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Lesbians, Pirates, and Dragons #1
Pirates of Aletharia
A sapphic fantasy romance for people who love dangerous women, magical worlds, and lesbian pirates.
Emilia Drakon was once the youngest and kindest of the dragon sorcerers, but she's now the last of her kind. Betrayed and angry, she trades her meekness for a sword and embarks on a quest for vengeance that will lead her straight into the arms of the legendary Captain Maria Welles.
Captain of the famed pirate ship, the Wicked Fate, Maria is every bit as treacherous and bloodthirsty as they say. She has her own vendetta and practically jumps at the chance to trick Emilia into joining her crew.
But when their animosity toward each other blossoms into a passionate romance, the two women will have to decide what they want most.
Vengeance?
Or love?
Contains mature themes.
Emilia Drakon was once the youngest and kindest of the dragon sorcerers, but she's now the last of her kind. Betrayed and angry, she trades her meekness for a sword and embarks on a quest for vengeance that will lead her straight into the arms of the legendary Captain Maria Welles.
Captain of the famed pirate ship, the Wicked Fate, Maria is every bit as treacherous and bloodthirsty as they say. She has her own vendetta and practically jumps at the chance to trick Emilia into joining her crew.
But when their animosity toward each other blossoms into a passionate romance, the two women will have to decide what they want most.
Vengeance?
Or love?
Contains mature themes.
Audible Audio
First published December 20, 2021
266 people are currently reading
4809 people want to read
About the author
Britney Jackson
6 books392 followersBritney Jackson is an award-winning author of LGBTQ fantasy and sapphic romance. She’s adored books for as long as she can remember and has loved writing for almost as long.
She has a passion for creating the kind of heroes she needed when she was younger: heroines with mental illness, flaws, and traumatic pasts. She centers her books around strong, lesbian and bisexual women who find courage, love, and happy endings.
She resides in Alabama with her two kids and the snuggliest cat you’ll ever meet. She has a Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts and Religion and did her graduate work in English.
Her recent sapphic fantasy novel, Pirates of Aletharia, won a Goldie Award in 2022, and she’s currently at work on its sequel.
Learn more at britneyjackson.com.
She has a passion for creating the kind of heroes she needed when she was younger: heroines with mental illness, flaws, and traumatic pasts. She centers her books around strong, lesbian and bisexual women who find courage, love, and happy endings.
She resides in Alabama with her two kids and the snuggliest cat you’ll ever meet. She has a Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts and Religion and did her graduate work in English.
Her recent sapphic fantasy novel, Pirates of Aletharia, won a Goldie Award in 2022, and she’s currently at work on its sequel.
Learn more at britneyjackson.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 411 reviews
January 3, 2024
23/12/2021: FAVORITE PIRATE BOOK EVER!! Omg this was so good!! Like so so so good!! It legit blew my mind! The world the author, amazingly talented Britney, created is just epic and the plot is perfect and the characters even more so!! I don’t have words to describe the perfection of this book and this pirate world and the complex characters! Just wow! I love pirate stories and this one is legit the best one I’ve ever read thus far! I’m addicted! I really need book 2 right NOW!!!!! This was the first book of the series and it ends sort of in a cliffhanger, but not a bad one per say, and that made me love it even more. I’m really truly excited for book 2 and I’m praying it doesn’t take too long to come out because I’m really desperate for it, that’s how great this story and characters are. Just wow! I recommend everyone to read this flawless book! And I’d really love to see this story being turned into a tv show or something, I really had an amazing time imagining all this playing out in my head. I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! Book 2, I’m eagerly waiting for you 😍
01/01/2024 (Re-read): Since I found out the second book is coming out very soon, I decided to remind myself of this beautiful story and listened to the audiobook this time AND WOW!! The narrator is excellent and made the story even better, like, this story was already THE BEST, but now I love it even more!! CAN’T WAIT FOR BOOK 2!! I love this universe and story so damn much!! It really is my favorite pirate story and the best I’ve read to be honest. 100% recommend 🥰
01/01/2024 (Re-read): Since I found out the second book is coming out very soon, I decided to remind myself of this beautiful story and listened to the audiobook this time AND WOW!! The narrator is excellent and made the story even better, like, this story was already THE BEST, but now I love it even more!! CAN’T WAIT FOR BOOK 2!! I love this universe and story so damn much!! It really is my favorite pirate story and the best I’ve read to be honest. 100% recommend 🥰
July 1, 2024
3.5
Great premise and great narration. Bad pacing.
You have a runaway witch/mage And a sexy pirate captain . Loads of sexual tension.
The first 20% was perfect. I was sure this was going to be amazing. Unfortunately the middle could have used better editing & ramped up either the romance or the action. Because quite frankly nothing really happens.The book could lose about 100 pages if edited properly.
We are told Emilia has these powers but we spend the majority of the book not seeing them. Instead we see her continuously refusing to respect the captain of the ship she begged to be on. Fortunately for her ,the cap wants to bang her.
Yet 80% in and there was still no banging….
Overall the narrator carried this book and made it more enjoyable, but it could’ve been much better(I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a sapphic fantasy)
Great premise and great narration. Bad pacing.
You have a runaway witch/mage And a sexy pirate captain . Loads of sexual tension.
The first 20% was perfect. I was sure this was going to be amazing. Unfortunately the middle could have used better editing & ramped up either the romance or the action. Because quite frankly nothing really happens.The book could lose about 100 pages if edited properly.
We are told Emilia has these powers but we spend the majority of the book not seeing them. Instead we see her continuously refusing to respect the captain of the ship she begged to be on. Fortunately for her ,the cap wants to bang her.
Yet 80% in and there was still no banging….
Overall the narrator carried this book and made it more enjoyable, but it could’ve been much better(I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a sapphic fantasy)
January 26, 2023
I expected swashbuckling, treacherous seas, and all manner of pirate-y excitement...What I got was a pirate-flavoured romance instead. I'm not mad about it, I'm just trying to reconcile waiting 16 hours and 47 minutes for action that never happened.
Pirates of Aletharia is, first and foremost, a romance. A very quippy, banter-filled, love-hate kind of romance with some great side characters (I even liked the cat - and that's saying something), a few stabbings/killings, and the occasional tiny bit of action. The action scenes are few and far between and all resolve quite quickly, so definitely don't go into this one expecting a grand fantasy adventure - it's a romance that primarily takes place on a pirate ship between a surly, sexy pirate captain with a reputation to uphold and a lonely, mistrusting dragon witch with dangerous secrets.
Despite the lack of action, I really enjoyed it! The relationship development between Maria and Amelia was great - simultaneously heartwarming, funny, and frustrating. The side characters Helen, Judith, and Rat Slayer all added some great comedy and tenderness to the story as well. I would definitely recommend this for the angsty, love-hate romance, the pirate version of found-family, and a pretty great cat.
Also definitely go with the audio version. Lindsay Dorcus did a phenomenal job of it with some pretty well-done accents!
Pirates of Aletharia is, first and foremost, a romance. A very quippy, banter-filled, love-hate kind of romance with some great side characters (I even liked the cat - and that's saying something), a few stabbings/killings, and the occasional tiny bit of action. The action scenes are few and far between and all resolve quite quickly, so definitely don't go into this one expecting a grand fantasy adventure - it's a romance that primarily takes place on a pirate ship between a surly, sexy pirate captain with a reputation to uphold and a lonely, mistrusting dragon witch with dangerous secrets.
Despite the lack of action, I really enjoyed it! The relationship development between Maria and Amelia was great - simultaneously heartwarming, funny, and frustrating. The side characters Helen, Judith, and Rat Slayer all added some great comedy and tenderness to the story as well. I would definitely recommend this for the angsty, love-hate romance, the pirate version of found-family, and a pretty great cat.
Also definitely go with the audio version. Lindsay Dorcus did a phenomenal job of it with some pretty well-done accents!
January 13, 2022
Kindle Unlimited Sapphic pirate fantasy? Yes please!!
If you are looking for a huge amount of swashbuckling action, you may be disappointed. This story is very conversational, lots of banter between the characters and the crew. I can see how this may annoy or irritate some readers, if they are expecting far more action to happen. I personally found it charming for the most part, but there were times when I got a bit exhausted and eye-rolly with the two MC's and their back and forth, to-and-fro.
The majority of Emilia and Captain Maria Welles interactions are antagonistic repartee. Emilia constantly challenges Maria, and her power and authority on the ship - Maria challenges her right back in manipulative ways, with threatening overtones, that Emilia just... never takes seriously? Despite her seeing more than once the truly BLOODY and vicious revenge Maria can and WILL take if you piss her off, and do wrong by her and the people she cares about.
Emilia is shown as very naïve and unworldly - which can be explained by where and how she was raised, but at this point in the story we KNOW she's been through a lot - to not be as trusting as she had previously been. Yet she still keeps making certain decisions that aren't wise. But at the same time, it felt real - that is simply her character. Often times I wondered if she was on the spectrum? She was often missing certain nuances and heaviness of certain scenarios and overtones that should have been obvious, but have her steamrolling through in earnest, and yet willful ignorance. It's a strange and yet endearing thing to read and witness.
This is definitely a romance of push and pull, and how on the surface it may seem like opposite attraction, but how on a deeper level they are actually very similar and have been through similar, too. It ramps up more toward the end, and I do look forward to the sequel - so it is left with more to come, which is promising!
The one thing I didn't like was the first sex scene between them and the weird power play/BDSM type element involved. But that could just be down to personal preference.
Overall, it's original and entertaining, that I think I would recommend it. But would also understand others frustrations at it, too. So it can absolutely go either way. The only way to know is to try it yourself, and since its on KU if you're subscribed, I'd say give it a go!
If you are looking for a huge amount of swashbuckling action, you may be disappointed. This story is very conversational, lots of banter between the characters and the crew. I can see how this may annoy or irritate some readers, if they are expecting far more action to happen. I personally found it charming for the most part, but there were times when I got a bit exhausted and eye-rolly with the two MC's and their back and forth, to-and-fro.
The majority of Emilia and Captain Maria Welles interactions are antagonistic repartee. Emilia constantly challenges Maria, and her power and authority on the ship - Maria challenges her right back in manipulative ways, with threatening overtones, that Emilia just... never takes seriously? Despite her seeing more than once the truly BLOODY and vicious revenge Maria can and WILL take if you piss her off, and do wrong by her and the people she cares about.
Emilia is shown as very naïve and unworldly - which can be explained by where and how she was raised, but at this point in the story we KNOW she's been through a lot - to not be as trusting as she had previously been. Yet she still keeps making certain decisions that aren't wise. But at the same time, it felt real - that is simply her character. Often times I wondered if she was on the spectrum? She was often missing certain nuances and heaviness of certain scenarios and overtones that should have been obvious, but have her steamrolling through in earnest, and yet willful ignorance. It's a strange and yet endearing thing to read and witness.
This is definitely a romance of push and pull, and how on the surface it may seem like opposite attraction, but how on a deeper level they are actually very similar and have been through similar, too. It ramps up more toward the end, and I do look forward to the sequel - so it is left with more to come, which is promising!
The one thing I didn't like was the first sex scene between them and the weird power play/BDSM type element involved. But that could just be down to personal preference.
Overall, it's original and entertaining, that I think I would recommend it. But would also understand others frustrations at it, too. So it can absolutely go either way. The only way to know is to try it yourself, and since its on KU if you're subscribed, I'd say give it a go!
August 4, 2023
3.75 stars ⭐️
While I liked this book and I think the world is well thought out and interesting I found myself doing the ol’ eye roll a bit in the middle. The witch runs hot and cold for the pirate captain every 30 seconds. It was a bit much after a while. One second she is filled with lust and the next she is filled with rage and it just goes on and on.
That being said I am totally up for reading book two. I think they will make a formidable power couple and I am looking forward to seeing them kick some ass together. They are both interesting characters and I enjoyed the banter. The secondary characters were interesting too.
While I liked this book and I think the world is well thought out and interesting I found myself doing the ol’ eye roll a bit in the middle. The witch runs hot and cold for the pirate captain every 30 seconds. It was a bit much after a while. One second she is filled with lust and the next she is filled with rage and it just goes on and on.
That being said I am totally up for reading book two. I think they will make a formidable power couple and I am looking forward to seeing them kick some ass together. They are both interesting characters and I enjoyed the banter. The secondary characters were interesting too.
June 27, 2024
I didn’t expect lesbian pirates to be this boring, but alas.
December 24, 2021
Absolutely wonderful book. I just devoured this story. This book has everything I ever wanted to read growing up. A female Errol Flynn. Pirates, witches, dragons, and cats. Intrigue, thrills, laughter, and romance. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read more.
September 18, 2022
Hot pirate captain. Need I say more? Captain Maria Welles, the ice queen or in this case ice captain, was as ruthless and frosty as they come, until Emilia came into the picture. The push and pull between these two was as good as it gets, and the storyline kept me up needing to read what happened next. Shoutout to Judith and Rat-Slayer. Cannot wait for Goddess of the Sea.
November 17, 2023
WHY👏ARE👏THERE👏NO👏GOOD👏SAPPHIC👏PIRATE👏BOOKS👏!!!
I am completely baffled by the high ratings for this book. Are we that starved for sapphic literature?!
I am completely baffled by the high ratings for this book. Are we that starved for sapphic literature?!
August 3, 2023
5 stars. Okay, but where is book two?? Answer me quickly because I need it right this moment! This was so good. A pirate and a witch and one hell of a slow burn and action packed romance. I seriously loved everything about this. The writing was good, it’s paced really well, and the characters were well written and developed.
Emilia is a dragon sorcerer and Captain Maria (ugghhhh Maria *swoons*) is a pirate with an infamous reputation for killing and violence. They do not hit it off. The animosity is thick between them. Maria is a huge flirt and such a self assured badass and she loved pushing Emilia’s buttons. They had great chemistry and the push and pull between them was delicious. The romance is just so good. I can’t emphasis that enough. Outside of the fantastic slow burn romance the plot is good and a lot of the side characters were so interesting and really helped round the story out. The ending was great and I really hope book two is coming out soon because I need it! More Maria please because I’m seriously in love with her and the ending had dragons and I want more of them as well. This was awesome and I will no do doubt be reading it again.
Emilia is a dragon sorcerer and Captain Maria (ugghhhh Maria *swoons*) is a pirate with an infamous reputation for killing and violence. They do not hit it off. The animosity is thick between them. Maria is a huge flirt and such a self assured badass and she loved pushing Emilia’s buttons. They had great chemistry and the push and pull between them was delicious. The romance is just so good. I can’t emphasis that enough. Outside of the fantastic slow burn romance the plot is good and a lot of the side characters were so interesting and really helped round the story out. The ending was great and I really hope book two is coming out soon because I need it! More Maria please because I’m seriously in love with her and the ending had dragons and I want more of them as well. This was awesome and I will no do doubt be reading it again.
June 23, 2024
Pirates of Alethariawas such a fun read. The world is really interesting and very brutal but with those scenes, there was always a lot of great humour.
This is enemies-to-lovers and Emilia and Maria had that locked down. Their banter and conflict was so good, they always had amazing tension.
I'm really looking forward to Goddess of the Sea and thankfully it's a short wait for me!
This is enemies-to-lovers and Emilia and Maria had that locked down. Their banter and conflict was so good, they always had amazing tension.
I'm really looking forward to Goddess of the Sea and thankfully it's a short wait for me!
December 10, 2022
The pacing of the book was incredibly unbalanced. With 20% left in the audiobook, my partner and I agreed that the story hadn’t moved forward enough yet for the remaining time to allow for a satisfying wrap-up.
The amount of detail and repetitiveness in the first 80% of the book stands in glaring contrast to the ending, which contains several major plot points (Catherine’s exit, the whole trial, how much time passed, whatever happened to Jonas) that were totally glossed over.
2 stars + 1 for the narrator making it fun to listen
The amount of detail and repetitiveness in the first 80% of the book stands in glaring contrast to the ending, which contains several major plot points (Catherine’s exit, the whole trial, how much time passed, whatever happened to Jonas) that were totally glossed over.
2 stars + 1 for the narrator making it fun to listen
April 27, 2023
Loved it! tension 10/10. dialogue 10/10. plot 10/10. enemies to lovers 10/10. action 10/10. betrayal and trickery 10/10. loyalty 10/10. redemption arc for Catherine = NEVER.
Arrrrghhh I can't believe that's where it ended. I loved Helen's character too btw, girl knows how to blow things up.
Arrrrghhh I can't believe that's where it ended. I loved Helen's character too btw, girl knows how to blow things up.
November 7, 2023
Now that is how you write enemies to lovers 🤌🏼
June 17, 2024
THIS IS EVERYTHING TO ME
June 18, 2024
i’m starting to think yall are illiterate because there’s no way this has a 4.4 star rating.
i’m NEVER ignoring a fugly book cover ever again i almost didn’t read it based off of the cover alone but i wanted to be a better person… never doing that again.
the beginning was intriguing and i was genuinely having fun until the tired enemies to lovers banter took over the entirety of every page. this book is just filled with INCREDIBLY corny dialogue and IDIOTIC, annoying characters. the ending was so unbelievably STUPID that i almost dnf when i was 95% done. i was going to give this 2 stars but that unserious ass ending bumped it down to 1.
i wanted a good pirate romance but the author focused so much on the banter that the pirates, dragons, witches, and anything else this book claimed to be about was just ditched. i can’t understand how an author can create this beautiful world with so much potential and just ignore it. there was so much potential for discovering the world she built and she just didn’t. it was just circles and circles of the same dialogue 500 times over.
emilia is so dense and her powers just went completely unexplored. maria kept making choices that just didn’t make any sense for her character in my opinion. i was so sick of hearing them yap with no plot. i honestly wanted them gone by the end of it. especially when i saw how dumb they were acting in that ending. only character i liked was judith, but she couldn’t carry this trainwreck by herself.
i’m NEVER ignoring a fugly book cover ever again i almost didn’t read it based off of the cover alone but i wanted to be a better person… never doing that again.
the beginning was intriguing and i was genuinely having fun until the tired enemies to lovers banter took over the entirety of every page. this book is just filled with INCREDIBLY corny dialogue and IDIOTIC, annoying characters. the ending was so unbelievably STUPID that i almost dnf when i was 95% done. i was going to give this 2 stars but that unserious ass ending bumped it down to 1.
i wanted a good pirate romance but the author focused so much on the banter that the pirates, dragons, witches, and anything else this book claimed to be about was just ditched. i can’t understand how an author can create this beautiful world with so much potential and just ignore it. there was so much potential for discovering the world she built and she just didn’t. it was just circles and circles of the same dialogue 500 times over.
emilia is so dense and her powers just went completely unexplored. maria kept making choices that just didn’t make any sense for her character in my opinion. i was so sick of hearing them yap with no plot. i honestly wanted them gone by the end of it. especially when i saw how dumb they were acting in that ending. only character i liked was judith, but she couldn’t carry this trainwreck by herself.
December 4, 2023
Was so excited for this book and wanted to enjoy it so much. Pirates, lesbians, dragons, literally what could go wrong. Unfortunately, the execution was lacking for me. There was limited character development throughout the book — a big issue when there’s also limited PLOT. I also felt like at times the main character was so dense — and I don’t mind obliviousness, but when it’s the second to last chapter and the MC is still not catching on, I can’t give that a pass 😭. It read like a fanfiction, and not necessarily a very good one. It was a fun read, but not a book to reread nor one I’ll be recommending. Hope someone else enjoyed it more.
EDIT, because someone brought up some other good points: the MC does consistently switch back and forth between hating and lusting after the pirate, which got old really freaking quick considering she was still saying “she hated her” at the freaking end, then adding one of those “right?” quips after. As well, dragons didn’t show up until the last like 300 words and that entire plot line only seemed to peak its head out and never actually became something.
EDIT, because someone brought up some other good points: the MC does consistently switch back and forth between hating and lusting after the pirate, which got old really freaking quick considering she was still saying “she hated her” at the freaking end, then adding one of those “right?” quips after. As well, dragons didn’t show up until the last like 300 words and that entire plot line only seemed to peak its head out and never actually became something.
June 6, 2025
Wow !
Oh, this was exactly the kind of book I love to read. First of all, I have to say, it is exceptionally rare for a book to grab me from the very first page and hold me until the very last, without a single moment where my interest dips. Absolutely never.
There are lots of things I love reading, but pirates? That is an aesthetic I am especially fond of. So getting into a pirate book is pure joy for me. I wanted something focused on romance, and I was worried a pirate world would mean too many crew characters, treasure plots, and battles. And even though I do love all that, like I said, I am addicted to feels, and I was afraid I would not be emotionally hooked.
From the very first page to the last, not for a single moment did my heart stop being pulled in all directions. I spent a third of the book giggling, a third tensed up from the thrills and stakes, and the last third absolutely consumed by the heat and emotional tension between the two heroines. Which means 100% of this book — and not a percent less — was pure feels.
Let’s talk about the characters: the story focuses 80% on the two main heroines, and the rest of the key characters are mostly women and queer. Even the antagonist is a woman (and an ex-lover, by the way!)
So without any hesitation, I’m giving this book a 5/5 and placing it straight onto my “precious favorites” shelf, the one I will take with me to the nursing home to reread over and over again when I remember nothing else.
So if you are looking for a pirate book that is more romance-focused than adventure-focused, I highly recommend this one!
Oh, this was exactly the kind of book I love to read. First of all, I have to say, it is exceptionally rare for a book to grab me from the very first page and hold me until the very last, without a single moment where my interest dips. Absolutely never.
There are lots of things I love reading, but pirates? That is an aesthetic I am especially fond of. So getting into a pirate book is pure joy for me. I wanted something focused on romance, and I was worried a pirate world would mean too many crew characters, treasure plots, and battles. And even though I do love all that, like I said, I am addicted to feels, and I was afraid I would not be emotionally hooked.
From the very first page to the last, not for a single moment did my heart stop being pulled in all directions. I spent a third of the book giggling, a third tensed up from the thrills and stakes, and the last third absolutely consumed by the heat and emotional tension between the two heroines. Which means 100% of this book — and not a percent less — was pure feels.
Let’s talk about the characters: the story focuses 80% on the two main heroines, and the rest of the key characters are mostly women and queer. Even the antagonist is a woman (and an ex-lover, by the way!)
So without any hesitation, I’m giving this book a 5/5 and placing it straight onto my “precious favorites” shelf, the one I will take with me to the nursing home to reread over and over again when I remember nothing else.
So if you are looking for a pirate book that is more romance-focused than adventure-focused, I highly recommend this one!
February 25, 2024
I love how this world was painted, and how there was much focus on the two leads so you really get a sense of their relationship's progress. This book primarily is a love story, in an adventure setting. Can't wait for the next book!
February 28, 2024
4.5,, i love sword wielding sapphic pirates so much
July 6, 2023
I feel terrible being behind in my reading and my reviews! Alas, life.
I enjoyed this lengthy audiobook. At nearly 17 hours, it's a verrrrry slow burn but the build is great! When I say slow, it took 'til about the 13-1/2 hour point for things to kick into gear for delicious pirate Captain Maria Welles and Dragon Sorcerer Emilia Drakon, and by then I was past ready for it.
The narration by Lindsey Dorcus - the first book of her I've listened to - lent itself to the story. She had to pull off various accents and did quite well with them.
Looking forward to the follow-up!
I enjoyed this lengthy audiobook. At nearly 17 hours, it's a verrrrry slow burn but the build is great! When I say slow, it took 'til about the 13-1/2 hour point for things to kick into gear for delicious pirate Captain Maria Welles and Dragon Sorcerer Emilia Drakon, and by then I was past ready for it.
The narration by Lindsey Dorcus - the first book of her I've listened to - lent itself to the story. She had to pull off various accents and did quite well with them.
Looking forward to the follow-up!
December 11, 2024
4.5 Stars
I just finished the book so I’m still tingling with euphoria. The ending was so good! I’m sure Book 2 is going to be action packed.
I enjoyed that the author mostly focused on everyday pirate way of life. So it eased the reader into the dynamics of the crew and their responsibilities. However, with the first 160 pages I was quite restless by how wordy and dialogue-heavy the story was turning out to be. But once I pushed past that and started to connect with the characters, the issue became trivial. Captain Maria Welles is hands down, the most irritating pirate I’ve read. Irritating but loveable.
I just finished the book so I’m still tingling with euphoria. The ending was so good! I’m sure Book 2 is going to be action packed.
I enjoyed that the author mostly focused on everyday pirate way of life. So it eased the reader into the dynamics of the crew and their responsibilities. However, with the first 160 pages I was quite restless by how wordy and dialogue-heavy the story was turning out to be. But once I pushed past that and started to connect with the characters, the issue became trivial. Captain Maria Welles is hands down, the most irritating pirate I’ve read. Irritating but loveable.
December 31, 2021
Oh Captain, My Captain!
I was drawn in with the promise of lesbian pirates and high seas action. Britney Jackson did not disappoint. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that the dialogue is witty, the action intense and that cliffhanger is *chef's kiss*. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun adventure that's hard to put down. Did I mention the lesbian pirates? :)
I was drawn in with the promise of lesbian pirates and high seas action. Britney Jackson did not disappoint. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that the dialogue is witty, the action intense and that cliffhanger is *chef's kiss*. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun adventure that's hard to put down. Did I mention the lesbian pirates? :)
January 2, 2022
This was a super fun book to read. Witty banter, sarcastic commentary, fun plot and pirates! I recommend this book if you're looking for something fun to read. The characters are great and every single one of them is loveable (and I love hating the villain). I'm definitely looking forward to book 2!
December 28, 2021
Wonderful!!
I absolutely loved this book! The interaction between Em and Maria was so much fun to read, and the story was amazing. I can't wait for the sequel because this certainly ended with a hell of a cliffhanger!
I absolutely loved this book! The interaction between Em and Maria was so much fun to read, and the story was amazing. I can't wait for the sequel because this certainly ended with a hell of a cliffhanger!
May 29, 2025
Third read through before book two; this novel is everything. Hot female, domineering pirate and angst?! What's not to love ❤️
May 30, 2025
“What are you, if not my enemy?”
Maria pressed a knuckle beneath Emilia’s chin, lifting Emilia’s face toward her own. “Your fucking captain.”
REREAD 2025. After a bit of thought, I'm lowering my rating from 4.5 to 4 stars. It's always a bummer to reread a favourite and realise you like it less than the first time, but I still really, really liked this. See my first review below! I gushed so much! But this time, I had way more trouble with a couple things:
- The pacing. I felt it a little the first time I read this, and I think because I took my time with this reread, I felt it even more. It's kind of horrendous. The first... idk, 60% of this book takes place in like a week, and the development that we're supposed to believe happened in that week? Oh man. No way. It's not that I think it should have been truncated; I just think the first 60% should have been more like, idk, two months? Show us Em and Maria dancing around each other, actually getting to know each other. And also show Emilia interacting with the crew and becoming friendly with them. Maria is this fearsome, bloodthirsty pirate captain, and yet from the very beginning, we see her bending her rules and making excuses for Emilia for absolutely no reason that we, the reader, can see. Yes, she's attracted to her; and yes, she needs a surgeon; and yes, she can sense they have some things in common. But she still gave Em so much leeway, within like, the first few days of knowing her. It was incomprehensible, and it undercut the image we were supposed to have of her as this fearsome captain. I LOVE that she loves her crew; I LOVE that she takes care of them. But she extends that care towards Emilia even she still doesn't know if she can trust Emilia. She puts Emilia above the rest of the crew in a way that did not fit what we knew about her character. And what makes it worse is that we never see her extending that care towards any other members of her crew. We just hear about some stuff in hindsight.
- I did get way more annoyed with Emilia this time around. I think last time I found the push-and-pull very realistic; this time, not so much. It was just frustrating, how Emilia practically begged to be let on the ship, but once on the ship, she chafed against the rules and then broke certain rules. She kept doing things that might have gotten another crewmate killed, but she got away with it. Obviously, she had her reasons, and I sympathised. But she acted bratty in a way I found annoying more than anything, and then she wasn't even grateful when Maria showed leniency! Look, I much prefer her being headstrong and stubborn, as opposed to being meek and compliant. If I had to choose what type of heroine to pair with Maria, I'd choose the former every time. But IDK, think time, it just got on my nerves.
- The way the Emilia's backstory was delivered wasn't my favourite. I'm glad there wasn't an abrupt info dump, but given that we spend most of the time in her head, there are some things the reader really should have been privy to earlier.
But now that my complaints are out of the way... I still REALLY loved this. How could I not!! The banter is some of my favourite, and Maria is an absolute dreamboat, one of my top ten book girlfriends for sure. I really liked the way they played off of each other, they ways they showed they could be worthy of one another. Loyalty is one of my biggest buttons in fiction, and the journey Emilia goes on, from grudgingly calling Maria Captain, to give her the title with pride and respect... I do love it. The romance hits so many of my favorite beats, and it's sexy and sweet in a way I really love. I love when they both do little things to show they care for each other, even when they're pretending they don't care about each other. Even if it does lose its way with the pacing, the book has such strong foundations for the world and the plot.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Lindsey Dorcus once again, and absolutely loved it once again. I'll hopefully be continuing the series pretty soon.
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“So fierce,” she said, her breath warm and sweet against Emilia’s lips. “Yet you melt so easily.”
4.5 stars. Gah! I love reading a popular book and realising that it is indeed worth all the hype it's been getting. This was SUCH a fun pirate romance in a really rich and interesting fantasy world, and I fell head over heels for this couple. My favourite types of pirate romances are ones that don't take place in the real world, so I don't have to constantly battle my annoyance about how the historical Caribbean is portrayed. I have to say, if you're looking for a lot of action and adventure, it's worth noting that there's noooot much of it here. Not too many battles on the high sea, not a lot of swashes being buckled. It's the first book in a series, and it looks like we're being set up for a lot of action in the future, maybe, but this was all about the relationship between Emilia, dragon witch, and Maria, pirate captain.
And like I said, I adored them. Emilia is running away from an execution and a betrayal that upended her world, and ends up joining the crew of the notoriously wicked and possibly unhinged Captain Maria. The captain is arrogant and infuriating, but she's the enemy of Emilia's enemy, so she agrees to join the crew as surgeon, resolving to keep her secrets and leave when she needs to. The slow burn romance that progresses from there is all kinds of sublime, just the kind of relationship I like to read about. They have a lot of banter and back and forth, and Em is very resistant to her attraction to Maria. But her constantly vacillating emotions were pretty realistic to me, and also just fun? I loved that she was stubborn, and would stand up to Maria even to the point of folly, give as good as she got. The progression was so good, how Emilia's conviction was shaken with each bit of kindness and empathy that Maria showed, along with her strength and the way she cared for her crew. The building of grudging respect was just so fun, and the moment when Maria gets her respect without having to command it... SO GOOD. As ever, romances that hinge upon loyalty in relationships is like catnip to me. I loved their dynamic; Maria is domineering and there's a bit of a D/s vibe, but she's sweet and caring and urges Em to be vocal about what she wants in a way that made it perfect for me. I just really really loved her, and I loved that Emilia was strong enough to stand up to her and meet her as an equal. (Em does something in the last quarter that made me want to cackle and applaud.)
Emilia aligned oh-so-easily to her strength, like a drowning sailor caught in the undertow.
So the lack of real plot in the middle section didn't really bother me; I enjoyed the fact that the plot was all about the relationship. I usually don't like when a book is predominantly in one person's POV, with little snippets from other characters; I prefer an even split or to just have one POV. But I actually enjoyed the insights we got from Maria and Judith. However, there were a few things I would change to make this a perfect book. There's a bit of a found family aspect with the crew, and I really wish we'd seen more scenes with Em and the crew, and Maria and the crew, for that to really be strengthened and hammered home. There's a bit at the end that feels a little unrealistic/unearned, because I really wasn't convinced that Emilia had gotten close to the crew. Maybe if we'd seen her participating in more chores, helping crew members other than Judith. We didn't get a lot of that day to day pirate life. Again, it's not that I really missed it, because I was too busy being enthralled by the romance, but it would have added some needed verisimilitude. And I wouldn't have minded just a few more scenes that helped bridge the gap between Emilia hating having to use the honorific 'Captain', and coming to relish it near the end. And speaking of the ending (spoilers ahead)
But again, super minor in the grand scheme of things, when pitted against how much I adored this romance. The emotional climax of the story had me yelling. I just love them so much. So much about them hit my buttons: the scarred heroine, the powerful magic user, the loyalty, the banter, the super satisfying slow burn. <3
Listened to the audiobook as read by Lindsey Dorcus, which was so so good! I loved all her accents, especially for Maria. This honestly didn't feel like that long of a book, all things told. I had so much fun listening to it. It has a really satisfying but exciting ending, and I'm really excited to see what's next for these women and the crew. Huge kudos.
Content warnings:
“Go on, love,” Maria said, her voice low and breathy. “Say it. Say it, and I swear I’ll protect you with my life.”
November 27, 2025
I have mixed feelings. The book has some really good things, and other things bothered me. If you like sass, banter, this book is for you. The conflicted relationship between Emilia and Maria was full of sexual tension. The book is definitely hot, with a sexy mysterious captain. I liked the side characters that brought a lot to the book. I still don't understand how Emilia didn't have her head cut off because she spent 80% of her time being disrespectful of the rules on the ship she begged to be on. She was lucky that the captain was lusting after her. If you were looking for great adventures and magic, you might be left hanging, like I was. The author chose to focus on Emilia and Maria's relationship, resulting in my frustration because I was looking forward to seeing some key scenes that mostly happened off screen : Emilia really using magic, and gaining some crew members' sympathy, seeing what happens to the traitor, the trial.
I expected more adventures like the danger of the sea, or more fights... Instead, I had these repetitive scenes between Emilia and Maria. I can’t even count how many times Maria lifted her scarred eyebrow or lifted Emilia’s chin with her tattooed finger while Emilia was glaring at her. I also found that Jackson didn’t let enough time for the characters process their feelings in general,and the characters sometimes felt lunatic, one minute they are angry, the other they are horny as hell, sometimes at the worst moments. The perfect example is when Emilia's identity is revealed.
Overall I found the book really entertaining, but the rich world was under exploited. I still look forward to five into book 2.
I expected more adventures like the danger of the sea, or more fights... Instead, I had these repetitive scenes between Emilia and Maria. I can’t even count how many times Maria lifted her scarred eyebrow or lifted Emilia’s chin with her tattooed finger while Emilia was glaring at her. I also found that Jackson didn’t let enough time for the characters process their feelings in general,and the characters sometimes felt lunatic, one minute they are angry, the other they are horny as hell, sometimes at the worst moments. The perfect example is when Emilia's identity is revealed.
Overall I found the book really entertaining, but the rich world was under exploited. I still look forward to five into book 2.
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