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Blood Sails
A boy with legendary magic. A cursed pirate captain. An eternal ship.
Will Ilyanson has a secret which he keeps close to his chest, even though it could save him from his mundane existence as the son of a merchant who has decided to marry him off to a business partner. But, his secret saves his life when he is captured by the infamous Captain James Carnway and the crew of the Phoenix, the deadliest pirate ship on the seas.
Will finds himself bound to the infuriating captain and discovers the darker parts of himself as he enters the world of magic, pirates and monsters. James is handsome, twisted and brutal, but his crew all claim he rescued them from worse fates and set them free. Exactly what Will has been craving his whole life. The Phoenix battles deadly storms and other pirates on a quest to break their captain from his curse, all while they strive to stay one step ahead of the Merchants and Will's fiancé who desperately wants him back.
Can the only man Will trusts be the one holding him prisoner? And how far into the dark is he willing to go to save his new family and his freedom?
Will Ilyanson has a secret which he keeps close to his chest, even though it could save him from his mundane existence as the son of a merchant who has decided to marry him off to a business partner. But, his secret saves his life when he is captured by the infamous Captain James Carnway and the crew of the Phoenix, the deadliest pirate ship on the seas.
Will finds himself bound to the infuriating captain and discovers the darker parts of himself as he enters the world of magic, pirates and monsters. James is handsome, twisted and brutal, but his crew all claim he rescued them from worse fates and set them free. Exactly what Will has been craving his whole life. The Phoenix battles deadly storms and other pirates on a quest to break their captain from his curse, all while they strive to stay one step ahead of the Merchants and Will's fiancé who desperately wants him back.
Can the only man Will trusts be the one holding him prisoner? And how far into the dark is he willing to go to save his new family and his freedom?
314 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 2024
163 people want to read
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October 3, 2024I read this as a beta and it’s my favorite of sierra’s works to date. A fun, fast read with high seas adventure and weird kinky blood sex and irredeemably amoral main characters. A total blast.
September 2, 2024
"Blood Sails" swept me off my feet from the very first page! This thrilling fantasy romance has everything I could ever want—pirates, magic, adventure, and plenty of spice to keep things sizzling. The chemistry between Will and Captain James Carnway is electric, and their relationship is a tantalizing mix of tension, passion, and danger. Will's journey from a merchant's son to a man entangled in a world of dark magic and cursed pirates is amazing and I found myself swooning - laughing - crying as he struggled to reconcile his desire for freedom with his growing attraction to the enigmatic captain. The Phoenix and its crew are wonderfully vivid, and their quest to break James' curse kept me hooked until the very end. This book was one of my favorites this year and highly recommend giving it a read, you will not be disappointed!!
October 5, 2024
Gay pirates with mages and magic and monsters? Yes please! This is a fun book with dark themes at times, but it doesn’t feel dark. It’s a light and easy read that could use just a bit of polish but honestly it was a blast to read! I liked a lot of this authors ideas, she has a really fun world here.
I would definitely love to read more books in this universe!
Be aware this book can be considered to contain nonconsensual actions due to Will having a collar on that can control him. However, as Will grows in his power he realizes the collar can’t contain him.
Will is a 22 year old cis white gay man. He is described as “His face was narrow, his cheekbones high. Black hair and large dark brown eyes made his skin appear unnaturally pale.” He has a lean build and is 5’6”. He likes simple, practical clothes. He likes reading and isn’t very social usually. He’s quiet in his daily life but isn’t himself around the Merchants. He’s also a blood mage. He’s betrothed to a creepy older man named Simon Salsibar who is in his late 30s who clearly can’t land someone his own age. His dad is one of the Merchants, wealthy business people who prize profit and power over all else. He gradually lets himself become his true self: a stabby, cocky, powerful blood mage.
James is a 25 year old cis white gay man. He has long blonde hair and green eyes. He’s on the leaner side but muscular and several inches taller than Will. He also loves to read. He was born to a wealthy family, and his mom was the mayor of the town. His brother Bobby was adopted by her when his other parents died. The town was drained dry by the Merchants, and his mom tried to lead a revolt and was caught and hung. He and his brother escaped and eventually joined a pirate ship. James can be very possessive of Will at times. He’s also stabby and cocky, but he’s a regular human (other than the curse that makes him immortal at sea and took his heart from his chest).
I absolutely adored the character of Will we got to see him let go of his constraints and accept who he is for the first time in his life. He turns out to be a fairly stubborn, surprisingly stoic in the face of danger, foul-mouthed, powerful blood mage. I also adored that he was bonkers and James was bonkers and they ended up happily bonkers together. They’re both pretty stabby and unhinged, so they match each other, which was a lot of fun! I prefer if there’s a bonkers MC that the other be that way too. Having a sweet innocent MC and an unhinged MC isn’t nearly as fun to me. This way, it’s not so unbalanced.
This world is open about queer people existing, and same gender love isn’t abnormal, and trans people openly exist. But much like in real life there’s a strong emphasis on the “right” choice of choosing a spouse who can provide biological children to continue bloodlines, and the ideal being restrained to a gender binary as assigned at birth. So a person can be queer, but it’s highly approved of and encouraged to choose an opposite gender partner who can procreate, whether the person likes the opposite gender or not.
Several typos or errors that I noticed, more in the back half of the book for sure, but not too bad for an indie (I’m assuming it’s indie and had no editor?) book. Some misspellings, missing words, wrong word used, etc.. At least one super sided scene/location change without warning from one paragraph to the next. Some of the writing could use a bit of tightening up, but I’m nitpicking at this point. I also didn’t love the choice to kill a major character to develop the feelings of an MC, but I rarely enjoy that creative decision. I felt this death was a massive one and it didn’t have the time to really feel impactful (and I think the book was too light to really support such a major death). I think it would have worked better had it been a more minor character, but that’s just me. I felt the back half of the book, while fun, was less coherent at times and a bit rushed.
Quotes:
“No one, I repeat, no one, lays a hand on my mage,” James snarled. “His blood is not to be spilled or I shall spill yours. Understood?”
“You couldn’t handle me,” he said, casually drawing his claws down his face, leaving wet red lines in their wake. “I’m so much worse.” All the lights in the tavern flickered and the wind picked up, flapping the edges of Will’s coat, fire licking along the sleeves. He let his magic lead him, guide him. He knew this display of power was over the top, but he did not care. He was tired of hiding, tired of being careful.
“It would be the right call,” Will said. “Then I’d be close to Salsibar and I could—”
“No,” James cut him off. “Over my dead body.”
“Why not?” Will snapped back. “I thought you believed in me, Captain.”
James’s green eyes were dangerous. “I am not letting that bastard get his hands on you again.”
“He wouldn’t—” Will began.
“You are mine!” James shouted. “You belong to me, darling, and I am not giving you up.”
“Just glad to know, even with the collar we are equals,” Will replied, his smirk clear in his voice.
No matter what James and the rest of the crew said, if Will had the option to sacrifice himself to save them, he would. He finally had a home and a true family and he would do whatever he had to do to protect them.
Tropes and content warnings:
—instances of non con groping, kissing, and threat of rape (not between MCs)
—sea goddess who refused to believe James couldn’t be attracted to a woman
—major character death
—kidnapping
—Will gets backhanded and threatened with murder by James initially
—restraint and physical harm to get Will “used to pain,” dub con since Will actually likes it but technically couldn’t refuse if he hadn’t
—rep: gay rep (Murphy, Will and James, likely Salsibar since he chose a husband), ace rep (Bobby), deaf rep (Alyssa the storm mage), enby rep (Ricco), trans woman rep (Poppy, Jasmine), bisexual rep (Callyann), dyslexic rep (Bobby), sapphic rep (Alyssa, Riva)
—blood play
—knife play
—some pain play (with the knife)
—virgin MC (Will)
—no sex until like 60%, after the characters fall in love
—explicit sex scenes (a couple of them)
Other:
—First person single POV
—cheating: no
—other person romantic drama: not really. Will has a crazy sort of fiancé who wants him, and Murphy gets a crush on Will for a bit. Murphy also has a crush on James at the start of the book.
—breakup: no
—kids: no
—sexual roles: James tops and Will bottoms. Will is the more powerful person in daily life, but prefers a more submissive role in bed, which was a fun dichotomy I thought.
—HEA: yes
I would definitely love to read more books in this universe!
Be aware this book can be considered to contain nonconsensual actions due to Will having a collar on that can control him. However, as Will grows in his power he realizes the collar can’t contain him.
Will is a 22 year old cis white gay man. He is described as “His face was narrow, his cheekbones high. Black hair and large dark brown eyes made his skin appear unnaturally pale.” He has a lean build and is 5’6”. He likes simple, practical clothes. He likes reading and isn’t very social usually. He’s quiet in his daily life but isn’t himself around the Merchants. He’s also a blood mage. He’s betrothed to a creepy older man named Simon Salsibar who is in his late 30s who clearly can’t land someone his own age. His dad is one of the Merchants, wealthy business people who prize profit and power over all else. He gradually lets himself become his true self: a stabby, cocky, powerful blood mage.
James is a 25 year old cis white gay man. He has long blonde hair and green eyes. He’s on the leaner side but muscular and several inches taller than Will. He also loves to read. He was born to a wealthy family, and his mom was the mayor of the town. His brother Bobby was adopted by her when his other parents died. The town was drained dry by the Merchants, and his mom tried to lead a revolt and was caught and hung. He and his brother escaped and eventually joined a pirate ship. James can be very possessive of Will at times. He’s also stabby and cocky, but he’s a regular human (other than the curse that makes him immortal at sea and took his heart from his chest).
I absolutely adored the character of Will we got to see him let go of his constraints and accept who he is for the first time in his life. He turns out to be a fairly stubborn, surprisingly stoic in the face of danger, foul-mouthed, powerful blood mage. I also adored that he was bonkers and James was bonkers and they ended up happily bonkers together. They’re both pretty stabby and unhinged, so they match each other, which was a lot of fun! I prefer if there’s a bonkers MC that the other be that way too. Having a sweet innocent MC and an unhinged MC isn’t nearly as fun to me. This way, it’s not so unbalanced.
This world is open about queer people existing, and same gender love isn’t abnormal, and trans people openly exist. But much like in real life there’s a strong emphasis on the “right” choice of choosing a spouse who can provide biological children to continue bloodlines, and the ideal being restrained to a gender binary as assigned at birth. So a person can be queer, but it’s highly approved of and encouraged to choose an opposite gender partner who can procreate, whether the person likes the opposite gender or not.
Several typos or errors that I noticed, more in the back half of the book for sure, but not too bad for an indie (I’m assuming it’s indie and had no editor?) book. Some misspellings, missing words, wrong word used, etc.. At least one super sided scene/location change without warning from one paragraph to the next. Some of the writing could use a bit of tightening up, but I’m nitpicking at this point. I also didn’t love the choice to kill a major character to develop the feelings of an MC, but I rarely enjoy that creative decision. I felt this death was a massive one and it didn’t have the time to really feel impactful (and I think the book was too light to really support such a major death). I think it would have worked better had it been a more minor character, but that’s just me. I felt the back half of the book, while fun, was less coherent at times and a bit rushed.
Quotes:
“No one, I repeat, no one, lays a hand on my mage,” James snarled. “His blood is not to be spilled or I shall spill yours. Understood?”
“You couldn’t handle me,” he said, casually drawing his claws down his face, leaving wet red lines in their wake. “I’m so much worse.” All the lights in the tavern flickered and the wind picked up, flapping the edges of Will’s coat, fire licking along the sleeves. He let his magic lead him, guide him. He knew this display of power was over the top, but he did not care. He was tired of hiding, tired of being careful.
“It would be the right call,” Will said. “Then I’d be close to Salsibar and I could—”
“No,” James cut him off. “Over my dead body.”
“Why not?” Will snapped back. “I thought you believed in me, Captain.”
James’s green eyes were dangerous. “I am not letting that bastard get his hands on you again.”
“He wouldn’t—” Will began.
“You are mine!” James shouted. “You belong to me, darling, and I am not giving you up.”
“Just glad to know, even with the collar we are equals,” Will replied, his smirk clear in his voice.
No matter what James and the rest of the crew said, if Will had the option to sacrifice himself to save them, he would. He finally had a home and a true family and he would do whatever he had to do to protect them.
Tropes and content warnings:
—instances of non con groping, kissing, and threat of rape (not between MCs)
—sea goddess who refused to believe James couldn’t be attracted to a woman
—major character death
—kidnapping
—Will gets backhanded and threatened with murder by James initially
—restraint and physical harm to get Will “used to pain,” dub con since Will actually likes it but technically couldn’t refuse if he hadn’t
—rep: gay rep (Murphy, Will and James, likely Salsibar since he chose a husband), ace rep (Bobby), deaf rep (Alyssa the storm mage), enby rep (Ricco), trans woman rep (Poppy, Jasmine), bisexual rep (Callyann), dyslexic rep (Bobby), sapphic rep (Alyssa, Riva)
—blood play
—knife play
—some pain play (with the knife)
—virgin MC (Will)
—no sex until like 60%, after the characters fall in love
—explicit sex scenes (a couple of them)
Other:
—First person single POV
—cheating: no
—other person romantic drama: not really. Will has a crazy sort of fiancé who wants him, and Murphy gets a crush on Will for a bit. Murphy also has a crush on James at the start of the book.
—breakup: no
—kids: no
—sexual roles: James tops and Will bottoms. Will is the more powerful person in daily life, but prefers a more submissive role in bed, which was a fun dichotomy I thought.
—HEA: yes
September 26, 2024
Blood Sails follows Will Illyanson, the son of a merchant, as he grapples with what he wants in life. There is also a secret he's been keeping from everyone. Just when his father announces his plans to marry Will off to a business partner, Will is kidnapped by the infamous pirate Captain James Carnway and his crew. Now, aboard the Phoenix, Will is bound by magic to the captain, who is both infuriating and handsome. But as Will adjusts to his new life on the seas, he begins to see his crewmates as family. He even begins to fall for smug James Carnway. But James and the Phoenix are cursed, and Will's would-be fiancé would do anything to get him back.
This book was so adventurous! I loved the story and the characters. Like Will, I also fell in love with Captain James Carnway (as well as his infuriating smirk) and his crew. I especially liked Kai and Alyssa, but they were all awesome tbh. And Bobby, my heart 🩷🩷🩷 This story had me hooked from the beginning. Each chapter was so much fun and so much happened. I loved all of it! At first I was a bit nervous about the "he makes him worse" trope, just because I wasn't sure how dark it would get, but it ended up being the perfect amount for me! This book had me laughing out loud, kicking my feet, and whisper yelling at the characters (looking at you, James). I recommend for those interested in reading a fun and sexy pirate adventure!
Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review ❤️
Rating: 5 stars 🩷
Release date: September 28th, 2024 🩷
Representation:
♡ Bi mc
♡ Disability rep
♡ Trans and non-binary side characters
What to expect:
♡ Enemies to lovers
♡ Hurt/Comfort
♡ Possessiveness
♡ Found family
♡ Grumpy/Feral sunshine
♡ Blood k*nk
♡ HEA
This book was so adventurous! I loved the story and the characters. Like Will, I also fell in love with Captain James Carnway (as well as his infuriating smirk) and his crew. I especially liked Kai and Alyssa, but they were all awesome tbh. And Bobby, my heart 🩷🩷🩷 This story had me hooked from the beginning. Each chapter was so much fun and so much happened. I loved all of it! At first I was a bit nervous about the "he makes him worse" trope, just because I wasn't sure how dark it would get, but it ended up being the perfect amount for me! This book had me laughing out loud, kicking my feet, and whisper yelling at the characters (looking at you, James). I recommend for those interested in reading a fun and sexy pirate adventure!
Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review ❤️
Rating: 5 stars 🩷
Release date: September 28th, 2024 🩷
Representation:
♡ Bi mc
♡ Disability rep
♡ Trans and non-binary side characters
What to expect:
♡ Enemies to lovers
♡ Hurt/Comfort
♡ Possessiveness
♡ Found family
♡ Grumpy/Feral sunshine
♡ Blood k*nk
♡ HEA
September 14, 2024
Absolutely LOVED the bloody freaky sex (the character development and plot were good too but I know what I was reading for 🥵🩸)
October 16, 2024
this was somuch fun (insanely hot too) if we just ignore the death of my favorite character
July 25, 2025
This book has a ton of LGBTQ representation, and a very toxic romantic relationship between the two main characters, who are white men.
This book starts with James drugging and then kidnapping Will. Yikes. Already a terrible start to a potential love interest. James fully intends on killing Will until he realizes Will is a blood mage. So with a magical collar, he makes Will his slave instead. Even more yikes. And James is a total creep, refusing to call Will by his name, and calling him “darling” instead. Yiiiiikes.
Despite all this, Will has always yearned to be free of his previous life, and James is hot, so they get together. Stockholm syndrome to the max. James has rapey vibes and is toxically jealous and just generally hatable in my opinion.
The two main characters are white men. That being said, this book features queer, trans, nonbinary, asexual, autistic, and disabled characters. There is a found family, but the family dynamic seems very toxic and violent at times.
The concept of blood magic and the idea of a phoenix ship was interesting. There is a LOT of blood in this book. And lots of sexually charged bloody scenes - yes, bloody and sexual. Weird combination in my opinion and not my thing. If you are squeamish about blood, DO NOT read this.
I mostly hated this book for the above reasons, but I also couldn’t stop reading. Out of morbid curiosity perhaps? And this book had a ton of LGBTQ representation, so that was a plus. So I’ll give it a 3.5.
This book starts with James drugging and then kidnapping Will. Yikes. Already a terrible start to a potential love interest. James fully intends on killing Will until he realizes Will is a blood mage. So with a magical collar, he makes Will his slave instead. Even more yikes. And James is a total creep, refusing to call Will by his name, and calling him “darling” instead. Yiiiiikes.
Despite all this, Will has always yearned to be free of his previous life, and James is hot, so they get together. Stockholm syndrome to the max. James has rapey vibes and is toxically jealous and just generally hatable in my opinion.
The two main characters are white men. That being said, this book features queer, trans, nonbinary, asexual, autistic, and disabled characters. There is a found family, but the family dynamic seems very toxic and violent at times.
The concept of blood magic and the idea of a phoenix ship was interesting. There is a LOT of blood in this book. And lots of sexually charged bloody scenes - yes, bloody and sexual. Weird combination in my opinion and not my thing. If you are squeamish about blood, DO NOT read this.
I mostly hated this book for the above reasons, but I also couldn’t stop reading. Out of morbid curiosity perhaps? And this book had a ton of LGBTQ representation, so that was a plus. So I’ll give it a 3.5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2024
I AM OBSESSED!
When I say I devoured this book, I truly mean like a starved man. The yearning, the angst, the smut... mwah it had to be hand crafted by Gordon Ramsey himself because I ate this up in record time. Will and James have my heart, they were perfect for each other and watching their relationship grow had me feeling normal and sane (lies).
The plot was absolutely beautiful with twists and turns I loved the portrayal of pirates, the high seas and the fantastical world they lived in.
Also Poppy???? POPPY, MY LOVE!! I'm going to miss you. Poppy spin off when??
Thank you to the author for the ARC! I cannot wait to get my paperback because this cover? Beautiful, spectacular, stunning, give me 14 more immediately
When I say I devoured this book, I truly mean like a starved man. The yearning, the angst, the smut... mwah it had to be hand crafted by Gordon Ramsey himself because I ate this up in record time. Will and James have my heart, they were perfect for each other and watching their relationship grow had me feeling normal and sane (lies).
The plot was absolutely beautiful with twists and turns I loved the portrayal of pirates, the high seas and the fantastical world they lived in.
Also Poppy???? POPPY, MY LOVE!! I'm going to miss you. Poppy spin off when??
Thank you to the author for the ARC! I cannot wait to get my paperback because this cover? Beautiful, spectacular, stunning, give me 14 more immediately
August 24, 2024
My rating: 4.25 Stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
CW: Violence, Death, Blood, Gore, Body mutilation, self-harming, explicit sexual content, nonconsensual drugging, sexual harassment
So, first of all, I had a great time reading this, it was very entertaining. And that's how I'm rating it.
Remember this if you keep reading, I genuinely had a lot of fun. I also tried to figure out why and I think the answer is that it reads like one of my self-insert daydreams (don't judge me lol).
The queer rep is good.
That said, I'm having a hard time finding other good things to say about it. The writing style and characters and plot and everything feels like fanfiction but like not one of the well written ones. The cliché ones you think of when you hear fanfiction. That is genuinely the best way I can describe it.
The enemies weren't enemies anymore after like 10% of the book (it also had some insta love vibes) and the family was found after like 20%.
I also felt like we didn't get to /really/ know the characters but that's a problem I have with nearly every fast-paced book so that might just be me.
The world building wasn't that well thought out, there were some inconsistencies, not quite plot holes but just stuff that didn't quite make sense and the more I'm thinking about it the more I'm finding.
Also the spice was meh.
SPOILER
So yeah, looking at it from afar: not a good book. And I did notice those things while reading but somehow they just didn't bother me that much. For me this was a stupid fun lil read in between and I sure had a good time.
This is a book for when you don't want to think. And with that I mean do not think while reading it.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
CW: Violence, Death, Blood, Gore, Body mutilation, self-harming, explicit sexual content, nonconsensual drugging, sexual harassment
So, first of all, I had a great time reading this, it was very entertaining. And that's how I'm rating it.
Remember this if you keep reading, I genuinely had a lot of fun. I also tried to figure out why and I think the answer is that it reads like one of my self-insert daydreams (don't judge me lol).
The queer rep is good.
That said, I'm having a hard time finding other good things to say about it. The writing style and characters and plot and everything feels like fanfiction but like not one of the well written ones. The cliché ones you think of when you hear fanfiction. That is genuinely the best way I can describe it.
The enemies weren't enemies anymore after like 10% of the book (it also had some insta love vibes) and the family was found after like 20%.
I also felt like we didn't get to /really/ know the characters but that's a problem I have with nearly every fast-paced book so that might just be me.
The world building wasn't that well thought out, there were some inconsistencies, not quite plot holes but just stuff that didn't quite make sense and the more I'm thinking about it the more I'm finding.
Also the spice was meh.
SPOILER
So yeah, looking at it from afar: not a good book. And I did notice those things while reading but somehow they just didn't bother me that much. For me this was a stupid fun lil read in between and I sure had a good time.
This is a book for when you don't want to think. And with that I mean do not think while reading it.
Read
January 10, 2025DNF for now
June 1, 2025
Hace banda que no leía una historia así, llena de aventuras, maldiciones y piratas 🌊🧭✨️⚜️🏴☠️
October 3, 2024
ARC Review:
Blood Sails is a spicy queer novel about magic and pirates. Overall, it was a fantastic read. Great world building, a fun magic system, and good conflicts! My only complaint is that I would have liked more character depth of the ship's crew.
Highly recommend!
Blood Sails is a spicy queer novel about magic and pirates. Overall, it was a fantastic read. Great world building, a fun magic system, and good conflicts! My only complaint is that I would have liked more character depth of the ship's crew.
Highly recommend!
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