In pre-Revolutionary War Rhode Island, fiery 18-year-old farm girl Fanny Campbell defies conventions with her sailing, hunting, and independent spirit. Despite village expectations, she captures the attention of young naval officer, Will. After a spirited courtship, they are married. However, when Will's ship is seized by the Spanish and he's imprisoned in Cuba, Fanny disguises herself as a man, embarking on a daring journey to rescue him. Joining a pirate crew along the way, she inadvertently becomes an epic accidental pirate, forging a path filled with adventure and defiance.

This was a fun read. Not one to be taken seriously, but one that entertains nonetheless. Fanny is a girl who lives life her own way. She is immediately smitten when a naval officer can keep up with her. After a brief courtship, they are married, but he must return to his post. When Fanny learns of his capture, she sets out to sea to rescue her husband.

As a character, Fanny seemed very childish at times. I suppose that makes sense since she was only eighteen, but it made it difficult to be on board for her courtship. There also seemed to be nothing she couldn’t do. No matter what she faced, she had a plan.
And this section just made me laugh, when pirates discover her secret: “We have never seen these breasts. They are very nice breasts, but we have never seen them.” I had to put the book down and step away after I read that. I guess they were honorable pirates.

Overall, it was entertaining. The end leaves things open for a sequel. I would recommend this to readers looking for a story about a strong female character.

Fabulous story of a girl making her way in a man’s world although a bit twee at times and altogether convenient. I did enjoy it but it just needed a little something more

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

The story of Fanny Campbell is perfect if you are looking for a fun slightly whimsical read.

Fanny herself reminds me of Pippi Longstocking. She too only follows societies conventions when it suits her fancy. And when it doesn’t, she does whatever she pleases. Which is partly how she became a pirate captain in a time period, where piracy was most certainly not considered a fitting persuit for a woman.

It is not a particularly serious read, but it is an entertaining one.

The best way I can think to describe this book is Pirates of the Caribbean meets The Princess Bride. Which is to say this book is fantastic. I loved Fanny from the first page. She is so strong, confident, and no nonsense. She does not care about others' opinions about her and just wants to live life to the fullest. Just like I immediately fell in love with her, so did Will. He is a true simp for Fanny, and slowly wins her heart in one of the best, most wholesome romances I have read it a while. Of course, I loved the other characters as well. There was amazing found family vibes both on Fanny's farm and aboard the Bloody Rose. I especially loved Q and Thorne. Like the characters, the plot was pretty light hearted. The book touched on some social and political issues in the time period, but I felt there could have been more. Also, the plot was a little slow and dragging at times. As for the ending, it was left a bit open and I wish there had been a bit more resolution, but it was still an adorable happily ever after. Overall, I recommend this book as a fun, happy read!

Set in pre-revolutionary Rhodes Island, Fanny Campbell has been bought up by her father to be an independent young woman. She can shoot, fish, sail and use a broadsword with gusto. Her father a proud Scot, and previous sword maker made very sure his daughter could defend herself if there ever was the need.
Now orphaned and living on the family farm with her beloved Sarah, Amos and their son................... she manages to outshine all the local lads, and therefor has been considered by her Aunts to be sadly destined to never marry.
A serious storm blows Will, a British Naval Officer into her world and after a somewhat unusual courtship they decide to marry, only to have Will recalled to his repaired ship and then captured by pirates off the coast of America.
Fanny, never one to ignore a challenge decides to go to sea to try and rescue Will. She disguises herself as a seaman, manages to get a berth on a ship, only to have that ship also captured by the elegant, skilfully captained Bloody Rose, a well-known pirate ship. From this time on her epic adventures really begin as she becomes a very valued crew member of the Bloody Rose.
While reading through old newspapers of the times Brooks Almy came across the fanciful tale of a young heroine, Fanny Campbell, the story of a brave, fearless young woman which inspired An Accidental Pirate.
Slow to begin with An Accidental Pirate is a comfortable read that picks up pace towards the middle of the book and would make a pleasant afternoon read on the couch.

The first 45% of this book were an easy 5-star. It was one of the cutest love stories I've ever read. My excitement for the pirate stories to come was through the roof at that halfway point.
After that, things fell off a bit. The actual 'pirating' made no sense and it all felt rushed and episodic. The challenges of being disguised as a man on board a pirate ship were barely even mentioned. Any challenge or dramatic moment was over within paragraphs of starting. I honestly would have preferred it to be twice as long and actually explore everything with at least the same amount of thought and detail put into it as the first half.
Overall, a very fun read, but pacing and plotting needed more work.

Enjoyment 8/10
Concept 9/10
Execution 5/10
Writing 5/10
Plot & Logic 5/10
Pacing & Structure 6/10
Atmosphere 8/10
Characters 8/10
Intrigue 9/10

Rating: 3.58/5

Sweet, classic girl-turned-to-pirate story. I like the writing style, which fits the story perfectly. It was rather slow-paced, but would be nice for casual read on a chill weekend. Love the soft romance undertone of the book too!

4 stars

I thought this was a fun pirate story. I wish the beginning wasn’t as long so we got more time to see Fanny as a pirate captain and I do hope there will be more books about Fanny’s adventures.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC of this book.

Almy’s debut novel An Accidental Pirate is a riveting insight into a wild and salty world as yet all but obscured from view. As she points out in her Authors Note little is known of the protagonist and Fanny is largely her own creation. And what a character she is! This gutsy 18-year-old could sail, shoot, ride with the best of them and she took no nonsense from anyone. Her parents had encouraged her to be independent in an era where women were expected to faint at the merest trifle. This makes Fanny Campbell’s story even more exciting to me.

I was gripped with the tale right from the word go. Apart from Fanny’s sensational tale the novel also gave me a true picture of the times. Through Fanny I got what it was actually like on board a ship back then and how women pirates were regarded by people of that time. Sailors were largely superstitious and women on a ship were simultaneously revered and reviled by them. As I got a glimpse of the harsh life for a deckhand at sea I soon realised the enormous courage Fanny had to board a ship in disguise.

Almy has certainly used her insight, intuition and some wonderful imagination, to narrate Fanny's seafaring adventure. I haven’t enjoyed a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas in a long while. The scenes were so real that I could smell the sea and gunpowder while thrilling to Fanny’s adventures. I also loved the fun side of Fanny. Though she was an impressive protagonist the other characters were well thought out and contributed to the high adventure. I was torn between savouring the words and quickly flipping the pages.

This is what one longs for - the profound pleasure of being transported into a vivid world, a world peopled by characters so intriguing and real that one can't shake them, long after the last page. For a debut novelist Almy writes with incredible bravura. Who knows she may even conjure an equally captivating sequel.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of #AnAccidentalPirate! Overall I gave this book 3 stars! I felt like the beginning was a bit slow with the storytelling and flashbacks but I loved the middle and end. Fanny was a fun character to get to know and I loved the interwoven love story. I do wish there would have been more to the ending! I wanted more about the resolution and what happened after the rescue! Overall a fun book!

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review! This was a fun debut novel by Brooks Almy, and I would definitely read her next book when it comes.

Fanny was a kind tomboy young woman. This was really more of an adventure story than a romance, but there was love - both familial and romantic. The story was a clean YA, appropriate for all ages. I read another review that mentioned it reminded them off Enola Holmes, and I agree.

The story jumps back and forth in time. There were multiple flashbacks where Fanny told a story as her father - from his point of view and in his tone of voice. Her dad was the greatest swordsmith in all of Scotland. He also taught boys how to wield them. After involved in the Jacobite uprising loss, gypsies saved his and his brother's lives where he picked up even more sword making skills before moving to the colonies. There, no one was interested in learning how to use a sword; so he taught his wife and daughter. Hence, Fanny became one of the most skilled with a broadsword. She had a natural ability to pick up anything physical. She was also brave.

I enjoyed the entire book. The damsel saving the hero was a fun twist on the usual story. I wanted it to be a bit longer, but it was an appropriate length for YA. Maybe a sequel?

I really enjoyed this book. I was instantly intrigued with the story and I was hooked till the end.
I just reviewed An Accidental Pirate by Brooks Almy. #AnAccidentalPirate #NetGalley
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This is book is an awesome read. It was wonderful. I loved the romance a lot. The world building was really fun. I enjoyed all the characters and found this book very intriguing. Go check out this book.

I love pirate novels and this was a really well done novel, I was invested in the characters and thought they worked well in the time-period. I enjoyed the story in this book and loved getting to know Fanny and Will. Brooks Almy has a great writing style and I was invested in what was going on.

"Sara looked down at her workworn hands and gave a faint smile. “Yes, it was terrible. More terrible than you could ever imagine, and I don’t want you to. Nate made it all more bearable. We were married in secret by a shaman in the woods and couldn’t let the master know we were together. But we are here now, and that is all in the past.” Fanny put her arms around Sara just as Nate walked in. He touched Sara’s hand, then sat heavily in his chair at the end of the table, looking despondent."