Thank you to NetGalley for this arc. I rate this book 5 stars and 4 chili peppers for spice. I freaking ate this book up! The pirate/sailing lingo felt so realistic. The writing made me feel like I was dropped onto a ship from Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but make it a gay love triangle. I loved the secrets and backstories. All the side characters were awesome too. I could have kept reading about these three characters because their dynamic and history was so interesting. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

Amazing. An absolutely wonderful story.
Poly pirates was enough to sell me, and then the story itself knocked it out of the park. I was hooked immediately by the wonderful cast of characters (Vitaliy especially), and then the story itself exceeded all of my expectations. Piracy, politics, stupid idiots in love, what more could I ask for? The balance between the story and the romance was done incredibly well, focusing on our three lovers without ignoring the world building around them. Everyone felt like a person with their own motivations, which can often get overlooked in romance as a genre. I devoured the whole thing in two days and can't wait to read it again. Wonderful. Stupendous. I'm so glad I picked this up.

this was actually such a fun read! i honestly couldn't put it down sometimes.

☀️mmm romance
☀️the good kind of angst
☀️marriage of convivence
☀️pirates
☀️spice 3/5

honestly i think this book could have been an easy five star for me if it hadn't been so hard to read sometimes. the period typical language, writing style, and dialogue just did NOT flow smoothly in my head. there was a lot of slang too. i'd also say the plot was pretty secondary to the characters, but i was SAT for all three of them so i honestly didn't care.

I loved reading this love story about second chanses and new loves. It's not easy to write GOOD poly romance, but E.M. Caro really surprised me with their unique writing style. I loved how the connection between the men deepend and was explored. It was wonderful, and I wanted more. This author is one I will be looking out for.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me give my honest feedback.

4.5 stars rounded up. Thank you for the digital ARC.

The moment I saw this cover, I knew this book would be for me. The Age of Sail, polyamory, and pirates? Yes please!

Everard Anderson de Anglada is a great character to follow, especially given his Catalan background, which allows the author to explore issues of racial discrimination. I do feel like D'Arcy wasn't quite fleshed out as well as he could have been, and he vanishes from the story for a good portion, even if Everard is thinking about him often, it feels like their prior relationship is told rather than shown to readers.

Everard is a warm, kind, and intensely loyal man (which is how he got himself into this mess). He has a tendency to overthink, especially trying to align himself with Vitaliy's crew, which ends in some extremely funny moments with Vitaliy's second-in-command.

I also felt that after the initial excitement and action of Everard deserting the Navy to rescue Vitaliy, we spent an awful lot of time in the great cabin. I didn't mind spending that time with Everard, it was good character development for him to grapple with being ex-Navy and the things he was asked to do in the service, but it did slow things down. There were a couple of instances where we skipped over some action that would have been tasty and better explained the political action happening in the background.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the one big fight scene we had taking another warship, and the Vitaliy's ingenuity when it came to fighting. The spice is also definitely there, I will not spoil things, but they get creative with certain machinery.

If this becomes a series (and I really hope that it does), I would love to read about René and her ship of lady pirates. The author has clearly done a lot of research, and I want to see more of the historical details and daily ship life. Overall, I had a great time with this book, and would gladly read more from E.M. Caro in the future. I flew through the story, loved the characters and setting, and adored the cover.

I went into this book with high expectations because gay poly pirates? Sign me the f*ck up! And I was not disappointed. 

I will not claim to have extensive knowledge of the historical time period, but I’ve read enough books over rather years to have understood it enough. And I do enjoy historical fiction, something in particular that kept my attention was the writing style in which it was written with the use of historical language and dialogue patterns and words. This was for me quite enjoyable as it put me deeper in to the story and deeper into the early 1800s which it was set. 

Within the first 40 pages I was ready to riot if ANYTHING happened to any of the main characters. This is also included few other characters, Thom being one. The characters, especially the main three Everard, D’Arcy and Vitaliy/Vitya I found were rather well written both individually and in their interactions with each other. I found their different dynamics with each other refreshing, especially towards the end as things developed and new aspects were revealed.

The pacing was done extremely well, with the intimacy between the characters developing alongside the plot. While the sexual tensions between Everard and both other men was there from very early on, it still took time for anything to actually occur. This felt realistic considering the circumstances being they have to undergo daily task of pirate business and the like. And when they did get down to it was executed well, with heavy emphasis being made on consent. I also found that the development of their relationship, especially the sexual side of it was done well. This was because it didn't immediately include all three of them but rather Everard with both men separately before it progressed to be all three of them.

Don't get me started on the plot twists. I like to think I am good at picking plot twists out, and some of them I saw coming but others completely caught me off guard and I found myself absolutely flabbergasted in the best way possible. Without spoiling anything, these moments of reveal added even more depth to the story and some individual characters as well as their relationships with others because of it.

Overall, I loved this book in every part of it. Additionally, the inclusion of content warnings in the first few pages is much appreciated and worth checking before reading.

For starters, I love the title of this - it is so cheeky and fun. I also am in love with the cover art, the design is so eye catching. I love a gay pirate story!!! And this one was so wonderfully well-written.

While the blurb likens this to Black Sails meets Hamilton, I would substitute Hamilton with the Aubrey and Maturin series. Read: there is a lot more nautical terms than political debate. Either a lot of research was done for this book or the author is extremely good at faking it (I honestly couldn't tell, not having done the research myself), and it really worked for me. It made me feel like I was there, like it was real.

I'm so glad that I have given this book a try. You have to work for it, I won't deny it. Nothing is handed to you on a platter. Nautical terms abound, and nothing is made transparently clear whether in terms of the (geo)political situation or the motivations of the characters, but if you read between the lines, everything is there, and it frankly becomes extremely fun and rewarding to figure it out. I understand this might not be for everyone, but honestly this felt like reading Aubrey-Maturin, except lightly anti-colonial (aka a great deal more anti colonial than Aubrey-Maturin) and a whole lot queerer (both in terms of sexual orientation and politics).

Also, as a big lover of pirate stories, I can't believe I didn't know about matelotage until now.

Thanks for the ARC!

4.5 stars rounded up

I had a great time with this book! The homage to other maritime fiction was clear (I see you, half-Catalan protagonist serving under the English navy) but it was probably the most accessible-yet-reasonably-accurate novel on a ship I've ever read (yes, this is me side-eyeing the other reviews talking about how confusing it was. It wasn't confusing at all, the sailing terms are clear if you just pay attention to the context. And it would make no sense for the narrator, a life-long sailor, to be explaining them in the text. Anyway.) The sex was actually sexy. The romance focuses on the Everard/Vitya pairing within the throuple, and I would have liked to see a little more development of their separate relationships with D'Arcy happen on page, but that's really my only quibble.

Love, love, love! I genuinely did not expect to like this book so much. This is a new favorite and I'll definitely check out more books by the author. I devoured it in 2 days, and it only took that long because I was busier than usual. First 5 stars book in a very long time, I needed that, thank you so much for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

- MMM
- Polyamorous pirates
- Historical romance
- Insult my man and get beaten up and hog-tied
- Pirates of the Caribbean & Outlander vibes
- Eat the rich
- Explicit consent
- High stakes
- Marriage of convenience

This is the first historical romance book I have read that is written how they actually would be speaking back then. It was a little hard to get used to at first (I’m glad I read in my kindle and could easily search words), but the more I read the more I understood the way the writing worked. I usually read so fast so it was kind of nice to be forced to slow down and really try to get what they were saying. This writing style probably won’t be for everyone but I enjoyed how it was a switch from what I normally read.

I absolutely loved the romance in this book and I wasn’t expecting the plot to be as intriguing and exciting as it was. The plot kept me on my toes. I am someone who is really good at guessing what will happen next, but I found myself not knowing what to expect. I was constantly surprised and loved the direction where everything was going. The plot twists added a lot of depth to the story.

D’Arcy is cheeky and so swoon worthy. A son of an earl who gives up his captaincy and goes on the run and becomes a criminal just to be with the one (soon to be ones) he loves, andddd does it in style? Swoon. But it turns out there is more to his story than that…

Vitaliy (Vitya) is stoic and such a mystery. A pirate with many morals but also a reputation to uphold. He has his secrets too, but I never doubted his love and devotion.

Everard is like my baby haha, all I wanted for him was to be happy and get everything he wanted. Sometimes I wanted to shake some sense into him though lol. Everard becomes a traitor after 24 years in the Navy in order to save Vitya from hanging. It’s hard for him to adjust to pirate life and seems at war with his morals while trying to balance in feelings for his two men.

“You are my matelot. My partner in all things. If you do choose, and we are to cross the rail together, it will be back-to-back, protecting the other. I pledged that, too. I would make you aware that I will fulfill it to the death.”

*I received this ARC through NetGalley and this was my honest review.*

<i>I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley.</i>

What drew me to this book initially was the promise of a queer Pirates and Caribbean-esque historical romance. It's fair to say I had mid-level expectations -- just something fun to read during my holiday break. I was <b>not</b> prepared for the emotional turmoil this book caused me!

Everard Anderson de Anglada is a Royal Navy captain spending uneventful time patrolling the waters of the Great Lakes in post-war peacetime. But whatever boredom Everard might have faced is quickly dashed away when he's called to judge at a court-martial of a man accused of piracy, among other crimes, and the accused turns out to be an old flame. Joined by his previous lieutenant, Everard embarks on a daring journey that turns life as he knows it upside down.

What truly makes the book stand out is the writing. I'd be lying if I didn't say it took me some time to get used to the style, and there were plenty of moments where I felt pretty lost in the naval terminology, but once I relaxed and just let myself <i>read</i>, the writing felt like a dream. The characters were so emotionally rich and painfully real in their reactions. There was even one point in the book where I had to take a break because I was actually angry at one of the characters. How <i>dare</i> he!

This book deserves every one of the 5 stars and I would absolutely love to read more about D'Arcy's past. However, despite my 5 stars, I don't think this book is going to be for everyone.
This is who I think will truly love this book (and hopefully give a hint at who might want to give this one a miss):
* You enjoy historical romance that doesn't hold your hand through explanations of real events. If you don't recognize a name or event, that's all fine because Wikipedia is always ready and waiting.
* You love queer historical romance and don't require a formulaic HEA type romance plot.
* You at least occasionally find joy in literary fiction and/or character driven books with a lyrical writing style.
* You are okay with (excellent, beautifully written) spice. (I'd give it a level 4.)

This is a proper historical romance: history and romance in equal measures and I loved it. Let's start with the history, Caro puts you right on the middle of the action and it's on you to be on top of 19th century American history (the continent, no imperialist nonsense here). Some may find it confusing to follow, but for me the reduced exposition gave a realistic feeling to dialogue and thoughts that I adored. Now, the romance. Finding a decent poly romance is a feat, so I really treasured this. Everard, Vitaliy, and D'Arcy are fully fleshed out characters and the realationships amongst them are unique and equally valued. THAT printing press scene, girl, instant classic in my book. The final scene gave a new meaning to cliff hanger (and it's a standalone mind you). Want a copy in my shelves ASAP.

Heat Index: 8/10

—pirate marriage (of convenience)

—not one, but TWO ex-situationships

—struggling to express your feelings in the midst of anti-colonial seafaring

The Basics:

Upon seeing his former fling, anti-colonial pirate Vitaliy *who has a couple other identities) on the brink of being hanged, naval man. Everard perjures himself to save him. Of course, this does lead him into general piratical antics, dragging his rakish friend—with whom he used to do things that went far beyond friendly—D'Arcy into everything in the process. One pirate marriage of convenience to Vitaliy later, Everard finds himself in the midst of battles and espionage, with more than one conflict at hand. Staying with Vitaliy would mean abandoning the naval career he's dedicated his life to—and perhaps D'Arcy, who fully owns being in love with Everard as it is. Of course... some choices may not be choices at all.

The Review:

What a FUN, bold historical romance! First off—let me be so clear. While Everard very much thinks he's in the midst of a love triangle at one point, it's a bit more complex than that. By "a bit more complex" I mean this is a poly triad romance. And it's great.

Wait, you say. "Pirate marriage of convenience?" Yes! Pirates had a sort of... domestic partnership, marriage situation happening back in the day, in which one pirate basically committed to another pirate and gave him the rights of inheritance, etc. that a wife would traditionally have. And some historians would say that meant they were good buddies. Sure!

Here, it's very clear that Everard and Vitaliy are a lot more than good buddies. But what are they... exactly? Everard is very "I'm his matelot in name only, I swear", and Vitaliy is like "sure", which kind of sums up Everard's approach to relationships in general. He's our POV character (see, I like single POV books sometimes! They just have to be good!) and he is essentially clueless about relationships. He doesn't really know what to do with Vitaliy's calm, accepting approach to their relationship. He doesn't know what to do with D'Arcy's exasperated, straightforward ownership of simply being madly in love with Everard while not expecting him to actually own his feelings. Personally, I found this rather delightful, and it adds to the tension in the triad. Everard is very smart about seafaring, but when it comes to Feelings, he's DENSE, and it makes him all the more human.

This cluelessness adds a lot of humor to the book (there's a character introduced who is very obviously a lesbian at one point, and Everard spends like 80% of this novel trying not to be insanely jealous because he's so sure she slept with Vitaliy... babe...), but it's also the crux of his conflict with D'Arcy. While Vitaliy mystifies Everard—and it's so satisfying when he finally cracks and lets him in... in more ways than one—Everard frustrates D'Arcy. There's a rather funny, and also relatable scene in which they're on the brink of gettin' it in, and Everard says something dumb that makes D'Arcy go "WHAT IS EVEN THE POINT YOU STUPID DUMB IDIOT", and I really enjoy the drama.

While the romantic drama takes center stage, there's a lot of pirate stuff. This is a historical romance that's firmly rooted in the history of it all. E.M. Caro clearly did a lot of research, and I kind of loved being in a world that very much isn't ours. Never did I feel beaten over the head by the idea of Vitaliy being this Woke Pirate. His morality—shared by Everard and D'Arcy—feels both progressive and grounded in this niche moment in history. Look! You can do a pirate romance today without being absurdly problematic!

You get a good bit of action and adventure, and a lot of high stakes. I mean, Everard is missing fingers when this book begins. People get hurt. Near death incidents are had. Somehow, all this happens while everyone is trying to figure out their various relationship dynamics. I ended the book feeling so FOND of everyone. Like, awww, babes. I love y'all.

If I had to pick a favorite—and I doubt I'll be alone on this front—yeah... It's D'Arcy. The combination of being oh so slutty and oh so smitten really got me. He's hilarious, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and yet, perhaps, maybe, he's hiding a little something? He clashed perfectly with Everard's uptight nature, and watching him develop this camaraderie with Vitaly—and maybe more—over time was super satisfying. He's irresistibly bratty.

The Sex:

Oh, this is a HOT book. You get a good number of one-on-one encounters before we get to the triad stuff. The sexual dynamics between everyone feels very unique, and I really liked the acknowledgment that being a queer man doesn't mean you're down for *everything* one can do as a queer man. Everyone has their preferences, and everyone checks in with everyone. Consent was handled really well in this book, without feeling precious.

But damn. The scenes were well-written, still a little funny at points, and you got the difference between people who feel a little more like they're living on the edge (Vitaliy and Everard) and people with a deep familiarity with each other (D'Arcy and Everard), and maybe... a secret third thing? A secret third and fourth thing, depending on how you look at it?

And I gotta say... One of my favorite moments in the whole book is Everard seeing a very determined D'Arcy striding toward him right before a battle, literally going "Oh God" and having to explain to Vitaliy that he and D'Arcy have a tradition wherein Everard rails D'Arcy right before maritime skirmishes. DELIGHTFUL.

The Conclusion:

I would absolutely read another E.M. Caro book anytime, and this is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for in the historical romances of today. Very sexy. Very emotional. Nobody's perfect. The emotional and physical stakes are high. The payoff is great. Highly recommend!

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved it so much!! I was so thoroughly charmed and delighted!! It’s got swashbuckling on the high seas, it’s got second-chances, it’s got marriage-of-convenience, it’s got printing presses, it’s got passion and longing and discovery and betrayal and forgiveness and SO much loyalty and care-taking and love. It’s a beautiful poly MMM romance that’s so consent-focused and tender and HAWT.
It’s well-researched and political and descriptive and SO engaging I practically read it all in one sitting. I loved it.
Perfect for fans of “The Band Sinister” and “Our Flag Means Death”.

An absolute delight of a book, for fans of the Aubrey/Maturin series, Our Flag Means Death,, and all the sailors in between. A queer and irreverent adventure story that gleefully, rejects capitalism, and also manages to feature renegade printing press behavior. Spicy and delicious. The relationships in this book are complex and respectful, exactly what you wanna see from a polyamorous romance..

Thank you so much to E.M. Caro for being so kind to send me a physical copy!!

✨️I had so much fun with this one!! Queer, Poly Pirates!! Instead of two idiots in love, you get three!! Well one was a Navy Captain and another a Lieutenant about as much as Will Turner was a blacksmith 😉
Anyways, I think if our 3 Pirates would just talk to each other it would save them lots of problems but then there wouldn't be much of a book. I just loved them though. They are hot and sweet with idiosyncrasies and secrets. The spice is 🔥🔥🔥 and the consent is 🤌🤌🤌

We've also got a jail break, pirate marriage of convenience, nerding out over a printing press, and many other vibrant characters.

The world building, pirate lore and historical depth and richness is just so good. It's very clear a lot of research was done to bring this story to life.
For fans of K.J. Charles, Cat Sebastian, Venessa Vida Kelley and Our Flag Means Death!
Get ready for an adventure on the high seas aboard the Sévère!
Rears & Vices is out March 17th!✨️

Such a fun read! Gay pirates, cannons, daring escapes, anti-colonialist attitudes, a poly central relationship - what's not to like?

The amount of historical detail really (positively) surprised me - my knowledge of 19th century history of the Caribbean is shamefully not great, so I had to visit wikipedia more than once while reading, but I like that. I love when fiction makes me look stuff up and not just be here for a ride but also learn things along the way. The brief discussion of sugar, coffee and vanilla trade were also interesting to read - yes, every time one of those shows up in historical novels it is good to remember where they actually came from.

The characters are both memorable and fun, D'Arcy in particular (loved him much!). Vitaliy also came through very clearly - a passionate, determined idealist stuck in the role he was trying so hard to redefine. Everard was more of a challenge for me. I do like him, but I didn't always understand him. The book actually makes the reader work and read between the lines when it comes to characters' motivations. So while I found it easy to understand what seemed (we never know for sure as the book is a single POV, and it is Everard) to be driving Vee and D'Arcy, some of Everard's actions baffled me. Sometimes he made me roll my eyes so hard - how can you be so kind and considerate and clever, but also so stubborn and so clueless?

The poly relationship (rather V-shaped most of the book) was fun to read. Different dynamics, different attitudes made for interesting scenes.

One more thing that surprised me here was the way dialogues were written. The way everyone communicates it very realistic - half sentences, things implied but not voiced, fun word order (to reflect different people's native languages, I think - many of Vitaliy's sentences were so Russian-speaking-English that it made me love him even more). But it did take time to get used to this style and it also meant that sometimes I had to re-read dialogues to make sure I got what people were talking about.

So, overall, not perfect but definitely super enjoyable and highly recommended to anyone who likes adventurous historical poly romances.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for D'Arcy and his curls.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the writer for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

Let me be upfront: I went into this book expecting pirate smut and got something with significantly more historical depth than anticipated. That is not a complaint.

It's 1816, and Everard Anderson de Anglada is a Royal Navy officer adrift in every sense, sailing the peacetime Great Lakes on a ten-gun schooner, far from the glory he imagined. When his too-handsome ex-flame Preston D'Arcy tips him off about a court-martial, Everard ends up entangled with Vitaliy (Vitya) Gray, who turns out to be V. Varfolomey, infamous pirate fleet captain and anti-colonial weapons smuggler. Three crowns want him dead. Everard commits perjury to save him. Things escalate.

The three men at the center of this story are genuinely distinct. Everard is nervous, rule-following and guilt-ridden, a career soldier who is not violent but knows violence intimately. His third-person single POV gives us access to all his insecure, buttoned-up glory, and his arc is non-linear and hard-won, which makes it feel real. Vitya is unruffled, quietly smooth, charming and straightforward, with gift giving and acts of service as his love language (and he knits, which is adorable). D'Arcy is chaotic, gregarious and feels like a little bit of a third wheel, bless him... don't worry, they work this out in the end.

The concept of matelotage, a historical economic and protective partnership among sailors and buccaneers, is the beating heart of this book. "Matelot" is now my new favorite nickname. The egalitarian, international nature of Vitya's pirate world is genuinely compelling, and the book earns its historical setting rather than just using it as backdrop.

A few threads needed more space to really land, and there are some narrative jumps where additional context would help. Fair warning: have Google handy. I ended up down several rabbit holes and loved every one. Overall, this debut novel is fantastic and I look forward to more from this author.

If you like your historical romance with actual history, mismatched love languages, and men quietly figuring out what they want — this one's worth your time.