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misterwisp's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The ideas within the setting are neat. The characters feel strong and distinct. There is a bit of fun high seas piratical action to be had although not as much as I was hoping for. The story was a bit of a mixed bag and some parts were fast paced and others slow. There was more of a romance subplot happening than expected. So overall it's mostly fun although slow in parts and there is less action than you might think from the way the book presents itself. Not bad overall and an easy read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.75
Ultimately, I just disliked Samuel, one of the main POVs of this book. Because it’s the first book in a series, I’ll give Long the benefit of the doubt. This could be laying the foundations for an incredible villain arc. But it just didn’t hit in this book. I felt like the relationships between the characters were underdeveloped, and it was just missing some of the pirate charm that I expected.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, and Murder
jenpen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I loved this book, even though I really did it a disservice by taking so long to finish it. Her writing is very descriptive, making it a slow read, but with such beautiful prose I am not complaining. I especially enjoyed all the foreshadowing and hinting at things to the reader without directly saying it, as this book is absolutely full of mysteries that gradually become unraveled. Even brief lines from the first few chapters hint at plot twists at the very end, making for such a satisfying read.
Funny thing is, there really isn’t much of a plot - I struggled to figure out any character’s motivation for what they were doing. It was the weakest part of the book overall, but by far the strongest would be the world building. The magic and history of the world were extremely well thought out, and the snippets of lore between chapters help immerse you and explain details that would have been unnatural to fit into the main story itself.
The characters were loveable (and I especially loved all the funny lines), but again, not much development going on there since not much happens plot-wise. I hated how Mary seemed to fall in love with every single male character she met, and even the main romance didn’t make sense. As such a heavily character-driven story, this actually makes me more excited to read the sequel to see what happens with the characters from here on, even though this reads as a satisfying standalone. Overall, I found the book immersive, creative, and very fun. Who doesn’t love a good pirate story!
Funny thing is, there really isn’t much of a plot - I struggled to figure out any character’s motivation for what they were doing. It was the weakest part of the book overall, but by far the strongest would be the world building. The magic and history of the world were extremely well thought out, and the snippets of lore between chapters help immerse you and explain details that would have been unnatural to fit into the main story itself.
The characters were loveable (and I especially loved all the funny lines), but again, not much development going on there since not much happens plot-wise. I hated how Mary seemed to fall in love with every single male character she met, and even the main romance didn’t make sense. As such a heavily character-driven story, this actually makes me more excited to read the sequel to see what happens with the characters from here on, even though this reads as a satisfying standalone. Overall, I found the book immersive, creative, and very fun. Who doesn’t love a good pirate story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Addiction
mirificmoxie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual assault, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Slavery, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
mollieweitzman's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Character development is simply not there. I had to create rhymes in my head to tell the male characters apart. The FMC also kind of has chemistry with three of them the only way you know she’s supposed to be interested in Charles by the end is because he’s the other POV. The audiobook was fine, not terrible. May or may not continue the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Kidnapping
Moderate: Sexual assault and Torture
brynalexa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I loved the world building and magic system. The characters were a bit under-developed but had enough back-story to get me through. I was distracted by the lack of diversity in the cast of characters as well as some upsetting decisions made by characters. How could Samuel still love and care about his brother? How could he forgive him?? If it was supposed to be that fixing him needed both twins that should have been brought back up! For the most part the story came together in the end but it doesn’t redeem the character flaws.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
hmlong's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War