This book has an amazing set up and so much potential, but it falls a bit flat. I loved the world building, including the goddesses, the pirate lore, and the politics of piracy. I was excited about the ensemble cast, but they all felt shallow as characters and didn’t meet my hopes. The love felt very insta-love like and the characters felt full of stereotypes. I wish the plot had more subtle foreshadowing as the twists were very predictable.

I hope that it is a series because there are a lot of unanswered questions. I would continue to read for plot resolution and hope of more development.

Dark and riveting. I finished this book in one day because I couldn't put it down. It may not be the most in-depth but the plot was fast paced, the action exciting, the mystery intriguing and I needed to know what happened.

The Bone King has died. Now five pirate captains vie for the crown. The Trials are about to begin but only one can reign over all the pirates.

Csilla is a great heroine and I loved that we got a classic pirate adventure with a female lead. She is tough and strong but also has great love for her sister Rhoda and we get the best relationship in the story with the two of them. Rhoda walks a fine line between jealous older sister and supportive older sister which many readers can relate to. But Csilla hears the rumors. The daughter of the true pirate king may still be alive, hidden away for many years. If she is alive, she is the true heir to the Bone Crown and threatens the legitimacy of everyone competing in the Trials. Kane Blackwater is also competing against Csilla for the Bone Crown, until he finds a stowaway girl on his ship and finds his priorities are shifting. Does he really want the crown or is love more important?

Lorelei is a girl on the run. Her mother murdered by a pirate, she has now fallen right into the hands of another when she crept aboard his ship. Her hatred for pirates is great, but Kane Blackwater seems different. Now she is swept along for the ride as Kane competes in the Trials for the Bone Crown.

I wish Flynn and Csilla's relationship had been explored more, especially because Flynn had his own interesting motives I would have liked to have seen exposed. The characters were well done, the writing was good, and the plot moved along and kept me reading the whole time. I love a good pirate story.

Betrayals stings like seawater in a wound. Who will end up with the Bone Crown?

I wanted a pirate adventure and this delivered.

I think the idea of the trials is cool and enjoyed how all of the MCs (as well as some entertaining side characters) worked together to face them. I found the connection between the young pirates to be endearing, even when they are supposed to be rough and ruthless.

Overall, I do think this to be a bit too simplistic. There really isn't any world-building considering this is a standalone and the plot is pretty basic. There are some pretty good foundational elements and feel like this story would be better served as a series to be able to build upon those things.

But all in all, this gets the job done and provides a few hours of decent entertainment.

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Crossbones is about five pirate captains who are competing to become the next king or queen of Cerulia after the current king dies and there is no heir. It is told from three different points of view, Csilla, the captain of the Scarlet Maidens; Kane, the captain of the Iron Jewel; and Lorelei, a stowaway on Kane's ship after she witnesses her mother murdered by one of the other captains. All of their fates become entwined when Lorelei volunteers to be Kane's first mate and they discover who she really is.

This wasn't the most complex book and the characters/relationships didn't have a lot of depth. Similar to many other reviews, I think the most interesting relationship was the one between Csilla and her sister.

I felt like there could've been a lot more to the story and that the plot was a little simple.

It wasn't my favorite book, but it's an easy and enjoyable read.

I received an eARC of from Wattpad Books and Kimberly Vale via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

This book follows three main characters: Kane Blackwater, Pirate Captain. Csilla Abado, Pirate Captain and sister, and Lorelei Penny, farm girl and caretaker of her mother. All Three characters have some kind of connection that brings them all together for one adventurous pirate tale.

Throughout the book you hear all of the backstories of each main character. What I loved was that the author intertwined numerous friends, relatives and villains which gave so much depth to the story. I fell in love with each of them and did not want the story to end. The action and adventure was thrilling and fun to read. I did not want the story to end and I completed it in one sitting. There is a small bit of romance but it does not overshadow the main story but enhances it. The story does not end up in a cliffhanger which I appreciate but leaves an opening for possible future books. I really hope Vale will continue with this series because I cannot get enough!

Kimberly Vale has done a wonderful job with this book. I love the cover and if I was in a store i would pick it up based on that alone. Overall this book gets 5 stars.

'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.' 🏴‍☠️
4.5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Daughter of the Pirate King meets Six of Crows!! 😍
I LOVED this book so so much! I am an absolute sucker for pirate themed books, so when I saw this on Netgalley, it was an instant request and I was lucky enough to receive an eARC thanks to Wattpadbooks! It follows three separate POVs Csilla, Kane and Lorelei. All of the characters are great in their own way, and I was invested with them from the first pages of their own chapters. I was also really interested in how they then interlinked as the book progressed. There ended up being more magic in the book than I thought, as there are elemental gods and goddesses, so it gave it a more of a fantasy feel. All the secondary characters were really great as well, especially Flynn and Arius, they were the more humorous characters, in comparison to the broody MCs. I wished we actually had Flynn's POV at one point, just to get inside his mind more. There was also a couple of times I thought that there could have been more interaction from Kane, especially with Csilla and Flynn as they were childhood friends, but that's just me wanting to see those interactions. They did reminded me a bit of Celaena, Chaol and Dorian from Throne of Glass, but I'm hoping we may see more of them interacting in book two 👀
I was in a bit of a reading slump before reading this and it definitely pulled me out of it. It was gripping from the first chapter, it had a great story and loveable characters! I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book! 👏

Great Pirate adventure!!!! This was well plotted and had good characterizations. The story is of a land where groups of pirates are governed by the Bone King. When the Bone King dies without an heir, they must use the "Trials" to decide who the next Bone King will be. The trials is a "treasure "hunt of sorts. Puzzle pieces hidden around the Crossbone Island must be gathered and put together to find the location of the chest holding the Bone Crown. The pirate that manages to get all the pieces and opens the Bone chest becomes the King or Queen of Bones. One small wrinkle, unbeknownst to the pirates and even to herself there is a living heir. How this all plays out is quite the adventure. This is a wonderful adventure sure to be enjoyed by pirate and adventure fans (with a bit of fantasy)!

I am a sucker for swashbuckling pirate adventures with a dash of magic thrown in so this book immediately piqued my interest. Unfortunately I did not like it. The story could not decide if it wanted to be Jr fiction simple adventure story, or a teen novel filled with angsty teen romance and drama and a cohort of archetypal characters. The long lost princess with hidden power, the rogue with the good heart, the betrayer, the evil murderer, the all powerful maybe demigod witch, the naive woman with an axe to grind, and the tortured love interest our Mc must save.
The story itself is fairly light on details, and reminds me of Saturday morning spaghetti westerns: people get into impossible situations but there is always an easy sometimes miraculous out to save the day, when someone dies, it’s just not very impactful either because it just happens and we don’t know enough about the people who die to care, or the surrounding characters seem to think the death is for the greater good. The entire magic system makes so sense, Thought the talking lava Demi-god, demon??? Was kind of mustache twirling fun. the whole Incendia fire worshiping kind of British colonial conquerors just sort of petered out. There is potential for a greater depth to the story and for a teen novel this wasn’t bad. But it never rose to great story telling that keeps you up late waiting to see what happens next. Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad books for the book free in exchange for an honest review.

The Blood Bell tolls...who will reign over the pirates now that the Trials have begun? Betrayal runs through some pirates’ veins, but will that betrayal cost someone the crown? This novel was excellent and I loved the pirate nature of it. The characters were intriguing and the concept was sound. There were some twists and some characters that you just need to hate but still understand.

Crossbones
By: Kimberly Vale
✨ Release Date: October 5, 2021

“Dark tides are rising. If you aren’t careful, you’ll drown.”

This pirate adventure novel follows 3 main characters though the Trials for the Bone Crown.
Csilla Abado, Kane Blackwater & Lorelei Penny.
When the Blood Bell tolls at the death of the pirate king, paths unite and loyalties are tested, bringing together the most unlikely of characters as the battle for the Bone Crown takes place. With the rightful heir to the throne, seemingly lost and unknown, the pirate captains must fight for their place upon the throne. But with the death of the pirate king, a dark power is given way to creep amongst the living once again, potentially leading to a terrible fate that could end their world. Powers that toy with their minds, feeding thoughts of betrayal, trying to end the bloodline that possess the only threat to this dark power being released.
Who will claim the Bone Crown? Who will save them from this terrible fate?

The dynamics between the characters and the worldbuilding was amazing and created great imagery, but I would’ve liked to have seen more character development, so the characters didn’t seem so predictable and flat.
The writing was simple, the dialogue a bit cheesy, but overall, it was an intriguing read.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

"You may hate me," he continued. "You may curse the air I breathe, but I don't hate you"

Crossbones was an interesting and entertaining book, I didn't love or felt in love with characters but had fun while reading it. Overall this story feels slow-paced while all the relationships grow very quickly, not really feeling real.
I think this was a perfect concept and world but in the book feels like it's constantly about to happen something that just never really happens.

I have to admit, I didn't finish this book, unfortunately I just couldn't get into the plot and main character was not relatable at all
I'm surprised as I thought this sounded right up my street in terms of genre and style

I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

My review contains spoilers (and swearing, this is my first book review so I am unsure what is or isn't appropriate, but fair warning)

Synopsis:

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.

Real Synopsis:

The previous king is dead. The competition doesn’t start until halfway through the book. Young, angsty teens climb a cliff for Bone Crown. No one risks their lives because it is against the rules.
Yo-yo. Naïve. Captain?
Csilla Abado does not risk everything to become the first pirate queen, in fact, she is cordial with her enemies.
Brash. Contradictory. Playboy.
Kane can’t decide what he wants. He’s a macho tough-guy that fucks bitches but insta-loves unbelievable character, Lorelei.
Unrealistic. Weak. “Everywhere”.
Lorelei’s mother conveniently dies so that she can leave her town with peace of mind. There is no conflict, only insta-love.
Csilla. Kane. Lorelei. Each ridiculous in their own way. The fire, however, has other plans. Molten men are rising, but they’ll escape practically unscathed every single time.

I genuinely wanted to like this book. Going into it, this book had so much going for it; pirates, fighting, bone crowns, and the absolutely stunning cover. However, the execution of the premise fell flat on its ass. This book felt like it was still in the drafting process, unpolished but with a lot of promise. As the synopsis mentions, the main focus of the plot is meant to be the Bone Trials in which a pirate can be named king of the islands if they succeed against perilous odds. Except, the odds are not perilous and the Bone Trials do not start until halfway through the book. The first half is spent info dumping—yet not giving us important details—and introducing us to the characters. Things that are important to subtly include for the reader to visualise the characters are avoided, and they remain ambiguous except for pale-skinned and blue-eyed Lorelei. It was only until 70% into the book that we are told about one aspect of Csilla’s (and Rhoda’s) physical appearance, that they have bronzed-brown skin, and by then the reader has already made their own assumptions in their head. But this information is contradicted by earlier information where Rhoda is described as “going pale”. This could be just an expression, but it is misused if she is a POC.

I’d also like to mention the overuse of embellished words through unnecessary adverbs/adjectives. I know writing a book can be daunting because of the word count, but adding filler words to make your passages lengthier is amateur writing. Sometimes simple is best. There were also quite a few spelling and grammatical errors, but I am unsure if that is the book itself or the strange formatting through Kindle.
I also had issues with the dialogue. It felt unnatural and cliched, some of the lines felt like they were straight out of a cheesy superhero movie.

“The sound of someone clapping stopped her as she bent at the knees. “Well done,” a familiar voice rang out behind. She would recognize that smooth honey tone anywhere.”

“Well, well, well,” she mused, shifting her weight onto her hop as she gazed down at him. “Tell me why I shouldn’t slit your throat, Flynn Gunnison.””

“SSSon of the Iron Jewel.
“Who are you?” Kane asked. He watched the molten man carefully.
I am the flame. I am the warmth of thisss world.
Kane blinked. Not the answer he was looking for. “What have you done to my men?”
SSStay away from Port Barlow. Do not set sail for Incendia.”

“She was alone in this world. Truly and utterly alone. Then came a voice. Loreleiii.”

“”Do I make myself clear?”
“Aye,” the pirates replied in unison.
Lockheart shook his head. “I said, do I make myself clear?”
“Aye!” the pirates yelled…”

The hissing and extended words were a no-go for me. Also, I should mention that the writing suffers quite a bit from telling instead of showing, especially when it comes to dialogue tags.

“You stuck him good,” he told her approvingly.”

“He approached Rove, fingers bent, clenching the air as he spoke a curse under his breath. “No more talking from you, Rove,” Borne said, continuing forward.”

The reader can infer that he is praising her from his language, and the reader already knows he’s walking toward Rove so reiterating that he is still walking is repetitive.

Moving away from the writing style, let’s dive into the characters.

Csilla-

We are introduced to Csilla’s character first so one may conclude that Csilla is our main character, however she hardly gets any screen time compared to Kane and Lorelei who feel as if they should be side characters. Csilla is the captain of the Scarlet Maiden, a ship she inherited from her grandmother at the age of 16. When we meet her, she has been captain of the ship for 3 years. First, if I were a pirate I would never in my life take orders from a teenager, especially Csilla who is portrayed as naïve and inexperienced compared to her elder sister. I understand this is a young adult novel, however I find it hard to believe that most of these infamous ships are run by literal children, especially when some of them are not as cutthroat as they’d like the reader to think.
Csilla thinks she was betrayed by someone she loved but she still pines after him. “I shouldn’t miss him, but I do.” Personally, if a man sent my ass to the gallows I’d kill him on sight. It was really irritating because I just could not understand how she could so easily brush over the fact that he tried to have her killed. It really plays into her naivete. However, she is constantly telling the reader how she has a cold exterior because of the “walls she’s built around herself so that no one can get close”, but we never really see that. In fact, Lorelei, a girl unfamiliar to the ways of pirates, finds Csilla approachable. It’s hard to believe you’re a cutthroat badass when some peasant thinks you’re trustworthy.
There was one thing I really enjoyed about Csilla’s story, though, and that was her redemption fight against her sister. It was showing the reader that she was not going to be weak and naïve anymore, she was going to take her sister seriously in the fight and prove herself to be a capable captain; which she did. I also appreciated that she did not hesitate to follow through with her sister’s wishes, however Csilla had been going on and on about family and being alone that in this instance it would have made more sense for her to refuse—at least at first. Either way, I did enjoy that scene.

Kane-

Oh boy. Kane. This man was such a cocky prick in the beginning. “I know women, I can predict what they want from me but I’m not gonna fall for that cuz I ain’t a SIMP.” He’s brash and his actions are contradictory. He won’t work for Rove ever again, his debt is paid off. Rove offers him a job. Kane immediately considers it. (Also, wtf is up with the constant reminder of Rove’s twitching moustache?)
Kane is the captain of the Iron Jewel, passed down to him after his father died. He had an abusive childhood so him being a dick makes sense, but then he does a complete 180 when he meets a molten man. Suddenly he’s no longer going to help Rove, he’s going to protect the mysterious heir instead and sort his life out, all after one meeting with a particularly weak monster. The motherfucker just stands in some knee-deep water to escape it and splashes it until the creature fucks off. But hey, it’s a convenient way to get him to work with her.
Kane meets Lorelei and is instantly simping. “She’s not like other girls, she’s so determined and strong.” He is also a young captain like Csilla but he feels like another crew member. When Lorelei is injured, he fetches bandages himself. It’s a small detail, but I doubt a captain would do so when he could order someone to bring it to him.
Since he was a child, he has had the dream of becoming the next Bone King and he tells us this during his first POV, however when the trials do finally come about, he has no idea who he wants to be his partner. I found this hard to believe; if this is your dream, wouldn’t you plan it better?

Lorelei-

Lorelei grows up in a small harbour town with her mother who becomes estranged over the years. She bakes and sells her goods in the market to make money. Lorelei is a regular peasant girl with no personal experience with pirates. AND YET, the moment she meets Kane Blackwater she shows a skill she would have no inclination to know: pickpocketing. If she had lived in a bad part of town and struggled to make ends meet, this skill would make sense, but she lives up on a hilltop with a cosy and sheltered life so being able to pickpocket so flawlessly is unrealistic. I found most of Lorelei’s character to be this way.
When Lorelei’s mother dies she can finally leave the town in peace without being hindered by guilt. This felt like a cop-out. Lorelei explains she’s always wanted to leave that small town and see the world, why couldn’t that be her motivation to sneak on board the ship? Instead, she feels compelled to avenge her mother, which she has no training whatsoever to do.
AND YET, she has enough training to stab a pirate. Never picked up a sword? No worries, if you’re one of the MCs you can just learn it on the spot. Now, she didn’t pull some stellar move, but she did manage to stab his shoulder. I just think a pirate with training who has been in the game for years should be able to defend himself against a peasant girl, and the only reason she succeeded is because he didn’t have a weapon to defend himself with—or at least he isn’t shown having one. Sorry, what pirate comes to a fight without a weapon? Yeah, none.
Lorelei is honestly an idiot. First, she explains she cannot take anyone on in close combat and then proceeds to grab a sword to fight. Swords are close combat weapons. And don’t even get me started on the cliff scene during the trials. This girl is sidled next to Kane and in front of two other boys AND YET she somehow escapes unnoticed. She fucks off to a beach where she meets a molten man and instead of going into the ocean like a smart person, she instead chooses to climb a cliff. Once again, she is a normal peasant girl with no training, but hey she can scale a cliff side no problem. Rock climbing is extremely difficult, you have to have enough strength to pull yourself up. Lorelei is described as skinny. Lorelei has never worked out to build muscle or done any work requiring it. She does not have the strength it would take to climb this supposedly super dangerous cliff that not even Kane can climb.
I just could not connect with Lorelei at all, everything about her didn’t make sense. As Kane had put it, “He couldn’t keep this girl straight in his mind—she was everywhere.”

Again, this book has a lot of promise, it is an interesting idea, but it needs work. I know I am complaining a lot, but there were aspects of the book I enjoyed.

I liked the world-building in this book, it was a soft world but I don’t mind that. I like that Incendia is built up so that there is perhaps room to touch upon a brewing war in a second book (however, if this is a stand-alone then this is actually not good because it is an issue that remains unresolved). I enjoyed that the different seasons had different names, although I wished it had been explained a lot sooner. Having “Redwind” at the beginning of every chapter with no explanation was confusing because I thought it might be a location. A lot of work goes into creating a unique world, so I can definitely appreciate what the author has done with theirs.
I also appreciated that the author remained consistent on comparing everything to the sea and aspects of it, “look what the tides washed in”, “fear like a blind fish”, etc. It makes it more immersive and really solidifies the island nation they live in.
There were also a few lines I thought were well-written:

“The noose swayed back and forth, a pendulum ticking down her last moments, and all previous confidence drained from her like blood from a fresh wound.”

“... a flesh and bone statue in a vividly moving world.”

“Revenge was a goblet of rich wine that she’d savor until the very last drop.”

Going back to the noose quote, I really enjoyed the way the book opened. It was a scene that could pull the reader into immediate action instead of slowly diving into it. I personally prefer being thrown into some sort of conflict, so I felt that the opening was strong.

To conclude, this book has promise, and perhaps some may even still enjoy it as it is now. I over analyse the books I read (which evidently has brought my enjoyment down for a lot of them), but if you are someone who just enjoys the ride, then maybe this is the book for you.

Crossbones by Kimberly Vale is the p[irate book that everyone should read. Full of strong female characters and morally ambiguous men, this book truly has it all. While the 5 top pirates battle it out for the future crown, there is so much more going on in the background of this story that leaves burning through these pages dying to see who takes the crown and doesn't make it to the crossbones.

Crossbones by Kimberly Vale is an intriguing pirate-adventure novel and easily digestible. The content is fairly light and the world is simple. On the not-so-great side, the story’s execution lacks any strong impact due to its simplicity.

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this book. While it wasn’t central to the plot, it feels authentic and, aside from the central pirate plot, tense politics also played a role throughout, which I believe contributed to its authenticity. The plot was enjoyable but fairly predictable, except for a few minor scenes. While I thought the story was cute, nothing stuck out or left me with strong feelings. Where the plot had strong potential, I feel as though a lot of it was skimmed over and vague (as well as an abundance of plot conveniences). For a debut novel, it was well done, I would have just loved a bit more from the plot.

Focusing on the characters, I thoroughly enjoyed them. The dynamics between each of them were well-written (specifically Rhoda and Csilla’s complicated sisterhood), but I would have loved to see more of their personalities shine through. They were likeable, but at times they fell flat. I also wish the chemistry between the love interests was more intense; often, it felt like it wasn’t really there. Despite these criticisms, I still found each of them enjoyable. For having so many characters, their personalities never blended together and motivations were consistently clear.

So, would I recommend this book to someone? Yes. While I think there are areas of improvement, I found Crossbones to be an easy read with wonderful pirates on an intriguing and exciting adventure.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad for sending me this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I'm going to just go ahead and say that I absolutely loved this book. I liked that there were different points of view instead of from just one character since there were a few main characters all who played important roles. They're different plot points that in the end all tie together.

The romances were sweet and also painful like how most real love stories are. I understood Csilla but I also wished she had just calmed and tried to be rational to get to the bottom of the truth much sooner.

Lorelei is a kind, gentle, and strong young woman. I think if the ending went a different way it probably wouldn't have made much sense considering Lorelei's thoughts and feelings of everything. So I appreciated that Vale wrote that part the way she did.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this ARC.

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!

The reasoning for 4.25 stars. While I did enjoy this book there were just some parts I didn't enjoy or find a bit too bland. Nonetheless, I would recommend this book.

Do I think you should read this book? Yes! Pick this book up with you're interested in reading about swashbuckling pirates.

e-ARC provided By Netgalley and Publisher. (Thank you!)
I received a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are mine.
EXPECTED RELEASE DATE: October 5th, 2021
REVIEWED: 5/2/2021

No pun intended but this has the bones of a good story but final product leaves much to be desired.

“Crossbones” sees the Pirate King dead and all Captains looking to take his place on the throne while managing their own troubles on the sidelines. With a roguish man haunted by his fathers legacy, a young woman trying to handle her curse and a threat close to home and finally the daughter of a mad woman finding their way to the same island the race to the crown is a lot harder than it appears.

This book throws a lot at you rather quickly and with a strong start I was eager to see how the story would unfold only to find the structuring was rather flimsy. We get multiple POVs as we move through this adventure and I found that the change offered very little than this repeating of the same information we already know from the beginning. The pacing itself is rather quick where we jump from one obstacle to the next with little breathing room so the alliances/friendships/romances and betrayals feel rather hollow.

The characters were fine I suppose you have your girl thrown into the world who despite all odds survives when she shouldn’t, a man who is supposed to be this love interest with a haunted past being very bland and the strongest character caring more about another boy than actually showing how strong of a leader she is which was a let down.

I don’t know my first thought is this is very much a Wattpad story but like from 2008 if that makes sense in terms of the style and writing? I hope I’m in the minority and other people enjoy it but for me the trials and mythology added up to a whole lot of nothing.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

Crossbones was great! I really enjoyed the feel and dynamic of the characters. The story that Vale built is one that I absolutely loved. I think the characters each had something to contribute to the story and this story is one that I will think about long after I've read it! I hope to read more work by this author soon!

I’m a sucker for a good pirate book and this one did not disappoint! Thanks to NetGalley and Wattpad I was able to get an ARC! The plot started off really strong and there is a lot of action. I love the complex characters and I am so excited for everyone to read this! The only thing I wish is that it had more sea worthy adventures but I can’t wait to see where this goes!