The Blood Reaver: A Pirates of Britannia World Novel

Both Rose’s father and older brother have passed away, leaving her, her mother, and her younger brother to find their own way to Charles Town from Port Royal. Running out of options, fate smiles on them when Rose’s trunk is stolen. In her effort to retrieve her property, she stumbles across Captain Reyson. Knowing she must act quickly, she chooses to strike a bargain with Reyson to ensure safe passage for her family. She doesn’t know what his true occupation is or the genuine thoughts he has regarding his pure passenger. As Rose struggles with family obligations and propriety, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to Captain Reyson and the hint of unknown danger encasing him.
“Blood Reaver” carries its strength in the research done on lore regarding the reason these men are on the high seas, the loyalty of the crew, and the infamous pirate’s code. Unfortunately, the rest of the story struggles to hold its head above water. The motivating factor behind everything is to get Rose into Reyson’s bed, and what is supposed to be the climax ends up feeling contrived, flat, and forgettable. The characters lack depth and growth, going so far as to make the heroine’s hinted-at courage from the beginning entirely vanish. Rose’s behavior seems unrealistic when she completely drops her ideals and allows herself to be taken by Reyson in an era when sexual purity was held above most else. And the minute after giving birth, she talks to him about having sex again. However, the reader can commiserate with the idea presented of wanting something different than the everyday doldrums.
Yannie Sorensen