Hook's Pan by Marie Hall

Title: Hook's Pan (Kingdom #5)
Editor: Marie Hall
Format: egalley edition
Pub. Date: April 25th 2013
Source: Netgalley & Marie Hall Publishing

★★★★★

Five sizzling, swashbuckling stars.

Captain James Hook has fueled legends here on earth. A scoundrel, a bastard who thrives on only one thing: capturing and ending the life of that perpetual child that we know so well- Peter Pan. But there's more to him than meets the eye, and fairy godmother Danika knows it. One of her "bad boys", she's vowed to help him find love again after he lost the love of his life, the beautiful mermaid Talia. Only, the woman she chooses, Trishelle, wants no part of this. Cold from her life experiences, she wants nothing to do with love, or Hook. Three days is all they get to fall in love, but with her old soul and Hook's misunderstood ways..... Will they find love together?

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I could honestly fangirl over the Kingdom series forever. I love these twists on the fairy tales we all love and adore. Marie Hall uses her own imagination to give depth to characters, make them more adult, and create new worlds to fall in love with. Hook's Pan is no exception.

+Captain Hook is completely swoon worthy. An attractive, smoldering man in this tale, he is brutish but also very smooth and charming. It is no question why women are drawn to his plundering ways. He is crass to the point of sexy, and has an amazing sex appeal. Not to mention the fact that he calls Trishelle "little bird", and I think that's just darling. It wasn't long before I, like Trish, was developing an attachment to this rebellious scalliwag.

+And then there's Trish. It's not very often that I enjoy females in adult/erotica themed books. But I adore Trish. She's very blunt and sassy, and isn't the type to just lay down and let things happen. She wants control of her own life, to hell with everyone else. Whereas I believe in love, I think these are semi-admirable traits, and are a nice change from the slew of damsels in distress that I've read about lately.

+The scenery of these fairy tale realms are simply beautiful. Marie Hall takes the reader to the bottom of the ocean to frolic with seahorses and dine with mermaids, and then lifts them up to sail the air currents to see a cave of glowfish. I am drawn to these fantastical places, and I wouldn't want to leave them, not one bit. I felt utterly lost in them- this book is a great escape.

+The sex scenes are passionate, detailed, and well paced without coming off as overly crude or redundant. The steam level is through the roof, and they definitely will satisfy a naughtier palate.

My issues with this book were few: occasional choppy, incomplete sentences and sparing instances were Trish sounded a bit porn star-esque during sex. Neither of these things were enough to hinder my reading to the point where it gets anything less than five stars.

If you are a fan of fairy tales and erotica, or even just pirates, then this short read is a must. Don't forget to check out the rest of the series! If sex isn't your thing- don't read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Marie Hall Publishing for my electronic copy.

Sea Cutter by Timothy Davis

Title: Sea Cutter
Author: Timothy Davis
Format: Paperback, 138 pages
Pub. Date: October 23rd 2012
Source: Sher A. Hart blog

★★★★

4 Stars.

Nathaniel Childe's father was long ago lost to the sea in a shipwreck that he did not swim away from. Or so Nathaniel's been told. But deep in his heart, he's never believed that his father was dead, even when everyone else lost hope. But four years later, in 1771, he gets a mysterious letter from his father. He knows instantly that the "mythical" island of Perlas Grandes cannot be only a myth, and that his father is alive. Nathaniel must go and find him, facing giant whales, smelly murderers, and a ship full of lies along the ways.

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I am very pleasantly surprised by this book. I didn't realize that it was a children's/young young adult book when I got it, but even so I couldn't put this book down.

+The ocean is so very vividly described in this book, that I have to admit, I kind of got the urge to go sailing (of course, without criminals trying to kill me would be preferred). For a time I lived in Massachusetts, and this story telling brought me back there. It felt like the author truly does love the sea, and it reflected in the writing.

+No love but family. That made me exceedingly happy. There was no damsel in distress, no mermaid-type maiden who suddenly captures the young boy's attention. This book is romance free, and after the long string of books I've read lately, it was a very nice reprieve.

+This book, in my opinion, sounds more like an oral story then one on paper. It sounds like a story my father or grandfather would have told me before bed to pacify my whining need for a bedtime story. I think it's for that reason that this book felt so cozy to me. Maybe I'm just weird that way.

-The only real fault I have with this story is that it was a bit choppy at parts, and sometimes the time lapsing was weird, jumping quite a bit ahead at times. It didn't take away from the reading much, but it happened enough for me to pay it attention.

All in all, I feel like this is a clean, wholesome book geared for the younger end of the "young adult" spectrum. Though lads and ladies alike can appreciate this story, I would recommend it more for the boys. I also recommend that if you are a parent or an older brother or babysitter or what have you, read this aloud to your child. This is an adventure that the whole family can share.

If you listen to music while you read, I recommend listening to Voltaire's album entitled "To the Bottom of the Sea". A few of the songs from that album (such as This Ship's Going Down and This Sea) instantly came to my mind while reading.

Thank you to the Sher A. Hart blog for my copy of this book!