3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
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This is a perfectly fine and fun bi pirate (birate, if you will) misadventure, however I feel as though it is a bit misleading. For some reason, I was expecting Rhian and Liana to get together in this book? I didn’t feel much chemistry between them though, and even the one scene that implied a beginning romance felt one sided and forced due to the lack of buildup. I don’t know which couples will end up together, but frankly I don’t feel invested enough. If it’s a slow burn, it’s a little too slow in my opinion. In contrast, plot was fast-paced and exciting... But for some reason I was dragging my feet through it? Something about the writing threw me off, even though I can’t actually pin what was wrong. Perhaps it was the intentionally incorrect English to show certain characters’ dialects? Or maybe the forcibly inserted expositional moments? They weren’t awful, but it just didn’t feel very natural. That being said, the plot itself had many twists and turns, and I enjoyed the story’s intensity and liveliness! It’s very satisfying for anyone who likes pirate books, and there is quite a crew of characters to love! Though there were enough issues to affect my enjoyment of the book, I think it was still enjoyable and fun—it’s fair to say Windfall was a 3 star read!

#Windfall #NetGalley
I have to say I really enjoyed this book! I can't wait to get a physical copy
5/5 stars :-)

Actual Rating - 3.5

I have mixed feelings about this book. Firstly, I loved the bi and ace representation, there is so little of it, especially ace rep, in literature, it was nice to see. That being said, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about one of the bi characters nearly cheating on her fiancé, it does somewhat reinforce negative stereotypes.

Liana is a good main character, she has a strong personality and moral code that she stands by. I would have liked it if she had been able to win at least one fight instead of always being the damsel in distress.

Rhian and Ameen are both good characters, each have a very different relationship with Liana, showing different sides of her. They are both themselves well developed, I look forward to seeing Ameen's story progress in particular.

The writing style was good, and I loved the setting of Vioria. Each of the character interactions were well written, I look forward to seeing more in the sequel.

This took me a wee while to get into the story. Also not sure about it being a F/F romance. Didn't start out that way, which I think is one reason I had trouble getting into it. Still not sure about F/F even at the end. May read sequel when it comes out but not sure.

I have to start of by saying that I was gifted this book in exchange for an unbiased opinion.

I LOVED this book. I wasnt sure where it was going when if first started with Captain Liana and her crew robbing the guard. It took me a moment to realize that that was suppose to have happened in the past and it then immediately jumped to the present.

I love all the characters. The interactions between Liana and her crew and the people at the inn. I love that they paint her as both ruthless and caring. She will do what it takes to ensure the safety of her people.

Rhian was a lot more naïve than I was expecting her to be. She was very innocent at the beginning but I do like that you get to watch her grow as a person and I love watching Liana and her grow closer. I have to say that I was disappointed that they didn't end up together at the end of the book, though they definitely set up for a second book.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. It was a light, easy and fun read that had me entertained the entire way.

I think it’s fair to say me and this book got off on the wrong foot, when in the opening chapter there’s an attempted rape. Because it didn’t do anything whatsoever in the story, it was just there for a reason I cannot comprehend, perhaps to establish the world as misogynistic (which, do we really need anyway?). So it was an inauspicious start.

Things went downhill from there.

On the whole, I was just bored by this book. The plot had promise, but it dragged a lot. Most of the first part was taken up introducing the main characters, and setting up the scenario on which the plot is predicated. The second part? Did nothing to further that. It was mostly about Liana travelling back home to her foster sister and helping her out with her abusive husband. Which. Has a place in fantasy, true, but it just felt so out of place given the rest of this story.

Actually on the whole, the entire book felt a bit cut and pasted together out of plotlines that didn’t really fit together. Part of that may well be that this is an ARC, I will accept. But it didn’t help me get into a book I was already a little predisposed to dislike because of the misogyny.

Which brings me to another point: what’s the point of having misogyny in your fantasy world if you’re not going to challenge it? It’s a fantasy world! You can have anything you want, and you choose to add misogyny? And not fully challenge the patriarchal systems that led to it? Okay, so maybe that’s a future-book-thing, but even so. There could have been hints of it. Instead, all I got was yet another misogynistic fantasy.

Add onto this the fact that there seemed to be no real establishing of characters’ personalities and motivations before they did things — a few times I was genuinely surprised at their reactions because I didn’t realise that’s the kind of person they were — and you have yourself this two-star read.

Of course, I’m well aware that I may just have come across another book that’s not for me. So if you’re intrigued by the premise, please do ignore this review.

This was such a good book! First, the world-building was seriously impressive. From the start, their world is clearly described and easy-to-understand, meaning there wasn't that 3 chapter "I have no idea who you are or what is happening" feeling that I sometimes get with fantasy/sci-fi. It was original and imaginative, while also being very well executed.

Marin was a lovely dad and it was interesting to read about their foster parent/child relationship! I also really enjoyed the myriad of strong, empowered, female characters. Throughout the story, Liana asserts that her name and title are "Captain Liana Foley," not "Miss."

However, I really wish it had been (so much) gayer. There was so much potential between Liana and Rhian, and it felt like their relationship should've been more. But from the beginning, they are both in very serious relationships with men, meaning their relationship couldn't be explored. It was great that their interactions helped Rhian to better understand her sexuality (yay bi rep!), but for a book that promises queerness, it was seriously lacking. I could be wrong, but it didn't seem as if there were even any queer side characters. In fact, the only mention of queerness in their society was that Rhian had been taught it was "forbidden."

The cliffhanger was intriguing, but it still felt like there was a solid conclusion, which was nice. Hopefully, in the next book, we'll get to learn more about the rest of the characters (especially Liana's crew!) and their backstories.

A book about pirates and princesses in the sapphic category...according to the blurb. This was one I was looking forward to reading. And even though the book in itself wasn't bad, it had a lot of strong female characters in it. Their strength didn't come from being good in fighting and beating every man (which is sometimes quite enjoyable but not altogether realistic) but more strength of character.
It had rather well fleshed out main and secondary characters and it looks like Barnett will expand on that in the second book, so she put in a good foundation character wise.
But, and this is a big but for me... after reading the blurb I was expecting a romance between the princess and the pirate. Yet to my complete surprise both of them are in love with a man and while at first I thought it would be a messy love triangle but it could still work out since there were certain signs that made me think I knew where the writer was going, this was not where the writer was going. We get a few lines about attraction, but both have given their heart to another and to be honest there wasn't enough chemistry to like the pairing but now I am reading a book labeled lbtgq with a blurb that promises me a romance and instead I get a nice enough pirate story with a few lines about a princess wanting to kiss the female pirate as if that's enough to be put into the lbgtq category. My disappointment was leading me towards 2 stars, but in all fairness, the book was okay. The blurb and category it was put into wasn't.

*** An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review ***

“I don’t think I’d mind becoming a pirate” - it’s always been a bit of an escapist dream to be a bisexual pirate queen, and Windfall provides an excellent version of that dream.

Having not had time to read books for fun, this was the book to get me out of the slump. I read this cover to cover in an afternoon, carting my tablet around as I cooked dinner and unloaded the dishwasher one-handed. It was enthralling and fun and I even gasped aloud at some of the twists!

Windfall follows pirate Captain Liana Foley, a strong leader who both commands and cares for her crew, as she accidentally kidnaps Princess Rhian and then the aftermath! For the 18th Century, it was especially exciting to see the women define their own form of agency and leadership (especially as sapphic-coded pirates/royalty!). However, it wasn’t just the main characters, the barkeeps and relatives provided different forms of ‘strong female characters’ that weren’t reliant on their ability to fight their way out of a situation.

The reason I gave this 4.5 stars (rounded to 5 as I still enjoyed this so much) was because I thought the characterization of differing characters was… patchy. For example, Liana’s second in command had the opportunity to play a far more significant role with their abilities (although this does seem to be a bigger focus in the second book from the preview I have read) and so that was a bit disappointing on reflection. Similarly, I thought that Rhian appeared to play second fiddle to Liana and this character deserves further fleshing out.
On the other hand, I appreciated that all the characters had some backstory, even the minor ones. Again, I remain hopeful for the sequel and to see more of these characters and what they are capable of!

As far as plot, twists and writing style goes, I still thoroughly enjoyed Windfall and I eagerly await Book 2!

My thanks to NetGalley, the author Shawna Barnett and IBPA for the e-ARC.