Review #580
Of Magic and Rum by Carly Spade snatched my attention from the title. I think this is the first book I’ve read by this author.
It has two points of view going back and forth between Anne/Rhode and Jack. She’s a sea nymph keeping secrets who boards Captain Jack’s ship and hides among the crew. I love pirate adventures but this one fell a little flat for me so I rated it a 3.9/5 stars.
Here are my thoughts while reading
At the halfway point, I wish there were less sentences starting with an -ing word. It’s a bit excessive. There are also a de emote proofreading mistakes I’ve noticed compared to other novels.
They don’t have many emotions shown. Like the first time they did it felt a bit flat honestly.
But I’m loving the sea/pirate vibe.
So far there haven’t been too many obstacles blocking them from their goal, just a lot of scene (ship) description, dialogue, movement based action sequences & getting to know some of the crew with their interactions. I hope soon there is more pressure on achieving their goal, a time crunch & stakes raised.
Nokk was a surprising twist. I like that they’re reciprocal of saving each other. But so far I still don’t have much evidence of WHY they like each other. Idk. Maybe I’m in an overly critical mood today.
Someone died and I don’t feel any of the gut reaction. Honestly I can’t put my finger on why…
The ending felt abrupt and a little anticlimatic. Again, it didn’t feel like there was really anything “wrong” with the book it just didn’t pack a punch for me. Maybe I’m in a mood…