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Bold

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Bold - a captivating tale of love, sacrifice, and the relentless pursuit of one’s desires.

Step into the world of Maria, a merchant’s daughter, as she navigates the treacherous waters of love and duty. This gripping novel takes you on a thrilling journey through the streets of Port Royal to the Caribbean seas, where Maria’s fate hangs in the balance. Immerse yourself in the vibrant, seafaring world of this historical, romantic adventure, as Maria grapples with her duty, her heart’s desires, and a love that threatens to consume her.

Maria, heiress to the failing Lewis Trading Company of Port Royal, finds herself shackled to an arranged engagement. Her betrothed, a man of wealth and influence from London, holds the salvation of her father’s dwindling empire in his affluent hands.

Yet, despite the promise of financial security, Maria’s heart yearns for another. A privateer. A man of the sea whom she waits for under the moonlight every night. Upon learning he would never return; the desperation pushes Maria to the edge, casting her into the arms of the cold, unforgiving sea to drown her aching sorrows.

However, the sea is a deceptive mistress, holding a dreadful surprise.

Maria is bestowed with a chilling curse, a five-year countdown to locate her beloved privateer or forever serve as a steward to the brokenhearted, a fate as cold as the depths from which the curse arose.

The only path to her salvation? An emblematic black flag. Plundering every British ship she encounters in her desperate search for her seafaring lover. The quest, enshrouded in danger, uncertainty, and deceit, turns into a thrilling adventure and a race against the ticking clock.

When at last she finds her jolly sailor, the discovery is far from the romantic reunion she had fantasized. The reality, as unpredictable as the sea itself, sends a shiver down her spine, a shiver that carries the weight of the Grim truth she must confront. Can she still love when all she had ever known—died?

Bold: Inspired by the song in 1891, "My Jolly Sailor Bold", is an action-packed, romantic, pirate adventure. Boasting a strong female lead and a battle for agency in a world that is afraid of her presence.

Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2024

21 people want to read

About the author

Hana Blue C.

6 books20 followers

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5 stars
18 (75%)
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Gabrielle.
84 reviews4 followers
February 9, 2024
I really enjoyed this novel! The author's writing style is captivating and I enjoyed reading from the FMC's (Maria's) POV and witnessing her character development from beginning to end. My only 2 critiques is that the epilogue seemed a tad unfinished but perhaps it was the author's intention to leave it open-ended. Secondly, the story line slowed down a lot by the 70% mark.

Despite these two items, I'd definitely read the next novel in this series and I'm hoping we'll see more of Anna and Charles' POV (cause tbh I preferred Charles over William...).

Please note that I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Grace Willows.
185 reviews8 followers
January 1, 2024
This book is absolutely magnificent! The plot twists kept you at the edge of your seat through an emotional roller coaster. The writing is amazing and very descriptive so you can visualize every scene. The characters are written well with good character growth. I can not wait for the rest of this series and more from this amazing author!
Profile Image for Ava Bates - Book Dragon Reviews.
21 reviews2 followers
January 14, 2024
Full Ava Bates - Book Dragon Review Here


I’m giving this book a rating of 4.5 out of 5


My fellow book dragons, I had stumbled upon this book around the witching hour one night and somehow managed to cough time travel myself into the next morning. I kid you not, all four hundred and twenty pages tickled me in all the right ways.


BOOK FEATURES
Genre: Romance, Fantasy Romance, Historical Romance
Theme: Pirates, seafaring, mermaids/sirens, strong female leads, curses, action, adventure
POV: Dual main characters, first person perspective
Length of book: 420 pages, I'm a fast reader and I absolutely flew through it
Characters: Well defined and unique
World: Amazing
Writing: Beautiful, eloquent, gut wrenching
Romance: Plentiful
Spice: Some, fluctuates between open door and explicit open door
Suspense/intrigue: Yes!
Ending: Ehh.. It's HEA sorta.. this is a duet series after all, no hard cliffhanger though
Content warnings: sexual scenes, light to medium descriptions of violence and fighting (swords, blood, wounds etc), detailed descriptions of death by illness
Disclaimer: Book received in exchange for review. Under no circumstances does that influence my review in any way, period. I can't lie to save my own butt.. so don't expect me to lie to save anyone else's!


BEST QUOTES FROM THE BOOK
The moon sat a slither of its glory, dull in its shine, leaving the waters an endless void of darkness below us and the nearly starless skies a cloak of cover. Sparse clouds, thin and stringy, cast of grey fog over that crescent of the moon, as though to tell of the dangers lurking in the water this night.

~ Bold by Hana Blue C

"Ye make a formidable siren." His tone fell dark, something unsettling in it. "It suits ye."

She was the first ray of sun splitting the storm. The songbird that woke the morning and signalled its approach.

~ Grim

His voice curled around me, dark and cold and broken, unlike I had ever heard it before.

The sincerity was too vile in his eyes. A useless waste of worry.

The sweet scent of tobacco followed him and the saltiness of the sea. A dangerous sort of alchemy, mixed especially to snare me.

~ Maria

Jealousy- my mother told me it was a monster that left no joy in its wake. I never understood it as well as I did in the year before I met her ... That was when I saw her and heard her voice for the first time as she giggled and crooned on the arm of another.

~ Beck



WORLD YOU'D RATHER THIS OR THAT
The world building is cohesive, extravagant and incredible. I was led from adventure to adventure in various locations, on land and sea. I can’t say too much more without spoiling anything!


TO CHARACTER . . OR NOT TO CHARACTER
The dialogue was such a standout and I’ll tell you dragons exactly why. When you read a spoken line on its own, it’s clear which character it is. The tone, wording/phrasing are all unique to each main and secondary character.


FOOD FOR PLOT
As a book dragon, sometimes you can see things coming a mile away. But the twists and turns are beautifully written and spring up in moments, sending my heart lurching. I catch myself admiring the skillfulness in the aftermath. This writer is a natural, a whole bucket load of innate talent. This book has sunk its claws into me, dragging me into its world and I couldn’t be happier about it.


ON THE WRITE TRACK
I fell in love with the writing first. This is a totally new author for me but I could tell from the first few paragraphs that the writing is fluid and eloquent. It has the beautiful turn of phrase that really tickles my brain when I’m reading. I haven’t read anything quite as nicely written since Phèdre’s Trilogy by Jaqueline Carey .

This author really knows how to spin a tale, she smoothly brushes striking visuals into my mind as easily as a master artist sweeping their imagination into works of art. I was eight chapters in before I took a break, I could not put this book down.


ROMANCE AND SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE
There is flirtiness, there is steam and there is heat. As well as an extravagantly large flowery bouquet of romancing. Be still my beating dragon heart..

The sm-exy scenes are somewhat but not totally explicit. A lot of euphemism is used in the language but the descriptions are relatively detailed. I would say there’s at least three open door scenes (if not more) in the book.


THE END IS NIGH
Thank goodness there’s no cliffhangers to the ending. It’s not quite what one would expect but it’s the ending our star crossed lovers deserve. This is a duet series and I imagine there is more to come.


STORY TIME
I wait, eagerly perched on the edge of my seat, to see what else can be produced by such an incredible author. (If you’re reading this Hana, you must know by now that you’ve ensnared yourself a fan but also a die hard fantasy reader). I wish her the best of luck in fending me off (it won’t happen by the way).

If you love heartfelt contemporary romances, you should also check out her other pen name, Harper B Conway.

All those details (and lots of ways to stalk her) are listed here .


In my head, salt spray is dappled onto my lips and in my hair. I’m on a gorgeous ship, sailing off into a beautiful sunset mirrored onto the crystalline sea with my hunky pirate lord. I hope you also get your sunset and hunky male as well (bookish or otherwise!).

Your book dragon always,
Ava Bates



My bookish smutty self:
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Profile Image for KCreads.
31 reviews8 followers
January 16, 2024
I ate this up starting from page one! Hana’s storytelling skills are top notch! If you read this book I’m sure you’d feel the same.

This is a multi character POV and I won’t share yet who they are as that’s part of the experience while reading the book (no spoilers here).

To my surprise I loved the strong female main character. Which is not usually my thing but she is the right amount of determined, strong willed and push herself to the limits (literally to her limits).

William is also just *chef’s kiss*. He’s the right amount brute and sass but he’s not cocky about it.

Charles, can’t share much about Charles without giving a spoiler but let’s just say if he had his own novella about his POV during the story and then also where he ended up after the story ended I’d buy and read that immediately.

Then there’s the sisters Anna and Emma. I’m glad these characters got more involvement in the second half. I enjoyed their parts.

Like I mentioned this book moves fast from page one but the last 200 pages I was reading at the speed of pedal to the metal. I spent all day reading the last 200 pages. And boy did those cliff hangers leave you hanging. They just made me read even faster to know what happened next! I love that she made sure all the loose ends in the book got tied up.

Her writing style is my jam! I don’t know if her particular style of writing has a name but if it does it is my favorite. I love that you can tell that she did her research on boat and pirate vocabulary. I learned so many new words. And might I add my favorite part of her writing that held strong all throughout the book is her ability to describe things! I could see, smell, hear, feel and taste the scenes and events she described. Felt like all my sense were engaged!! She never repeats the way she describes things and everything is so detailed to the right amount! Her word choice was so poetic! She didn’t overdue it ever like some writers do where it’s just over kill and boring. She always used just the write amount and the right words every time!

Overall thoughts:

This book deserves to be booktok and bookstagram viral! If I could give it more than 5 stars I’d give it 11 stars (that’s just my favorite number). This is my favorite book I’ve ever read! Also, I did not know I liked pirates and sirens as a book genre but here we are now and it is my #1.

“Nothing will ever console me” <3
Profile Image for Tanya.
615 reviews37 followers
January 1, 2024
4.5 Stars

Dedication: For those who yearn to be free; who feel the call of the sea deep in their souls, and carry the salt of the sea within their hearts. This is a tribute to you. A celebration of your wild spirit. May your sails catch the wind and your heart always be filled with boundless freedom.

Bold, book one of the Death’s Fleet series, is written by Hana Blue C. I have read several of Hana’s books and love her writing style. She has definitely gotten me out of my comfort zone of books. I would have most likely never picked up a pirate romance, but here we are, and here I am going to stay!

I love that Hana creates these badass women who do not cower in the face of danger or give up when things become difficult, hell - even when they become cursed! Our fearless Maria is the main character of Bold, a merchant’s daughter turned fiery sea captain! At the story's beginning, you find Maria waiting for her true love only to have her father arrange a marriage to another. Only just arriving at the port the morning earlier, her love leaves without so much as a goodbye, leaving her heartbroken and at the mercy of the sea. The sea is cruel indeed and curses Maria, giving her only five years to find the one that owns her heart. So her adventure begins!

I loved being completely engulfed in this historical romance filled with chilling sea adventures, pillaging, plundering, and mayhem edged with magic and folklore. I loved how descriptive Hana was; it allowed the movie in my head to play continuously as I read. You could smell the disgusting alleyways and could taste the salt on my skin. I look forward to the next book in the series and what it has in store for all of us.

Thank you to Hana Blue C for gifting me an eARC of Bold. I am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Rebel.
2,654 reviews
February 5, 2024
This book is an absolute masterpiece! The plot twists are riveting, keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout an emotional roller coaster. The writing is extraordinary, with vivid descriptions that allow you to immerse yourself in every scene. The characters are skillfully crafted, showcasing significant growth. I'm eagerly anticipating the continuation of this series and more works from this exceptional author!

From the very first page, I devoured this story, captivated by Hana's storytelling prowess, which is undeniably top-notch. If you delve into this book, I'm confident you'll share the same sentiment.

With multiple character points of view, I won't spoil the identities, as discovering them is part of the immersive experience. This historical romance is a captivating journey filled with chilling sea adventures, pillaging, plundering, and mayhem, all infused with magic and folklore. Hana's descriptive prowess allows the scenes to unfold like a continuous movie in my mind. I could practically smell the alleyways and taste the salt on my skin. I eagerly look forward to the next installment in the series and the surprises it holds for all of us.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Kimberly.
833 reviews32 followers
December 30, 2023
Bold by Hana Blue C is book one in the Death’s Fleet Series. I’ve read a few other books by this author and I’m already such a fan of the writing. This book was no exception, this honestly may be my favorite. This book was so good, that I couldn’t put my kindle down. I finished it within the day, I was entranced from the opening chapters. This book was everything I could have wanted and more! The way there were multiple tales that came together was honestly just remarkable. The plot twist had me gripping my poor kindle tight. The writing was beautiful, immersive and the prose that was used was top tier! The world/worldbuilding was so descriptive it felt like you were a part of this tale. The book took me on a journey along with the characters and the emotional rollercoaster I found myself on ranging from panic/anxiety to smiling. Maria was such an amazing character my heart went out to her with everything that she endured and she was so interesting! This book was incredible and Hana Blue C really did a masterful job. I can’t wait to read book two! A definite recommendation.

Final review:
5 out of 5 stars



93 reviews2 followers
February 2, 2024
3.75 stars
1718 Port Royal: Captain William Bristol of the Navy ship the "Maria" owns the heart of the engaged young trading company heiress Maria Lewis-Drummond. Yet she, in turn, is betrothed to her father's financial saviour, one Beck Darius. But circumstances lead Maria to seek Davy Jones' Locker. Near death, Maria strikes a bargain that forever changes her life.
By 1720, she is a cursed pirate captain, one who is pursuing revenge on all Navy vessels and seeking the old privateer, the ghost ship Maria.
And just where does Captain Grim fit into all this?
Ms Blue C, which must be one of the funniest pseudonyms for someone writing about pirates, has spun a good, fun story about the sea and certain legends thereof and assembled an interesting cast to tell her tale. I particularly enjoyed the first mate serving Maria and the notion of the curse and its impact on the lives of all those involved. Bring on book 2.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Rieka.
392 reviews7 followers
December 23, 2023
I was absolutely blown away by this book. I loved how there were two stories happening yet they merge together by the end and crap happens....I mean happens happens! The plot twist in the book kept me on the edge and it made it very hard to put my kindle down. It seemed so much easier to stay engulfed into the seas of Bold.

Maria is a self formed BA female! The traumas she endured by loving a pirate who was married to the sea and what she did to herself for the name of love made for a very interesting emotional roller coaster. I will say I prefer Grim over William. Two of one kind but one held my attention more. IYKYK!! That one captain of that one ship at the end though....what in the world is gonna happen next?!?!
Profile Image for Michelle.
59 reviews
January 1, 2024
Hana does it again. Bold is a beautifully written book with another amazing female lead. But first let’s talk about that Character development. We get to watch both characters, William and Maria, transform and grow. Maria goes from being confined to the traditional roles and responsibilities of the women of her time period. To devastatingly heartbroken and desperate. To a strong and independent Captain that would do anything to find man she loves. This Includes pillaging and plundering the high seas. I probably enjoyed Williams growth the most. His was more than breaking the gender roles of the time period but was also looking past nautical legends, folklore and superstitions. He also had to lose everything to realize what truly mattered to him.
Profile Image for Arini Vlotman.
Author 5 books53 followers
December 16, 2023
The plot twist in the first few chapters of Bold was insane, I couldn't help but want to read more about Maria. This world is so descriptive, I found myself imagining every scene on ship or land, to the finest detail. Maria's story is an emotional rollercoaster, she has the uncanny ability to make the reader anxious and jubilant at the same time!
As a supernatural and romance fan, those elements of the story kept me reading, and I finished this book in three days. I highly recommend for readers who enjoy depth, multiple storyline, subtle foreshadowing and a very satisfying ending.
Profile Image for Debbie.
18 reviews3 followers
January 4, 2024
I have read many books by Hana Blue this was however my first ever Pirate supernatural read and I hate to admit I was leery at first. However, it did not disappoint add it to your 2024 read list, like now!!!! Bold is the first of the Death’s fleet series it has such great character development and an amazing storyline. Hana has once again had me go through a range of emotions while reading this book that kept me enthralled and brought me to its own little world. Imagining being in Maria’s shoes such a strong female character which I love, I can’t wait to see what comes next in the series.
Profile Image for Cali Mafiaa.
401 reviews23 followers
January 12, 2024
Oohhh my gosh this book was absolutely amazing!!! I love Hana’s writing so much & how she just captivates you in her books!!! I could never get enough!! It’s just soooo good!!

Oohhh my gosh I love Maria’s character!! & how badazz she is oh my wow!! & Oohh my gosh the twists & turns will have you wanting to know more!! Oh my wow I don’t wanna say anymore cuz I don’t wanna give anything away but you definitely gotta read this book it’s a must freak’n read!!! 🩵🖤

Oohhh & I can’t wait to see what else happens in this series!!! Aahhhh sooo good!!! Ok haha go read it!!! 🫶🏼🫶🏼
Profile Image for Carole.
2,014 reviews15 followers
January 14, 2024
Bold is book one of the author’s new Death’s Fleet series and a fiery dark romance that’s filled with action-adventure,pirates,lost love,and the magic of the sea.
For anyone seeking engaging characters,exciting twists and captivating writing,become immersed in this tale of passion and desires that sometimes lead to places we could hardly have imagined as MFC Maria learns in a journey the reader will join.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Trina Gomez.
202 reviews3 followers
January 15, 2024
This book is fantastic! I loved it so much. With the turn of each page I was completely immersed in Hana's world of sea fairing pirates, and the heroine Maria who is my kind of heroine to be sure, she is strong, brave and ready to take live into her hands. This book is filled with action, adventure, great characters and settings. recommended!!!!!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Bunni ❤️‘S monkey&woo.
254 reviews3 followers
January 15, 2024
Holy Carp!! I couldn’t put this book down! I flippin loved, loved, loved it!!!
From the beginning of the high sea adventure to the end, I was hooked- line and sinker!! (Sorry for all the sea puns) ;)

! I’m trying to rack my brain, if I ever read a pirate fantasy and if I hadn’t, why not??? This is def. The best book I read in a while & I highly recommend it!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Mappy BookGirl.
510 reviews12 followers
January 3, 2025
Who doesn't love a good piratey romance? I know I do, and this book did not disappoint. The biggest thing I loved about this book was the character development. There were some huge changes in the characters and it was fascinating to see how they transformed through the story. I really enjoyed reading this book and I can't wait to read the next one! I really love this author's writing style.
Profile Image for karou.
176 reviews10 followers
July 27, 2024
sem dúvidas um dos favoritos desse ano e de vida ☄️‼️ escrita complementarmente entusiasmante… quase 4hrs de livro e eu queria comer mais página a cada capítulo que terminava ✨✨🤧👏
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