles, both Adult and YA, this book didn’t bring too much “new” to the table in terms of plot, story arcs, etc. Nothing really shocked me, none of the twists really blew me away; for the most part I’d seen it all before.

Conclusion:

Overall, All the Stars and Teeth was not a bad debut novel by any means! I enjoyed the characters, the setting, the worldbuilding, and the fact that there’s romance treated as a subplot rather than being a big driving force. The plot was more or less the same sort of story any sort of fantasy reader has read before, especially in YA Fantasy, but it’s still easy to get swept away if you connect with Amora and the crew of the Keel Haul. While I wasn’t disappointed and definitely plan to read the second part of this duology when it releases in 2021 most likely, it also didn’t exactly blow me away to the point of me obsessing and immediately pushing it onto my friends/coworkers to read. I still had fun reading it, it was just nothing too new or mind-blowing for me personally, BUT the positives do outweigh the negatives!

I would recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a more ocean-centric Fantasy/Adventure title to try out, and of course anyone who enjoys Pirates and Mermaids! Quite honestly, I don’t see as many novels coming out that feature those aspects, so it’s a nice change of pace to keep the genre a little fresh, plus I plan to write a Fantasy book series with a lot of similar aesthetics, so it gave me an opportunity to compare and think of how to take the idea even further! If you love the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, the Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes, or the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, I have a feeling you’d enjoy adding this title to your bookshelf!