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A review by shcleveland
Married to a Pirate by Athena Rose
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I want to start by saying that I mostly enjoyed this book. I read it easily in two sittings. The plot was interesting and kept moving in a way that kept me reading. However. I feel like this book has some issues that perhaps should have been smoothed out prior to publication.
The most notable issue with the book for me was that it seems to have a little bit of an identity crisis. The cover says romantasy or possibly even dark fantasy romance. The blurb gives YA. The book itself reads like a watered-down bodice ripper that can’t decide if it wants to be historical fiction or not.
To the book’s credit, the opening author note does state that it is an alternate universe (AU) and that extreme liberty has been taken with historical fact regarding the British empire and its monarchy. That being said, I don’t think the book does a good job of establishing what’s alternative about the setting right from the start. We eventually learn that various gods from various mythologies are real and people are aware of that but…
The world building honestly feels lazy, as if the author couldn’t be bothered to create their own world, but also couldn’t be bothered to research even the most basic facts about Georgian/Regency England. And I’m not just saying that because I’m annoyed about yet more corset slander in a Regency-ish book. Again, for those in the back, most corsets were made for their wearers and were well-fitted, supportive garments that did not restrict the movement of the wearer. The Victorians even had sports corsets! But I digress…
This is not to say that AUs, in general, are lazy. AU stories can be great, but they require a deft touch at building that alternate reality that I think this book was missing.
As for the story itself, I really wish the author had leaned further into that pseudo bodice ripper pirate romance vibe. There was some sexual tension on the page, but I think the book could have withstood just a little more heat. Plot-wise, I was really disappointed by the scene involving indigenous peoples on an island that was eye-rollingly stereotypy. And honestly, the book didn’t even need it. It was long enough as it was, and just having them stranded on a deserted island would have been enough. That’s one part of the old-fashioned bodice ripper vibe I think we need to leave back in 1985.
I have mixed feelings about the twist at the end. It almost, almost had me fooled, which made it very good. But it was also what I was expecting to happen so… I don’t know. Alls well that ends well, I suppose. The epilogue did pique my interest a bit about the next book.
The last thing I want to touch on is the writing. I didn’t really notice any glaring technical or grammatical issues, but it was rather bland in places. There's tight writing, and then there's overly simple writing. This often fell into the latter. Additionally, the decision to call the male lead “Captain Stone” at all times was super annoying. I really think the scenes that focused on him should have just said Stone if the author really wanted to avoid using his given name. It’s also inconsistent with how every other character is addressed in prose, so it just felt weird.
All things considered, I don’t think it’s a bad book. If you just want some fun high-seas brain candy, it’ll do just fine. I think I’ll definitely scratch that itch for a good ol’ fashioned pirate romance if you don’t mind the random fantasy elements.
The most notable issue with the book for me was that it seems to have a little bit of an identity crisis. The cover says romantasy or possibly even dark fantasy romance. The blurb gives YA. The book itself reads like a watered-down bodice ripper that can’t decide if it wants to be historical fiction or not.
To the book’s credit, the opening author note does state that it is an alternate universe (AU) and that extreme liberty has been taken with historical fact regarding the British empire and its monarchy. That being said, I don’t think the book does a good job of establishing what’s alternative about the setting right from the start. We eventually learn that various gods from various mythologies are real and people are aware of that but…
The world building honestly feels lazy, as if the author couldn’t be bothered to create their own world, but also couldn’t be bothered to research even the most basic facts about Georgian/Regency England. And I’m not just saying that because I’m annoyed about yet more corset slander in a Regency-ish book. Again, for those in the back, most corsets were made for their wearers and were well-fitted, supportive garments that did not restrict the movement of the wearer. The Victorians even had sports corsets! But I digress…
This is not to say that AUs, in general, are lazy. AU stories can be great, but they require a deft touch at building that alternate reality that I think this book was missing.
As for the story itself, I really wish the author had leaned further into that pseudo bodice ripper pirate romance vibe. There was some sexual tension on the page, but I think the book could have withstood just a little more heat. Plot-wise, I was really disappointed by the scene involving indigenous peoples on an island that was eye-rollingly stereotypy. And honestly, the book didn’t even need it. It was long enough as it was, and just having them stranded on a deserted island would have been enough. That’s one part of the old-fashioned bodice ripper vibe I think we need to leave back in 1985.
I have mixed feelings about the twist at the end. It almost, almost had me fooled, which made it very good. But it was also what I was expecting to happen so… I don’t know. Alls well that ends well, I suppose. The epilogue did pique my interest a bit about the next book.
The last thing I want to touch on is the writing. I didn’t really notice any glaring technical or grammatical issues, but it was rather bland in places. There's tight writing, and then there's overly simple writing. This often fell into the latter. Additionally, the decision to call the male lead “Captain Stone” at all times was super annoying. I really think the scenes that focused on him should have just said Stone if the author really wanted to avoid using his given name. It’s also inconsistent with how every other character is addressed in prose, so it just felt weird.
All things considered, I don’t think it’s a bad book. If you just want some fun high-seas brain candy, it’ll do just fine. I think I’ll definitely scratch that itch for a good ol’ fashioned pirate romance if you don’t mind the random fantasy elements.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Violence