4.7 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.7
POV: Third Person limited, multi-character
Genre: Pirate romance? Very loose fantasy. “Low” fantasy, if you will. Alternative world, no magic.
Romance: Moderate—seems like a slow burn between Trevor and Anna.
Smut: None. Only one hot kiss scene.
Language: High. Lots of swearing.
Violence: Moderate. Lots of fighting and death, but the detail isn’t described in disturbing depth.
If you like: Bridge Kingdom, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, or even One Piece, this might be right up your alley!
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Brief, spoiler-free synopsis:
Anna is a charming, sassy, smart archeologist with a thirst for adventure that differs greatly from the high society she was raised in. She loves nothing more than skulking through old ruins, hunting for treasure and unearthing a good secret and a better story.
When Markus gets arrested for supposed possession of cursed pirate map, Anna plans to do everything and anything to get her brother back. Even if that means teaming up with the strange, nameless name she meets in the train compartment, who seems as dangerous as he is beautiful.
Trevor Lovelace is known more by name than by sight around the world, and most people call him by his title: Pirate King. When Trevor learns that Markus Savage—the man who stole his map, has been arrested for possession of said map, Trevor makes undercover plans to ‘rescue’ Markus and get his bloody map back. Only he wasn’t counting on one thing—Markus’s beautiful and savvy twin sister Anna.
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All I can say is WOW.
I picked up This Savage Sea (TSS) on a whim because my small Bookstagram community was raving about it. And I thought—pirates sound fun!
This book was action-packed from start to finish. At first, I was a little hesitant. The first few chapters read a little rushed to me, I wasn’t sure how the pacing was going, and I wasn’t even sure what the plot was (other than rescuing Markus) until about a third of the way through. But I was curious how the book was going to pan out, so I continued. And honestly, once I got to the part where Trevor and Anna ‘meet’, I was hooked. Their banter was hilarious, and I just had to keep going.
The characters really had me going. I love Trevor—his shyness mixed with a brazen mask he wears, the shameless, vulgar flirting with Anna just to piss off her brother. He’s somehow both the stoic quiet type and also the hulking, swaggering, confident pirate we want. And his devotion and attention to Anna is honestly swoon-worthy. And the brogue really is an old trick to woo the lasses.
And Anna herself is fabulous. She is confident, sassy, bold, and blazingly honest. She takes no shit from anyone—least of all her twin and Trevor—but manages to come across as compassionate as well. She’s smart and beautiful and she knows it. She’s got a plan for everything.
Markus is… Markus. Overprotective brother energy. Jury’s still out on whether or not I like him, but he is pretty to look at.
The intrigue kept me going. How was it that Trevor recognized Anna, but Anna didn’t know Trevor? What was going on with Trevor’s youthful appearance? What’s the purpose of that damn map, and who sold out Markus? I had to know.
But what I thought at first was maybe pacing issues turned out to be Walston weaving a story together where all these ‘extra’ scenes revealed a little piece of the plot or a little piece of the characters. I was enraptured and I finished this book with more questions than I had answers. I now have a suitable pile of plot breadcrumbs in my hands, but no bread yet. It makes me anxious and chomping at the bit for the next book.
There were a couple of scenes that I’m still sitting here questioning the amount of page-time they got, such as labyrinth and the Heylik Tower market. But as I still have many questions and no answers, I’m wondering if the author will bring these places back in future books, if they don’t all weave together.
Overall, this was a fabulous debut novel from Walston. 4.7 stars—pacing felt a little clunky at first, and I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going until about a third of the way through. There were a few grammar and spelling errors, but it didn’t detract from the story nor distract my reading, and those tiny things could be fixed with a reprint. Story was fresh. Dialogue was smooth and hilarious, and the world-building was clean and easy. Loved the slow-burn between Trevor and Anna.
If you are looking for something fresh and fun, look no further than This Savage Sea. It’s available for free on Kindle Unlimited.