“I’ve taught you one of the most valuable lessons in this life.” “And what is that?” She pursed her lips, waiting for his answer. “Never trust a pirate.”

This book was really good! I’ve never read a pirate book before and I have never wanted to. This book made me want to find all the pirate novels and just start reading. The beginning and middle were filled with so much action and relationship building and the end was just a little disappointing and felt rushed. How we, I loved all the different relationship dynamics in the book. You had family conflict and pirate crew conflict. There were secret relationships and romances. You’d expect a pirate book to lack a lot of emotion which is what kept me from reading them but the emotion really added to the storyline without being distracting.

I find that I prefer to watch pirates than read them. But with a cover this gorgeous, I had to give this book a try. I still prefer to watch pirates than read them, but I am glad I picked up this book!

this book was good but not one of my favourites. it was a little hard to get into but overall would recommend to a friend!

I was excited to, and requested this book, because of the pirate synopsis. However, I was not a fan of this book. The writing was simple, and the story is too much like all of the other popular YA books the past ten years. There was no good romance or world building to keep the reader hooked. There were too many filler descriptions that didn't quite go with the story. I believe the character is supposed to be POC, but it also wasn't really clear. It is a great story in theory, but really missed the mark.

I really liked the idea behind the trials present in the book, however, the writing of the story came off as a bit overly simplistic so I never found myself truly invested or caring about the characters. I thought how they all worked together was done really well, though. The lack of hard world-building, though, is where this story really lost points from me. I do think, although this first installment was a bit simple and needing world building, it was a good foundation if the author continues in this world!

Give me all the pirate books!! Wow I loved the different POVs that were provided and how the story just kept twisting and left me wanting much more..:in the best way possible. This was a great read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First off, Kimberly Vale knows how to grab her reader's attention immediately! The first time we meet Csilla Abado, she is on her way to be hung for her crime of being a pirate. So obviously I was hooked and had to continue reading on to see if/how Csilla made it out of this debacle. This story follows Csilla, Kane, and Lorelei as they fight for the title of the Bone Crown to become King or Queen of the pirates.

Personally, I enjoyed this read. I haven't read a lot of pirate fiction, so it was different than my usual reading choice, but I was drawn into the story. Honestly, just the cover alone drew me in. But as I was reading the story, I got about half way through the digital version and knew I would want the physical copy on my shelf so I had to pre-order it.

Overall, I rated Crossbones 4 out of 5 stars. I am excited to read the rest of the books in the Trilogy as they are published!

The cover is so pretty, and I absolutely love the idea of a pirate story, but this one didn't hold my attention. Csilla, Flynn, and Kane are the youngest pirates in the business but it feels like they're only so young because we wanted to have YA-aged characters. Like the whole training school for pirates doesn't really make sense and also the fact that there are only 5 sovereign ships when a kingdom is out here conquering the world seems like a rookie mistake. I could sit here and poke holes in the whole story. There was a really strong opening chapter followed by a slog as nothing much happens. I wanted epic sea battles and rich descriptions of magic, but that's just not what I got.

I wanted to like this one so much more than I ended up liking it. Maybe it just wasn't the right time for me to be reading it since I've been on such a huge, fluffy romance binge lately, but I just couldn't fully immerse myself in the story. It was good, well written, I liked the characters, but I just didn't LOVE it. I'll give it another go when pirates are on my mind, maybe that will change my feels.

I absolutely enjoyed this book! It has 3 povs throughout but it flows so smoothly and the depth to each character is so nice. I really felt the emotions of them while reading and I really hope there's a second book. The adventures throughout the book are great and the pace of the book was nice too! Definitely a must read!

I LOVED this book.
The pirates
The intrigue
The Hunger Games esque competition.
The cover!!!!

The story was a little simple so I would love the author to dive into the foundation they built on and tell us more about the world, and weave in a more complex plot.

Crossbones by Kimberly Vale reads like a quintessential Wattpad pirate adventure. It's fast with a loveable ensemble of characters, and a dash of romance and betrayal to spice things up.

The book opens with Csilla's execution, and the pace keeps building from thee. Once rescued by her sister and the Scarlet Maidens, she sets out to join the Trials, a competition among pirate captains to crown the next ruler of Cerulia.
With the first half of the book concentrated on bringing the players together, it allows for an exploration of each captain. Kane is plagued by guilt over unresolved feelings towards his dead father, Flynn hides behind a joking veneer, Csilla erects a wall around her because she's been taught that anything less than ruthlessness is weakness, Rove is the story's unrepentant villain, and Lorelei is out for revenge.
Despite the book's short length, Vale explores their motivations at length with each character having a character arc.

She also goes above and beyond in her worldbuilding. Set in a world where four nations each worship a different element associated with a deity, the story focuses on the clash between water and fire through the pirates vs the looming empire. There is a lot to take in, in a short time which left me somewhat confused as well as wanting more. There could have been more done in this regard.

As there are so many characters, the arcs felt rushed at times, a feeling that comes back in other parts of the book. Vale spends a lot of time bringing the MCs together, which means the Trials are much shorter than what I expected for something that's so prominent in the book. The worldbuilding also felt too big for the book as there were a number of info dumps to catch the reader up. This really is my overall criticism, it should have been longer and could have while still remaining a standalone.

Other than being rushed, I have no qualms with Vale's writing. Her pacing was good and kept me reading, her writing was easy to breeze through without standing out too much and the overall plot was formulaic at times, which allowed the characters and world to take the spotlight.

Crossbones by Kimberly Vale reads very much like a wattpad story. As I enjoy this format, I enjoyed this book as well despite its flaws. Vale is certainly an author to look out for!

Thank you to WattPad and Netgalley for the advanced copy! This book was a fun surprise, a nice Pirates of the Caribbean vibe with a fresh twist. The plot was exciting and the characters were easy to love and root for!

I felt like this story had a great foundation, and a great premise- Pirates and the whole idea of the trials. I also really enjoyed the main characters and their interactions. I was interested as soon as I read the description, but in the end, I had a rough time getting all the way through. The story was very simple, but has good bones, is what it comes down to.

When I read the description for this book I was really keen in reading it. I requested it as I thought there was a lot of potential in this story, but I felt flat. Unfortunately I DNFed this one around 75% and couldn't pick it up no matter how much I tried.

Overall the ideas and plot was pretty good, but the execution of the plot made it hard to really get into this book and to enjoy it and complete it.

IT'S A BONES DAY, PEOPLE, AND YOU NEED TO READ THIS.

I read this solely for the cover, and I was not disappointed. Pirates compete in a trail for a crown to be the new King or Queen of bones? This is definitely a slow-burn book, and it takes a while to get to the genuine exciting parts, but I feel like it moved great for a YA novel. I enjoyed the four-character split and how each had the unique past that gave them theirs on the story. This is a terrific cozy-up book for the colder nights coming. It was a fun read, with a slight touch of romance and some tremendous page-turning adventure. It will be one of my top YA adventure book reads for 2021.

Thank you NetGalley and Wattpad books for this book in exchange for my honest review.

The book was action packed and enthralling right from the beginning. The characters were diverse. I loved the strong women, which is so rare in books.

Crossbones is an interesting book about pirates. I enjoyed the aspect of the book, having the plot follow pirates competing for the Bone crown after the Bong King dies. The writing in crossbones was pretty nice and understandable. Crossbones starts out as a strong book filled with action and ended with just as much. For me, this was a fast-paced read that had helped to get me out of a reading slump. Crossbones also includes multiple perspectives; Csilla, Kane, and Lorelei. I enjoyed reading about the main characters in the book and I found them likable. Their lives are all equally intriguing so I doubt readers would get bored. This book has Action, Adventure, magic, pirates, and more! Plus the cover is just GORGEOUS!

Okay, so when I picked up this book, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about pirates, but I was game to try it as I love a new YA genre and I adored Pirates of the Caribbean. Well, this fun book didn't disappoint me. It was unexpected, delightful, and the plot was a fun twist on an all ready popular troupe i.e. The Hunger Games.

The characters were super fun, despite the high seas escapades, it was easy to bond with them. I would read the second book!

Thoughts
I've had mixed feelings about pirates in YA books. The first book I featured here at Gateway Reviews was a pirate book, after all, and I rather enjoyed it. More recently, however, I've had some real misses with the pirates. I came into this book hoping that it would give me hope for pirates in YA. Alas, I have been forced to conclude NO MORE PIRATES, PLEASE.

Pros
Hardened Pirates: It's been something of a trend lately to have pirates who aren't, really, pirates. I've even complained about this recently on a different book review, labeling them "sensitive pirates." Sure, they look like pirates. They vaguely do the things that pirates do, but they're not, actually, pirates. They don't pillage and plunder, murder and rape. Here, however, the pirates are, you know, pirates. They kill. They fight. They face the gallows. They don't hold back. Sure, they're not perfectly pirate-y, but they are at least akin to what pirates actually are, at least at the start.

High Seas Adventure: If you like pirating adventures, you'll probably like this book--or at least like some of it. It really does harken to other pirate tales. There are sailing ships crashing through the waves, violent sea battles, powerful goddesses and thievery, port towns, and gallows, even molten lava men. Everything that you could want in your pirate adventure makes it to these pages. It really is a high seas tale.

High Stakes Competition: In addition to being a good high seas adventure, this book also features a high-stakes competition. Though it does take some time to truly dive into this competition, the competition itself does a good job of motivating characters and moving the plot along. The pirate captains must compete for the ultimate honor: the Bone Crown. There are rules and regulations as well as great feats of piracy. You know the deal: it's a goo competition game with valor, honor, wit; earth, fire, and sea.

Cons
Generic Fantasy Names: It hurts me, sometimes, the way other authors name their characters and kingdoms. The pirate kingdom is Cerulia. The worshipers of the earthen gods are the Terrans. Blackwater is the surname of an infamous pirate captain. Every name I encountered was a major "ugh" moment. If going to the trouble of creating a unique fantasy world, it should at least be made unique. I mean, the mortal enemies of the sea-faring nation is Incendia and it's Incendians, for goodness sake!

A Conspiracy of Pirates: I know I said they're hardened pirates. I know I complimented that, and I stand by it--at least in the beginning. But as the book goes on, things begin to fall apart. I mean, they're all working together. The pirates are working together. During the pirating competition, they're not allowed to even kill each other. Pirates aren't allowed to kill. And sure, they've all got rivalries, but those rivalries are just in word, not in action. They're not actually lawless, ruthless pirates. They're more like roughshod nobility of the sea, complete with some weird pirate loyalty.

Poor Pacing: Things are always happening. That's not to say that this book is fast-paced. It isn't. I'm just saying that things don't stop happening. Every chapter will have some sort of action scene immediately. There's no room for setting-up. There's no room for character development. There's no room for plot advancement. It's all consumed by action. Random stuff just happens instead of letting anything slow down. I feel like a developmental editor or two should have been brought on to really find the plot in this one. It just gets buried under all the stuff that's happening.

Rating
⭐⭐⭐
3/10

Those on the lookout for more high-seas pirates after Adalyn Grace's All the Stars and Teeth should check out this new pirate adventure. Those who enjoy pirate tales akin to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean should dive into this new world of lore and adventuring.