Cutlass

***

3 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for giving me this book to review.

Pirate Barren Reed has had only one thing on his mind for the last 5 years, to get revenge on his brother, William, who murdered their father. He decided that the way to force a fight with William is to kidnap his fiancé, Larkin Lee, however, Larkin is more trouble for him and his crew than they were expecting. However, Barren discovers that there is more going on than his revenge, and Larkin and him are tasked with finding the powerful gem, the bloodstone before his brother does.

Cutlass is a likeable swashbuckling pirate fantasy story, with action, romance and politics. It has an interesting if predictable story but I was not hooked into the story and did not keep my interest.

Barren is rash and cocky, and is determined and obsessed to get his revenge and not good at listening to advice, but he is very loyal to his crew. Larkin is tenacious and can hold her own but I found it very hard to connect with her. The character I most liked was Leaf, the Elven prince as he seemed to be the voice of reason.

Some people seem to love this book and I can understand why but it did not capture my interest enough. I would recommend Cutlass to fans of YA pirate books.