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Sapphic Seas #1
The Captain's Choice
Mona Lloyd is desperate to escape a wedding and a future with a man she doesn’t love. When she stows away on the only ship to visit her sleepy village of Ogmore-by-Sea, she learns the ship isn’t all it seems, and neither is the beautiful, aloof captain that helms it. As Mona fights for acceptance among the ship’s crew, she is also fighting a growing attraction to the alluring captain.
Captain Elinor Davies promised herself she would never fall in love again. She has everything she ever dreamed of: a ship of her own, a loyal crew, and wealth beyond her wildest dreams. But when a pretty, young stowaway appears on her ship to challenge everything she holds dear, she has to choose between her responsibility to her crew and her heart’s true desire.
Captain Elinor Davies promised herself she would never fall in love again. She has everything she ever dreamed of: a ship of her own, a loyal crew, and wealth beyond her wildest dreams. But when a pretty, young stowaway appears on her ship to challenge everything she holds dear, she has to choose between her responsibility to her crew and her heart’s true desire.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 6, 2022
119 people are currently reading
1450 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
December 23, 2022
Kindle Unlimited.
This was a good sapphic pirate story, with a typical storyline. A rich young woman stows away on a pirate ship, the female captain of said ship agrees to let her stay and puts her to work. A push and pull romance ensues. Along with camaraderie with the crew.
This doesn't break the mould persay, but it's still a solid story. Albeit a bit predictable.
I'd recommend the read if you've got KU and have a love for pirate sapphic romances.
This was a good sapphic pirate story, with a typical storyline. A rich young woman stows away on a pirate ship, the female captain of said ship agrees to let her stay and puts her to work. A push and pull romance ensues. Along with camaraderie with the crew.
This doesn't break the mould persay, but it's still a solid story. Albeit a bit predictable.
I'd recommend the read if you've got KU and have a love for pirate sapphic romances.
July 26, 2023
HEAVY SPOILERS!
I have mixed emotions about this book. I love pirate plots, especially when they're Sapphic. In general, this is a very good story, it has an air of a fairytale vibe to it. I very much enjoyed Mona's thoughts in the beginning. Unlike other stories, she immediately had a strong mindset and was prepared to do as she needed to for her happiness. She knew her options, and wasn't afraid to think about them, even knowing the general belief system of that time would be HEAVILY apposed to it. She also wasn't afraid of the fact she fancied women and acknowledged that about herself, not openly to others, but with herself. She was still naive, but much less so than many other cases for main characters in these types of tropes. Her choice to sneak on the ship is actually one I 100% did and do support.
When Mona got on the ship and was found, she was immediately up the challenge of pulling her weight and doing as she needed to, essentially to survive, with little to no complaint. Which again, was a nice change.
Now Elinor...Elinor. I was a little unsure about her as a character at first. She gave off a lot of mixed signals and despite reading many "I put up a lot of walls and protect my heart" characters, she felt oddly impenetrable. She obviously was attracted to Mona, but it...I guess...I felt like their attraction was lust based and less emotional.
There was quite a few time skips at the ship set course, which left a bit of a want for more emotional and connective moments between Mona and Elinor. As well as it sometimes felt like you were missing out on the why's as to the growth of the two characters. Because there was growth, but you sometimes didn't know how they got there. Mona grew quite a bit, and fell in love with the crew and living at sea. It was obvious she felt as if she had found her home and the crew respected her as part of the crew. Elinor, it didn't feel there was a lot of growth. She felt like a brick wall. I sometimes felt more connection to Tristin then Elinor. When the steamy scenes came around they again, felt superficial in a way. They weren't moments you felt super connected to or like you could also dive into. Surface'y'. It was obvious that Mona was feeling more than Elinor was. Now I will say this, Elinor's story about the whys of herself, make A LOT of sense. But there was no budge in her wills despite Tristin and Mona trying to break through those walls.
It was the ending that through me off. As the ending began, Mona made it known that no matter what happened, she planned to continue working on a crew and be a pirate, even if things with Elinor didn't work out. Which I respected. Elinor got so cold, so close to the end, I WAS SURE the book was gonna end with them parting ways and even imagined the follow up book being about years later and Mona was now a captain of her own ship, and them meeting again. Which seemed strangely perfect. But thats not what happened. Elinor hurt Mona emotionally, she treated her sorta shitty and made choices I didn't agree with. When they got to land, I truly was expecting Mona to be this extremely fierce character, instead it felt like we reverted back to her personality at the beginning of the book and her being more naive. While that was happening, Elinor was fighting her feelings and taking questionable steps wanted to "get rid" of Mona and "wipe her hands cleans" of her. Suddenly, Mona makes an EXTREMELY questionable decision and both characters go full steam ahead real fast and gave me whiplash with their decisions. Elinor went after Mona, and declared she would give up her ship and being captain to be with Mona. At which I suddenly was shaking my head back and forth trying to process. Elinor finds Mona and declares she's sorry and she loves Mona. Mona just accepts that...I would have expected Mona be a little more wary and unsure, put Elinor "in the dog house" for a while, or I don't know, protest Elinor giving up basically her life for her. Especially because, you know, Mona now also felt at home on the ship and being a pirate. But nope, Mona was just like "Thank you, I love you too, I forgive you, thats so romantic!" and I'm like..."what happened to the plot?". Felt a little too much like, "let me change myself for another person and give up my life and beliefs" which I personally don't support or believe. Here's where it could be argued: Elinor was stressed by her roll as captain and didn't want to split her time between the ship and Mona. However, she valued her journey to becoming the person she was and her station, and there was nothing saying they couldn't stay on the ship as crew. Especially with Mona enjoying and wanting a life at sea. This is what I expected when Elinor handed the reins over to Tristin. But no, they stayed on land. One could argue, Mona changed for Elinor. But did she? She changed for herself, she felt stronger, and ended up loving what she was doing and where she was. I felt Mona also changed her wants, based on Elinor stating she was giving up on being captain.
In the end, if felt like both of their trajectories quickly changed and ended in a way the reader didn't expect. The ending felt rushed and left you wanting more explanations, a deeper romance. Even in the epilogue it was stated that Elinor had grown A LOT but it took a long while and we didn't see any of it. So, I don't know. I enjoyed the overall book looking at it from a larger perspective, but when you zoom in, you start to question decisions and have questions in general about the characters, their wants, emotions, and motives.
I have mixed emotions about this book. I love pirate plots, especially when they're Sapphic. In general, this is a very good story, it has an air of a fairytale vibe to it. I very much enjoyed Mona's thoughts in the beginning. Unlike other stories, she immediately had a strong mindset and was prepared to do as she needed to for her happiness. She knew her options, and wasn't afraid to think about them, even knowing the general belief system of that time would be HEAVILY apposed to it. She also wasn't afraid of the fact she fancied women and acknowledged that about herself, not openly to others, but with herself. She was still naive, but much less so than many other cases for main characters in these types of tropes. Her choice to sneak on the ship is actually one I 100% did and do support.
When Mona got on the ship and was found, she was immediately up the challenge of pulling her weight and doing as she needed to, essentially to survive, with little to no complaint. Which again, was a nice change.
Now Elinor...Elinor. I was a little unsure about her as a character at first. She gave off a lot of mixed signals and despite reading many "I put up a lot of walls and protect my heart" characters, she felt oddly impenetrable. She obviously was attracted to Mona, but it...I guess...I felt like their attraction was lust based and less emotional.
There was quite a few time skips at the ship set course, which left a bit of a want for more emotional and connective moments between Mona and Elinor. As well as it sometimes felt like you were missing out on the why's as to the growth of the two characters. Because there was growth, but you sometimes didn't know how they got there. Mona grew quite a bit, and fell in love with the crew and living at sea. It was obvious she felt as if she had found her home and the crew respected her as part of the crew. Elinor, it didn't feel there was a lot of growth. She felt like a brick wall. I sometimes felt more connection to Tristin then Elinor. When the steamy scenes came around they again, felt superficial in a way. They weren't moments you felt super connected to or like you could also dive into. Surface'y'. It was obvious that Mona was feeling more than Elinor was. Now I will say this, Elinor's story about the whys of herself, make A LOT of sense. But there was no budge in her wills despite Tristin and Mona trying to break through those walls.
It was the ending that through me off. As the ending began, Mona made it known that no matter what happened, she planned to continue working on a crew and be a pirate, even if things with Elinor didn't work out. Which I respected. Elinor got so cold, so close to the end, I WAS SURE the book was gonna end with them parting ways and even imagined the follow up book being about years later and Mona was now a captain of her own ship, and them meeting again. Which seemed strangely perfect. But thats not what happened. Elinor hurt Mona emotionally, she treated her sorta shitty and made choices I didn't agree with. When they got to land, I truly was expecting Mona to be this extremely fierce character, instead it felt like we reverted back to her personality at the beginning of the book and her being more naive. While that was happening, Elinor was fighting her feelings and taking questionable steps wanted to "get rid" of Mona and "wipe her hands cleans" of her. Suddenly, Mona makes an EXTREMELY questionable decision and both characters go full steam ahead real fast and gave me whiplash with their decisions. Elinor went after Mona, and declared she would give up her ship and being captain to be with Mona. At which I suddenly was shaking my head back and forth trying to process. Elinor finds Mona and declares she's sorry and she loves Mona. Mona just accepts that...I would have expected Mona be a little more wary and unsure, put Elinor "in the dog house" for a while, or I don't know, protest Elinor giving up basically her life for her. Especially because, you know, Mona now also felt at home on the ship and being a pirate. But nope, Mona was just like "Thank you, I love you too, I forgive you, thats so romantic!" and I'm like..."what happened to the plot?". Felt a little too much like, "let me change myself for another person and give up my life and beliefs" which I personally don't support or believe. Here's where it could be argued: Elinor was stressed by her roll as captain and didn't want to split her time between the ship and Mona. However, she valued her journey to becoming the person she was and her station, and there was nothing saying they couldn't stay on the ship as crew. Especially with Mona enjoying and wanting a life at sea. This is what I expected when Elinor handed the reins over to Tristin. But no, they stayed on land. One could argue, Mona changed for Elinor. But did she? She changed for herself, she felt stronger, and ended up loving what she was doing and where she was. I felt Mona also changed her wants, based on Elinor stating she was giving up on being captain.
In the end, if felt like both of their trajectories quickly changed and ended in a way the reader didn't expect. The ending felt rushed and left you wanting more explanations, a deeper romance. Even in the epilogue it was stated that Elinor had grown A LOT but it took a long while and we didn't see any of it. So, I don't know. I enjoyed the overall book looking at it from a larger perspective, but when you zoom in, you start to question decisions and have questions in general about the characters, their wants, emotions, and motives.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2024
Rather than marry, the heroine runs off with pirates, led by the female captain. A good yearn, but read with a pinch of salt and a tumbler of rum! Fun.
January 12, 2023
If we don’t keep looking to the horizon, we’ll become mired in the abyss of grief.
2.5 stars. This was fine? A little dull and uninspired, sadly, but I mostly liked it. I will read historical f/f romance of any type, so I immediately borrowed this upon seeing it. It's a pirate romance involving a female pirate captain and a stowaway running from a marriage she really doesn't want. The biggest flaw in this is that I've read books very similar to this already, and those books did it better. I liked the way the romance was written, but I feel like we could have gotten more build-up for their chemistry. Both characters took a little while to grow on me, but they eventually did. Especially Mona, as she got acclimated to life on the ship and her place among the crew. This really suffered when it came to the conflict, which is a pretty standard "I must push you away because you're too good for me! I can't involve you in this life! I must protect you from this even though I love you!" kind of deal. I don't really like those sorts of conflicts, but I don't hate them either? The problem was, again, that I've read it done way better. Here, it was just a little boring and irksome. I wanted to shake Elinor.
(Also, I usually don't judge indie books for their editing or lack thereof, but the 10,000 run-on sentences had me wanting to pull out my hair.)
The ending did sorta make up for my nitpicks; there were several moments that I really liked. I'm not sure if I'll continue the series, but this was a pretty okay read.
Content warnings:
July 22, 2023
I wish this was as good as I wanted it to be! If you're looking for a fun, easy sapphic romance it's a good choice, but if you're looking for something where the characters actually have a lot of connection I'd look elsewhere.
It started off well, and the writing seemed good, but all of a sudden there would be random info dumps that just felt really out of place. SPOILERS FROM HERE! Particularly when you find out about Abigail - it was like I was reading a summary of what you would tell your friend about the book, not what should actually be written?
Other than that, I found that Elinor and Mona fell quite flat for me - Elinor was hot and cold but we never really got to see her work through that, and Mona went from whiny and tearful (even tho it was kind of understandable) to confident and bolshy and you really didn't get to see anything in the middle?
Romance wise, I felt like the only thing they had in common was that they both liked women and found each other attractive. You barely saw them interact one on one before they were getting physical, and they didn't seem to actually talk about anything? Like, they didn't even really seem to be friendly? It all felt quite rushed - honestly I felt Tristan knew more about either of them than they knew about each other!
All in all, an okay read, but I was definitely left disappointed.
It started off well, and the writing seemed good, but all of a sudden there would be random info dumps that just felt really out of place. SPOILERS FROM HERE! Particularly when you find out about Abigail - it was like I was reading a summary of what you would tell your friend about the book, not what should actually be written?
Other than that, I found that Elinor and Mona fell quite flat for me - Elinor was hot and cold but we never really got to see her work through that, and Mona went from whiny and tearful (even tho it was kind of understandable) to confident and bolshy and you really didn't get to see anything in the middle?
Romance wise, I felt like the only thing they had in common was that they both liked women and found each other attractive. You barely saw them interact one on one before they were getting physical, and they didn't seem to actually talk about anything? Like, they didn't even really seem to be friendly? It all felt quite rushed - honestly I felt Tristan knew more about either of them than they knew about each other!
All in all, an okay read, but I was definitely left disappointed.
dnf
April 12, 2023DNF @ 25%
Love the premise, but the story isn't pulling me in like I hoped and the writing is sub par :/. If you're in a pirate mood there are definitely stronger books out there.
Love the premise, but the story isn't pulling me in like I hoped and the writing is sub par :/. If you're in a pirate mood there are definitely stronger books out there.
June 15, 2023
Many people refer to private adventures as rip-roaring. This wasn’t a rip-roaring adventure, but it was still a good read.
It was fairly steady in terms of both plot and romance but hit the marks for steam and strong female characters. I would have just preferred a little more grovelling on Elinor’s part because she was quite mean to Mona to push her away.
Mona stows away on a pirate ship to escape an unwanted marriage and while she learns to live a completely different life from the one she was raised to lead, she also falls in love with her new-found freedom and with the captain of the ship, Elinor.
There was quite a bit of denial and will they ever sort themselves out stuff, but it was satisfying when they got there in the end.
I felt the author did a good job of depicting life on a ship at that time. There was a bit of action thrown in there too, and as I mentioned, the steamy scenes get a decent four out of five, especially for the romantic tropical pool.
It was fairly steady in terms of both plot and romance but hit the marks for steam and strong female characters. I would have just preferred a little more grovelling on Elinor’s part because she was quite mean to Mona to push her away.
Mona stows away on a pirate ship to escape an unwanted marriage and while she learns to live a completely different life from the one she was raised to lead, she also falls in love with her new-found freedom and with the captain of the ship, Elinor.
There was quite a bit of denial and will they ever sort themselves out stuff, but it was satisfying when they got there in the end.
I felt the author did a good job of depicting life on a ship at that time. There was a bit of action thrown in there too, and as I mentioned, the steamy scenes get a decent four out of five, especially for the romantic tropical pool.
December 13, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️3/4
Who can resist a thrilling pirate adventure? The fact that The Captain's Choice is sapphic makes it all the more captivating! Packed with pirates, fierce battles, raging storms, and a heart-wrenching romance, this tale had me hooked until the final page. The characters—Mona, Elinor, Tristan, Reddy, and Grif—bring an authentic glimpse into the lives of seafaring folk, adding depth and realism to the story. The pacing, vivid details, and engaging dialogue come together seamlessly, making this adventure story an absolute delight to read.
Who can resist a thrilling pirate adventure? The fact that The Captain's Choice is sapphic makes it all the more captivating! Packed with pirates, fierce battles, raging storms, and a heart-wrenching romance, this tale had me hooked until the final page. The characters—Mona, Elinor, Tristan, Reddy, and Grif—bring an authentic glimpse into the lives of seafaring folk, adding depth and realism to the story. The pacing, vivid details, and engaging dialogue come together seamlessly, making this adventure story an absolute delight to read.
March 22, 2023
This has exactly what I’m looking for in a hisfic romance, I really enjoyed it! It did not disappoint I think this is one of my new favorite historical romances. This has strong women leads, but the side characters are also really interesting and fun to read. Captain Elinor Davies is one of the most feared, and revered Captains, and Mona is the daughter of a prominent man, set to marry a man against her will. Her only hope is to get away, and she does that by stowing away on a ship. This was such a fun, adventurous book I can’t wait to continue this series!
March 9, 2025
The book concept was good, but many times the characters fell flat for me. Nothing felt high stakes enough, and it was hard to stay invested in the story. It felt like there were pieces missing. The spice scenes were spectacular though.
May 8, 2023
Some historical Sapphic romance is what the doctor ordered.
Not too much drama in this one. I like that.
Not too much drama in this one. I like that.
April 10, 2023
Adventure
Writing your own destiny. It is a privilege to take your own path, to create your own life, to find the love that is suited best for you for a HEA.
Writing your own destiny. It is a privilege to take your own path, to create your own life, to find the love that is suited best for you for a HEA.
February 15, 2023
Great Classic Romance with a Sapphic twist!
If you like Pirates of the Carribean, but wish Will Turner was a woman, this book is for you! Very much a classic romance, but with strong female leads and likeable characters. It will make you long to become a pirate!
LGBTQ friendly 😁
If you like Pirates of the Carribean, but wish Will Turner was a woman, this book is for you! Very much a classic romance, but with strong female leads and likeable characters. It will make you long to become a pirate!
LGBTQ friendly 😁
July 7, 2023
:/// I just didn't like it- low-key felt like a man wrote it
May 1, 2023
"There were other women who lived their lives just fine without men, even if they were degenerated as spinsters by the rest of the town."
Mona Loyd her father had arranged her marriage which she couldn't avoid and delay forever. Overcome by dread by her fate she flees by boarding a renown ship when its boarded at her hometown in Wales. Pretty soon she is discovered as a stowaway on a trip to Nassau in the Bahamas for the next six months.
Thus her path crosses with that Captain Elinor Davies who isn't particularly fond of their newest crewmen. On the long voyage across the ocean the two only women on the ship cannot prevent the growing attraction between them forever.
It's a fun book about women in charge and sapphic pirates. There were a couple of reckless choices that Elinor made regarding Mona that were on the tactless side. However the ending made up for it.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ:☆. *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
tw: misogyny, death
↠ Genre: Historical Romance
↠ Reputation: Lesbian
↠Published: December 6th 2022
↠ Pov: Third Person - Multiple
↠ Type: Standalone
↠ Rating: 8.1 -
🌱☕️ ○ Milou the grumpy hobbit
February 22, 2024
4.5/5 so I rounded up lol. Love me a good pirate book, especially when it’s gay and has multiple POVs!!! Parts of this book felt like it was written by a high schooler but I don’t care I read fanfic lol. Not an amazing literary book by any means, but still a good one :)
June 15, 2023
I really wanted to like this book. It had a great premise but I felt it lacked character development and the romance moved incredibly fast without much substance or world building. I gave it four stars because I’m afraid of being mean and I know this author will flourish in the future!
January 14, 2024
Finished in a day, plot moved along quickly and that’s good because it wasn’t very well-written and I wish I had more character development. But again, I flew through it, so that counts for something.
July 21, 2023
Stayed up all night reading this.
I’ve had high expectations—despite the low reviews this book got—and I’m pleased to say that it reached them. Yes, the plot is typical, but it didn’t bother me. I’m not really critical over things like that, as long as it’s written nicely.
What I enjoyed most about this one is the dialogues. I found them really funny and had so much laughs reading them. Personally, my favorite character is Tristan. He was really wise with his words and, to be honest, witty sometimes. He was a good friend. And speaking of good friend—Reddy and Griff.
I read this book simply looking for a good sapphic read, but as much as I enjoyed reading it, it wasn’t their romance that made it a good read for me. I was more invested in Mona’s growing friendship with the crew, and I find some moments really heartwarming. I wished their friendship had been given more focus, because personally, Mona and Elinor’s love story did not really interest me that much. For the most part, I thought they were incredibly awkward and felt kind of rushed? Or just not enough foundation, I guess. But nonetheless, it wasn’t something that I would call bad too.
Another thing, I wished we got some kind of sneak-peak at the life that Mona left behind. I badly wanted to see that manipulator Rhys’ reaction to his fiancée leaving him and left him with nothing but a single letter lol.
Overall, this book was expectedly and unexpectedly good! I believe it deserved the 5 stars.
I’ve had high expectations—despite the low reviews this book got—and I’m pleased to say that it reached them. Yes, the plot is typical, but it didn’t bother me. I’m not really critical over things like that, as long as it’s written nicely.
What I enjoyed most about this one is the dialogues. I found them really funny and had so much laughs reading them. Personally, my favorite character is Tristan. He was really wise with his words and, to be honest, witty sometimes. He was a good friend. And speaking of good friend—Reddy and Griff.
I read this book simply looking for a good sapphic read, but as much as I enjoyed reading it, it wasn’t their romance that made it a good read for me. I was more invested in Mona’s growing friendship with the crew, and I find some moments really heartwarming. I wished their friendship had been given more focus, because personally, Mona and Elinor’s love story did not really interest me that much. For the most part, I thought they were incredibly awkward and felt kind of rushed? Or just not enough foundation, I guess. But nonetheless, it wasn’t something that I would call bad too.
Another thing, I wished we got some kind of sneak-peak at the life that Mona left behind. I badly wanted to see that manipulator Rhys’ reaction to his fiancée leaving him and left him with nothing but a single letter lol.
Overall, this book was expectedly and unexpectedly good! I believe it deserved the 5 stars.
March 19, 2025
I read this book on Kindle Unlimited after reading another book by the same author and this was super fun to read! I don’t often go for any kind of historical fiction because I don’t typically enjoy the language of the period but this book was a pleasant surprise. I had a lot fun sailing on the Revenge along with Mona, Elinor and the other cast of shipmates and I liked that the plot was simple enough to follow along with. I probably would have given it four stars if it weren’t for the way the two main characters seem to fall head over heels deep and fast for one another before they even learn anything about each other.
With Mona, I think she’d lived such a sheltered life that she was ready to cling to anything new and for her that was Elinor but I don’t believe her devotion could truly happen so quickly. With Elinor, it’s a bit tough to accept that after pushing away love and her own happiness for so long for the reasons she had that she’d give in quite so easily to Mona. Yes, the ship did sail for a few months but considering how much time the two women actually spent together, it’s a little hard to believe their feelings for one another could well and truly be that strong. Regardless, it was a quick and enjoyable read that pulled me in enough to make me want to read the second in the series!
With Mona, I think she’d lived such a sheltered life that she was ready to cling to anything new and for her that was Elinor but I don’t believe her devotion could truly happen so quickly. With Elinor, it’s a bit tough to accept that after pushing away love and her own happiness for so long for the reasons she had that she’d give in quite so easily to Mona. Yes, the ship did sail for a few months but considering how much time the two women actually spent together, it’s a little hard to believe their feelings for one another could well and truly be that strong. Regardless, it was a quick and enjoyable read that pulled me in enough to make me want to read the second in the series!
September 11, 2023
2.5 Stars~
ok now that I've sat with this one for a minute I think it's safe to say that it was just... fine. Honestly, I thought I was going to get a fun, swashbuckling sapphic romance, but it falls flat due to the Captain's need to protect and shelter Mona. I get why Elinor tries so hard to keep the distance and dictate where things will go, but it honestly ruined my reading experience because there was no communication and a lack of trust with the crew since she didn't want Mona to hang out with them. We barely get any interaction with them together, and I didn't feel that there was any real tension between them while reading. If they at least interacted more, I would've felt more invested in their romance, especially since it was "forbidden" by the ship rules. I ended up feeling ok about how things play out (Mona seriously acted so stupid when they found land like IDIOTIC), but I wasn't half invested or excited as I expected to be reading a sapphic pirate romance.
ok now that I've sat with this one for a minute I think it's safe to say that it was just... fine. Honestly, I thought I was going to get a fun, swashbuckling sapphic romance, but it falls flat due to the Captain's need to protect and shelter Mona. I get why Elinor tries so hard to keep the distance and dictate where things will go, but it honestly ruined my reading experience because there was no communication and a lack of trust with the crew since she didn't want Mona to hang out with them. We barely get any interaction with them together, and I didn't feel that there was any real tension between them while reading. If they at least interacted more, I would've felt more invested in their romance, especially since it was "forbidden" by the ship rules. I ended up feeling ok about how things play out (Mona seriously acted so stupid when they found land like IDIOTIC), but I wasn't half invested or excited as I expected to be reading a sapphic pirate romance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2023
Again I pay the penalty for picking up free stuff on Kindle Unlimited.
Shallow paint by numbers. Even the erotica lacks passion. Not worth the trouble of my reading it.
Regular readers of my reviews will know my hatred of typos (I take comfort in pedantry) so to find the word 'nearly' written as 'nEarly' not once, but twice, had me sighing at the inability of the author to use even the most basic of text editing tools. It suggests a contempt for the reader that the author probably hasn't even bothered to proofread their own material.
There were a couple of other things that had me gritting my teeth e.g. 'the sun was just a crescent sliver'. I defy the author to have ever, outside the experience of an eclipse of the sun, to have seen it as a crescent.
I did get to laugh at one thing; the heroine's girlfriend's mentor (bear with me) was called Captain Greybrow. Arrr ...
Shallow paint by numbers. Even the erotica lacks passion. Not worth the trouble of my reading it.
Regular readers of my reviews will know my hatred of typos (I take comfort in pedantry) so to find the word 'nearly' written as 'nEarly' not once, but twice, had me sighing at the inability of the author to use even the most basic of text editing tools. It suggests a contempt for the reader that the author probably hasn't even bothered to proofread their own material.
There were a couple of other things that had me gritting my teeth e.g. 'the sun was just a crescent sliver'. I defy the author to have ever, outside the experience of an eclipse of the sun, to have seen it as a crescent.
I did get to laugh at one thing; the heroine's girlfriend's mentor (bear with me) was called Captain Greybrow. Arrr ...
April 5, 2024
okay this book took me so long to read because there wasn’t anything that really happened in the book but also like anything that did happen went by so quick and was just brushed off. they also killed off one of my fave characters (justice for griff) so yeah i’m pretty pissed lmao. it was also really difficult to see the chemistry between mona and elinor cuz like…they didn’t know each other😭honestly tristian was probably better for EITHER OF THEM than they were together, but the smut was pretty good so that gave it the third star💀also how elinor just gave up the ship after knowing mona for literally a couple months is SO WACK LIKE WHAT???? it was literally her whole life and she was like “naw i love my woman more” which i mean okay go off i guess. anyways yeah not a huge fan but when elinor and mona got together👀yessir i was here for that. k bye😍‼️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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August 17, 2023Technically a DNF, I couldn't get through the last 3 pages. I am the target audience, I love lesbians, I love pirates. I also really appreciated the accuracy with clothing in the beginning, that small detail pushed me to finish the book (it's just nice to see someone else know something about historical fashion). I did like the characters, and it was interesting how realistically ship life was depicted.
Yet the actual build of the relationship made me feel kinda eh. There's the bones of a really good story here but something just didn't feel right. It would be very easy to write a sapphic pirate story that I would be obsessed with and yet I got bored.
Yet the actual build of the relationship made me feel kinda eh. There's the bones of a really good story here but something just didn't feel right. It would be very easy to write a sapphic pirate story that I would be obsessed with and yet I got bored.
May 27, 2023
Good book
Mona just wanted to be free from her life to be able to love whom she wanted and not be forced into marriage. So she slipped onto the ship getting away from her life and hopefully impress the Captain. Elinor was a strong and confident captain and her men liked her. A wonderful story of a pirates life and how the two fall in love. Yes can't wait till I read what happens next.
Mona just wanted to be free from her life to be able to love whom she wanted and not be forced into marriage. So she slipped onto the ship getting away from her life and hopefully impress the Captain. Elinor was a strong and confident captain and her men liked her. A wonderful story of a pirates life and how the two fall in love. Yes can't wait till I read what happens next.
March 21, 2023
This was a fast and fun read! I loved the individual povs and character developments of the MCs, and the overall sailing/pirates vibes. The grand rescue at the end and the hea/epilogue were so swoony ❤️ I would've liked a bit more on page interaction between the MCs though.
I'm excited to read the second book in this series!
I'm excited to read the second book in this series!
January 11, 2024
Loved pirate books as a kid and this renewed that love. Kinda sad that Elinor gave up her ship at the end tho because that seemed really out of character for her, especially when Mona seemed to enjoy her time at sea and didn’t at all sound like she was against living life there. Nonetheless would recommend to anyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2023
solid spicy sapphic read
I’m a sucker for queer historical romances, and always on the look out for new authors. This was a good, quick read perfect for those who want just as much spice and they do plot.
I’m a sucker for queer historical romances, and always on the look out for new authors. This was a good, quick read perfect for those who want just as much spice and they do plot.
September 5, 2023
Pirates Bounty
Having never read a historical or pirate sapphic book I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Swashbuckling fun with a little spice but mostly a great love story
Having never read a historical or pirate sapphic book I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Swashbuckling fun with a little spice but mostly a great love story
January 21, 2024
Goodreads, please let us give .5 stars.
Giving this book 2 Stars feels wrong, because I loved Tristan and Elinor (at least sometimes) but the characters were so flat, I really cant give it 3 stars
Giving this book 2 Stars feels wrong, because I loved Tristan and Elinor (at least sometimes) but the characters were so flat, I really cant give it 3 stars
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