Tides of Captivation: A sapphic pirate adventure

by Eden Hopewell

Genres: Lesbian, Pirates, Romance

294 pages, Paperback

Published June 20, 2024

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

some of the chapters in this book are out of order and it throws the entire plot out of sync

[SG · Rating 2 out of 5]

0/5 🌶️

Disclosure: I only read this because I saw the cover and said “oh hot pirates, let’s go.”

I swear to god you could make a drinking game out of how many times “guilded cage” is said and be shit faced by the end of chapter 3. It was very slow to start but did pick up a bit afterwards. I just didn’t feel attached to the characters. The MC annoyed me and I was detached from the romantic aspect. The parts I didn’t care about felt drawn out while the scenes I wanted more of fell short. I did appreciate the descriptions used though, utilizing sound, smell, and texture to immerse yourself into the scenes.

[Jena · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m not entirely sure this book was written by a human. Cover looks AI. Audiobook is read by AI. At the very least, this book is not edited by a human and the author’s instagram is flooded with AI-generated images of their books.

I started reading for the sapphic pirates and could excuse certain annoyances (chapters out of order, overused phrases, etc) for a decent plot, but after looking more into the author I regret wasting my time.

[Jourdan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ignoring the fact that I do not enjoy reading books from a first person perspective, this book was just not very good. The first half is a long, drawn-out setup. Nothing really interesting happens until the last half of the book, unless you find wordy explanations of someone suffering, entertaining. There were quite a few spots where the story felt disjointed or I’d feel like I was reading the same chapter twice. In one case, an entire paragraph was copied and pasted in a row that really shows a lack of care in the editing process.

The main character is nothing short of annoying. Since this is written in a first person perspective, much of this book is her internal dialogue and she is all over the place emotionally. In one paragraph she is talking about how wonderful she feels and in the next she’s acting like her entire world is falling apart. There are so many sudden jumps between strong emotions that it’s hard to understand what she is actually feeling. She ends up coming off as unstable and naive and her character growth falls short of reaching its full arc.

The sapphic aspects of the book are boring. The writer doesn’t really give us enough time to get to know or care about the love interest so any big moments between them feel dull and uninspired. I really have little else to say about it.

There’s a sequel for pre-order according to the end of the book. Maybe it is already out, but I don’t care enough to check. I really don’t see how a sequel could improve on the first in any way, so I’ll be skipping it. I’d recommend skipping this book entirely too.

The more I look into it, this book seems to have been written and edited by AI. Repeated phrases, nonsensical descriptions, the same words repeated over and over (i.e. gilded cage).

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent pirate adventure. Very much focuses on the inner turmoil of the main character, so not for those seeking sexy lesbian pirates. A slow burn love story that allows the main character to feel all her emotions freely, to the point you truly can’t tell what course of action she is going to take. I think that the story is well crafted, and the suspense is done really well. Could maybe have done with a better proof reader? A few sentences and words were out of place, but if you can’t get over that, then you aren’t a courteous reader!!! Thoroughly enjoyed this read. Will be reading the next book too. Fab.

[Stateria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trigger warning: SA
since the author doesn’t wanna add this to the triggers the reader will

I had to put this one down, I’m not sure what the point even was to this story??? Almost looked AI. Just throws random SA scene here an extremely awkward scene there, this book was extremely uncomfortable.

I hate it when I get to the point of having to leave a book unfinished but wow, I feel like I wasted my time. Big NOPE

But biggest thing here… PUT SOME BLOODY TRIGGER WARNINGS ON YOUR BOOK IF YOURE GONNA PUT RANDOM SA SCENES IN YOUR STORY

[Charlee Marshall · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not usually one to give bad ratings. But this was very poorly written, clearly did not run through an editor (or even a friend?) and barely contains any of the Sapphic romance. the story had potential, but was extremely lacking. And I really need the author to look up other ways to say "sent a shiver down my spine" because holy crap that phrase was about on every page.

[Madds · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was okay until we reach the halfway mark and then it just falls flat. It was really exciting in the beginning not knowing what was going to happen but as it went on, it just got boring. If the story was structured differently, then maybe it would’ve been better.

Descriptions/ writing in the book overall was good, but there was no sort of pull to the romance aspect of the story. While reading, I couldnt feel their chemistry, so I just didn’t care about their relationship. It wasn’t sll that spicy, there was no heat between them ya know? And the main character remained mostly flat throughout.

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had promise but the cover art is the best thing about it. So many overused (& completely unnecessary) descriptive words, “gilded cage” on repeat, chapters out of order, and the plot not matching the summary that shows on audible. I wanted to like it.

[Catra · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is good even though i personally didn't like the couple. something was really off with they chemistry.
the plot is very obvious, but it is expected by how it was sold.
I don't understand why have other book though. Is fine as a stand alone.

[April Nilssen · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the story and the characters. I wanted more romance and sexual desire. thy would kiss and then next scene was about the plot not the Lovers. not even them lounging bed or wherever they slept with somw pillow talk. I wanted to see them both vulernable and finding pleasure in each other.

[Steph H · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/4

[jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story was eh

[Lori Gibson · Rating 1 out of 5]

That just wasn’t it.

[Mrs. Hay · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

It’s just so poorly written, not edited. The hard copy was printed with chapters completely out of order. It had so much potential… 🥲

[Ana Lime · Rating 1 out of 5]

I get to add those to read because I read 54% of this AI slop fest - pirate stories are my favorite so I thought I’d just try it but it was impossible.

[Doreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually if I feel negatively about a book, I just skip rating it as reading is so subjective.

the book kept jumping and repeating itself. Some way over the top scripted romance language that was stuck in repeat. I can get chatgpt, or whatever the preferred app is, to do that too.