Why I picked up this book:

When I saw Ms. Stephanie put out the call for ARC reviews on her debut, I jumped at the chance to get a first read. When I went to find any blurbs about the story, so I’d know what adventure I was about to embark on, I got super excited. Pirate stories seem to be huge right now, but all I can say is I’m so very happy I got my hands on this one.

This review may contain spoilers.

Unanchored
	Cecily Hastings fails to escape her captor when he gambles her away in a game of dice. Now, instead of getting her first taste of freedom, she’s rotting in a cell on the Hellbound, a pirate ship under the command of Captain Finnigan Worley. Cecily, however, has no plans of sticking around with a captain known for his heartless deeds. As soon as they make port, Cecily attempts to alert the Royal Navy. While trying to get away, she stumbles upon Captain Worley liberating people from a life of abuse and servitude, which makes her question everything she thought she knew about the infamous buccaneer.
Soon she’s recaptured and taken back to the ship, and Cecily vows to figure out the captain’s humanitarian angle. The more she learns, the more she believes in his benevolent mission. With the Royal Navy closing in, she must decide if she’s willing to fight beside Captain Worley or turn him over to the gallows for a chance at her own freedom.

     

What I loved:

The story as a whole is fantastic. What really jumped off the page right away is the voice of this tale and how easy it was to immerse completely into Cecily’s story. While the heroine wasn’t any sort of a special snowflake, she was real and had a simple complexity that made her stand out as unique among a horde of brutish men.

I adored Captain Whorley’s character. Probably because I have an unnatural love of roguish protectors. His character was fun and spirited, wrapped inside a darker, enigmatic persona trying to keep himself and the people he cared about alive.

Areas needing a touch of refinement:

Trying to keep away from spoiling too much, the end didn’t really feel like the ending. There’s still something left to accomplish, and yet the small band of heroes go in the other direction. It sort of left me scratching my head as to why they wouldn’t navigate toward danger one more time.

During the second dinner the pacing was a bit off. The scene seemed stilted, so I wasn’t really sure what was happening. Fighting foreplay? It was the only scene that didn’t feel fully fleshed out though, and not enough to deter me.

The deity talk felt out of place in this story. I know it was part of the time period, and there was very little said, but the few lines it came up felt out of left field. Purely subjective, but I’d have been happier without it.

Overall:

This was a super fun adventure story, and I do hope the author will take us back into the next chapter of this tale in the future. The story was fun, the characters were engaging, and there’s still parts of the tale we didn’t get to explore. Hint hint… I can’t wait for the next installment!

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