Boy and girl grow up together and naturally fall in love. As for the love story, I'm just thankful it wasn't a major component. The worst of Rees' crimes of inconsistency, though, was the juxtaposition of some pretty grisly scenes, all things considered, with the rosy view of pirate life, where all men are decent except when riled up by a few bad apples and their apparently magically demonic musical instruments. If the historical inconsistencies left me disappointed, the strangely anti-climactic resolutions to all the dramatic moments just left me scratching my head. And don't even get me started on the pacing. I don't care how accurately you can describe various ships if you don't also think that the impressive suntan one would get from working in the sun everyday in the Caribbean for months will be a problem once a lady tries to dress up pretty and mingle with society.

I know that this is supposed to be a fun little book, and I think the audience might be aimed at younger ages, but in the end, it felt inconsistent on so many levels that I was just left feeling confused and/or disappointed, depending upon the chapter.įor one, Rees seems to have done a good amount of research for this book, yet I felt that she wasted it every time she turned a blind eye to conventions of the day.

Now that I'm kind of finished gushing (for now) I urge you to get out and grab a copy of this book and get stuck in. It would make an amazing film or mini-series. It's a book I can see clear as day when I close my eyes. I love the journey that Nancy takes, both physically and as a person. This book is wonderfully written, in a quirky style. It's a safety blanket make of pure escapism. It's one of those books that I itch to read at least once a year and turn to when life's just getting too much. It's dramatic and thought-provoking.Įvery time I read this book, I get more out of it than before. It's a book that sets my heart racing, it's a book that has such a vivid world that I am lost to real life when I read it. It has so many twists and turns and shocks and some really sweet and poignant moments. It's particularly hard when I have read that book so many times over the past decade that the pages are falling out and the cover's peeling off, because by now my love for the book has no reason, it just is. I always find it so difficult to review my favourite books.

Pirates! by Celia Rees