Tome Thursday: Bloody Black

 

Hello everyone!

 

Or, perhaps I should be saying, ahoy, maties!

 

LOL

 

Either way, whichever greeting you choose, tonight's book is an absolutely DELICIOUS feast of a novel.

 

And I say that as someone who was incredibly, beyond wonderfully lucky to be chosen for the BETA READ of this.

 

Not an ARC, the way you usually see me blabber on about on this blog, but the beta version, which is one step before even an ARC goes out.

 

Listen.

 

I don't really know how it happened. I mean, I do, but I also don't, if you know what I mean? I'm just a voracious reader from one of the smallest countries in the world, practically under the rock for some of the behemoths fighting over air space nowadays. And yet here I am.

 

Which means, you lot get to take this journey with me tonight, so grab your swords, put on your hats, and let's lift the Jolly Roger way up high with Bloody Black!

 

I've reviewed one previous book by Rhiannon Hargadon, the lovely author of so many brilliant books (please take a look at her Descendants of the Fates series, and come back once you fall irrevocably in love with Elijah), but it's really not as connected to this one as it might have been, so I'm leaving it out for now.

 

Just remember, this is a PIRATE ROMANCE. And revenge story. Also a couple of other tropes, like found family, and the fact it's a re-telling of the legend of Blackbeard.

 

You know, the most fearsome pirate to ever sail the seven seas?

 

Yeah, THAT Blackbeard.

 

Only, in this version, he is a she.

 

And in this version, she is a princess marrying a soldier of her choosing after she wins at a tournament and thus forces her father's hand ... only to realize welp, the guy she married?

 

He's actually there to take her kingdom in revenge for what her own father did to his, and honestly? He'll just dump her body and be done with it.

 

Only after his buddies - soldiers she's known all her life - are done raping her, that is.

 

If you think Anne's story is going to be easy, you had better think again, but her assault and supposed murder are only the beginning.

 

Because she then finds herself locked in a chest with a ... demon, named Rokhur, who offers her a deal, which includes keeping our feisty princess alive, and that's basically all she needs to exact her revenge.

 

Rokhur commandeers a ship, The Flying Rose, and decimates the crew to build itself a new body, while Anne goes to free the prisoners held captive below. The ship, you see, was a slaver, and immediately, Anne's mission expands to not just taking back her kingdom and getting revenge on dear husband, but annihilating the slave trade while she's at it.

 

Seeing as all the freed prisoners kind of hold this close to their heart - and one of them is aptly named Edward Teach, cough cough - it's a sure win.

 

Flash forward three years after they manage to maroon themselves with their new ship (and, as we can now glean, they've learned how to actually sail), Anne's plan is ready to be put into action. Because she's got scores to settle, the first one being with the man who trained her, who helped her, who raised her ... and who handed the traitors the keys to everything.

 

Ben is probably the hardest pill to swallow in this entire thing, because you genuinely LIKE HIM at the beginning of the story. And yet we know he stood by and did nothing.

 

WORSE EVEN. He and Anne's father knew her future hubs was up to something, but they let him, thinking they'd spring a trap or something - only for him to actually do the springing first.

 

Either way, Anne's merciful-ish and only cuts off his finger. This time.

 

She then moves on with her plan and her life, and that's when you first run into a man you really need to pay attention to (and, if you're paying double attention, you might think you've seen him before ...), only to realize - when our crew descend upon the Concorde, William's pride and joy in terms of naval vessels - that he's also the Concorde's captain.

 

I mean, listen, if you're reading a pirate book, you might as well go ALL out.

 

Robb Maynard makes a not-so-flamboyant official entrance when he's all tied up and trussed up at Anne's feet, but she at least gets the satisfaction of catching one of the guys who got her that night, and from here, we find where the Jolly Roger legend originates from in this iteration.

 

His name's Roger. His punishment ... well, you can imagine, if you know we're talking about a pirate flag.

 

The ship gets renamed, to Queen Anne's Revenge, and they sail away happy as clams - well, mostly. There's a hitch about what to do with Maynard's men, and eventually they're given a choice whether to serve Anne, or swim off to the nearest shoreline. I mean, it's reasonably fair, all things considered, because once THAT'S out of the way, Anne can focus on going after the next dude on her list - while also entering a rather interesting phase of the book wherein Robb and Anne enter what can only be called a dance.

 

Well, it's more of a, one step forward, two steps back kind of thing, but it IS something.

 

Especially since Anne knows, from Robb's correspondence, that the delightful man who murdered her is intent on marrying her half-sister, so she's like EXCUSE ME NOT IN THIS LIFE, FOOL.

 

Her plans adjust: they'll be crashing that royal wedding, right after she takes care of a few more things.

 

As in, men.

 

As in, another one of the men who assaulted her that night.

 

I should warn you here: you need a strong stomach for the revenge Anne dishes out in this book. But OH is it delicious, knowing the kind of black hearted fiends the men who hurt her are.

 

It gets even better once you realize that Robb is kinda on Anne's side, rather than on the side he should be fighting for, because that makes their little back-and-forth even more intriguing.

 

I mean, come on, she literally ties him up. He says he likes it. It's really THAT simple.

 

Until it isn't, because sirens come singing to the ship, and we all know what happens when you get caught in their spell. The crew does, too, which is where they lose one of the OGs, who hasn't really had a happy life since being taken into captivity. But the thing that REALLY makes this a problem is the fact that Anne makes the decision not to go back into the dangerous and treacherous waters to try and save her, because it would risk the rest of the crew. 

 

Then Anne also does a rather un-smart thing and goes for another name on her list, leaving Robb to her crew. 

 

So in the middle of this all ... mutiny.

 

Oh yes, the age-old story of mutiny, coming from Anne's closest friend, who's been itching to get into a fight with her since pretty much the minute Maynard gets tied to the mast of his former ship. The thing with her sister and the sirens? The straw that broke the camel's back.

 

In the end, she gets to walk away, which I think is probably the only moment in the book that felt unsatisfactory to me, because she never actually COMMUNICATES what it is she wants, and suddenly changes her mind about what she's been doing alongside Anne all along.

 

Like, hello. Obviously Anne's been rescuing slaves along the way, but her goal has ALWAYS been her husband, her throne, and her kingdom. What's there not to understand?

 

Ahem.

 

We have to have a look at the next deal Anne makes with the Rokhur: for the demon to save a friend wounded in battle, she'll stay out of Anne's fight with William. Anne has to do it on her own, which is a bit of a doozy, really, but well ... this time, Anne chooses her friend. She'll deal with the consequences later.

 

It's time to actually attend the wedding, although things do NOT go according to plan because the general who also raped Anne? He and Teach manage to go at one another, and take one another out of the equation.

 

I cried, okay? I cried buckets. Over a lot of things in this book, actually, namely how beautifully Robb helps Anne overcome things she thought she never would, but Teach's death is also on that list.

 

Then comes the actual bit that made me GASP OUT LOUD, because lo and behold, do you know who we find with William, the husband?

 

Robb.

 

Oh yeah, these two hatched the plan to get one of them to marry Anne, and all that jazz about taking over the kingdom in revenge for what her tyrant father did to them.

 

Only, William doesn't count on the fact Robb managed to fall in love with her EONS before even properly meeting her, tried warning her during her wedding reception, and I mean, he's now basically her soulmate, so naturally they then turn the tables to work together against William.

 

We get to see Anne as she truly is without Rokhur's magic, but even that might not have been enough if Anne hadn't gotten a warning out to his bride, her half-sister - who shoots him dead.

 

Oh, I love this family, I truly do.

 

The end of everything comes when Rokhur says you know what? I want YOUR body, Anne, and Anne, because she keeps her promises, agrees.

 

Only to be beaten by her Djinn friend who's like, welp, no ma'am, and takes her wish to both resurrect Anne fully, and take the demon into hell where it rightfully belongs. Then, and only then, can Anne reject the crown she's spent the entire book fighting for, leaving it to her step-sister, while she and the remaining crew (Robb included - and by the way, his mentor was Ben, you know, the guy who was supposed to protect Anne but didn't) go and build a ship in memory of everyone they've lost.

 

Then Anne and Robb get married, and instead of a honeymoon, they go hunting for the asshole they encountered earlier in the story, who loves keeping slaves on his ship.

 

And, you may ask, will anyone ever know the true story?

 

Tough to say. Dead men tell no tales - but women?

 

HAH.

 

10 out of 10 stars. This book is a masterpiece.

Thrilling, captivating, enraging, heart-wrenching, emotional, a wild roller-coaster ride of a journey. There aren't enough appropriate adjectives for this one.

I would have picked it up on the premise of pirates alone, but Anne's story - revenge on those who cost her EVERYTHING - is one for the ages.

The supporting cast and in particular the love interest flesh this book out and round it into something unforgettable. Robb Maynard is absolutely joining your list of Top 10 Book Boyfriends! He's one to keep.

Ms Hargadon's writing is, as always, ridiculously engaging and vivid, bringing to life everything Anne's feeling and going through. Heck I rage-cleaned my bathroom at the halfway point haha. I needed to let out steam.

As for the spice - 'tis spicing. That is all, that is everything.

So what are you waiting for? Order your copy today, and sail the seven seas with the dread pirate Blackbeard! Adventure, revenge, retribution, and love await.

1000000/10 stars, not just 10.

 

xx

*image not mine