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Rears & Vices
Black Sails
and Hamilton meet in this queer, poly, spicy Historical Romance set during the 19th century Age of Revolution, when pirates briefly reclaimed the Gulf and Caribbean seas and provided crucial support toward anti-colonial nation-states.
Perfect for fans of K.J. Charles, Cat Sebastian, and Courtney Milan!
HE THOUGHT HE’D BE A HERO BY NOW—AND THAT IT WOULD MEAN SOMETHING.
It’s 1816. The wars with France and America are over. Royal Navy career man Everard Anderson de Anglada sails the peacetime Great Lakes, demoted to captain of a tiny ten-gun schooner. When Preston D’Arcy, Everard’s former lieutenant and too-handsome ex-flame, forewarns him about a court-martial they must judge, Everard is begrudgingly grateful.
HE’S RADICAL, RESPECTED, UNFORGETTABLE—AND A PIRATE.
On the docket, however, is Vitaliy “Vitya” Gray, infamous pirate captain and anti-colonial weapons smuggler. Everard has crossed paths with him before—not strictly as enemies.
TOGETHER, THEY COULD BE LEGENDARY…
After a hasty jailbreak, philosophical debates, and proposals—pirate marriage, no strings—Everard finds himself, his heart, and even D’Arcy commandeered: to the Gulf of México. There, piracy is nothing like he imagined, and Vitya is everything Everard ever truly wished to be.
…SO LONG AS LEGEND DOESN’T GET IN THE WAY OF LOVE.
The Spanish crown looms. Dangerous secrets and betrayals come to light. Then Everard is offered a position with the revolutionary Galveston navy. Everard must decide: fulfill his desire for legacy… or stay beside the men with whom he’s fallen in love and make a legacy of their own.
Perfect for fans of K.J. Charles, Cat Sebastian, and Courtney Milan!
HE THOUGHT HE’D BE A HERO BY NOW—AND THAT IT WOULD MEAN SOMETHING.
It’s 1816. The wars with France and America are over. Royal Navy career man Everard Anderson de Anglada sails the peacetime Great Lakes, demoted to captain of a tiny ten-gun schooner. When Preston D’Arcy, Everard’s former lieutenant and too-handsome ex-flame, forewarns him about a court-martial they must judge, Everard is begrudgingly grateful.
HE’S RADICAL, RESPECTED, UNFORGETTABLE—AND A PIRATE.
On the docket, however, is Vitaliy “Vitya” Gray, infamous pirate captain and anti-colonial weapons smuggler. Everard has crossed paths with him before—not strictly as enemies.
TOGETHER, THEY COULD BE LEGENDARY…
After a hasty jailbreak, philosophical debates, and proposals—pirate marriage, no strings—Everard finds himself, his heart, and even D’Arcy commandeered: to the Gulf of México. There, piracy is nothing like he imagined, and Vitya is everything Everard ever truly wished to be.
…SO LONG AS LEGEND DOESN’T GET IN THE WAY OF LOVE.
The Spanish crown looms. Dangerous secrets and betrayals come to light. Then Everard is offered a position with the revolutionary Galveston navy. Everard must decide: fulfill his desire for legacy… or stay beside the men with whom he’s fallen in love and make a legacy of their own.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
October 3, 2025
Historical gay poly pirate romance -- which unfortunately confused me no end.
This book has an excellent premise: a Royal Navy man who flips to piracy and a relationship with both his ex-lieutenant, and an infamous pirate captain. However, it's historically grounded, but without enough context / world-building to carry me along with the plot. I am familiar with European history of that time, but much less so the entire rest of the world ... and I have no more idea now than when I started the book.
Likewise I found the romance quite muddled. Some important aspects are only revealed at the end, and the dialogue tends to be 'life-like' rather than 'realistic but also informative to the reader'. A bit like watching a single episode of a long-running soap opera and working everyone's feelings out from ongoing conversations and flashbacks. There seems to be quite a lot of subtext that I just did not pick up. Part-way through I wondered if I might be doing better if we followed multiple POVs, rather than focusing on Everard. However, I didn't feel I fully understand even his actions, so maybe not.
I sound very grumpy about this book (I am! I was so primed to love this!) but I would still recommend it to people who know more about the Age of Revolution than me, can tell one end of a boat from the other, and are looking for a pacy mix of plot, romance and steamy scenes to carry them through.
This review is based upon a complimentary advance reading copy provided by the publisher.
This book has an excellent premise: a Royal Navy man who flips to piracy and a relationship with both his ex-lieutenant, and an infamous pirate captain. However, it's historically grounded, but without enough context / world-building to carry me along with the plot. I am familiar with European history of that time, but much less so the entire rest of the world ... and I have no more idea now than when I started the book.
Likewise I found the romance quite muddled. Some important aspects are only revealed at the end, and the dialogue tends to be 'life-like' rather than 'realistic but also informative to the reader'. A bit like watching a single episode of a long-running soap opera and working everyone's feelings out from ongoing conversations and flashbacks. There seems to be quite a lot of subtext that I just did not pick up. Part-way through I wondered if I might be doing better if we followed multiple POVs, rather than focusing on Everard. However, I didn't feel I fully understand even his actions, so maybe not.
I sound very grumpy about this book (I am! I was so primed to love this!) but I would still recommend it to people who know more about the Age of Revolution than me, can tell one end of a boat from the other, and are looking for a pacy mix of plot, romance and steamy scenes to carry them through.
This review is based upon a complimentary advance reading copy provided by the publisher.
March 18, 2026
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.25 stars
Rears and Vice is full of romance, betrayal, and pirates — what more can a reader ask for in a book? While I’m not sure that Rears and Vices is always the most historically accurate, I throughly enjoyed it from start to finish. There were a few moments when the pacing felt slightly off, but they tended to be brief and didn’t drag the plot down excessively. But the real enjoyment came from the three main characters and the evolution of their relationship.
While there were many good aspects to Rears and Vices, it’s the characters that really form the backbone of this book and they elevate the story from a serviceable pirate yarn to something deeper. If you’re a fan of historical fiction, I definitely recommend this one, even if trios aren’t your usual flavor.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
4.25 stars
Rears and Vice is full of romance, betrayal, and pirates — what more can a reader ask for in a book? While I’m not sure that Rears and Vices is always the most historically accurate, I throughly enjoyed it from start to finish. There were a few moments when the pacing felt slightly off, but they tended to be brief and didn’t drag the plot down excessively. But the real enjoyment came from the three main characters and the evolution of their relationship.
While there were many good aspects to Rears and Vices, it’s the characters that really form the backbone of this book and they elevate the story from a serviceable pirate yarn to something deeper. If you’re a fan of historical fiction, I definitely recommend this one, even if trios aren’t your usual flavor.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
Read
September 28, 2025DNF
Poly pirates! I was really excited for this one but a few things didn't work for me.
I read half of Rears & Vices but not in order. At 22% I decided this wasn't the book for me. However, I was still curious to see how it ended so I skipped to the end and read the last 26% as well.
The language in this one really threw me off. So many nautical (historical) terms and the book's written with historical vocabulary and references. This probably means the author did their research well which is great but it got confusing to read at times and it wasn't really a style I enjoyed.
I liked the premise though and I could see how it might work for others. The characters were interesting but I clearly missed a bunch by skipping so much. The relationship between all three of them seemed more like a poly V than a triad until the last scene which isn't my personal preference in poly books.
A final thought: while I really like the cover, they all look much younger than what they appear to be in the book.
All in all interesting concept but the writing style wasn't for me.
Poly pirates! I was really excited for this one but a few things didn't work for me.
I read half of Rears & Vices but not in order. At 22% I decided this wasn't the book for me. However, I was still curious to see how it ended so I skipped to the end and read the last 26% as well.
The language in this one really threw me off. So many nautical (historical) terms and the book's written with historical vocabulary and references. This probably means the author did their research well which is great but it got confusing to read at times and it wasn't really a style I enjoyed.
I liked the premise though and I could see how it might work for others. The characters were interesting but I clearly missed a bunch by skipping so much. The relationship between all three of them seemed more like a poly V than a triad until the last scene which isn't my personal preference in poly books.
A final thought: while I really like the cover, they all look much younger than what they appear to be in the book.
All in all interesting concept but the writing style wasn't for me.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Everard is captain of a smallish boat (sorry for getting so technical) and reconnects with a former friend (slash lover) D'Arcy who he hasn't spoken to for three years. This friend is captain of a larger boat, and they are both serving on a court martial jury. Before them is a former lover of Everard's named Vitaliy, who is also known as the pirate Vee. Everard in a panic commits perjury with the intention of getting the charges dropped, things go south, and D'Arcy and Everard and Vitaliy go on the run as pirates.
Are you confused? It's a lot! The entire book is from Everard's pov, and I found it a bit hard going. Even though Everard has perfect recall, he's not sharing it with us, there are huge gaps in the story the reader has to fill in, some are never explained. In part this might be because Everard is terrible at reading social cues and emotions, as well as making, er, basic assessments. "Everard stared. 'Never say you're actually a pirate? A real one? You said you were Russian.' The room was silent. Everyone, even Thom, looked at him. D'Arcy sighed, and flopped back into the armchair. 'Only you, Ev,' he muttered from behind an arm." I don't know if its because of being from Everard's pov or what, but I found the actual writing of this inaccessible, maybe because it's really dense, maybe because Caro is trying to recreate the experience of living in his brain, idk. There was simultaneously a lot going on (murder! daring escapes!) and nothing happened with the character development or arcs.
There's a theme throughout of people doing things for love that the other's miss or misinterpret, or possibly didn't want or need doing. D'Arcy throws his lot in with Everard and Vitaliy "D'Arcy had clenched his teeth and said Wherever you Go, Ever, I Go" and servant boy and a sailor/vicar/lover (?) as well. Even though D'Arcy is the most straightforward with stating that he missed Everard and loves him and supports him whatever and wherever, its takes a while for Everard to realize it.
Everard, of course completely blows his career and retirement out of the water by immediately doing anything to free Vitaliy, only to realize it probably wasn't necessary or wanted. "I suppose a pirate such as V. Varfolomey has a wealth of avenues for escape; you didn't need a once-upon, forgotten lover to hoist himself upon a pike for you." Vitaliy makes Everard his Matelot (Pirate Spouse) to provide security and protection, as well as explain why a naval captain or two would throw their lot in with pirates. These two are crazy for each other, but do they ever have a conversation about what it means to be partners? And if their marriage of convenience is a real one? Or how they feel at all? Of course not.
It's a good thing every character in the book at some point is like JESUS EVERARD with his inability to read the room or feel a feeling, because it really annoyed me as well. Even when D'Arcy tries to have these conversations with him about their past, he just doesn't get it. The whole thing with Vitaliy goes on for so long with both of them obviously wanting the other but not saying. Until finally! (and this is a great example of how Everard's pov made me crazy) "Everard said quickly, 'I might yes...want that. So long as you do. As long as you have done. Have wanted that.' Vitaliy nodded understandingly. 'That. I think the answer is yes, I do and I have. But please say what? I prefer it direct.'" WE ALL WOULD AT THIS POINT, VITALIY.
Anyway, there's some colonialism and Pirate Economics and A Big Secret and Feelings of Betrayal, and Everard making YET ANOTHER life changing spur-of-the-moment decision based on his reaction to a choice two grown men made acting in their own best interests that had nothing to do with him. Oh, and there's the polyamory. But...it just never quite came together for me - Vitaliy and Everard finally figure things out, D'Arcy and Everard also figure things out (without ever disclosing what the Big Rupture of three years ago was?), D'Arcy and Vitaliy mostly figure things out with Everard as a fulcrum but also separately in a complicated way. Again, I think this was an Everard pov issue, because it was hard to feel invested or caught up in their very interesting and hard-won intimacy when it seemed so desultory and emotionally distant.
This could be three stars because I really felt like it was not quite clicking, but I'm willing to assume it might be a sophisticated writing trick of the author to really have me inhabit Everard. Also, frankly, getting a queer indie HR bump. Also I did really enjoy the Business of Piracy 101 aspect of it all. Four stars.
Thank you to the author for the arc.
Are you confused? It's a lot! The entire book is from Everard's pov, and I found it a bit hard going. Even though Everard has perfect recall, he's not sharing it with us, there are huge gaps in the story the reader has to fill in, some are never explained. In part this might be because Everard is terrible at reading social cues and emotions, as well as making, er, basic assessments. "Everard stared. 'Never say you're actually a pirate? A real one? You said you were Russian.' The room was silent. Everyone, even Thom, looked at him. D'Arcy sighed, and flopped back into the armchair. 'Only you, Ev,' he muttered from behind an arm." I don't know if its because of being from Everard's pov or what, but I found the actual writing of this inaccessible, maybe because it's really dense, maybe because Caro is trying to recreate the experience of living in his brain, idk. There was simultaneously a lot going on (murder! daring escapes!) and nothing happened with the character development or arcs.
There's a theme throughout of people doing things for love that the other's miss or misinterpret, or possibly didn't want or need doing. D'Arcy throws his lot in with Everard and Vitaliy "D'Arcy had clenched his teeth and said Wherever you Go, Ever, I Go" and servant boy and a sailor/vicar/lover (?) as well. Even though D'Arcy is the most straightforward with stating that he missed Everard and loves him and supports him whatever and wherever, its takes a while for Everard to realize it.
Everard, of course completely blows his career and retirement out of the water by immediately doing anything to free Vitaliy, only to realize it probably wasn't necessary or wanted. "I suppose a pirate such as V. Varfolomey has a wealth of avenues for escape; you didn't need a once-upon, forgotten lover to hoist himself upon a pike for you." Vitaliy makes Everard his Matelot (Pirate Spouse) to provide security and protection, as well as explain why a naval captain or two would throw their lot in with pirates. These two are crazy for each other, but do they ever have a conversation about what it means to be partners? And if their marriage of convenience is a real one? Or how they feel at all? Of course not.
It's a good thing every character in the book at some point is like JESUS EVERARD with his inability to read the room or feel a feeling, because it really annoyed me as well. Even when D'Arcy tries to have these conversations with him about their past, he just doesn't get it. The whole thing with Vitaliy goes on for so long with both of them obviously wanting the other but not saying. Until finally! (and this is a great example of how Everard's pov made me crazy) "Everard said quickly, 'I might yes...want that. So long as you do. As long as you have done. Have wanted that.' Vitaliy nodded understandingly. 'That. I think the answer is yes, I do and I have. But please say what? I prefer it direct.'" WE ALL WOULD AT THIS POINT, VITALIY.
Anyway, there's some colonialism and Pirate Economics and A Big Secret and Feelings of Betrayal, and Everard making YET ANOTHER life changing spur-of-the-moment decision based on his reaction to a choice two grown men made acting in their own best interests that had nothing to do with him. Oh, and there's the polyamory. But...it just never quite came together for me - Vitaliy and Everard finally figure things out, D'Arcy and Everard also figure things out (without ever disclosing what the Big Rupture of three years ago was?), D'Arcy and Vitaliy mostly figure things out with Everard as a fulcrum but also separately in a complicated way. Again, I think this was an Everard pov issue, because it was hard to feel invested or caught up in their very interesting and hard-won intimacy when it seemed so desultory and emotionally distant.
This could be three stars because I really felt like it was not quite clicking, but I'm willing to assume it might be a sophisticated writing trick of the author to really have me inhabit Everard. Also, frankly, getting a queer indie HR bump. Also I did really enjoy the Business of Piracy 101 aspect of it all. Four stars.
Thank you to the author for the arc.
April 5, 2026
Everard is the MC and the whole book is from his POV (in the middle on the cover). He is a captain who is serving as a judge at a trial for a pirate along with another captain who is a former lover. The pirate turns out to also be a former lover. The two captain plan a breakout and rescue the pirate and the three of them end up on the pirates ship. The first part of the book focuses on Everard and the pirate, Vitaliy, rekindling their relationship. There are a few sex scenes but they are not super graphic and some of them are fade to black. The other Captain, Preston, is clearly also in love with Everard but he is mostly forgotten. We barely seen him or speak with him. It is not until about 60% that they we first see Everard have sex with him. And at about 75% that we first see the three of them together. But I never felt that there were true emotions between Vitaliy and Preston. It felt more like they both loved Everard so they did it to make him happy, as well as some physical attraction.
I did not enjoy any aspect of this book. The writing style felt very confusing. Like every conversation felt like a riddle or like I was missing all of the context or half of the conversation. I never knew WTF was going on. I didn’t like how it spent so much time on minutiae like describing the ships, the sailors shift rotations, the wood, the cargo, etc. None of it interested me. A lot of that time should have been spent getting to know the characters better instead, or on clearer communication.
In the end I'm left extremely confused and unsatisfied.
I did not enjoy any aspect of this book. The writing style felt very confusing. Like every conversation felt like a riddle or like I was missing all of the context or half of the conversation. I never knew WTF was going on. I didn’t like how it spent so much time on minutiae like describing the ships, the sailors shift rotations, the wood, the cargo, etc. None of it interested me. A lot of that time should have been spent getting to know the characters better instead, or on clearer communication.
In the end I'm left extremely confused and unsatisfied.
Read
October 6, 20251816, Lake Ontario.
Everard Anderson de Anglada is career Navy, and now that the wars with France and America have ended, he's sitting on courts-marshal with his former subordinate officer Preston D’Arcy. One of the cases they hear is for the infamous Vitaliy “Vitya” Gray, pirate with a fearsome reputation...and former lover of Everard's. Everard claims he has evidence for Vitya's innocence, but instead of sharing it, all three of them go on the run.
Unfortunately this is a DNF at 45% for me. Queer poly pirates should be right up my alley, but the writing style didn't work for me. I wasn't able to discern more plot than the summary, and didn't find the character development strong enough to carry the writing. I found the idea of the marriage anachronistic in a setting that isn't queer normative (Vitya is charged with sodomy and sentenced to hang, for example.) It has a lot of potential, and could work for the right reader, but alas, I barely made it to the marriage of convenience and even the temptation of the sea couldn't hold me.
Thank you to Tides & Troth Books LLC for an eARC. Rears & Vices is out 3/17/2026.
Everard Anderson de Anglada is career Navy, and now that the wars with France and America have ended, he's sitting on courts-marshal with his former subordinate officer Preston D’Arcy. One of the cases they hear is for the infamous Vitaliy “Vitya” Gray, pirate with a fearsome reputation...and former lover of Everard's. Everard claims he has evidence for Vitya's innocence, but instead of sharing it, all three of them go on the run.
Unfortunately this is a DNF at 45% for me. Queer poly pirates should be right up my alley, but the writing style didn't work for me. I wasn't able to discern more plot than the summary, and didn't find the character development strong enough to carry the writing. I found the idea of the marriage anachronistic in a setting that isn't queer normative (Vitya is charged with sodomy and sentenced to hang, for example.) It has a lot of potential, and could work for the right reader, but alas, I barely made it to the marriage of convenience and even the temptation of the sea couldn't hold me.
Thank you to Tides & Troth Books LLC for an eARC. Rears & Vices is out 3/17/2026.
February 17, 2026
Holllyyyyy heck I absolutely adored this! For fans of historical romance, 1800s seafaring and pirates! This one, like Katie Daysh’s ‘Leeward’ trilogy, is both very queer and extremely well researched; just don’t go into this expecting a light, fluffy romance. There is a complex political plot, a lot of seafaring language and a fair amount of battle gore. But oh my gosh, it was just the perfect read for me 🏴☠️
The is told from the POV of Navy Captain Everard Anderson De Anglada, who promptly ends up leaving the Navy when pirate Vitaliy Grey - his ex lover - is about to be hung. Aided and abetted by another ex-flame, Captain Preston D’Arcy, Everard breaks Vitaliy out of prison and all three escape on his ship, Sevérè.
From there unfolds a complicated yet wholly fascinating plot involving political espionage, spies, conspiracy and a whole lotta yearning. There are epic sea battles, storms and threats galore! For all that this book is touted as ‘spicy’ (which it really is, once you get to the payoff!) the majority of the book is a delicious slow burn, culminating in one of my favourite ever MMM triads.
Overall I would say this is definitely one for the historical romance fans who enjoy a complex, political plot; it’s beautifully researched and full of queer joy amongst the sheer horror of the time, and the HEA is everything I wanted and more. I adored the vastly different personalities of Preston, Vitaliy and Everard and I thought they all meshed so well together. The found family aboard the Sevérè was a delight, including pirate Captain Romilly René, with her all female crew 🤌 (And bless Everard for taking the ENTIRE BOOK to realise ‘all female crew’ = Milly is a lesbian, babe 😹)
Read Rears & Vices for:
✨ 1800s pirates & seafaring
✨ Historical romance
✨ MMM romance
✨ Slowwwww burn 🤤
✨ Second chance x2
✨ Politics, espionage, plots, spies
✨ Epic naval battles, gore, threat
✨ ‘Touch him and 💀’
✨ Forced proximity
✨ Caretaking after injury
✨ Disability rep (missing fingers)
✨ Found family
✨ Absolutely perfect HEA
Thank you so much to Tides & Troth books for an ARC! It’s available 17th March 2026 🌊
The is told from the POV of Navy Captain Everard Anderson De Anglada, who promptly ends up leaving the Navy when pirate Vitaliy Grey - his ex lover - is about to be hung. Aided and abetted by another ex-flame, Captain Preston D’Arcy, Everard breaks Vitaliy out of prison and all three escape on his ship, Sevérè.
From there unfolds a complicated yet wholly fascinating plot involving political espionage, spies, conspiracy and a whole lotta yearning. There are epic sea battles, storms and threats galore! For all that this book is touted as ‘spicy’ (which it really is, once you get to the payoff!) the majority of the book is a delicious slow burn, culminating in one of my favourite ever MMM triads.
Overall I would say this is definitely one for the historical romance fans who enjoy a complex, political plot; it’s beautifully researched and full of queer joy amongst the sheer horror of the time, and the HEA is everything I wanted and more. I adored the vastly different personalities of Preston, Vitaliy and Everard and I thought they all meshed so well together. The found family aboard the Sevérè was a delight, including pirate Captain Romilly René, with her all female crew 🤌 (And bless Everard for taking the ENTIRE BOOK to realise ‘all female crew’ = Milly is a lesbian, babe 😹)
Read Rears & Vices for:
✨ 1800s pirates & seafaring
✨ Historical romance
✨ MMM romance
✨ Slowwwww burn 🤤
✨ Second chance x2
✨ Politics, espionage, plots, spies
✨ Epic naval battles, gore, threat
✨ ‘Touch him and 💀’
✨ Forced proximity
✨ Caretaking after injury
✨ Disability rep (missing fingers)
✨ Found family
✨ Absolutely perfect HEA
Thank you so much to Tides & Troth books for an ARC! It’s available 17th March 2026 🌊
March 26, 2026
Snatched up this book from the library right when it came out after seeing it recommended on tumblr. In Rears & Vices, career navy captain Everard makes the mistake of lying to save an ex-fling who's facing a summary court-martial. Unfortunately, the fling turns out to be none other than notorious pirate admiral Vitya Grey, and Everard and his best friend D'Arcy are forced to flee in the night.
This book immediately endeared itself to me by opening with a British navy captain posted to the Great Lakes in 1816. A tantalizingly obscure bit of history, and Caro proceeded to demonstrate that they'd obviously done their research. Even the boat stuff sounded plausible, to the best of my ability to judge. The plot ran heavier to action-adventure than romance, with the obligatory naval battles, weapons dealing, and vanilla smuggling. Even here, Caro gets into a level of detail about topics like the Spanish royal crown, the Galveston navy, Simon Bolivar's revolution, the political status in newly independent Mexico, that goes significantly beyond the usual for a romance novel or even a standard historical fiction book. The pacing did tend to be a bit uneven—there's several abrupt timeskips that land you suddenly in the middle of the action—but I was entertained. I love not knowing what's going on; it's enrichment for my enclosure.
The romance is nominally poly, although the connection between Vitya and Everard gets the most development. Poor frivolous D'Arcy feels a bit tacked on, but at least he doesn't suffer the fate of the lieutenant and cabin boy who fled Canada and entirely disappear in the second half of the novel. Caro has an excellent touch for chemistry which reminds me of the plottier works of AJ Demas or KJ Charles. I will say that the text seems to emphasize that Vitya is a Nice Pirate Captain in a way that smacks of being afraid of twitter. It's perfectly reasonable for the period for characters to have an aversion to slave sugar, or for that matter the slave trade, but it's a bit much to have all the pirates also hate racism, support women, and destroy capitalism, in effectively those words. You don't have to make them evil, but sometimes you have to let people suck slightly in period accurate ways, rather than copy-pasting in the correct Opinions of the Day from bluesky or whatever.
I have a few quibbles, but overall I was blown away by the strength of the historical setting and the romance. Clearly Caro is an author to watch, and I'm excited to see what they write next. Recommended if you like the plottier end of AJ Demas or KJ Charles.
This book immediately endeared itself to me by opening with a British navy captain posted to the Great Lakes in 1816. A tantalizingly obscure bit of history, and Caro proceeded to demonstrate that they'd obviously done their research. Even the boat stuff sounded plausible, to the best of my ability to judge. The plot ran heavier to action-adventure than romance, with the obligatory naval battles, weapons dealing, and vanilla smuggling. Even here, Caro gets into a level of detail about topics like the Spanish royal crown, the Galveston navy, Simon Bolivar's revolution, the political status in newly independent Mexico, that goes significantly beyond the usual for a romance novel or even a standard historical fiction book. The pacing did tend to be a bit uneven—there's several abrupt timeskips that land you suddenly in the middle of the action—but I was entertained. I love not knowing what's going on; it's enrichment for my enclosure.
The romance is nominally poly, although the connection between Vitya and Everard gets the most development. Poor frivolous D'Arcy feels a bit tacked on, but at least he doesn't suffer the fate of the lieutenant and cabin boy who fled Canada and entirely disappear in the second half of the novel. Caro has an excellent touch for chemistry which reminds me of the plottier works of AJ Demas or KJ Charles. I will say that the text seems to emphasize that Vitya is a Nice Pirate Captain in a way that smacks of being afraid of twitter. It's perfectly reasonable for the period for characters to have an aversion to slave sugar, or for that matter the slave trade, but it's a bit much to have all the pirates also hate racism, support women, and destroy capitalism, in effectively those words. You don't have to make them evil, but sometimes you have to let people suck slightly in period accurate ways, rather than copy-pasting in the correct Opinions of the Day from bluesky or whatever.
I have a few quibbles, but overall I was blown away by the strength of the historical setting and the romance. Clearly Caro is an author to watch, and I'm excited to see what they write next. Recommended if you like the plottier end of AJ Demas or KJ Charles.
Did not finish
March 17, 2026Thank you to NetGalley and Tides & Troths for the ARC.
Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me. I gave it a solid try but ended up DNFing at 66%. I usually love a good historical romance, and I can see what the author was aiming for, but the writing didn’t quite gel with me. I also found the story a bit too slow and, honestly, not engaging enough to keep my interest.
Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me. I gave it a solid try but ended up DNFing at 66%. I usually love a good historical romance, and I can see what the author was aiming for, but the writing didn’t quite gel with me. I also found the story a bit too slow and, honestly, not engaging enough to keep my interest.
March 14, 2026
Rears and Vices
*ARC review* Release date: March 17th
2/5⭐️
Rears and Vices is a poly pirate historical romance. I was really intrigued when reading the preview for this book. Unfortunately, this book was not for me. The author clearly did their research regarding naval history and nautical terms, but to me it was almost too technical. I had trouble following the writing and was constantly having to look up terms in order to understand what was going on. I also felt like the book was dragging while not much was actually happening. I really enjoyed the relationship between D’Arcy and Everard, but Vitaliy seemed to lack personality. I think this book would work for the right reader, but that isn’t me. Recommend: No
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.
*ARC review* Release date: March 17th
2/5⭐️
Rears and Vices is a poly pirate historical romance. I was really intrigued when reading the preview for this book. Unfortunately, this book was not for me. The author clearly did their research regarding naval history and nautical terms, but to me it was almost too technical. I had trouble following the writing and was constantly having to look up terms in order to understand what was going on. I also felt like the book was dragging while not much was actually happening. I really enjoyed the relationship between D’Arcy and Everard, but Vitaliy seemed to lack personality. I think this book would work for the right reader, but that isn’t me. Recommend: No
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.
November 27, 2025
2.25⭐️
I would have given this 1 star for the overall writing as parts were barely comprehensible however the some of the characters were interesting and I could see places where it could have been really good and I do think the interactions between characters were written well
The writing in places was confusing and heavy handed with some of the points it was trying to make, I also noticed some inconsistencies through out and the way it was written assumed u knew things without telling you anything to do with it
Preston and everard were really cute together, I didn’t really like Everard and vitaliy together I felt like they just didn’t suit each other very well maybe it was just because I thought Preston and Everard had so much chemistry that compared to them Everard and Vitaliy just seemed lacking. I also think the discussion of polyamory isn’t there it’s never really discusses how the characters feel about any of them having multiple partners.i do think the 3 of them worked well together but i would have like to see the relationship between Vitaliy and Preston a lot more
Vitaliy lacked personality he seemed very dull and one dimensional, however I found D’arcy a really fun character and Everard while in places annoyed me I did find his character interesting
Overall the premise is there and the characters have a lot of potential however the writing isn’t clear and leads to an inability to get completely immersed in the book
Thank you Netgalley and Tides and Troth books for the digital arc
I would have given this 1 star for the overall writing as parts were barely comprehensible however the some of the characters were interesting and I could see places where it could have been really good and I do think the interactions between characters were written well
The writing in places was confusing and heavy handed with some of the points it was trying to make, I also noticed some inconsistencies through out and the way it was written assumed u knew things without telling you anything to do with it
Preston and everard were really cute together, I didn’t really like Everard and vitaliy together I felt like they just didn’t suit each other very well maybe it was just because I thought Preston and Everard had so much chemistry that compared to them Everard and Vitaliy just seemed lacking. I also think the discussion of polyamory isn’t there it’s never really discusses how the characters feel about any of them having multiple partners.i do think the 3 of them worked well together but i would have like to see the relationship between Vitaliy and Preston a lot more
Vitaliy lacked personality he seemed very dull and one dimensional, however I found D’arcy a really fun character and Everard while in places annoyed me I did find his character interesting
Overall the premise is there and the characters have a lot of potential however the writing isn’t clear and leads to an inability to get completely immersed in the book
Thank you Netgalley and Tides and Troth books for the digital arc
October 21, 2025
I was given an ARC by NetGalley!
While the blurb likens this to Black Sails meets Hamilton, I would substitute Hamilton with the Aubrey and Maturin series. Read: there is a lot more nautical terms than political debate. Either a lot of research was done for this book or the author is extremely good at faking it (I honestly couldn't tell, not having done the research myself), and it really worked for me. It made me feel like I was there, like it was real.
I'm so glad that I have given this book a try. You have to work for it, I won't deny it. Nothing is handed to you on a platter. Nautical terms abound, and nothing is made transparently clear whether in terms of the (geo)political situation or the motivations of the characters, but if you read between the lines, everything is there, and it frankly becomes extremely fun and rewarding to figure it out. I understand this might not be for everyone, but honestly this felt like reading Aubrey-Maturin, except lightly anti-colonial (aka a great deal more anti colonial than Aubrey-Maturin) and a whole lot queerer (both in terms of sexual orientation and politics).
Also, as a big lover of pirate stories, I can't believe I didn't know about matelotage until now.
Thanks for the ARC!
While the blurb likens this to Black Sails meets Hamilton, I would substitute Hamilton with the Aubrey and Maturin series. Read: there is a lot more nautical terms than political debate. Either a lot of research was done for this book or the author is extremely good at faking it (I honestly couldn't tell, not having done the research myself), and it really worked for me. It made me feel like I was there, like it was real.
I'm so glad that I have given this book a try. You have to work for it, I won't deny it. Nothing is handed to you on a platter. Nautical terms abound, and nothing is made transparently clear whether in terms of the (geo)political situation or the motivations of the characters, but if you read between the lines, everything is there, and it frankly becomes extremely fun and rewarding to figure it out. I understand this might not be for everyone, but honestly this felt like reading Aubrey-Maturin, except lightly anti-colonial (aka a great deal more anti colonial than Aubrey-Maturin) and a whole lot queerer (both in terms of sexual orientation and politics).
Also, as a big lover of pirate stories, I can't believe I didn't know about matelotage until now.
Thanks for the ARC!
December 1, 2025
I would first like to thank the publisher, the author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I would first like to start this review by saying that this is not a bad book. In fact, I feel like this could be a really great book. However, this book was very obviously a debut book (I don’t mean this negatively) and about a quarter of the way through I double checked that this was a debut book because that is what it felt like. I did end up DNF’ing this book about 51.9% of the way through so do take this review with a grain of salt.
The main thing that super bothered me about this story is that there didn’t seem to be character motivation. We had motivation at the beginning for the first set of actions – previous emotional entanglements – but everything after that didn’t seem to have clear motivation. Some of the actions could be extended the same motivation as the first few but after that it wasn’t believable that the motivation was singular to affect all the actions after that. And no other character's motivations are really explained or convincing, and there is no real goal of the story. There isn’t something they are trying to achieve, learn, or do. They simply float around the ocean being acted upon by other events and characters. It’s mostly because of this that I DNF’d. Because I didn’t see anywhere this story could be going.
The other thing is that this book feels like it is not written for a general audience. There were so many historical and nautical terms used without the typical writerly roundabout explanation to the reader of meaning or incorporation of common words to contextually explain the historical and nautical ones that this book feels as though it requires previous experience in either studying the time period or being a sailor. One or the other would have left the story interesting but if I had to look but 6 words in the span of a chapter (which I did at one point), I’m going to quickly lose interest in the story.
I generally think this book has a great concept and the romantic scenes were cute and rather interesting. If the story contained character motivation and a better use of writing style to explain words and concepts, I would have read this story to the end and probably loved it. As far as I read into the story the spicy level was a level 3.
Overall, I would rate this story a 3 out of 5 star rating. The concept itself was a grand idea, and the first few chapters are actually interesting but in the end, I personally feel the book could still use some work.
I would first like to start this review by saying that this is not a bad book. In fact, I feel like this could be a really great book. However, this book was very obviously a debut book (I don’t mean this negatively) and about a quarter of the way through I double checked that this was a debut book because that is what it felt like. I did end up DNF’ing this book about 51.9% of the way through so do take this review with a grain of salt.
The main thing that super bothered me about this story is that there didn’t seem to be character motivation. We had motivation at the beginning for the first set of actions – previous emotional entanglements – but everything after that didn’t seem to have clear motivation. Some of the actions could be extended the same motivation as the first few but after that it wasn’t believable that the motivation was singular to affect all the actions after that. And no other character's motivations are really explained or convincing, and there is no real goal of the story. There isn’t something they are trying to achieve, learn, or do. They simply float around the ocean being acted upon by other events and characters. It’s mostly because of this that I DNF’d. Because I didn’t see anywhere this story could be going.
The other thing is that this book feels like it is not written for a general audience. There were so many historical and nautical terms used without the typical writerly roundabout explanation to the reader of meaning or incorporation of common words to contextually explain the historical and nautical ones that this book feels as though it requires previous experience in either studying the time period or being a sailor. One or the other would have left the story interesting but if I had to look but 6 words in the span of a chapter (which I did at one point), I’m going to quickly lose interest in the story.
I generally think this book has a great concept and the romantic scenes were cute and rather interesting. If the story contained character motivation and a better use of writing style to explain words and concepts, I would have read this story to the end and probably loved it. As far as I read into the story the spicy level was a level 3.
Overall, I would rate this story a 3 out of 5 star rating. The concept itself was a grand idea, and the first few chapters are actually interesting but in the end, I personally feel the book could still use some work.
February 24, 2026
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC!
I'd thought, when requesting this book, that I'd get a fun, spicy, somewhat silly adventure full of sea-going and pirates. Two out of three were spot on. While absolutely fun and devilishly spicy, Rears & Vices is not at all a silly book. it delves into complex issues of global politics that are still relevant today, but in ways that you almost don't notice, because you're so engrossed in the storytelling. The storytelling is complex and begins almost immediately, so I won't get into the details to avoid spoiling. I'll just say that Everard Anderson de Anglada, a Royal Navy career man begins the tale treading-water, bored and frustrated, but it doesn't take long before he's pulled dramatically out of his a-bit-too-comfortable zone and thrust into an adventure full of (sexy) pirates, old-friends, hidden emotions and (sexy) desires, sea battles, political intrigue, and so much more.
This novel was a blast. I tore through it, completely engrossed, and fell in love with pretty much all of the (sexy) characters, who were well-developed, individual and charming, each in their own specific ways. Preston D'Arcy, in particular, won my heart. I'm a sucker for a red-head with a clever tongue. Not only were the spicy scenes beautifully written (as was all of the book), but the characterisation and ricocheting emotion made them devastating and gorgeous.
I'm in awe of how much research E. M. Caro must have done in preparation for this book and I felt fully immersed in 1816 and the world they created. I enjoyed the all the sea-faring lingo and learning about pirate culture. I enjoyed the romance. I loved the story. If you enjoy those things too, this is a book for you.
I'd thought, when requesting this book, that I'd get a fun, spicy, somewhat silly adventure full of sea-going and pirates. Two out of three were spot on. While absolutely fun and devilishly spicy, Rears & Vices is not at all a silly book. it delves into complex issues of global politics that are still relevant today, but in ways that you almost don't notice, because you're so engrossed in the storytelling. The storytelling is complex and begins almost immediately, so I won't get into the details to avoid spoiling. I'll just say that Everard Anderson de Anglada, a Royal Navy career man begins the tale treading-water, bored and frustrated, but it doesn't take long before he's pulled dramatically out of his a-bit-too-comfortable zone and thrust into an adventure full of (sexy) pirates, old-friends, hidden emotions and (sexy) desires, sea battles, political intrigue, and so much more.
This novel was a blast. I tore through it, completely engrossed, and fell in love with pretty much all of the (sexy) characters, who were well-developed, individual and charming, each in their own specific ways. Preston D'Arcy, in particular, won my heart. I'm a sucker for a red-head with a clever tongue. Not only were the spicy scenes beautifully written (as was all of the book), but the characterisation and ricocheting emotion made them devastating and gorgeous.
I'm in awe of how much research E. M. Caro must have done in preparation for this book and I felt fully immersed in 1816 and the world they created. I enjoyed the all the sea-faring lingo and learning about pirate culture. I enjoyed the romance. I loved the story. If you enjoy those things too, this is a book for you.
September 29, 2025
This was such a fun read! The dynamic between the main three characters was beautifully balanced. We got to see Everard interacting with them both separately and together, which I really enjoyed. I also liked that they had a history before the story even began.
I had a bit of a hard time getting into the writing style and the historical marine terminology. I really don’t know much about what’s going on with the ships and sails, magazines, and kegs. This wouldn’t have been much of a problem if NetGalley’s app allowed me to copy, paste, or directly search the text for definitions — but alas, I did struggle a bit in that regard. Also, sometimes, especially at the start, I felt the conversations were a bit clunky. This might have been because of the marine terminology and the historical setting again.
I wasn’t expecting the plot to be this intriguing. There was a surprising amount of politics involved, which I really appreciated, though I think it could have been even better with fewer issues and more focus on one particular political conflict. I also wasn’t completely satisfied with the pacing, especially toward the end.
My favorite character was Preston! I would have enjoyed the book even more if we’d had the chance to see more of him 🙂↕️ The intimate scenes were filled with passion and affection, and there was plenty of dialogue in those moments. This not only allowed us to get to know the characters better, but also helped them develop as individuals.
Overall, this was a fun romance book with three hot pirates, each with their own unique principles and personalities.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tides & Troth Books LLC for the arc!
I had a bit of a hard time getting into the writing style and the historical marine terminology. I really don’t know much about what’s going on with the ships and sails, magazines, and kegs. This wouldn’t have been much of a problem if NetGalley’s app allowed me to copy, paste, or directly search the text for definitions — but alas, I did struggle a bit in that regard. Also, sometimes, especially at the start, I felt the conversations were a bit clunky. This might have been because of the marine terminology and the historical setting again.
I wasn’t expecting the plot to be this intriguing. There was a surprising amount of politics involved, which I really appreciated, though I think it could have been even better with fewer issues and more focus on one particular political conflict. I also wasn’t completely satisfied with the pacing, especially toward the end.
My favorite character was Preston! I would have enjoyed the book even more if we’d had the chance to see more of him 🙂↕️ The intimate scenes were filled with passion and affection, and there was plenty of dialogue in those moments. This not only allowed us to get to know the characters better, but also helped them develop as individuals.
Overall, this was a fun romance book with three hot pirates, each with their own unique principles and personalities.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tides & Troth Books LLC for the arc!
September 28, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for this arc. I rate this book 5 stars and 4 chili peppers for spice. I freaking ate this book up! The pirate/sailing lingo felt so realistic. The writing made me feel like I was dropped onto a ship from Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but make it a gay love triangle. I loved the secrets and backstories. All the side characters were awesome too. I could have kept reading about these three characters because their dynamic and history was so interesting. Can’t wait to read more from this author.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
ARC given by publisher through netgally in exchange for an honest review. This is my honest review and contains my own opinions all thoughts and views are my own.
I loved this it was exactly what I wanted I urge everyone to give it a shot i found it incredibly bingeable and loved all three of the main characters I think if you want a low stakes LGBTQ+ story with a happy ending then this would be right up your alley I absolutely adored it
I loved this it was exactly what I wanted I urge everyone to give it a shot i found it incredibly bingeable and loved all three of the main characters I think if you want a low stakes LGBTQ+ story with a happy ending then this would be right up your alley I absolutely adored it
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Argh I hate it! No, I don't hate the book, I hate it that I cannot like this book as much as I want it. I mean, look at the cover it looks so gorgeous!
First of all, glossary would be nice thank you very much. This book is "too niche" it has so many nautical terms that a general reader like me needs to pause every several sentences to google what the heck I was reading.
Second of all, it's kinda historically inaccurate when it mentions "Indonesian coffee". I really had to fly through the first page to make sure that the setting was in 1816. Who the duck refer to that region as "Indonesia", especially as western people? The name "Indonesia" was not commonly used before the 20th century (mind you, the country claimed its independence in 1945), and the name was first mentioned by a British guy in 1850-ish. It was Dutch East Indies, or East Indies, in 1816 (Unfortunately I'm from that said country, but do correct me if I'm wrong.)
The only character that stands out for me is D'Arcy. Everard is just insufferable, and Vitaliy is verrryyyyy one dimentional, I can't even feel connection with him. Very flat, very boring. Idk if the author want to make him appears like a cool, aloof guy or something but that just didn't do it. It feels like he's a very badly written character with no depth at all.
The plot is boring and confusing, the pacing is all over the place and dragging so much. Imagine reading a book for more than 50% but nothing is really happening and you keep wondering when the action is going to start. Even the smut is written in a very confusing way!
Last but not least, illustration inside the book would be lovely! I know this might be too much to ask but the author wrote about the press machine, for example, yes yes I need to know how this Standhope Press looks like and how is it possible for people to do the deeds on the machine? It's hard to imagine if we don't know the visual, seriously.
To conclude, this book is not what I expect it to be. The premise is very interesting but it's badly executed.
First of all, glossary would be nice thank you very much. This book is "too niche" it has so many nautical terms that a general reader like me needs to pause every several sentences to google what the heck I was reading.
Second of all, it's kinda historically inaccurate when it mentions "Indonesian coffee". I really had to fly through the first page to make sure that the setting was in 1816. Who the duck refer to that region as "Indonesia", especially as western people? The name "Indonesia" was not commonly used before the 20th century (mind you, the country claimed its independence in 1945), and the name was first mentioned by a British guy in 1850-ish. It was Dutch East Indies, or East Indies, in 1816 (Unfortunately I'm from that said country, but do correct me if I'm wrong.)
The only character that stands out for me is D'Arcy. Everard is just insufferable, and Vitaliy is verrryyyyy one dimentional, I can't even feel connection with him. Very flat, very boring. Idk if the author want to make him appears like a cool, aloof guy or something but that just didn't do it. It feels like he's a very badly written character with no depth at all.
The plot is boring and confusing, the pacing is all over the place and dragging so much. Imagine reading a book for more than 50% but nothing is really happening and you keep wondering when the action is going to start. Even the smut is written in a very confusing way!
Last but not least, illustration inside the book would be lovely! I know this might be too much to ask but the author wrote about the press machine, for example, yes yes I need to know how this Standhope Press looks like and how is it possible for people to do the deeds on the machine? It's hard to imagine if we don't know the visual, seriously.
To conclude, this book is not what I expect it to be. The premise is very interesting but it's badly executed.
December 9, 2025
3.5
I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rears & Vices is a fun, sexy and adventurous sailing historical romance. Written in an old 19th century style voice, the novel is still very digestible and fast pace. The romantic dynamic between the 3 love interests is the heart of book and what had me invested in the story, they are well developed characters from the moment we meet them.
What stopped me from rating the book more than 3.5 stars were the historical and pirating plot points which I just couldn't get myself to care about because they weren't properly laid out in a way I could actually understand. I think there was too much going on politically at certain points and character motivations about certain actions where lost on the reader.
The prose was a little hard to follow at some points, especially during dialogue but I do think it helped greatly in setting the atmosphere.
That being said if the synopsis of Rears & Vices interests you I highly recommend you check it out when it's released.
I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rears & Vices is a fun, sexy and adventurous sailing historical romance. Written in an old 19th century style voice, the novel is still very digestible and fast pace. The romantic dynamic between the 3 love interests is the heart of book and what had me invested in the story, they are well developed characters from the moment we meet them.
What stopped me from rating the book more than 3.5 stars were the historical and pirating plot points which I just couldn't get myself to care about because they weren't properly laid out in a way I could actually understand. I think there was too much going on politically at certain points and character motivations about certain actions where lost on the reader.
The prose was a little hard to follow at some points, especially during dialogue but I do think it helped greatly in setting the atmosphere.
That being said if the synopsis of Rears & Vices interests you I highly recommend you check it out when it's released.
December 4, 2025
Honestly I think this book had the wrong main character. The plot had real substance but the MC didn't know about most of it until almost the very end, at which point his emotional distress far outweighed his rationality and caused him to ally himself to someone he actively disliked, cue a time skip, ethical disasters and imprisonment... Not that I think his fleeing them wasn't justified, they lied to him for the entirety of the book and then tried to gaslight him into acceptance of their manipulation. He absolutely should have left the relationship just for happier pastures, maybe for home, or his own ship. Or he could have commandeered his lover's ship and sailed off with his printing press and a small crew, very small since he barely interacts with any of them... Let alone positively.
Due to his general obliviousness the main plot was not espionage, political piracy and complicated revolution, it was saving a pirate from being arrested turns into being an (in-denial) kept man aboard a ship, with very little responsibility, extravagant gifts and the freedom to be jealous of anyone who had previously gained the trust of his pirate lover, dragging along for the ride his on-again off-again lover and only friend, to occasionally fight with and occasionally sleep with... Eventually his relationship with his pirate and his friend settle, then merge. It was fun, but in a very messy way! The sudden convergence of plot in the end was slightly disjointed. It also changed the dynamics of their relationship incredibly suddenly and not in the healthiest way... If the narrative had been led by one of his lovers, with more information on the table and being actively sought, it might have read differently, though their constant lying to him would still have been inadvisable. Or if the MC had been more engaged with actively unfolding plots, and less inclined to jump to conclusions based purely on jealousy, he might have been more clued in and the plot more balanced. The timeskip was jarring, the sudden flooding of information in the end confusing, and the smutty ending somewhat disappointing. There was no conversation, establishing boundaries or honesty in future, just immediate forgiveness and self-flagellation and then smut to conclude.
A good concept, enjoyable at times, just a bit too messy!
Due to his general obliviousness the main plot was not espionage, political piracy and complicated revolution, it was saving a pirate from being arrested turns into being an (in-denial) kept man aboard a ship, with very little responsibility, extravagant gifts and the freedom to be jealous of anyone who had previously gained the trust of his pirate lover, dragging along for the ride his on-again off-again lover and only friend, to occasionally fight with and occasionally sleep with... Eventually his relationship with his pirate and his friend settle, then merge. It was fun, but in a very messy way! The sudden convergence of plot in the end was slightly disjointed. It also changed the dynamics of their relationship incredibly suddenly and not in the healthiest way... If the narrative had been led by one of his lovers, with more information on the table and being actively sought, it might have read differently, though their constant lying to him would still have been inadvisable. Or if the MC had been more engaged with actively unfolding plots, and less inclined to jump to conclusions based purely on jealousy, he might have been more clued in and the plot more balanced. The timeskip was jarring, the sudden flooding of information in the end confusing, and the smutty ending somewhat disappointing. There was no conversation, establishing boundaries or honesty in future, just immediate forgiveness and self-flagellation and then smut to conclude.
A good concept, enjoyable at times, just a bit too messy!
October 5, 2025
i really, really wanted to like this book. it has an excellent premise: a navy captain and his former lieutenant (also former lover) get entangled with an infamous pirate captain, who is also someone from their not so distant past. also the promise of a poly, spicy Historical Romance.
everard anderson de anglada and preston d'arcy find their lives in utter chaos after they rescue the mysterious and elusive vitaliy gray from the hangman. now the three of them, well more so the two (we'll get to that) have to navigate the high seas, pirates, politics, pirate politics, and marriage.
the promise of a spicy romance gives the impression that this is meant for mature audiences. and while there are plenty of hot, open door, explicit scenes, the book reads more like YA/NA. that's not a knock on the book though. i flew through this in a day and a half. it felt easy and engaging to read. also, you can tell how much research the author put into writing this setting, and it's just great.
the problem i had is that these characters feel very young. everard is said to be in his mid 30s, with 20+ years of naval service. and it would make sense for the rest of our trio to be around the same age. these characters don't feel immature, but neither do they feel matured or particularly fleshed out.
there is this part in the book where everard and d'arcy are having an argument. d'arcy is saying that he doesn't mind being a standby for everard, but it guts him that everard looks disbelieving or horrified whenever d'arcy shows any affection outside of just sex. it's a really good conversation, one of the best in the book. it's raw and emotional, and everard has to confront the fact that he's been kind of a jerk. i would expect that after this that there would be some kind of revelation for everard, or a conversation for them both to resolve this in some way. there isn't. not only is there no introspection from everard, besides a few lines, they don't even have a follow up conversation about it. the next time they meet everard just asks "have you forgiven me yet?" and d'arcy presumably says yes, and everard moves on to wooing vitaliy.
the problem of the book starting with these three already entangled, already in love/like and willing to give up everything for the other, is that we don't see their relationships grow or deepen. their feelings don't change, it's just revelations at different points of "oh he loves me" and "oh he likes him" and declarations of "you have me" and "mine" and "i belong here with you". it's sweet, it's cute and just a bit shallow.
which brings me to our not-so-poly, poly romance. for the most part it feels like an open romance/relationship than a poly one. d'arcy loves everard, and everard cares for d'arcy. everard and vitaliy and desparately into each other. but d'arcy and vitaliy? there's nothing there as far as everard (and the reader is concerned). in fact, at a point vitaliy calls the d'arcy the pretty lieutenant and everard goes he thinks preston is pretty and that is the extent of vitaliy's affections for d'arcy, that we are shown, until they actually get together at the 70% mark.
I'm not saying they have to all be kissing all the time, but any kind of meaningful conversation would be nice. two people of this triad feel completely unconnected for the most part of the book. preston himself feels other to everard and d'arcy, like a voyeur to their romance, which is a shame, because he was by far the most interesting part of this book for me.
if you've read iron widow, the relationship is similar to that. both the male leads like the female lead. there's a scene where they all just look at each other while making out, the two male leads kiss, and now they're a throuple.
granted, there is a Revelation towards the very end of the book, that puts things in perspective, but it didn't really remedy what I felt was lacking.
that said, the scene where they do finally get together was so good. actually, the last third of the book was so, so good and is the reason why I ended up rating this as high as I did. a lot of interesting character work and emotions and feelings that everard and the rest have to confront and overcome.
the best part of this book (besides d'arcy who was a personal favourite) was the character of everard, who was in no means perfect or simple. he was messy and complicated and impulsive, and sometimes thoughtlessly cruel. he's not used to being in a position of higher standing, but he also wants his 20+ years in the navy to have meant something. and this brings an interesting conflict of him wanting to help vitaliy by not stepping on too many toes on the pirate ship, but also not wanting to just be a kept man who feels useless. I loved how this was explored and resolved.
all in all, while rears and vices was not completely for me, it was still a fun, entertaining read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.
everard anderson de anglada and preston d'arcy find their lives in utter chaos after they rescue the mysterious and elusive vitaliy gray from the hangman. now the three of them, well more so the two (we'll get to that) have to navigate the high seas, pirates, politics, pirate politics, and marriage.
the promise of a spicy romance gives the impression that this is meant for mature audiences. and while there are plenty of hot, open door, explicit scenes, the book reads more like YA/NA. that's not a knock on the book though. i flew through this in a day and a half. it felt easy and engaging to read. also, you can tell how much research the author put into writing this setting, and it's just great.
the problem i had is that these characters feel very young. everard is said to be in his mid 30s, with 20+ years of naval service. and it would make sense for the rest of our trio to be around the same age. these characters don't feel immature, but neither do they feel matured or particularly fleshed out.
there is this part in the book where everard and d'arcy are having an argument. d'arcy is saying that he doesn't mind being a standby for everard, but it guts him that everard looks disbelieving or horrified whenever d'arcy shows any affection outside of just sex. it's a really good conversation, one of the best in the book. it's raw and emotional, and everard has to confront the fact that he's been kind of a jerk. i would expect that after this that there would be some kind of revelation for everard, or a conversation for them both to resolve this in some way. there isn't. not only is there no introspection from everard, besides a few lines, they don't even have a follow up conversation about it. the next time they meet everard just asks "have you forgiven me yet?" and d'arcy presumably says yes, and everard moves on to wooing vitaliy.
the problem of the book starting with these three already entangled, already in love/like and willing to give up everything for the other, is that we don't see their relationships grow or deepen. their feelings don't change, it's just revelations at different points of "oh he loves me" and "oh he likes him" and declarations of "you have me" and "mine" and "i belong here with you". it's sweet, it's cute and just a bit shallow.
which brings me to our not-so-poly, poly romance. for the most part it feels like an open romance/relationship than a poly one. d'arcy loves everard, and everard cares for d'arcy. everard and vitaliy and desparately into each other. but d'arcy and vitaliy? there's nothing there as far as everard (and the reader is concerned). in fact, at a point vitaliy calls the d'arcy the pretty lieutenant and everard goes he thinks preston is pretty and that is the extent of vitaliy's affections for d'arcy, that we are shown, until they actually get together at the 70% mark.
I'm not saying they have to all be kissing all the time, but any kind of meaningful conversation would be nice. two people of this triad feel completely unconnected for the most part of the book. preston himself feels other to everard and d'arcy, like a voyeur to their romance, which is a shame, because he was by far the most interesting part of this book for me.
if you've read iron widow, the relationship is similar to that. both the male leads like the female lead. there's a scene where they all just look at each other while making out, the two male leads kiss, and now they're a throuple.
granted, there is a Revelation towards the very end of the book, that puts things in perspective, but it didn't really remedy what I felt was lacking.
that said, the scene where they do finally get together was so good. actually, the last third of the book was so, so good and is the reason why I ended up rating this as high as I did. a lot of interesting character work and emotions and feelings that everard and the rest have to confront and overcome.
the best part of this book (besides d'arcy who was a personal favourite) was the character of everard, who was in no means perfect or simple. he was messy and complicated and impulsive, and sometimes thoughtlessly cruel. he's not used to being in a position of higher standing, but he also wants his 20+ years in the navy to have meant something. and this brings an interesting conflict of him wanting to help vitaliy by not stepping on too many toes on the pirate ship, but also not wanting to just be a kept man who feels useless. I loved how this was explored and resolved.
all in all, while rears and vices was not completely for me, it was still a fun, entertaining read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.25/5.
Heat Index: 8/10
—pirate marriage (of convenience)
—not one, but TWO ex-situationships
—struggling to express your feelings in the midst of anti-colonial seafaring
The Basics:
Upon seeing his former fling, anti-colonial pirate Vitaliy *who has a couple other identities) on the brink of being hanged, naval man. Everard perjures himself to save him. Of course, this does lead him into general piratical antics, dragging his rakish friend—with whom he used to do things that went far beyond friendly—D'Arcy into everything in the process. One pirate marriage of convenience to Vitaliy later, Everard finds himself in the midst of battles and espionage, with more than one conflict at hand. Staying with Vitaliy would mean abandoning the naval career he's dedicated his life to—and perhaps D'Arcy, who fully owns being in love with Everard as it is. Of course... some choices may not be choices at all.
The Review:
What a FUN, bold historical romance! First off—let me be so clear. While Everard very much thinks he's in the midst of a love triangle at one point, it's a bit more complex than that. By "a bit more complex" I mean this is a poly triad romance. And it's great.
Wait, you say. "Pirate marriage of convenience?" Yes! Pirates had a sort of... domestic partnership, marriage situation happening back in the day, in which one pirate basically committed to another pirate and gave him the rights of inheritance, etc. that a wife would traditionally have. And some historians would say that meant they were good buddies. Sure!
Here, it's very clear that Everard and Vitaliy are a lot more than good buddies. But what are they... exactly? Everard is very "I'm his matelot in name only, I swear", and Vitaliy is like "sure", which kind of sums up Everard's approach to relationships in general. He's our POV character (see, I like single POV books sometimes! They just have to be good!) and he is essentially clueless about relationships. He doesn't really know what to do with Vitaliy's calm, accepting approach to their relationship. He doesn't know what to do with D'Arcy's exasperated, straightforward ownership of simply being madly in love with Everard while not expecting him to actually own his feelings. Personally, I found this rather delightful, and it adds to the tension in the triad. Everard is very smart about seafaring, but when it comes to Feelings, he's DENSE, and it makes him all the more human.
This cluelessness adds a lot of humor to the book (there's a character introduced who is very obviously a lesbian at one point, and Everard spends like 80% of this novel trying not to be insanely jealous because he's so sure she slept with Vitaliy... babe...), but it's also the crux of his conflict with D'Arcy. While Vitaliy mystifies Everard—and it's so satisfying when he finally cracks and lets him in... in more ways than one—Everard frustrates D'Arcy. There's a rather funny, and also relatable scene in which they're on the brink of gettin' it in, and Everard says something dumb that makes D'Arcy go "WHAT IS EVEN THE POINT YOU STUPID DUMB IDIOT", and I really enjoy the drama.
While the romantic drama takes center stage, there's a lot of pirate stuff. This is a historical romance that's firmly rooted in the history of it all. E.M. Caro clearly did a lot of research, and I kind of loved being in a world that very much isn't ours. Never did I feel beaten over the head by the idea of Vitaliy being this Woke Pirate. His morality—shared by Everard and D'Arcy—feels both progressive and grounded in this niche moment in history. Look! You can do a pirate romance today without being absurdly problematic!
You get a good bit of action and adventure, and a lot of high stakes. I mean, Everard is missing fingers when this book begins. People get hurt. Near death incidents are had. Somehow, all this happens while everyone is trying to figure out their various relationship dynamics. I ended the book feeling so FOND of everyone. Like, awww, babes. I love y'all.
If I had to pick a favorite—and I doubt I'll be alone on this front—yeah... It's D'Arcy. The combination of being oh so slutty and oh so smitten really got me. He's hilarious, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and yet, perhaps, maybe, he's hiding a little something? He clashed perfectly with Everard's uptight nature, and watching him develop this camaraderie with Vitaly—and maybe more—over time was super satisfying. He's irresistibly bratty.
The Sex:
Oh, this is a HOT book. You get a good number of one-on-one encounters before we get to the triad stuff. The sexual dynamics between everyone feels very unique, and I really liked the acknowledgment that being a queer man doesn't mean you're down for *everything* one can do as a queer man. Everyone has their preferences, and everyone checks in with everyone. Consent was handled really well in this book, without feeling precious.
But damn. The scenes were well-written, still a little funny at points, and you got the difference between people who feel a little more like they're living on the edge (Vitaliy and Everard) and people with a deep familiarity with each other (D'Arcy and Everard), and maybe... a secret third thing? A secret third and fourth thing, depending on how you look at it?
And I gotta say... One of my favorite moments in the whole book is Everard seeing a very determined D'Arcy striding toward him right before a battle, literally going "Oh God" and having to explain to Vitaliy that he and D'Arcy have a tradition wherein Everard rails D'Arcy right before maritime skirmishes. DELIGHTFUL.
The Conclusion:
I would absolutely read another E.M. Caro book anytime, and this is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for in the historical romances of today. Very sexy. Very emotional. Nobody's perfect. The emotional and physical stakes are high. The payoff is great. Highly recommend!
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Heat Index: 8/10
—pirate marriage (of convenience)
—not one, but TWO ex-situationships
—struggling to express your feelings in the midst of anti-colonial seafaring
The Basics:
Upon seeing his former fling, anti-colonial pirate Vitaliy *who has a couple other identities) on the brink of being hanged, naval man. Everard perjures himself to save him. Of course, this does lead him into general piratical antics, dragging his rakish friend—with whom he used to do things that went far beyond friendly—D'Arcy into everything in the process. One pirate marriage of convenience to Vitaliy later, Everard finds himself in the midst of battles and espionage, with more than one conflict at hand. Staying with Vitaliy would mean abandoning the naval career he's dedicated his life to—and perhaps D'Arcy, who fully owns being in love with Everard as it is. Of course... some choices may not be choices at all.
The Review:
What a FUN, bold historical romance! First off—let me be so clear. While Everard very much thinks he's in the midst of a love triangle at one point, it's a bit more complex than that. By "a bit more complex" I mean this is a poly triad romance. And it's great.
Wait, you say. "Pirate marriage of convenience?" Yes! Pirates had a sort of... domestic partnership, marriage situation happening back in the day, in which one pirate basically committed to another pirate and gave him the rights of inheritance, etc. that a wife would traditionally have. And some historians would say that meant they were good buddies. Sure!
Here, it's very clear that Everard and Vitaliy are a lot more than good buddies. But what are they... exactly? Everard is very "I'm his matelot in name only, I swear", and Vitaliy is like "sure", which kind of sums up Everard's approach to relationships in general. He's our POV character (see, I like single POV books sometimes! They just have to be good!) and he is essentially clueless about relationships. He doesn't really know what to do with Vitaliy's calm, accepting approach to their relationship. He doesn't know what to do with D'Arcy's exasperated, straightforward ownership of simply being madly in love with Everard while not expecting him to actually own his feelings. Personally, I found this rather delightful, and it adds to the tension in the triad. Everard is very smart about seafaring, but when it comes to Feelings, he's DENSE, and it makes him all the more human.
This cluelessness adds a lot of humor to the book (there's a character introduced who is very obviously a lesbian at one point, and Everard spends like 80% of this novel trying not to be insanely jealous because he's so sure she slept with Vitaliy... babe...), but it's also the crux of his conflict with D'Arcy. While Vitaliy mystifies Everard—and it's so satisfying when he finally cracks and lets him in... in more ways than one—Everard frustrates D'Arcy. There's a rather funny, and also relatable scene in which they're on the brink of gettin' it in, and Everard says something dumb that makes D'Arcy go "WHAT IS EVEN THE POINT YOU STUPID DUMB IDIOT", and I really enjoy the drama.
While the romantic drama takes center stage, there's a lot of pirate stuff. This is a historical romance that's firmly rooted in the history of it all. E.M. Caro clearly did a lot of research, and I kind of loved being in a world that very much isn't ours. Never did I feel beaten over the head by the idea of Vitaliy being this Woke Pirate. His morality—shared by Everard and D'Arcy—feels both progressive and grounded in this niche moment in history. Look! You can do a pirate romance today without being absurdly problematic!
You get a good bit of action and adventure, and a lot of high stakes. I mean, Everard is missing fingers when this book begins. People get hurt. Near death incidents are had. Somehow, all this happens while everyone is trying to figure out their various relationship dynamics. I ended the book feeling so FOND of everyone. Like, awww, babes. I love y'all.
If I had to pick a favorite—and I doubt I'll be alone on this front—yeah... It's D'Arcy. The combination of being oh so slutty and oh so smitten really got me. He's hilarious, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and yet, perhaps, maybe, he's hiding a little something? He clashed perfectly with Everard's uptight nature, and watching him develop this camaraderie with Vitaly—and maybe more—over time was super satisfying. He's irresistibly bratty.
The Sex:
Oh, this is a HOT book. You get a good number of one-on-one encounters before we get to the triad stuff. The sexual dynamics between everyone feels very unique, and I really liked the acknowledgment that being a queer man doesn't mean you're down for *everything* one can do as a queer man. Everyone has their preferences, and everyone checks in with everyone. Consent was handled really well in this book, without feeling precious.
But damn. The scenes were well-written, still a little funny at points, and you got the difference between people who feel a little more like they're living on the edge (Vitaliy and Everard) and people with a deep familiarity with each other (D'Arcy and Everard), and maybe... a secret third thing? A secret third and fourth thing, depending on how you look at it?
And I gotta say... One of my favorite moments in the whole book is Everard seeing a very determined D'Arcy striding toward him right before a battle, literally going "Oh God" and having to explain to Vitaliy that he and D'Arcy have a tradition wherein Everard rails D'Arcy right before maritime skirmishes. DELIGHTFUL.
The Conclusion:
I would absolutely read another E.M. Caro book anytime, and this is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for in the historical romances of today. Very sexy. Very emotional. Nobody's perfect. The emotional and physical stakes are high. The payoff is great. Highly recommend!
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
November 26, 2025
He wanted... partnership. Companionship. Trust. Maybe something else, too. Rainy nights in the doublewide cot. Sunsets in the shrouds. To see the colorwork appear on the pair of socks Vitaliy had just cast on, for he suspected they might be meant for him. What use was ambition, compared to that?
When Everard, English navy captain, decides to free his former lover, a notorious pirate captain, from imprisonment, aided by his colleague and other former lover, the trio find themselves having to navigate their new lives and their feelings for each other.
I got invested in the plot and characters really quickly, but the book lost me along the way. The plot seems to meander, and significant moments for character and relationship development are relegated to being briefly described after they already happened. There never seem to be any truly exciting scenes that are expanded on. I enjoyed the conflicts between the love interests, which always showed their differences in upbringing and worldview, but the arguments also confused me, since they seemed to jump between therapy-speak self-awareness and naive, juvenile assumptions.
I think the book fails as a romance, since momentous developments between love interests () are really only mentioned after the fact, and it makes it difficult to remain invested in the lovestories. Since both of Everard's love interests are his exes, I also couldn't quite tell where his deep affection for them comes from, since we are almost never privy to flashbacks between them and the origin of his attraction and devotion. The book also fails as a swashbuckling pirate adventure, as we barely see any fun action or pirate battles. There is some early on, which left me hopeful, but very little in that regard follows later. Lastly, it fails as a serious political historical fiction novel, which I'm not entirely sure it wants to be, but I got the impression that the author felt obligated to infuse their pirate romance with in depth-politics.
I have no issue with politics in a romance, especially since I'm aware that all literature, as all art, is inherently political. But this was obnoxious in its overtness and specifically too overtly 21st-century in its politics. Every time the characters would start talking about their ideologies I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Clearly someone wanted to proof their novel against any possible online backlash. God forbid a male character in a historical novel holds 19th-century-appropriate biases! The threat of getting cancelled on Twitter is too great, it seems. Since the blurb invokes Black Sails, I have to interject - nobody on Black Sails proclaims outright that "Woman are people! And Black people deserve to be free because they are human! And being extremely wealthy makes you immoral!" (This isn't a verbatim quote from Rears & Vices, but it may as well be.) Instead, characters on the show are written to represent their era appropriately, and their revolutionary sentiment calls for solidarity with women and the enslaved and underprivileged, often as means to an end. Anyway, watch Black Sails.
The politics actually hinder proper character writing, in my opinion. Everard doesn't really have an edge, he's just your morally upstanding anti-capitalist anti-racist gay cardboard cutout. His Spanish heritage adds some complexity to his motivations, that's for sure, but it doesn't justify his entire ideology. In addition to being a navy captain, Everard is a caricaturist, but we never learn of any of his political art. The author basically says, trust me, it's good and complex and woke, and I have to shrug and say, well, I guess it must be. We also don't really learn what Everard plans to use these skills for; there's no overarching clear mission besides theoretically supporting independence and freedom.
I still enjoyed the book on various levels, my three stars are firm, it just could have gone more in depth in literally any direction. If you like your historical protagonists unproblematic I would recommend this. The smutty scenes were hot, I had to suspend my disbelief a little, considering they're in 1807, but it's fiction and meant to be erotic, so I'll allow it. I think the book sets up a possible sequel, potentially for different characters, so if you're into series like The Gentleman's Guide or The Last Binding, this could provide similar entertainment.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a digital copy of this book for review consideration.
When Everard, English navy captain, decides to free his former lover, a notorious pirate captain, from imprisonment, aided by his colleague and other former lover, the trio find themselves having to navigate their new lives and their feelings for each other.
I got invested in the plot and characters really quickly, but the book lost me along the way. The plot seems to meander, and significant moments for character and relationship development are relegated to being briefly described after they already happened. There never seem to be any truly exciting scenes that are expanded on. I enjoyed the conflicts between the love interests, which always showed their differences in upbringing and worldview, but the arguments also confused me, since they seemed to jump between therapy-speak self-awareness and naive, juvenile assumptions.
I think the book fails as a romance, since momentous developments between love interests () are really only mentioned after the fact, and it makes it difficult to remain invested in the lovestories. Since both of Everard's love interests are his exes, I also couldn't quite tell where his deep affection for them comes from, since we are almost never privy to flashbacks between them and the origin of his attraction and devotion. The book also fails as a swashbuckling pirate adventure, as we barely see any fun action or pirate battles. There is some early on, which left me hopeful, but very little in that regard follows later. Lastly, it fails as a serious political historical fiction novel, which I'm not entirely sure it wants to be, but I got the impression that the author felt obligated to infuse their pirate romance with in depth-politics.
I have no issue with politics in a romance, especially since I'm aware that all literature, as all art, is inherently political. But this was obnoxious in its overtness and specifically too overtly 21st-century in its politics. Every time the characters would start talking about their ideologies I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Clearly someone wanted to proof their novel against any possible online backlash. God forbid a male character in a historical novel holds 19th-century-appropriate biases! The threat of getting cancelled on Twitter is too great, it seems. Since the blurb invokes Black Sails, I have to interject - nobody on Black Sails proclaims outright that "Woman are people! And Black people deserve to be free because they are human! And being extremely wealthy makes you immoral!" (This isn't a verbatim quote from Rears & Vices, but it may as well be.) Instead, characters on the show are written to represent their era appropriately, and their revolutionary sentiment calls for solidarity with women and the enslaved and underprivileged, often as means to an end. Anyway, watch Black Sails.
The politics actually hinder proper character writing, in my opinion. Everard doesn't really have an edge, he's just your morally upstanding anti-capitalist anti-racist gay cardboard cutout. His Spanish heritage adds some complexity to his motivations, that's for sure, but it doesn't justify his entire ideology. In addition to being a navy captain, Everard is a caricaturist, but we never learn of any of his political art. The author basically says, trust me, it's good and complex and woke, and I have to shrug and say, well, I guess it must be. We also don't really learn what Everard plans to use these skills for; there's no overarching clear mission besides theoretically supporting independence and freedom.
I still enjoyed the book on various levels, my three stars are firm, it just could have gone more in depth in literally any direction. If you like your historical protagonists unproblematic I would recommend this. The smutty scenes were hot, I had to suspend my disbelief a little, considering they're in 1807, but it's fiction and meant to be erotic, so I'll allow it. I think the book sets up a possible sequel, potentially for different characters, so if you're into series like The Gentleman's Guide or The Last Binding, this could provide similar entertainment.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a digital copy of this book for review consideration.
February 19, 2026
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Spice: 4 out of 5
First, thank you to the author for trusting me with an Advance Reader Copy of this debut novel. Rears & Vices is an ambitious historical MMM romance that swings for the fences. It mixes piracy, espionage, and a heavy dose of hurt and comfort into a very unique setting. When the polyamorous dynamic between Everard, Vitaly, and Darcy first ignites, the chemistry is absolutely top tier. Getting to see both Vitaly and Darcy work together to rescue Everard is a massive highlight of the story. The spice throughout the book definitely delivers the heat you want from this trope, and the initial setup had me completely locked in.
The execution of the story struggles under its own weight as it progresses. The early English jargon and dense pirate terminology make the narrative difficult to navigate. You have to work incredibly hard just to understand the dialogue and stay engaged with the text. For a book of this length, the overarching main plot is heavily overshadowed by the relationship angst. The actual storyline feels under elaborated and confusing at times. It leaves a lot of wasted potential on the table regarding the historical world the author built because the focus shifts so heavily to the internal drama.
My biggest frustration lies in the severe lack of communication between the main characters. Vitaly constantly tries to give Everard his freedom, but his execution is terrible. Pushing Everard away repeatedly makes it seem like Vitaly genuinely does not want him. It is exhausting to read a character constantly reject the person he cares about under the guise of doing the right thing. This dynamic creates a massive emotional disconnect right when the three of them should be building a solid foundation together.
When the hidden truths about Darcy and Vitaly finally come to light, the fallout is a complete mess. To be clear, Darcy and Vitaly only knew each other as spies and contacts in the past without any prior romantic relationship, but the secrets still cause major damage. Everard absolutely overreacts by forcing a confrontation at four in the morning instead of waiting for an exhausted Vitaly to wake up. However, what truly breaks my heart is seeing Darcy and Vitaly let him walk away so easily. They do not fight hard enough to keep him. They never ask for his forgiveness, and that fractures the poly dynamic for me.
Because of this drawn out angst, the final intimate scenes feel emotionally disjointed. Everard is physically frail from his captivity and starvation, and Vitaly is terrified of hurting him. To solve this, Vitaly uses Darcy as a proxy to prep Everard physically before taking over himself. While this tag team approach shows intense physical care and protection to ensure Everard is ready, the emotional disconnect leading up to that moment robs the scene of its power. Everard explicitly stated he only wanted Vitaly to hold and lead him. Having Darcy act as a buffer beforehand just does not sit right with me. The physical actions make sense for his health, but the emotional payoff is entirely missing.
Overall, this is still a very impressive debut with a highly unique premise. The author clearly has a vision, and the moments that shine are genuinely great. If you love dense historical world building and high angst polyamory where the characters force you to endure their miscommunications, you will find a lot to enjoy here. The book is a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars for me. The spice and the rescue scenes are fantastic, but the heavy jargon and frustrating communication issues keep it from being a perfect read.
Spice: 4 out of 5
First, thank you to the author for trusting me with an Advance Reader Copy of this debut novel. Rears & Vices is an ambitious historical MMM romance that swings for the fences. It mixes piracy, espionage, and a heavy dose of hurt and comfort into a very unique setting. When the polyamorous dynamic between Everard, Vitaly, and Darcy first ignites, the chemistry is absolutely top tier. Getting to see both Vitaly and Darcy work together to rescue Everard is a massive highlight of the story. The spice throughout the book definitely delivers the heat you want from this trope, and the initial setup had me completely locked in.
The execution of the story struggles under its own weight as it progresses. The early English jargon and dense pirate terminology make the narrative difficult to navigate. You have to work incredibly hard just to understand the dialogue and stay engaged with the text. For a book of this length, the overarching main plot is heavily overshadowed by the relationship angst. The actual storyline feels under elaborated and confusing at times. It leaves a lot of wasted potential on the table regarding the historical world the author built because the focus shifts so heavily to the internal drama.
My biggest frustration lies in the severe lack of communication between the main characters. Vitaly constantly tries to give Everard his freedom, but his execution is terrible. Pushing Everard away repeatedly makes it seem like Vitaly genuinely does not want him. It is exhausting to read a character constantly reject the person he cares about under the guise of doing the right thing. This dynamic creates a massive emotional disconnect right when the three of them should be building a solid foundation together.
When the hidden truths about Darcy and Vitaly finally come to light, the fallout is a complete mess. To be clear, Darcy and Vitaly only knew each other as spies and contacts in the past without any prior romantic relationship, but the secrets still cause major damage. Everard absolutely overreacts by forcing a confrontation at four in the morning instead of waiting for an exhausted Vitaly to wake up. However, what truly breaks my heart is seeing Darcy and Vitaly let him walk away so easily. They do not fight hard enough to keep him. They never ask for his forgiveness, and that fractures the poly dynamic for me.
Because of this drawn out angst, the final intimate scenes feel emotionally disjointed. Everard is physically frail from his captivity and starvation, and Vitaly is terrified of hurting him. To solve this, Vitaly uses Darcy as a proxy to prep Everard physically before taking over himself. While this tag team approach shows intense physical care and protection to ensure Everard is ready, the emotional disconnect leading up to that moment robs the scene of its power. Everard explicitly stated he only wanted Vitaly to hold and lead him. Having Darcy act as a buffer beforehand just does not sit right with me. The physical actions make sense for his health, but the emotional payoff is entirely missing.
Overall, this is still a very impressive debut with a highly unique premise. The author clearly has a vision, and the moments that shine are genuinely great. If you love dense historical world building and high angst polyamory where the characters force you to endure their miscommunications, you will find a lot to enjoy here. The book is a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars for me. The spice and the rescue scenes are fantastic, but the heavy jargon and frustrating communication issues keep it from being a perfect read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to Tides & Troth Books LLC and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was easily sold on the idea of this book, which promised a swashbuckling MMM pirate throuple. I'm happy to say it delivered on that premise. What I was less prepared for was the amount of history in this historical romance.
The book opens on the Great Lakes in Canada. There, two members of our throuple, main character Everard and his former lieutenant (and former lover) D'Arcy, sit in judgment of another of Everard's former lovers, Vitya. Everard's impulsive decision to save Vitya, who turns out to be a notorious pirate, forces Everard and D'Arcy to abandon the Navy and flee to the Gulf of Mexico with Vitya to do pirate things.
I'm mostly taking it on faith that what happens in the rest of the book is pirate things. The truth is, though I finished this book, there are large parts of it I struggled to understand. I rarely have a problem with dense prose, but in this book I found myself going back to reread frequently. Even then, there was a lot I didn't follow. Much is left not just unsaid but unshown regarding the characters' actions and motivations.
There's a great deal of early 19th century political intrigue going on. Everard apparently understands what's going on, and as a result his narration doesn't focus on the nuances too much, rather jumping to (sometimes wrong) conclusions without leading us there. The book will jump, too, with frequent time skips leaving the reader to figure out what happened based on Everard's reaction to it. A lot happens in this book, but much of it isn't directly on the page.
A few other things made following the action in this book challenging. Naturally, Everard understands the intricacies of ships, so quite a lot of jargon and customs are taken for granted as familiar to the reader. Additionally, he's multilingual, so Spanish and occasionally French are sprinkled in to no particular effect beyond having to stop and look up a translation. A lot of love and research clearly went into this book, but the result feels like the author expects you to have the same investment and understanding of it, which is hard.
On the romance side, our main characters all have history, so their getting together is less about growing attraction and more about working through interpersonal dramas. As with the plot, a lot is left to the reader to intuit, so at times their fighting or getting back together felt abrupt. The spicy scenes were enjoyable though, and the characters were endearing. I was worried this would be an open relationship with Everard having two partners, but by the end it did evolve into a full throuple, though there wasn't a lot of buildup between D'Arcy and Vitya.
Despite its confusing flow, I did like this book. I wasn't aware of the naval history of the Great Lakes, which was interesting to (briefly) explore. The characters were fleshed out and lovable. The few side characters were also cool. I'd recommend this book to history buffs looking for some smutty threeway action amidst their political intrigues.
I was easily sold on the idea of this book, which promised a swashbuckling MMM pirate throuple. I'm happy to say it delivered on that premise. What I was less prepared for was the amount of history in this historical romance.
The book opens on the Great Lakes in Canada. There, two members of our throuple, main character Everard and his former lieutenant (and former lover) D'Arcy, sit in judgment of another of Everard's former lovers, Vitya. Everard's impulsive decision to save Vitya, who turns out to be a notorious pirate, forces Everard and D'Arcy to abandon the Navy and flee to the Gulf of Mexico with Vitya to do pirate things.
I'm mostly taking it on faith that what happens in the rest of the book is pirate things. The truth is, though I finished this book, there are large parts of it I struggled to understand. I rarely have a problem with dense prose, but in this book I found myself going back to reread frequently. Even then, there was a lot I didn't follow. Much is left not just unsaid but unshown regarding the characters' actions and motivations.
There's a great deal of early 19th century political intrigue going on. Everard apparently understands what's going on, and as a result his narration doesn't focus on the nuances too much, rather jumping to (sometimes wrong) conclusions without leading us there. The book will jump, too, with frequent time skips leaving the reader to figure out what happened based on Everard's reaction to it. A lot happens in this book, but much of it isn't directly on the page.
A few other things made following the action in this book challenging. Naturally, Everard understands the intricacies of ships, so quite a lot of jargon and customs are taken for granted as familiar to the reader. Additionally, he's multilingual, so Spanish and occasionally French are sprinkled in to no particular effect beyond having to stop and look up a translation. A lot of love and research clearly went into this book, but the result feels like the author expects you to have the same investment and understanding of it, which is hard.
On the romance side, our main characters all have history, so their getting together is less about growing attraction and more about working through interpersonal dramas. As with the plot, a lot is left to the reader to intuit, so at times their fighting or getting back together felt abrupt. The spicy scenes were enjoyable though, and the characters were endearing. I was worried this would be an open relationship with Everard having two partners, but by the end it did evolve into a full throuple, though there wasn't a lot of buildup between D'Arcy and Vitya.
Despite its confusing flow, I did like this book. I wasn't aware of the naval history of the Great Lakes, which was interesting to (briefly) explore. The characters were fleshed out and lovable. The few side characters were also cool. I'd recommend this book to history buffs looking for some smutty threeway action amidst their political intrigues.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
2.5
Throughout this book, I've gone in a cycle of being not interested to being very intrigued, to being confused and a little frustrated. And unfortunately, that last bit won out in the end. Conceptually, this was great. I was very excited by a poly romance, and pirates, and I love a good historical novel. And while those things were technically provided, the entire book felt very surface level in every aspect, and it needed to be a deep dive.
This book requires context, and you aren't provided with much of it. In order to follow the stakes of the story and the plot points, you need some level of both historical and ship-based knowhow, and I didn't have that. Presumably, few others will either. The same is overall true of what the characters are thinking and planning. We are told things, often offhandedly, everything from "there's a history between these characters" to huge sweeping plot points, which lends itself to that gaping hole of information. If we have to be told, there hasn't been enough established for us to figure out even an inkling, and I personally would prefer to learn that something is true by multiple actions and not a single instance of words.
In my opinion, Everard, who is the POV character, is the least interesting of the three. He's also the most pining and least aware at once, which means we get that he's into both of them and that's kind of all we know for sure. I struggled with picking up Vitya and Preston's interest in each other, though I thought they were both much clearer as people in the way they thought and went about their work. Preston was easily my favorite of the three Most of this book is theoretically about the romance(s) in it, but I struggled a little bit with all of the relationships because they were built on history we never saw, and it didn’t feel like we got enough growth here to make up for that lack of context. It is hard to convince us of a ride or die relationship without seeing it first.
I was very unsatisfied with the ending, which is, in its own way, the classic third act breakup. But there are a few massive problems with it. For one, there is a time jump during which we have zero context for what is happening with anyone but Everard, who, I have mentioned previously, was the least interesting or important of the three. For another, the entire thing is steeped in the very geographical politics that we have no true scope of because we were not given much throughout the novel. It is touched on at the beginning, mentioned in the middle, and then fundamental to the last 15% of the end. And almost entirely nonsensical. The villainous characters are hollow and without motivation besides the same vices that drive every power hungry capitalist in every story ever told, and there aren't any stakes because we see very little of both them and the conflict. And, ultimately, it is futile to know because truly the majority of the end is spice.
I really did want to love this one because it seems to tick all of the boxes for things I loved, but the story just didn’t live up to what was promised.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Throughout this book, I've gone in a cycle of being not interested to being very intrigued, to being confused and a little frustrated. And unfortunately, that last bit won out in the end. Conceptually, this was great. I was very excited by a poly romance, and pirates, and I love a good historical novel. And while those things were technically provided, the entire book felt very surface level in every aspect, and it needed to be a deep dive.
This book requires context, and you aren't provided with much of it. In order to follow the stakes of the story and the plot points, you need some level of both historical and ship-based knowhow, and I didn't have that. Presumably, few others will either. The same is overall true of what the characters are thinking and planning. We are told things, often offhandedly, everything from "there's a history between these characters" to huge sweeping plot points, which lends itself to that gaping hole of information. If we have to be told, there hasn't been enough established for us to figure out even an inkling, and I personally would prefer to learn that something is true by multiple actions and not a single instance of words.
In my opinion, Everard, who is the POV character, is the least interesting of the three. He's also the most pining and least aware at once, which means we get that he's into both of them and that's kind of all we know for sure. I struggled with picking up Vitya and Preston's interest in each other, though I thought they were both much clearer as people in the way they thought and went about their work. Preston was easily my favorite of the three Most of this book is theoretically about the romance(s) in it, but I struggled a little bit with all of the relationships because they were built on history we never saw, and it didn’t feel like we got enough growth here to make up for that lack of context. It is hard to convince us of a ride or die relationship without seeing it first.
I was very unsatisfied with the ending, which is, in its own way, the classic third act breakup. But there are a few massive problems with it. For one, there is a time jump during which we have zero context for what is happening with anyone but Everard, who, I have mentioned previously, was the least interesting or important of the three. For another, the entire thing is steeped in the very geographical politics that we have no true scope of because we were not given much throughout the novel. It is touched on at the beginning, mentioned in the middle, and then fundamental to the last 15% of the end. And almost entirely nonsensical. The villainous characters are hollow and without motivation besides the same vices that drive every power hungry capitalist in every story ever told, and there aren't any stakes because we see very little of both them and the conflict. And, ultimately, it is futile to know because truly the majority of the end is spice.
I really did want to love this one because it seems to tick all of the boxes for things I loved, but the story just didn’t live up to what was promised.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Tides & Troth Books LLC for this ARC!
Rating: 2.5 Stars rounded up.
“Rears and Vices” is a historical romance set in 1816’s North America. We follow protagonist Everard Anderson de Anglada, a nearly 40yo Royal navy Captain, as he faces not one but two of his ex-lovers, and makes a decision which changes all of their lives. Suddenly he and his ex and former Lieutenant Preston D’Arcy, join his other ex, infamous pirate V. Varfolomey, in a life of piracy. But things aren’t quite as Everard had imagined, and besides the chaos of his new life as a pirate, he has to deal with the emotional tumult of his “no strings attached” pirate marriage to V and Preston’s feelings for him. Can they work things out and find happiness in this new life?
One thing that can be said about this book is that the author definitely did their research. I’m obviously not an expert, but to me this book definitely read as historically accurate, and I liked that you could tell the author is passionate about topics such as piracy and travel by ship. The writing was accessible, although some “old english” speech elements were used, and Caro did use some terms the layman probably doesn’t know. Overall this made for a decently pleasant, easy reading experience.
Unfortunately I did have some issues with the plot though. Even looking at things from a “Humans are emotional beings and therefore occasionally really stupid” angle, a lot of Everard’s decisions made zero sense to me, and towards the end of the book one of his incomprehensible decisions leads to a series of events that is so nonsensical and poorly paced that reading them felt as if the author had started writing them and then been informed they would be allowed 100 pages less than originally planned.
I must also confess that I wasn’t even remotely invested in the romance aspect of this story. None of the three characters had any chemistry that I was able to feel, and I have never cared less whether the characters of a romance novel end up together. I do like the way polyamory is presented here though, it seems largely healthy and realistic.
I don’t much care for sex scenes but unlike some other books, this one did a good job of integrating them into the plot in a way that didn’t feel out of place or overwhelming the rest of the story. Very nicely balanced, and they did seem well written to me.
I would say that if you generally like historical romance and you want to see some well-executed polyamory representation within that scope, you will probably be satisfied with this book. Don’t make too much of the piracy aspect of this story though or you will be disappointed.
Rating: 2.5 Stars rounded up.
“Rears and Vices” is a historical romance set in 1816’s North America. We follow protagonist Everard Anderson de Anglada, a nearly 40yo Royal navy Captain, as he faces not one but two of his ex-lovers, and makes a decision which changes all of their lives. Suddenly he and his ex and former Lieutenant Preston D’Arcy, join his other ex, infamous pirate V. Varfolomey, in a life of piracy. But things aren’t quite as Everard had imagined, and besides the chaos of his new life as a pirate, he has to deal with the emotional tumult of his “no strings attached” pirate marriage to V and Preston’s feelings for him. Can they work things out and find happiness in this new life?
One thing that can be said about this book is that the author definitely did their research. I’m obviously not an expert, but to me this book definitely read as historically accurate, and I liked that you could tell the author is passionate about topics such as piracy and travel by ship. The writing was accessible, although some “old english” speech elements were used, and Caro did use some terms the layman probably doesn’t know. Overall this made for a decently pleasant, easy reading experience.
Unfortunately I did have some issues with the plot though. Even looking at things from a “Humans are emotional beings and therefore occasionally really stupid” angle, a lot of Everard’s decisions made zero sense to me, and towards the end of the book one of his incomprehensible decisions leads to a series of events that is so nonsensical and poorly paced that reading them felt as if the author had started writing them and then been informed they would be allowed 100 pages less than originally planned.
I must also confess that I wasn’t even remotely invested in the romance aspect of this story. None of the three characters had any chemistry that I was able to feel, and I have never cared less whether the characters of a romance novel end up together. I do like the way polyamory is presented here though, it seems largely healthy and realistic.
I don’t much care for sex scenes but unlike some other books, this one did a good job of integrating them into the plot in a way that didn’t feel out of place or overwhelming the rest of the story. Very nicely balanced, and they did seem well written to me.
I would say that if you generally like historical romance and you want to see some well-executed polyamory representation within that scope, you will probably be satisfied with this book. Don’t make too much of the piracy aspect of this story though or you will be disappointed.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
*ARC Review* Thank you for the copy!
Intro:
This book is an MMM historical romance between Everard, a navy captain, Preston D’Arcy, who is Everard's former lieutenant and Vitaliy, a pirate
Tropes/Highlights:
-Single POV
-MMM
-Navy Men/Pirate
-Open Door Romance
-Eidetic Memory
-Slow burn
-Disability rep
-Marriage Of Convenience
-Touch Him & Die
-Gift Giving
-HEA
Likes:
-Imperfect lovable characters, different personalities
-One MC has a disability
-Thoughtful Gifts
-Queer/Diversity Rep
-Preston D'Arcy, his character was beautifully written
-World Building
-Spice scenes
-"I'm in love with him" realization
-Everard's fierce love/possessive nature over D'Arcy & Vitaliy
-Everard is a prideful idiot (in a loving way) but they love him above all else
-Bilingual MC
-Sweetheart MCs
-Unique Names
-Side characters
Neutrals/Criticisms
-You can tell the author researched well, but the realistic historical language was difficult for me to follow/had me lost in many parts of the book
-There were French/Spanish used without an English translation after it, that made googling needed to understand the story, which interrupted the flow, but I did enjoy the multiple languages
Quotes
-"No one had picked him out of a crowd like a prize and said, Yes I think him, I want him"
-"It seemed Vitya, the man–the strictly egalitarian, majority-elected, reluctant captain–did in fact like to be worshipped. Adored"
-"You are my Matelot. My partner in all things"
-"He isn't...he's not crew! He's...mine!"
-"You've had me since you first put eyes on me, no question"
-"But that day was all you, Everard, every bit of it. Your bravery and selflessness and love. Yours"
-"I forgive too easily, and you don't forgive at all"
-"Without you, I am dust. Nothing. A skeleton at the bottom of the sea"
I believe this is E.M. Caro's debut book and I enjoyed it overall, but I did struggle to read it. This book is more technical and has more political/historical themes than romance. The language used made it difficult for me to understand what was going on at times and I wish there was more romance throughout instead of solidifying at the end. I did really enjoy the love between the MCs, even if it took awhile to get there. D'Arcy is such a fun character and I love his chemistry with Everard. Vitaliy is very sweet and thoughtful, while having to make impossible choices for the betterment of his crew. Everard is a prideful over thinker, but he's fiercely protective and is a born leader. As a debut novel, it has some kinks, but was a good read that I enjoyed and I recommend this book for historical romance readers.
Intro:
This book is an MMM historical romance between Everard, a navy captain, Preston D’Arcy, who is Everard's former lieutenant and Vitaliy, a pirate
Tropes/Highlights:
-Single POV
-MMM
-Navy Men/Pirate
-Open Door Romance
-Eidetic Memory
-Slow burn
-Disability rep
-Marriage Of Convenience
-Touch Him & Die
-Gift Giving
-HEA
Likes:
-Imperfect lovable characters, different personalities
-One MC has a disability
-Thoughtful Gifts
-Queer/Diversity Rep
-Preston D'Arcy, his character was beautifully written
-World Building
-Spice scenes
-"I'm in love with him" realization
-Everard's fierce love/possessive nature over D'Arcy & Vitaliy
-Everard is a prideful idiot (in a loving way) but they love him above all else
-Bilingual MC
-Sweetheart MCs
-Unique Names
-Side characters
Neutrals/Criticisms
-You can tell the author researched well, but the realistic historical language was difficult for me to follow/had me lost in many parts of the book
-There were French/Spanish used without an English translation after it, that made googling needed to understand the story, which interrupted the flow, but I did enjoy the multiple languages
Quotes
-"No one had picked him out of a crowd like a prize and said, Yes I think him, I want him"
-"It seemed Vitya, the man–the strictly egalitarian, majority-elected, reluctant captain–did in fact like to be worshipped. Adored"
-"You are my Matelot. My partner in all things"
-"He isn't...he's not crew! He's...mine!"
-"You've had me since you first put eyes on me, no question"
-"But that day was all you, Everard, every bit of it. Your bravery and selflessness and love. Yours"
-"I forgive too easily, and you don't forgive at all"
-"Without you, I am dust. Nothing. A skeleton at the bottom of the sea"
I believe this is E.M. Caro's debut book and I enjoyed it overall, but I did struggle to read it. This book is more technical and has more political/historical themes than romance. The language used made it difficult for me to understand what was going on at times and I wish there was more romance throughout instead of solidifying at the end. I did really enjoy the love between the MCs, even if it took awhile to get there. D'Arcy is such a fun character and I love his chemistry with Everard. Vitaliy is very sweet and thoughtful, while having to make impossible choices for the betterment of his crew. Everard is a prideful over thinker, but he's fiercely protective and is a born leader. As a debut novel, it has some kinks, but was a good read that I enjoyed and I recommend this book for historical romance readers.
October 15, 2025
I went into this book with high expectations because gay poly pirates? Sign me the f*ck up! And I was not disappointed.
I will not claim to have extensive knowledge of the historical time period, but I’ve read enough books over rather years to have understood it enough. And I do enjoy historical fiction, something in particular that kept my attention was the writing style in which it was written with the use of historical language and dialogue patterns and words. This was for me quite enjoyable as it put me deeper in to the story and deeper into the early 1800s which it was set.
Within the first 40 pages I was ready to riot if ANYTHING happened to any of the main characters. This is also included few other characters, Thom being one. The characters, especially the main three Everard, D’Arcy and Vitaliy/Vitya I found were rather well written both individually and in their interactions with each other. I found their different dynamics with each other refreshing, especially towards the end as things developed and new aspects were revealed.
The pacing was done extremely well, with the intimacy between the characters developing alongside the plot. While the sexual tensions between Everard and both other men was there from very early on, it still took time for anything to actually occur. This felt realistic considering the circumstances being they have to undergo daily task of pirate business and the like. And when they did get down to it was executed well, with heavy emphasis being made on consent. I also found that the development of their relationship, especially the sexual side of it was done well. This was because it didn't immediately include all three of them but rather Everard with both men separately before it progressed to be all three of them.
Don't get me started on the plot twists. I like to think I am good at picking plot twists out, and some of them I saw coming but others completely caught me off guard and I found myself absolutely flabbergasted in the best way possible. Without spoiling anything, these moments of reveal added even more depth to the story and some individual characters as well as their relationships with others because of it.
Overall, I loved this book in every part of it. Additionally, the inclusion of content warnings in the first few pages is much appreciated and worth checking before reading.
ARC received through NetGalley all opinions are my own.
I will not claim to have extensive knowledge of the historical time period, but I’ve read enough books over rather years to have understood it enough. And I do enjoy historical fiction, something in particular that kept my attention was the writing style in which it was written with the use of historical language and dialogue patterns and words. This was for me quite enjoyable as it put me deeper in to the story and deeper into the early 1800s which it was set.
Within the first 40 pages I was ready to riot if ANYTHING happened to any of the main characters. This is also included few other characters, Thom being one. The characters, especially the main three Everard, D’Arcy and Vitaliy/Vitya I found were rather well written both individually and in their interactions with each other. I found their different dynamics with each other refreshing, especially towards the end as things developed and new aspects were revealed.
The pacing was done extremely well, with the intimacy between the characters developing alongside the plot. While the sexual tensions between Everard and both other men was there from very early on, it still took time for anything to actually occur. This felt realistic considering the circumstances being they have to undergo daily task of pirate business and the like. And when they did get down to it was executed well, with heavy emphasis being made on consent. I also found that the development of their relationship, especially the sexual side of it was done well. This was because it didn't immediately include all three of them but rather Everard with both men separately before it progressed to be all three of them.
Don't get me started on the plot twists. I like to think I am good at picking plot twists out, and some of them I saw coming but others completely caught me off guard and I found myself absolutely flabbergasted in the best way possible. Without spoiling anything, these moments of reveal added even more depth to the story and some individual characters as well as their relationships with others because of it.
Overall, I loved this book in every part of it. Additionally, the inclusion of content warnings in the first few pages is much appreciated and worth checking before reading.
ARC received through NetGalley all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
“Rears and Vices” is a difficult book to review, because I both admired it enormously and, at times, found it enormously frustrating.
In the realm of admiration and satisfaction: E.M. Caro must have immersed themself in the history of the early US, of Caribbean colonialism, and of privateering and piracy. I don’t think anything less would have allowed them to write a novel so richly textured — you know that sense you sometimes get, that the writer knows much more about the background and the characters than appears on the page? I felt that here, and I don’t know how to describe the resulting experience of reading better than to say that there’s a kind of safety in it, this by contrast with the kind of “historical” romance set in, for example, mid-14th-century England and in which someone survives (and suffers no lingering damage from) an infected crossbow wound to the shoulder. (IYKYK.)
Anyway, words can’t express how grateful I am to read a historical novel with a fully realized setting, and with three such fascinating principals: Everard Anderson d’Anglada, a Royal Navy captain with a tanked career, a complicated family history, and a sideline in seditious pamphleteering; Preston D’Arcy, his rather mysterious former first lieutenant, now also a captain, auburn-haired and not so unrequitedly in love with Everard; and Vitaliy Gray / Vitya / Henry Crause / V. Varfolomey, a pirate. Or a privateer. Or a revolutionary. Or all of those, as well as, briefly, Everard’s lover, who’s somehow also connected with Preston …
As might be obvious, things get complicated in a hurry, from the moment Everard and Preston are called to adjudicate a number of trials one of which, it turns out, is Vitaliy’s. Vitaliy is liable to be hanged, and this Everard will not stand for: off we go.
Soon afterward, frustration kicked in. When I say things get complicated, I mean not only the relationships among these men, but also the plot writ large, which hinges on the politics and history of the early-19th-century Americas, also writ large: the imperialism, the racism, the traffic in slaves and armaments. I know a little bit about this history, but mostly as it pertains to the US proper. I can say that’s a me problem, and in a way it is — one can argue that any USian ought to be familiar with regional history — but it’s also going to be a problem for many or most other readers. Anyway, I was confused during long stretches of the story. “Rears and Vices” would have benefited from an opening historical note to orient us to the setting and to which characters are real and which fictional.
What sustained me, besides the richly realized details of naval and privateering life: the relationships among the three men; the emotional depth and generosity; the moral difficulties of our heroes’ situation. Confused I might’ve been, but I wasn’t ever bored.
I also didn’t hit a lot of anachronistic language, for which I’m almost as unspeakably grateful as I am for the lack of survivable infected crossbow wounds. Two exceptions: “consensual” (the concept existed, but Google Ngrams tells me that the word didn’t come into common use until the mid-20th century) and “sexualize” (rare before the late 20th). Telling, isn’t it? Anyway, I have a little fantasy that Caro will do some rephrasing in a future edit.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for this ARC. An unusual and really special book, much recommended despite its flaws.
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