“I do what a captain ought to.”

“Which is what?” 

I half-smirk, feeling the words pull up from somewhere deep and worn. 

“I remind them I’ll keep them alive, no matter the cost. Steady the ship, hold it through hell if that’s what it takes. But it’s more than that—I make damn sure they know we’re all bound to the same fate. Every drop of sweat, every muscle strain. We fight as one, or we go down as one.”

—

Rating: 3.75✨

Smut: 🌶️

—

First Tide is the first book in an exciting new pirate romantasy series. 

It follows Gypsy Flint who is as wild as the sea and refuses to bend to anyone, not even the goddess of the sea. Gypsy will stop at nothing to land herself a pirate crew and her efforts lead her on a dangerous journey with three other men.

First, Pen Mucching writes female main characters like no other. Gypsy was fierce and independent and I loved every single thing about her.

And the MMC Zayan? His grovelling and the way he loves Gypsey were oh so good 🥵 

Beyond the two main characters, we also have Vinicola the bard & Fabien who comes in a little later. Vinicola provides the much needed comedic relief throughout the book and his character is so loveable. Fabien on the other hand is the perfect brooding man with a tragic past. When we get to his love story, I will definitely go feral. 

Beyond the characters, I loved the myths & tales of the sea and the Lady. I’m nothing if not a sucker for different iterations of faith in books.

While I really loved a lot of aspects of this book, as the series opener, there were understandably some plot points that were unresolved or not as developed as I wanted them to be because we could only see so much in one book. I personally wanted a bit more development though, especially towards the end where I found the trials felt anticlimactic after the characters’ journeys. Lastly, I sometimes struggled to keep up with the details of the world & characters😅 I think it will become clearer with the next books in the series, however! 

Overall, this was a great read to introduce me to this romance subgenre and I absolutely can’t wait to read the next book in the series. I’m also veryyyyy curious to see the love interests of Vini & Fabien👀 

If you love: 

🏴‍☠️ Multipov storytelling 

🏴‍☠️ Fierce FMC & Great side characters 

🏴‍☠️ Grovelling

🏴‍☠️ Adventures & Riddles

Then this one is for you♥️