Review: Difficult for me to review and rate.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 4, 2014
Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review**3.5 stars**This is most certainly not a Heather-book.From reading the synopsis, I was instantly intrigued. I mean, gay pirates!? So much fun! I immediately thought of Exit Strategy, if anyone has read that, and, in truth, there are a lot of similarities. I was anticipating a fun read and was ready to go with my eye patch and bandana. However, this book ended up being a lot tougher than I had anticipated for me.One of my main issues is that this book moves dangerously close to one of my hard limits. I'll say no more because spoiling anything about this book takes away all of the excitement of it. But, being vague, if I had known more about certain aspects of the plot I don't think I would have picked this one up to begin with.I also had a lot of trouble with the killings. Baltsaros is an unrepentant, sociopathic kind of killer and it rubbed me the wrong way. I strongly disliked his character for the majority of the story, only warming to him marginally by the end. I think fans of Quentin Tarantino's movies might like this one. A lot of the book made me really uncomfortable because of Baltsaros creepy enjoyment of killing. I also wasn't quite sure how the killing factored into the overall story arc. I kept asking myself, "What does Baltsaros get out of it?"I don't know how I feel about Jon. I found him to be a difficult character to relate too and I wasn't particularly rooting for him. My favorite character, by far, was Tom, who I immediately warmed too. I love a misunderstood, damaged man and I couldn't wait to get to know him better.Now, some content warnings for you M/M readers who don't like lady parts in your books. There are lady parts in this book, though it is a minor part of the plot. Also, this is what most would consider a M/M/M book, so be aware of that. In addition, though many would classify this book under BDSM, it is not a main focus so don't read this hoping for a BDSM-awakening type of story.I think what impressed me most about the story was the writing. Congratulations, Bey Deckard, on a most imaginative and well conceived debut story. This book really doesn't read like a work of a first time author, and I admire all the polish and care put into the story. The plot moved along at a nice pace, and the characters were all multi-layered and interesting. I got to know each of the men and women, for better or for worse, and felt like they were fully fleshed out, fully realized. My one complaint about the writing was the flashbacks, which I felt were somewhat awkwardly inserted at times.Did I enjoy this story? Sort of, yes. However, between the moral ambiguity (that is putting is VERY nicely) and the gory plot, I think this book is better left to more daring audiences. I'll be passing on the rest of the series.