Sea of Ruin

This is not a romance, it\’s beyond a dark romance. This is seemingly a story about a young woman who lived through so much trauma and loneliness that she\’s willing to accept infidelity and being the third wheel in a relationship to feel anything that resembles love. The author tries to present the heroine, Bennett as a strong, independent woman but in reality, she\’s an insecure, damaged woman who\’s willing to forgive her cheating husband, even blaming herself for not forgiving him and then realizes she\’s ok with being the side-piece witness to another epic love story. Bennett finds a letter written by her husband\’s lover, in the letter the lover tells Priest, her husband, that they can\’t see each other anymore and that they need to break things off. It devastates her husband, he\’s losing the love of his life but hey, at least he still has his wife, Bennett! I mean why have principles when she can be the consolation prize? Then she ends up in a British warship where she gets sexually assaulted, tortured, and beat by the second love interest, Lord Ashley Cutler treats her shitty which leads to her falling in love with him, obviously (maybe this author hates women?). After she gets repeatedly raped and beaten, she\’s rescued by both men and surprise! Ashley and Priest are madly in love (Lord Ashley is the lover that broke Priest\’s heart). Basically Ashley and Priest have had a years-long affair, and Bennett realizes that Priest and Ashely stare at each other in a way neither of them looks at her, she correctly guesses she\’d be the third wheel and eventually decides she\’s A-ok with this. So to recap, Bennett finds out her husband cheated with the love of his life, then she accepts them as a couple with her as the third wheel so in reality this book about Lord Ashely\’s and Priests\’ epic love story. I\’m all for authors writing whatever they want to write but don\’t sell it as a romance when this a story about two men using an insecure woman to accept their own relationship.

Spoilers and trigger warnings: Besides finding out about Bennett and her husband\’s fidelity this plot was highly predictable. I knew the parents would die instantly opening the way for Bennett to do her own thing. But didn\’t understand the mother at all. She was going to marry her daughter off to some disgusting sicko, then all the sudden she is a hero, wait a minute she kills herself and leaves her daughter alone. A lot of wrong doing people were prized in this story. (No kidding pirates, yeah I know) I did like to see Bennett\’s strength in how she commanded a ship. Standing toe to toe with her crew and using that defiant sailor talk. I wouldn\’t think it easy for a woman to stand her ground but she did. But her morals are highly misguided. Ash and Priest. I wouldn\’t have picked either one. This story needed a third wheel to swoop in and save this poor girl. Bennett\’s husband cheats on her he is out. Ash does nonconsensual stuff to her……..he should be dead. Cue the half brother who doesn\’t get but a couple chapters….and does nothing wrong. There was way to much Stockholm syndrome going on with Ashley Culter. He literally watches her get raped, raped her then the author wants you to feel sorry for him no that\’s not happening. I don\’t care how much you dumb down the dialogue when a woman says \”No\” and then \”Stop\” anything after that is not consensual. I was shocked to find that this merely was a passing thought in her head before she threw it out the window. Bennett even goes on to believe she is beneath Ashley because he is a Naval officer I guess and proceeds to call her \”whore\” while he is crudely rubbing on her. I\’m going to try and stop there because I cannot get past this fact. At the beginning Bennett is a strong character and she does get through a lot of trauma without breaking which I admire. But no matter what your station in life you are not beneath a man. And to me there is no excuse for forcing yourself on someone. I don\’t care if your hot with a traumatic past. And I\’m really trying to be nice here but omg Bennett your killing me. Her husband Priest cheats on her. But still there are EXCUSES. No no no. That\’s not how life works.

2.50 Stars So… This was different… In an engaging but odd and weird, never have read something like this ever before, type of way. I won\’t put spoilers, but you can count on this being the most unique love triangle you will ever read. What I really liked about it, which I always like about Pam Godwin\’s books, is her writing. I can totally hate something but still want to read it simply because of how amazing Pam\’s writing is. In this book specifically, she did a great job in engaging the pirate-y and historical feel, where it almost seems more realistic. Some authors can definitely go a little overboard on pirate books. The setting is probably my favorite part of this book though, she did such a great job in describing all the little details, and I think the cover depicts exactly that. Also, you can\’t talk about a Pam Godwin book without talking about her sex scenes, which although this book was a bit more tame, they were still hawt. The story itself is pretty good, and though I love historical and Pam\’s books, and will still continue to read them, I didn\’t necessarily love, or like, this book. It was enjoyable yes, but I don\’t think this book was really for me. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and the romances, but the overall story was actually pretty interesting to read. Now with all that said, there are triggers in this book, and though I\’m glad to have read it, if this book was by any other author, I probably wouldn\’t have read this because of some of the tropes and one of the triggers. The ending was also a bit too much for me. It did feel a little convenient for how the romance turned out, and I didn\’t really like the heroine\’s reaction to it. It definitely felt like a cop out for the romances and the readers rooting for both heros. Overall, this was an okay book, and though it wasn\’t my favorite by this author, I\’m still glad to have tried it out, and I can\’t wait for more of her books. Will I ever recommend it? Mmmmaybe?… I think this book solely depends on your taste.

DON\’T READ UNLESS YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! I really did enjoy reading this book UNTIL the secret came out about Priest and Ashley. I loved Priest, his whole character is the perfect fantasy and it was completely ruined when it turned out he was Ashley\’s lover. WHY DID THE AUTHOR RUIN A GREAT READ! I felt so cheated on and quite annoyed. If you don\’t mind reading gay porn then you\’ll enjoy this book but thats not my taste. Stopped reading as couldn\’t look past that. Don\’t make the reader fall for the main guy for the heroine to end up sharing him…with a dude. Besides that monumental disappointment it was an interesting read and enjoyed the details the author uses to describe the scenes. Loved the pirate story line.

This book deserves a million stars. I have never before read a historical romance, and I was hesitant. The minute I started and saw the dated wording, I messaged the girls who recommended it and said \”I don\’t think I can read this\”. They told me to persevere and bloody heck, I\’m glad I did. What a wild ride. I cried so much, and I felt so much love…I\’m feeling very emotionally exhausted now! Historical romance is tough to write but this author did a heck of a lot of research and it really shows! I\’m in awe! Speaking about the characters for a moment, I couldn\’t have asked for a better female MC. Bennett is truly incredible, a brave and courageous captain who literally withstands the most challenging situations. She never breaks, merely cracks, so she says. Priest and Ashley are perfect in every way, though I spent a lot of the book not really connecting with Priest because I was so annoyed but then….I welcomed him with open arms. Not all is as it seems! Brutality at its finest, a huuuge amount of steam and an INCREDIBLE plot…this book is honestly one that I will forever remember. I am blown away and could not have wished for anything more….except maybe a few more details on the P & A front…you know what I mean ladies

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member