*Feature Friday ARC Review is a meme hosted by The Tattered Page to review books not yet released.
*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.
Pages: 466
Genre: Adult Fantasy Romance
Source: E-ARC
THE STORY:
A standalone adult dark fantasy pirate romance re-telling of The Little Mermaid from the New York Times Bestselling Author of River of Shadows and Blood Orange.
Princess Maren is a woman with a secret.
Ten years ago, she sold her soul to the sea witch Edonia, giving up a life underwater in exchange for the love of Prince Aerik on land. But after a decade of abuse and misery inflicted by the cruel prince, Maren wants nothing more than to leave him and her royal role behind and find Edonia to reverse the spell.
An opportunity for escape presents itself when the prince and princess are traveling overseas and are taken hostage by a band of notorious pirates, led by the fearsome Captain Ramsay "Bones" Battista. Maren has heard the sordid stories about the infamous pirate--not only is his ship supposedly haunted and crewed by the damned, but that no prisoners ever survive.
Fortunately for Maren, she learns that the captain also has a score to settle with the sea witch. With any luck, Maren may be able to get her old life back, even if it's being held in the captain's wicked hands.
But Ramsay gets more than he bargained for when he learns who--and what --Maren is, and that her appetite for revenge, freedom, and bloodlust rivals his.
Meanwhile, Maren finds herself falling for the pirate's dark nature, even as she discovers that Ramsay has a secret more deadly than her own.
When it comes to the high seas, not all monsters lurk beneath the surface.
SPICE RATING: πΆπΆπΆ/5 chilies
ONE-WORD REVIEW: CAPTIVATING
OPENING LINE: There was no moon the day I decided to sell my soul.
REVIEW:
Huge thank you to Karina Halle and her PR team for an ARC of A SHIP OF BONES AND TEETH!
A SHIP OF BONES AND TEETH was a darkish, gothic, and spicy twist on a beloved childhood fairy tale, and it did not disappoint. The world-building was sweeping and gothic and sucked me in. When I found out Karina was doing a Pirates of The Caribbean and the Little Mermaid mesh-up, I could not have been more excited. When I heard Halle was doing a dark, spicy retelling of The Little Mermaid, I knew I had to read it! And I was totally right! As always, she did not let me down! Just like I could not put this damn book down—I was traveling when I read it for 7 hours straight. Best. Flight. Ever. The story was enchanting and thrilling and dark and didn’t let up. The pacing was perfect, and the balance between action and tension and mystery and spooky vibes and romance was sublime. The characters jumped off the page and stole my heart, the whole morally grey lot of them.
π΄ππ’ππ πΆ π»ππππ πΎπ ππ ππππ, π»ππ ππ½πΎπΈπ½ ππ½πππ πΎπ ππ πΈπππ.
Captain fucking Ramsey “Bones” Battista . . . what a hot slab of man beef π₯΅. My God, what I would do to take a bite *IYKYK π* out of him. He was a possessive and mysterious hunk with a panty-melting mouth.
πΏπΎππ πππ'ππ ππ½π ππππ πΆππΉ πΌ'π ππ½π ππΎπΉππ, πΆππΉ πππππ ππ½ππππ½π, πππππ ππππΉ, πππππ ππΆππ πΎπ πΉππΆππ ππ πππ, ππΆπππ.
Maren was the little mermaid in the story, but way less docile—in fact, she was a bloodthirsty badass. But she had to find her way back to herself after decade-long, abusive marriage to the cruel and violent Prince Aerik who she gave up her life as a Syren for. Her character journey was so fun to read as she went from a lost girl to a forceful, empowered, ruthless woman.
Marne and Bones’ chemistry was off the charts from the first encounter. The banter? Loved it. The sexual tension? Delicious.
π΄ππ'ππ ππππ ππ½πΆπ ππ½π πΆπππππ ππ ππ π
ππΆππππ. π΄ππ'ππ ππ½π πΆπππππ ππ ππ½π π
ππΆππππ πΎ πππππ ππππ πΌ π½πΆπΉ. π΄ππ'ππ πΆπ πππΈπ½πΆππππππ, πΆ ππππΆππππ, πΆ π
πππππ»ππ πΈππππ πΎπ πΎππ πππ ππΎππ½π πΆππΉ πΌ ππΆπ πππ π½πππΉπππΉ π
πππΈπππ πππΉππ ππππ ππ
πππ.
One qualm about the smut though: Ramsay was dirty, nasty kinky, and I would have loved to really see that on page. We were only given hints of his darker, kinkier nature, and I was dying to read more.
ππ ππ
πΎπ ππΆππΉπ ππ π½πΎπ π»ππππ½ππΆπΉ, πΆ πππΎπππ ππ» π»πΎππ½ π·πππ πΎπ πΎπ. π»π ππππππ πΆππΉ πππΆπΈπ½ππ ππ
ππΎππ½ π½πΎπ πππ½ππ π½πΆππΉ, ππΎπ
πΎππ πΎπ πΆππΆπ. "ππ πΎπ πΆππΆπΎπ," π½π ππ½πΎππ
πππ, πππ πΉπΆππΈπΎππ πΉπΆππππ. "π―π½πΎπ ππΎππ πΎπ ππ πππππ½, π
πππΆππ." π»π ππ
πππ π½πΎπ πππππ½, ππ½πππΎππ πππ½πΎπ ππππππ, ππΆπππΎππ πΎπ.
See what I mean? I. Am. Sweating. Over. Here.
All in all, I really enjoyed A SHIP OF BONES AND TEETH and could not put it down. This is a must-read!
π―πππ
ππ & π¦πΎπππ
✨Captor/Captive
✨Forced proximity
✨Enemies to lovers
✨Morally grey characters
✨Villain gets the girl
✨Monster heroine
✨Found family
✨High-stakes adventure
✨Hidden identities
✨Dirty talk
✨Sp@nking
✨Bond@ge
✨Br@nding
✨R3v3ng3
πΈπππππππ
✨Kinky f#ckery
✨Spooky vibes
✨Gothic fantasy
✨Magic
✨ Sea witches, mermaids, pirates, & more
π―ππΎππππ π²πΆπππΎπππ
✨Abus3
✨Murd3r
✨Grief and loss
✨Viol3nc3 and gor3
✨Explicit s3xual scenes
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books. Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.
Connect with Karina
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Website: http://authorkarinahalle.com
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