People, I don't know if you know how long I've been on the hunt for a true pirate romance. What does that mean? It means...
-Action oriented plot moving the story along
*From the jump, when Samantha-AKA Sam Steele-is teasing Luke with freedom outside his prison cell, to the fake death turned robbery where Sam becomes a damsel in distress to manipulate the incoming other pirates, to the two big bads who were motivation for Sam's rightful revenge. It was a time.
-Not a ton in sight
*We're not in the realm of ballrooms and hushed garden meetings; we're in close quarters of ship where food is rationed and the air is thick with that unhealthy sea salt, and kisses are hard smacks given before a raid. It's such visceral writing, you can practically feel the grittiness on you skin
-Chemistry with banter
*With pirate romances, I need at least one of them to be flirty/fun loving, while the other is of sounder mind. Love how from the jump, Luke's like "you know you'll beg for me soon, right?", and Sam's like "yeah, I'm begging you to leave right now". The best repartee:
L: "It must've slipped my mind".
S: "I imagine it's not hard, what with the nothing in your head to hold onto" 🤣.
-Pirate attire acquired
*Luke dons an eye patch and gold sash 'round his waist whose ties hit his thigh just so. *chef's kiss*
*During the last battle, Sam dons pants herself. And she's a captain whose very presence demands respect.
-The scene where Luke literally puts her to bed, snuggles her to sleep, and is 'bout ready to off whoever dares wake her up.
-The smut.
*'nuff said.
-Sam's moral dilemma
*She worries she's just as bad as the pirates who pillaged her ship and by proxy, so is Luke.
*She also personally struggles with what to do once her revenge is over.
-Sam gets to kill Oliver herself.
*So satisfying. Fuck that guy. And Dervish too.
-The whole idea behind "who really is Sam Steele?"
*Turns out, everyone on board gets a turn to be "seen" as Steele, thus making their ID remain a mystery since it's a different person every time.
-Luke's proposal
*He's refuses to make his children go through what he did (being labeled a bastard) and offers the idea of building ships alongside Sam. Win win!
My cons were the big bad chapters, they were just kinda repetitive. There's a fade to black love scene (it just feels weird/lazy in an adult romance book), and I'd have liked a time jump epilogue seeing Sam and Luke thriving in beachy village, their ship business booming and maybe one and a half babies running around. But as someone who forever mourns the potential of Cutthroat Island (1995), this was a swashbuckling good time 🏴☠️🦜.