Title: Clockwork Pirate
Series: N/A
Author: Lyn Gala
Genre: Dystopian / Steampunk
Length: Novel (278 pages)
Publisher: Loose Id (February 2nd 2015)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Blurb: Alex hid his unnatural attraction to men for many years. That changes when the pirate Beche takes Alex after capturing his ship. At first Alex believes his fate is death and the only question a matter of how he might die. However, the longer he is on the ship, the more he realizes that Beche hates the world because it is unfair in ways Alex never understood. As Alex begins to respect this strong, independent man, Alex’s dormant desires begin to reassert themselves.
Beche hates the titled classes and their government enforcers. They might have outlawed slavery on paper, but they never came to the islands to free him or his family. Since his skin is black, society has little respect for him. Beche expects no more of this latest captive, but soon Beche begins to realize that Alex is a naïve and beautiful man who values family and struggles with his own place in society.
That poses an even larger problem because Beche does not want to send Alex back to a world that will mistreat him, but he has no place for a lord on a ship full of pirates.
ISBN: 978-1-62300-822-2
Product Link: http://www.loose-id.com/clockwork-pirate.html
Reviewer: Tams
Review: Young Alex is a lord by default after his father and older brother have both passed. He takes his honor and duties to his family very seriously regardless, his priority being the care and safety of his two sisters. When their cargo keeps getting stolen by Pirates, Alex decides to sail with the next shipment to ensure it arrives at port safely. But a traitor amongst his men has betrayed him.
Beche is a ruthless Pirate captain that governs his men with an iron fist and strict code of conduct. He cannot stand the rich and powerful government or the way society still treats men of color, men like him. Beche boards a ship full of tobacco thinking it will be an easy steal, but what he finds is a brash, resilient young Lordling that is as beautiful as he is stubborn and defiant.
Beche takes Alex under his wing, partly for protection from his own men that would just as soon kill the lord as look at him, and partly because he is infatuated and confused by the man. An odd friendship of sorts begins to slowly build between the two strangers.
Alex has been told his attraction to the same-sex is wrong. It is evil, even sent off to a doctor that supposedly cured him of his wicked thoughts. Beche has no time or patience for young, spoiled lords. But he is not only drawn to Alex’s innocence and beauty, he admires the man’s strength of character and his refusal to be tamed.
When Beche is captured during a raid gone badly, Alex has the chance to finally escape the pirate and the ship, to go home with his sisters where he belongs. The problem is, he doesn’t feel like he belongs there anymore, and he refuses to leave Beche to be hanged. Can Alex and Beche’s crew of madcap misfits pull off a jail break? Or will Alex get himself killed trying to rescue his captor?
This is definitely a dialogue driven story with a Pirate, Steampunk era backdrop. For those of you that aren’t familiar, Steampunk is the love child of the Victorian and Dystopian styles of writing. I loved the little inventions that Alex’s sisters created throughout the story. How those two women, who were expected to stay home and mind the mansion, could run circles around the men that surrounded them. Alex’s pet spider was quite possibly my favorite. And then the way the little thing had a limp when repaired, like a pirate, it just fit perfectly into the story.
The writing was articulate, descriptive and well versed. The characters were three-dimensional, perfectly flawed and gave each other a sort of balance. While Alex was violated as a youth because of his attraction to men, by a learned doctor no less, he still carries those feelings inside. He and Beche are like day and night, polar opposites both physically and emotionally. But from the start they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. And I absolutely loved how the author wrote that aspect of the story describing the longing of a person’s soul not always matching the wrapping.
There were a couple of times where the dialogue dragged on too much for my liking and it weighed down the story a little. And then the author’s absolute refusal to use the words cock or dick when describing the male parts, it was maddening. This was very much an adult story, but the way the sexual encounters were versed, it read like a YA book. That being said, I still really liked this book. The author’s ability to weave the multiple events, characters and stories into one storyline was both engrossing and intriguing.
Definitely recommend this one to anyone that likes the genre.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *