Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

As much as I love pirates, I feel like books about pirates are usually a hit or miss for me.

This book was an absolute hit for me though. I absolutely adored all of the characters and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire book.

If you love books about pirates with amazing characters and a plot that is full of adventure, then this book is definitely for you!

I can't wait to read the sequel!

This cover is beautiful, and the book was a great read, I enjoyed it.
This ARC was given to me by NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All comments above are my true opinion after reading this book.

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Crossbones was so much fun! Full disclosure, I am completely biased towards anything pirate themed, but this book was such a wonderful adventure! The chapters switch between character POVs, but it is never confusing, and offers a fun insight into the story from different perspectives. The action kept me turning the pages, and I can't wait to finish the series to see where it goes.

This was a pretty good book that I think I will check out book two. But it was pretty simple with world building etc. I wished it would have been a little more in-depth with things and a little more complicated but overall it was worth the read.

I am a sucker for fun pirate fiction and I enjoyed this but I can't see it doing well in a teen library. It isn't written very well which is a shame because the idea is such fun. I did enjoy it but mainly because I just enjoyed the ride rather than seeing it as a piece of quality YA fiction.

the creepy nature of this book had me thrilled and i was hooked from the first page! this is a perfect story and i was obsessed the entire way through !

This book was nice for a debut, but with as much potential as this plot had, I expected more world building. I hope the romance is developed more in the next book too

I am always a sucker for pirate stories, so this one was right up my alley! Definitely a 5 star read for me and I can't wait to pick up the sequel! The only thing I didn't like about this book was that there wasn't more "competitions" in the trials.

i vaguely remember reading this book on Wattpad before and it was interesting enough to keep my teenaged self hooked. however, rereading this now, i think there were a bit of pitfalls in terms of the worldbuilding since it was a bit rushed for the stakes that the characters are presented with, and the romance lacked a bit of development for me. still though, i think this would be fully explored more, and since there are two additional books in this series, i look forward to where the story will take us next. (3.5 stars rounded up)

This book had the potential for a YA fantasy book. It just needed a little bit more. Let me explain. There was not much of a world-building in this book. We need a bit more details to understand more of the world in this book. Plus, we want clues on what's going to happen in the next book. But instead we are left with a simple YA fantasy book. I still enjoyed the book, just needed a little more to it.

Honestly, I've been trying to read this for months and end up reading a few pages and putting it down. I really love pirates and I was excited for this book, but clearly there's something I'm not clicking with. I skimmed through the second half of the book and overall, I just never really got into it. I might check out book two, but I don't know. Usually Pirates are really exciting for me, but I just wasn't enjoying reading this book.

This book was so-so for me. I found the premise of the trials to be really interesting, but this story is majorly lacking in the world building department for those who aren’t familiar with pirate stories.

Such an interesting concept and idea! I loved the way the characters interacted and how the setting worked!

I was very underwhelmed. I enjoyed the story but it was very simple and lacked in world building and character development. I think that if it was fleshed out a little more it could be a GREAT story. Still worth reading though.

I love love love pirate books and this one did not disappoint! It was fast pace, easy quick read, and I found it very interesting. There is something in here for everyone. Romance, action, adventure, travel, betrayal, friends, and humor!

☆☆☆☆ /5
(english review below)

Le résumé annonçait un périple sur les océans. Et quel périple.
J’aime énormément les romans qui parlent de piraterie et la mise en scène cette étrange compétition pour la Couronne d’Os m’a captivée.
¤
Ne faites jamais confiance à un pirate.

La cloche de sang sonne, marquant la mort du roi des pirates et le début des épreuves, une compétition à couper le souffle où la récompense est la couronne d'os. Un seul concurrent peut revendiquer le trône convoité de l'île ; chacun jouera sa vie et son intégrité physique pour gagner.

Capitaine. Sœur. Jeune fille.
Csilla Abado aspire à prouver sa force à sa sœur aînée qui a toujours rêvé d'être capitaine et aux pirates chevronnés qui rechignent à sa jeunesse. Elle risquera tout pour devenir la première reine pirate, coûte que coûte.

Marchand. Fils. Héritage.
Kane Blackwater veut laisser derrière lui l'or sale et les métiers louches qu'il a faits pour garder le navire de son père, l'Iron Jewel, en vie. Les épreuves représentent un nouveau départ, mais les rumeurs d'un héritier secret tourbillonnent, menaçant ses espoirs de devenir le roi des pirates.

Passager clandestin. Fille. Tempête.
Lorelei Penny n'aspire qu'à venger la mort de sa mère. Se cacher sur l'Iron Jewel était censé la rapprocher du tueur, mais au lieu de cela, elle se retrouve prise dans la bataille mortelle où la loyauté et le désir se heurtent.

Csilla. Kane. Lorelei. Chacun en mission. La mer, cependant, a d'autres projets. Les marées noires montent, et s’ils ne font pas attention, ils vont sûrement se noyer.
¤
J’ai beaucoup apprécié découvrir chacun des personnages de cette histoire. On suit plusieurs points de vue. Csilla, Kane et Lorelei sont des pirates qui m’ont touché et parfois énervé durant leurs aventures. Ils ont chacun leurs raisons de participer à cette compétition (s’affirmer en tant que femme dans un monde d’hommes, prendre un nouveau départ, se venger…) et c’était si intéressant d’en connaître plus sur eux. D’en connaître plus sur leur personnalité, sur leur passé, leur état d’esprit durant l’intrigue… J’ai trouvé que la psychologie des personnages étaient bien faites.
La compétition pour la Couronne d’Os et devenir roi/reine des pirates est bien pensée. J’aime beaucoup cette idée qui ajoute une touche plutôt unique à l’histoire et qui nous tient en haleine car elle impose une ambiance lourde de tension dans le roman.
C’est un premier tome qui est assez introductif car il nous présente l’univers et les personnages que j’ai appréciés. Cela dit, j’ai peut-être manqué d’informations concernant l’univers que l’autrice a créé. J’ai trouvé qu’il avait un bon potentiel parce qu’on ne parlait pas simplement que de piraterie, mais j’ai eu de la difficulté à imaginer dans quelle contexte l’intrigue se déroulait.
Pour autant, l’histoire était entraînante, pleine d’action, stressante par moment, et je suis curieuse de connaître la suite.

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ENGLISH REVIEW

The summary announced a journey on the oceans. And what a journey.
I really like books that talk about piracy and the staging of this strange competition for the Bone Crown captivated me.
¤
Never trust a pirate.

The Blood Bell tolls, marking the death of the pirate king and the start of the Trials—a heart-stopping competition where the reward is the Bone Crown. Only one contender can claim the coveted island throne; each will gamble life and limb to win.

Captain. Sister. Maiden.
Csilla Abado yearns to prove her strength to the seasoned pirates who balk at her youth and to her elder sister who has always craved Csilla’s captainship. She will risk everything to become the first pirate queen, no matter the cost.

Dealer. Son. Legacy.
Kane Blackwater wants to leave behind the dirty gold and shady trades he’s made to keep his father’s ship, the Iron Jewel, alive. The Trials represent a new beginning—yet rumors of a secret heir are swirling, threatening his hopes of becoming the pirate king.

Stowaway. Daughter. Storm.
Lorelei Penny longs for nothing more than to avenge her mother’s death. Stowing away on the Iron Jewel was supposed to get her closer to the killer, but instead she finds herself caught up in the deadly battle where loyalty and desire collide.

Csilla. Kane. Lorelei. Each on a mission. The sea, however, has other plans. Dark tides are rising, and if they aren’t careful, they’ll surely drown.
¤
I really enjoyed discovering each of the characters in this story. We follow several points of view. Csilla, Kane and Lorelei are pirates who touched me and sometimes annoyed me during their adventures. They each have their reasons for participating in this competition (to assert themselves as a woman in a world of men, to make a new start, to get revenge…) and it was so interesting to know more about them. To know more about their personality, their past, their state of mind during the plot… I found that the psychology of the characters was well done.
The competition for the Bone Crown and for becoming Pirate King/Queen is well thought out. I really like this idea which adds a rather unique touch to the story and which keeps us in suspense because it imposes an atmosphere heavy with tension during the reading.
This is a first book that is quite introductory because it presents the universe and the characters that I liked. That said, I may have missed information about the universe that the author has created. I thought it had good potential because we weren't just talking about piracy, but I had a hard time imagining the context in which the plot was unfolding.
However, the story was catchy, full of action, stressful at times, and I am curious to know the rest.

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw this gorgeous cover I knew I needed to read this book. Then I found out it was about pirates…. SOLD!! This book basically had everything, friends, friends to lovers, hate to love, villains, magic, pirates, a quest, a good moral to the story, fighting, adventure just an all around good story. My only issue was there were a lot of characters but they were well done and I didn’t have to try to figure out who was who they were all very memorable.

I’m not sure if this is a standalone or a series but I’d continue on with it. I’d definitely read more by this author. I’d also recommend this book.

Let me start out my saying that I love pirates. I love every dishonest thing about them. I wish there were more adult pirate romances out there. But until that happens, I’ll be over here reading all the YA ones in the meantime.

That being said, Crossbones didn’t grab me as much as I’d hoped. The many POVs were distracting to me and I found myself skimming a lot. I’m rather sad about it because I wanted to love it. But I didn’t. I may try book two when it releases but I won’t be rushing to read it on release day.

Actual rating: 3.5

Crossbones is a YA fantasy told in three points of view, including pirate captains and a girl who is much more than she seems. When the pirate king dies unexpectedly, captains of various pirate ships, and their first mates must compete for the Bone Crown, which will elevate their status to royalty among pirates.

Crossbones was a fun read, but it wasn't perfect. The pirates (and the amazing first chapter) drew me in, but as I read I was also drawn in by the dynamic characters and the intriguing plot. The magic system seemed interesting, but was slightly underdeveloped. I didn't always feel like I truly understood the "rules" or the inner workings of the magic Crossbones features. Now that I know that this series will be a trilogy, I expect the magic system will be explained more as the series goes on. My only other issue with the book was that the action scenes felt rushed at times.

Besides those slight issues, this book was able to surprise me and it also ended in a way that made me want to see what was next for these characters.

Crossbones is a very enticing and exciting first book in a series. If pirates, a treasure hunt, and a great group of characters with complex relationships intrigues you, I would definitely recommend checking this out.

I'm looking forward to exploring this world more in the next installment!

*I received an e-ARC copy of Crossbones on NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.