papercranestitches's review against another edition
3.0
This book had a good plot, strong character development, and a sense of place and time that made a reader feel like they were aboard the Morven with all its sights and sounds and undoubtedly questionable smells. But that ending...?
That was some ho-hum HFN bullshit and I am NOT a happy camper.
Honestly, it was like the author had spent so much time building up the realism of the hopelessness and danger of the characters' love for one another (one of the main reasons I always have to work up my courage to read historical romances in the first place) that they didn't know how to end it successfully - so they didn't.
I'm sad that I waited so long to read this book - 4.5 years! - because it was good, but now I'm irritated that I waited this long and then was cheated out of my happily ever after. Not cool, Rowan.
Will I read on in the series?
After this ending? I'm still undecided.
That was some ho-hum HFN bullshit and I am NOT a happy camper.
Honestly, it was like the author had spent so much time building up the realism of the hopelessness and danger of the characters' love for one another (one of the main reasons I always have to work up my courage to read historical romances in the first place) that they didn't know how to end it successfully - so they didn't.
I'm sad that I waited so long to read this book - 4.5 years! - because it was good, but now I'm irritated that I waited this long and then was cheated out of my happily ever after. Not cool, Rowan.
Will I read on in the series?
After this ending? I'm still undecided.
bookcraft's review against another edition
2.0
There were a few technical flaws—a scene or two with sloppy POV, overuse of epithets (various different versions of their names, in this case), etc.—but the characters and story are complex and interesting, and I'm willing to forgive a lot of little things with a narrative this engaging.
Oddly, the final two chapters feel as though they were meant to be a stand-alone story in the series; perhaps an erotic interlude between Ransom and its sequel? Again, not enough of a problem to detract from my enjoyment of the novel.
Oddly, the final two chapters feel as though they were meant to be a stand-alone story in the series; perhaps an erotic interlude between Ransom and its sequel? Again, not enough of a problem to detract from my enjoyment of the novel.
kentcryptid's review against another edition
4.0
An exciting naval story and some really likeable characters.
michaeljpdx's review against another edition
3.0
The historical detail about ships and the Royal Navy in this book is amazing, but unfortunately, for me, this throws up some shortcomings in the development of the characters themselves. In particular, we're given to understand, quite obliquely, that one of the main characters, David, is suffering from the torturous attentions from their captor, yet all that's really described is what amounts to a bad date. I'm all for leaving things to the reader's imagination, but in this case I think we're expected to guess at too much and the characters come off as two dimensional drama queens, when they could be much more.
deehaichess's review
2.0
I'm a little torn about this one - on one hand, it wasn't badly written by any stretch of the imagination, but on the other, I found it dragged a bit and I didn't really feel all that invested in the characters.
I think this was because the good guys were just so good. At no point did I think they wouldn't make it, that they wouldn't end up together, that one of them might die, or that the ideal outcome would not eventuate. There was nothing truly flawed about them, and therefore there was no really convincing risk involved. Similarly the bad guy was wholeheartedly bad. He was just a bit too "Dick Dastardly (ha, no pun intended), moustache-twirling, tie-the-heroine-to-the-rails", and I think the lack of any redeeming features whatsoever weakened his menace rather than strengthened it. Of course, I would be hard pressed to suggest how one should handle non-con in the given scenario without making the antagonist completely reprehensible, but I really would have respected the book a lot more if he'd been slightly more three-dimensional, since I think what the protagonists needed most was genuine realistic conflict between them, rather than the two of them presenting the perfect unified front to the conflict battering them from the outside.
Speaking of conflict, I would like to add that the action scenes were pretty well written! I love me a good sword/gun fight, and the moment aboard the ship when the heroes were trying to escape was very much a highlight.
Overall this wasn't what I would call hard to read, although I did get a little bored at times and skimmed paragraphs. Oh, and colour me shocked, this author had a tendency to switch POV mid scene, particularly when things were getting emotionally heavy. This is something that has been known to make me ragequit a book in the past, but in this instance I found it not nearly as frustrating as normally (although still a little odd). I think the author at least had excellent control over what they wanted to say and where they wanted to take the story and the weirdness of a changing POV was less of an issue under those circumstances.
Other readers might really dig this book; for me, I think I was looking for far more emotional and circumstantial complexity than I got.
I think this was because the good guys were just so good. At no point did I think they wouldn't make it, that they wouldn't end up together, that one of them might die, or that the ideal outcome would not eventuate. There was nothing truly flawed about them, and therefore there was no really convincing risk involved. Similarly the bad guy was wholeheartedly bad. He was just a bit too "Dick Dastardly (ha, no pun intended), moustache-twirling, tie-the-heroine-to-the-rails", and I think the lack of any redeeming features whatsoever weakened his menace rather than strengthened it. Of course, I would be hard pressed to suggest how one should handle non-con in the given scenario without making the antagonist completely reprehensible, but I really would have respected the book a lot more if he'd been slightly more three-dimensional, since I think what the protagonists needed most was genuine realistic conflict between them, rather than the two of them presenting the perfect unified front to the conflict battering them from the outside.
Speaking of conflict, I would like to add that the action scenes were pretty well written! I love me a good sword/gun fight, and the moment aboard the ship when the heroes were trying to escape was very much a highlight.
Overall this wasn't what I would call hard to read, although I did get a little bored at times and skimmed paragraphs. Oh, and colour me shocked, this author had a tendency to switch POV mid scene, particularly when things were getting emotionally heavy. This is something that has been known to make me ragequit a book in the past, but in this instance I found it not nearly as frustrating as normally (although still a little odd). I think the author at least had excellent control over what they wanted to say and where they wanted to take the story and the weirdness of a changing POV was less of an issue under those circumstances.
Other readers might really dig this book; for me, I think I was looking for far more emotional and circumstantial complexity than I got.
the_novel_approach's review against another edition
4.0
Anyone who knows me knows that I am not usually a reader of historical romance. I happened to see this book on the review list and realized I had read it a couple years ago, and liked it, so I gave it another read to see how the new version struck my fancy. Not surprisingly, it was just as good as I remembered.
The story begins with a duel. Yeah, a real duel. I believe it was at this point that David Archer began to fall in love with William Marshall. William didn’t realize that not only was he dueling someone who tried to wrong him but someone who had wronged Archer in the past.
The story continues giving us an overview of Archer and Marshall’s naval careers, leading up to them being kidnapped along with their captain. During their captivity Archer and Marshall both do what they have to do in order to survive, and their relationship begins to evolve from more than friendship.
While trying to survive less than stellar living conditions and treatment that no prisoner should have to endure, Archer realizes that his admiration of Marshall had gone beyond hero worship and was actually love. Marshall, in turn, has never had an intimate relationship with anyone, man or woman. When these two men realize there is a mutual attraction, they do their best to follow the rules of the Navy and England, but eventually they give in to the inevitable, and neither one of them can seem to dredge up any regret.
The abuse from Archer’s past, and the abuse he is currently experiencing with the pirate who is holding them, is in the forefront of this story, but the tender care he gets from Marshall seems to be helping him sort through the issues the abuse has caused.
Once the two men are free, Archer is worried that some truths about him will be revealed and cause him to lose his career and best friend. I don’t want to give too much story away, but Marshall comes to Archer’s rescue again, and that leads to the men having an opportunity to explore their feelings for one another.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Lee Rowan did a fabulous job of putting me right there with the characters, and I feel like I experienced everything right along with them. Archer had his issues and he dealt with them the best way a man of his time could. Marshall helped him as much as he could, through his kindness which eventually leads to a strong relationship growing between the two men. With the laws of the time period, it will be interesting to see what comes of this relationship and how they will find their way to a HEA.
I know that there are other books after this one, and I’m trying to wait patiently to see if they will be re-released, but I may not be able to hold out. I am in so deep with these two men I just have to find out what’s next. I can only say that if you love historicals this is a must read. If you aren’t a huge fan of the genre, give it a read anyway and you might get swept away like I did.
The story begins with a duel. Yeah, a real duel. I believe it was at this point that David Archer began to fall in love with William Marshall. William didn’t realize that not only was he dueling someone who tried to wrong him but someone who had wronged Archer in the past.
The story continues giving us an overview of Archer and Marshall’s naval careers, leading up to them being kidnapped along with their captain. During their captivity Archer and Marshall both do what they have to do in order to survive, and their relationship begins to evolve from more than friendship.
While trying to survive less than stellar living conditions and treatment that no prisoner should have to endure, Archer realizes that his admiration of Marshall had gone beyond hero worship and was actually love. Marshall, in turn, has never had an intimate relationship with anyone, man or woman. When these two men realize there is a mutual attraction, they do their best to follow the rules of the Navy and England, but eventually they give in to the inevitable, and neither one of them can seem to dredge up any regret.
The abuse from Archer’s past, and the abuse he is currently experiencing with the pirate who is holding them, is in the forefront of this story, but the tender care he gets from Marshall seems to be helping him sort through the issues the abuse has caused.
Once the two men are free, Archer is worried that some truths about him will be revealed and cause him to lose his career and best friend. I don’t want to give too much story away, but Marshall comes to Archer’s rescue again, and that leads to the men having an opportunity to explore their feelings for one another.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Lee Rowan did a fabulous job of putting me right there with the characters, and I feel like I experienced everything right along with them. Archer had his issues and he dealt with them the best way a man of his time could. Marshall helped him as much as he could, through his kindness which eventually leads to a strong relationship growing between the two men. With the laws of the time period, it will be interesting to see what comes of this relationship and how they will find their way to a HEA.
I know that there are other books after this one, and I’m trying to wait patiently to see if they will be re-released, but I may not be able to hold out. I am in so deep with these two men I just have to find out what’s next. I can only say that if you love historicals this is a must read. If you aren’t a huge fan of the genre, give it a read anyway and you might get swept away like I did.
sarahconnor89757's review against another edition
4.0
I have nothing new to say, really.
The leads were great in and of themselves but even better together. I couldn't stop reading until they were together and happy.
300 pages of the book is about being in confinement in the belly of a pirate ship. It wasn't the interesting slowly-going-insane kind but the "I'm bored... What day do you think it is?" day.
The leads were great in and of themselves but even better together. I couldn't stop reading until they were together and happy.
300 pages of the book is about being in confinement in the belly of a pirate ship. It wasn't the interesting slowly-going-insane kind but the "I'm bored... What day do you think it is?" day.
with_drea's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe a 3.5 rather than a 3. I have a feeling I enjoyed this book solely because I knew it was originally a Hornblower fanfic/was inserting the relevant characters into the situation and so I was able to find them much more relatable as characters than other reviewers may have. With regards to the plagiarism claims, there was nothing that stuck out to me immediately while reading the book as being lifted from the series, but it was very late and I may have to dash through again.
The lowering in rating comes mainly from the last few chapters and the trope that we see. I would've liked further exploration of the emotional ramifications of Archer for a more extended period after the incident was over, and so don't know if the last few chapters quite fit into what I had in mind. Another reviewer noted that said chapters felt more like a short story out of the series, rather than a natural addition to the book, and I'd agree.
That said-- and of course YMMV-- I didn't find Archer to be as unsympathetic a character in later chapters as other reviewers viewed him to be. One positive I found in the book was that despite being blessedly ungraphic, we still see a lot of the damage that's been done in his emotional state during the situation. As such-- with the caveat that there definitely was a bit of a woobie-vibe-- I still found his going-ons about his feelings to be a believable and nice (for given values of the word) aspect of the book.
The lowering in rating comes mainly from the last few chapters and the
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"healing cock"Spoiler
being raped by AdrianThat said-- and of course YMMV-- I didn't find Archer to be as unsympathetic a character in later chapters as other reviewers viewed him to be. One positive I found in the book was that despite
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Archer's rapesmitabird's review
4.0
Ransom was really good, but I found some of the parts regarding the planning of their escape and the ship terminologies boring. However, I absolutely loved the relationship between Will and Davy. Davy has been in love with Will for a few years now, but didn't want to do anything to ruin their friendship. When they are captured, along with their Captain, for ransom, things start to get a little dicey. The kidnapper was a very sadistic man who threatened to geld Will to get Davy to voluntarily sleep with him. Because this book is set in the 1700's, Davy had to keep quiet about what was happening to him. If it came out, he could be kicked out of the Navy or worse, hung for sodomy. During a nightmare Davy was having, he and Will become intimate. This intimacy actually helps Davy endure the kidnapper's attentions and opens the door to one of the sweetest romances I have read in a long time. There was passion, love and tenderness between them and it was a refreshing change to the usual conflicts that potential couples face. This is a story that I definitely recommend.