ARC Review: Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

Published February 9th 2016 by Simon Pulse

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Format: eARC

Source: Approved for eARC on Edelweiss

Rating: 4/5 stars

Blackbeard the pirate was known for striking fear in the hearts of the bravest of sailors. But once he was just a young man who dreamed of leaving his rigid life behind to chase adventure in faraway lands. Nothing could stop him—until he met the one girl who would change everything.

Edward “Teach” Drummond, son of one of Bristol’s richest merchants, has just returned from a year-long journey on the high seas to find his life in shambles. Betrothed to a girl he doesn’t love and sick of the high society he was born into, Teach dreams only of returning to the vast ocean he’d begun to call home. There’s just one problem: convincing his father to let him leave and never come back.

Following her parents’ deaths, Anne Barrett is left penniless and soon to be homeless. Though she’s barely worked a day in her life, Anne is forced to take a job as a maid in the home of Master Drummond. Lonely days stretch into weeks, and Anne longs for escape. How will she ever realize her dream of sailing to Curaçao—where her mother was born—when she’s stuck in England?

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, they set the world ablaze. Drawn to each other, they’re trapped by society and their own circumstances. Faced with an impossible choice, they must decide to chase their dreams and go, or follow their hearts and stay.

 

I was very intrigued by this book’s synopsis and cover, and the author had talked to me through Twitter and was super sweet, so when I was approved on Edelweiss for an eARC, I was so excited! I downloaded it to my kindle and began reading immediately.

the characters

Anne-It was really interesting to have a non-white main character who’s biracial living in England in the past. This book dealt with that, and the problems that it caused for her.

Teach- I loved the concept of Blackbeard before he was a pirate. And he’s very swoon-worthy.

the plot

Before you go into this book, know: it is NOT a pirate book. The author has called it a “pre-pirate book”, and that is entirely accurate. The book mostly revolves Teach and Anne’s romance, which means it is slower, but not non-enjoyable. It’s more of a historical fiction than a pirate book. And I really liked it.

the setting

England! A long time ago! I loved it.

the romance

The romance is as far from insta-love as it could be, which is really refreshing. Teach and Anne start off by meeting in an awkward situation, and hating each other, which sloooooowly turns into a romance.

the writing

The writing was captivating and beautiful, and it hooked me in as soon as I started reading.

what I didn’t like

THAT ENDING. I liked it, but I also didn’t like it. I need more! It can’t end like that! If a book ends like that, there needs to be a sequel, but no sequel (as of right now) is planned on being written.

I should have realized that it wasn’t going to be a pirate book. I read the synopsis, but must have just pushed it aside when I saw the cover and mention of Blackbeard. I expected swashbuckling-pirates-ships-fighting-etc, and that was not a part of this book, and I was waiting for something to happen until I passed the middle of the book. Then, I realized that it was more of a love story than a pirate book. Regardless, I still enjoyed it.

final thoughts

When this book comes out, I recommend that you go and buy yourself a copy! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. This book was very enjoyable, and I’m desperately hoping that Nicole will write a sequel.

Are you looking forward to Blackhearts? If you’ve read it, what did you think of it? If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to preorder it and support Nicole!

Thanks for reading!

Ava