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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful., May 27, 2008
I almost didn't buy this book. The cover was a decided turn-off.
But then I read some enthusiastic reviews for it and finally had to read the book for myself, to know if it was really that good.
It is.
The cover might lead you to believe this is just another raunchy, endless-sex-scene-every-other-page gay "romance" (emphasis not so much on the romance). Ignore the cover! It doesn't even come close to living up to the story within.
Captain's Surrender is a romance for those of us who are unabashedly romantic at heart and know a good love story when we read it. From first glance, Joshua falls head over heels with Peter, and so did I. Peter's handsome, as well as immediately likeable. But he's also wonderfully flawed--a little arrogant and too placidly confident that he always knows what's expected of him and that he's entirely capable of living up to everyone's expectations, including his own. It takes a self-aware and emotional man like Joshua to shake Peter to the core and upset his tidy world-view. Joshua's the wiser, but more vulnerable in a way, because he is afraid to let himself think he's capable of falling in love. He has seen himself as something perverse for so long, his feelings for Peter are a revelation--and his vulnerability in that regard endears him utterly to the reader. He falls first and falls hard--and the reader hopes desperately with him that his love doesn't go unrequited.
Peter's got plenty to deal with, himself, in trying to fend off both a potential mutiny aboard ship and the matchmaking efforts of a friend hoping to marry off his only child to the dashing, eligible lieutenant. Usually I dislike female characters in gay romance novels. They are usually either obnoxious BFFs of the main characters or they are overbearing relatives, usually moms who can't quit meddling. In Captain's Surrender, I am happy to say that Emily was a breath of fresh, feminine air. She was independent without being obnoxious about it, and still innocent and vulnerable without being the damsel-in-distress. She came across like a real woman of her time period and I liked her and rooted for her and wondered how the author would work it out that no hearts ended up broken.
One particular appeal of this novel is that it does have its unpredictable twists. Just when you think it will go a certain way, it goes another, and keeps you reading to find out where the new path will lead. All the characters, including secondary ones, are so well-rounded, I could easily visualize them and understand what drove each one, even when their mindsets led them to choices that were maddening or exasperating. That's another strength of the book. The author's characters live in *their* world, in their time period, and they respond to each other and the rest of society accordingly. It makes for some powerfully affecting and interesting situations, particularly for Peter.
One other thing I must mention--if you love lyrical prose and description that makes another time period come to life all around you as you read--then you will thoroughly enjoy this book. I adored the descriptions of time and place. The author can turn a phrase with that kind of rare beauty that makes you want to stop for an instant and re-read just to savor the way it is written.
There was very little I didn't like about the book. One thing I would've liked more of was the developing relationship between Josh and Peter early on. The author gives some of it in a flashback-y way that, while evocative and romantic, only left me wishing for more details of their courtship, as secret as it was and had to be. I also had some trouble following a lot of the nautical terms, but this is the first real sea story I've ever read, apart from YA books twenty years ago, so I am not up on the lingo. More experienced readers would probably follow it just fine. It was a little too much for me and I had to do some re-reading to figure out what was going on in the big battle scenes. The depth and care with which details are included do immerse you wonderfully into the story. I am also extremely appreciative of certain details left out, namely long, graphic sex scenes. The intimacy in Captain's Surrender is tender, sexy, sweet, and just exactly right.
One more thing--in case the publisher reads Amazon author reviews. Dear Linden Bay: How about a romantic, elegant, beautiful cover to go with a romantic, elegant, beautiful book? You are obviously capable of signing up first-class writers. It'd be great if you provided covers worthy of their stories. You might also want to look more closely at the formatting, because it was somewhat off in places, in the copy I received.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful Age of Sail novel, March 25, 2008
Ok, I only had a few hours sleep last night, because I couldn't put this book away until I had finished it, and now that I'm at work I can't concentrate properly, because Josh and Peter constantly pop up in my head. So why should I say something nice about this book?
Just kidding. This is a great book. After just a few pages I was set back to a time when boarding a ship to the Caribbean had nothing to do with a journey on a luxury cruise ship, but with one on which you could very well die. I'm no expert on sea stories but in my opinion Alex Beecroft did a great job with her description of the life on a brig or frigat. The atmosphere is so dense that you can nearly touch the wood or smell the gunpowder.
Especially in the first chapters this also made me squirm a bit, because the book starts off with an execution, which is the reason the two main characters meet, and a lot of punishments like floggings follow. Alex Beecroft proves her love for details also in these scenes. But these descriptions doesn't seem to be exaggerated, but a detailed image of the atmosphere of brutality and terror on some of the naval ships in these times and thus are an integral part of the overall mood in which the main characters get to know each other.
The relationship between the main characters Josh and Peter starts off slowly. It's first a friendship which deepens on their journey to Bermuda and then becomes a love relationship. The struggle of both characters with their love for each other in a time in which it was forbidden and punishable is perfectly carved out. Josh is mostly concerned about Peter, of hurting him, of denying him the possibility to marry and lead a "normal" life. Peter is mostly concerned about himself, of not doing what is expected of him from his superiors, from society, from God.
Altogether this is a beautiful romance set in the Age of Sail and definitely a must read. By the way, here's a tip for anyone who isn't satisfied with the erotic factor of the book, even though the love scenes in the book were in my opinion very romantic and beautiful. Alex Beecroft wrote a free story with Josh and Peter called "Insubordination". You can find a download link here on her blog or on her homepage. I'll just say: Hot! ;-)
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captain's Surrender- A Joyfully Recommended Title , February 5, 2008
The year is 1779. Welcome aboard the Nimrod where 793 crewmen and 45 officers serve under the tyrannical Captain Walker. Be forewarned, do your duty and trust no one, as the Captain's spies could be any one of your crewmates. Punishments vary from five dozen to twenty dozen lashes, handed out for infractions such as being the last one down from the booms, speaking in Irish, any perceived disrespect towards the Captain, or slovenliness in completing assigned tasks. The next step for the crew is mutiny.
Amidst these trying times, Joshua Andrews, a young handsome gay twenty-year-old meets soon to be promoted to captain, Peter Kenyon on the voyage to the British Bermuda Garrison. Peter has a promising Navy career path and marriage on his horizons. In a world where same sex relationships are punishable by death, Joshua and Peter are drawn together first by friendship and then by desire, and later torn apart by society and circumstances.
Alex Beecroft has written a truly engrossing tale of life in the British Navy. The story is written with seamanship expertness that puts the reader in the middle of the action. In Captain's Surrender, the bounds of honor, loyalty, fidelity and love are all tested and divergent paths and possibilities are explored for both Joshua and Peter. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to more from Alex Beecroft.
Beth Anne
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
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