Tag: sea of ruin

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:

1. 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!
2. 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:

1. 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?
2. 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