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jackiehorne's review
4.0
See full review at ROMANCE NOVELS FOR FEMINISTS:
http://romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-politics-of-mm-romance-and-alex.html
http://romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-politics-of-mm-romance-and-alex.html
lezreadalot's review
4.0
My heart beat twice in silence, the world falling away from our tangled glances, the two of us alone in the pupil of God’s eye.
3.5 stars. Really lovely! A romance between a ship's captain and his lieutenant that blossoms during a long sea journey to Australia in the Age of Sail. They have to contend with their feelings, the risk of societal scorn and disgrace, a mutiny, and being shipwrecked. This was pretty short, and there was a love-at-first-sight aspect that I actually liked, because it took a while for them to act on it. And the language was so beautiful and romantic, and the concept was so good (both of them taking turns writing in a journal years after the fact) that I couldn't help but enjoy it, short though it was. It felt like it was exactly the length it needed to be. Kudos.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
semi-explicit descriptions of illness (typhus), murder and some gorepapercranestitches's review
4.0
*** 4.5 Stars ***
This may just be a case of right time, right mood, right book, but I found myself swept up in this one, heartstrings tugged by the realities of the era and caught by the romance of the sea.
This may just be a case of right time, right mood, right book, but I found myself swept up in this one, heartstrings tugged by the realities of the era and caught by the romance of the sea.
crtsjffrsn's review
4.0
I found this surprisingly refreshing and enjoyable. The author has chosen to tell the story in a unique way: first-person journal entries alternating between the two main characters. Both characters have a distinct voice - something I picked up on right away - and it makes it very easy to connect with them, get a feeling for their personalities, and understand the world in which they're living. If you're looking for something steamy and explicit, this isn't it. But if you're looking for a nice historical adventure romance on the high seas, this should be right up your alley.
kayreereads's review
3.0
Could be better
I really enjoyed the story! I do wish that it would have been told another way, though, because I feel with the diary direction that you don't really get enough to build with the characters and feel their losses as you should. It was well written but lacking.
I really enjoyed the story! I do wish that it would have been told another way, though, because I feel with the diary direction that you don't really get enough to build with the characters and feel their losses as you should. It was well written but lacking.
ezichinny's review
3.0
I'm a sucker for historical romances. Though this novella was just barely over 100 pages, it was still sweet.
Review to come
Review to come
suze_1624's review
4.0
An historical that really felt of the time and place, black mould, maggoty bread et al.
Told as a record of events it is always looking back on how Harry and Garnet came to be living in Rio.
And dear me, I really felt all the horrors of sailing in the navy at that time. There was no glamour for anyone.
How they survived is a miracle - storms, attack, illness, arrest.
I so wanted to know what happens after the end, I guess more monetary arguments over the years!
Told as a record of events it is always looking back on how Harry and Garnet came to be living in Rio.
And dear me, I really felt all the horrors of sailing in the navy at that time. There was no glamour for anyone.
How they survived is a miracle - storms, attack, illness, arrest.
I so wanted to know what happens after the end, I guess more monetary arguments over the years!
kaje_harper's review
5.0
This is a story I loved. I wished it had another hundred pages. It's beautifully written, feels true to the period and yet gives us two gay men with a happy ending. There is adventure, heartbreak, love and fear. The basic framework is in journal form, but we get to hear from both main characters, and the entries are long so it reads as an alternating first person account, mainly from Harry's point of view.
Captain Harry Thompson is a man who has been aware of, and suppressed, his desire for other men for a long time. Born to the lower class, he's worked his way up in the Royal Navy with hard labor, study, and self-sacrifice. His whole self-worth is bound up in his rank, his responsibilities and his command. When he first sees his new First Lieutenant, Garnet Littleton, he's struck by the amount of attraction he feels. But Harry has never, ever, let his own desires get in the way of his responsibilities.
Garnet is different, a man from a more privileged background who didn't have to fight so hard to reach his rank. He's willing to fit pleasure in around duty, and he's also a bit of an adrenaline junkie. The fact that being with a man is risking the gallows adds spice for Garnet, not fear or self-loathing. He's just as taken with Harry, and much more eager to make something of it. But his Captain isn't taking him up on any offers, until fate lends a hand.
This was a time when sodomy, if caught and convicted, led to the death penalty. Harry begins his portion of the story by saying, "Those of us uncaught must perforce be silent. But one day, perhaps, when the world has grown kinder, this journal will be read by less jaundiced eyes. To them I will be able to say there was fidelity here, and love, and long-suffering sacrifice, and joy." The fear overshadows joy through much of the story, and yet it makes the moments of love more poignant and deeper.
I savored every bit of this story, and look forward to the next one I open from this author. One of the best things ever is finding a new author you love, with a backlist you haven't read.
Captain Harry Thompson is a man who has been aware of, and suppressed, his desire for other men for a long time. Born to the lower class, he's worked his way up in the Royal Navy with hard labor, study, and self-sacrifice. His whole self-worth is bound up in his rank, his responsibilities and his command. When he first sees his new First Lieutenant, Garnet Littleton, he's struck by the amount of attraction he feels. But Harry has never, ever, let his own desires get in the way of his responsibilities.
Garnet is different, a man from a more privileged background who didn't have to fight so hard to reach his rank. He's willing to fit pleasure in around duty, and he's also a bit of an adrenaline junkie. The fact that being with a man is risking the gallows adds spice for Garnet, not fear or self-loathing. He's just as taken with Harry, and much more eager to make something of it. But his Captain isn't taking him up on any offers, until fate lends a hand.
This was a time when sodomy, if caught and convicted, led to the death penalty. Harry begins his portion of the story by saying, "Those of us uncaught must perforce be silent. But one day, perhaps, when the world has grown kinder, this journal will be read by less jaundiced eyes. To them I will be able to say there was fidelity here, and love, and long-suffering sacrifice, and joy." The fear overshadows joy through much of the story, and yet it makes the moments of love more poignant and deeper.
I savored every bit of this story, and look forward to the next one I open from this author. One of the best things ever is finding a new author you love, with a backlist you haven't read.