Crossbones
By Kimberly Vale
Crossbones starts with a simple premise for a pirate story. The King of the Pirates has died without a known heir, so pirate captains who want the crown for themselves must compete in a series of Trials to determine who will be the next to wield the Bone Crown.
What sets Crossbones apart is how well it meshes characters, setting, action, and magic to elevate the book into more than just a quest for the throne. It includes the typical pirate elements of ship battles, sword fights, plank walking, angry townspeople, etc. but uses them to propel the story further instead of being the story themselves.
What sets Crossbones apart is how well it meshes characters, setting, action, and magic to elevate the book into more than just a standard pirates' tale. Share on XFrom the first page, I was hooked. Vale immediately thrusts readers into the chaos while using her rich, glorious descriptions of characters and settings to draw them in even further. This is not a two-dimensional pirate world. It’s a nuanced world that acknowledges chaos and messiness.
The pirates are not stereotypical but are instead distinct characters driven by their experiences and desires. Power, love, and family issues impact each differently. I identified with the pirates instead of seeing them as the terrors of the sea that are so often depicted.
One stereotype that has no place in Crossbones is the damsel in distress. Underestimate these women at your peril. Women are feared, admired, respected, and loved. Instead of needing rescue, they’re often the ones doing the rescuing. But their strength doesn’t come at the expense of men. There’s never been a Queen of Bones before, but the male pirates know that the female captain is as good as – or better – candidate than they.
When a possible heir emerges, each character has to determine their role in saving or killing the one who could supplant them. I wanted to see how the Trials would end, yet I was curious about how an heir could impact the plot. Just when I’d pick my favorite character to wear the crown, the next chapter would make me change my mind. The quality of the storytelling kept me interested in seeing what was coming next and rewarded me at the end with a strong conclusion.
Kimberly Vale delivers everything I want in a book – compelling characters, a glorious setting, and luxurious word choice to turn a simple story into a rich and rewarding tale.
Thanks to Bookish and Wattpad Books for providing me an Advanced Reader Copy of this wonderful book.
