Title: A Pirate’s Promise (Pirates of Port Royal: Book 0.5)
Author: Jules Radcliffe
Publisher: Loose Id
Length: 98 Pages
Category: Historical
At a Glance: This is a sweet and poignant short story with a believable HEA.
Reviewed By: Carrie
Blurb: The Caribbean, 1664
Press-ganged as a boy, Job Wright has spent years as a captive on a merchant ship plying the Atlantic trade routes, until one day musketeer Garrett Dubh, a crewman of the buccaneer ship Audacious, rescues him.
Garrett takes Job under his wing, and they become firm friends. It’s the first real friendship Job can recall having. He is fascinated by the handsome pirate, however, and he longs for more than just kindness between them.
Determined to prove his worth to Garrett, Job goes to lengths that might just cause serious trouble in the French pirate haven of Tortuga. He fears he’s bitten off more than he can chew–and this time, Garrett isn’t there to save him from danger.
Review: We go back in time with this installment in the series, and it’s interesting to see more of our favorite characters from the first two books but from before they were couples.
It’s the Caribbean in 1664. Life hasn’t been easy for Job Wright. Press-ganged onto a merchant ship and then captured by the Spanish, he’s been passed around and had to do whatever was necessary to stay alive. When the Audacious defeats the Spanish ship he is on, Job is rescued by crewman Garrett Dubh. People often underestimate Job; he’s short and slim, often mistaken for being years younger than the eighteen he has matured to. Coping with the PTSD of being continually abused and raped by the Spanish, Job has a hard time coping with the brethren on the Audacious. His viewpoint is, if it seems too good to be true, he must be already dead.
Garrett only wants to be Job’s friend to begin with. Knowing what the boy has suffered, he realizes the only way to truly protect Job is for Garrett to claim him as his bedmate and matelot so that other men aboard ship will leave the handsome man-child alone. What Garrett doesn’t expect to happen is for Job to show him just how much of a man his life has molded him into, and that now that Job’s life is his own, he wants to claim Garrett as his also.
Once again we get an accurate and descriptive accounting of what life would have been like on board a pirate ship in the 1600s. The historical accuracy is always spot on with Radcliffe, and it’s a pleasure to read. If you would like to see accurate maps of the Caribbean in the 1600s, they are on Radcliffe’s website. She also has another series set at the same time and in the same world as the Pirates of Port Royal series. The series is called Chevaliers & Charlatans and is free to subscribers of her newsletter. There is also a free story set in the Pirates of Port Royal series named Swamp Dog, which is a rather brutal short about a thief.
I truly hope that we get further glimpses of these two as the series progresses. This is a sweet and poignant short story with a believable HEA. Even with the age difference of the MCs, Garrett and Job are good together, and their story is as heartwarming as it is heartrending. For fans of the Port Royal series this is a short must-read, with favorite characters moonlighting throughout, and gives one more glimpse about life at sea on the Audacious.
“You got yourself drunk last night,” said Job softly. “You might’ve taken me to the Mermaid, but you hated the thought of me being with another, didn’t you? As much as I hate the thought of you being with another.”
At this, Garrett finally looked up, his eyes lambent. “I did hate it. I do now. But I feel responsible for you, for your happiness. I fear to do the wrong thing by you.”
Job’s hand shook a little as he laid it on Garrett’s cheek. “You won’t. And you ain’t responsible. But I do wish I was yours, and……and you was mine.”
You can buy A Pirate’s Promise here:
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