Review with Giveaway: Blacksouls (Blackhearts #2) by Nicole Castroman

Book info:
Title:   Blacksouls
Author:   Nicole Castroman
Series:  Blackhearts #2
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: April 11th, 2017
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance, Pirates, Adventure

Synopsis:

Nicole Castroman brings the dangerous pirate ports of the Caribbean to life in this vibrant sequel to Blackhearts—the reimagined origin story of history’s most infamous pirate, Blackbeard.

Edward “Teach” Drummond is setting sail to the Caribbean as first mate on the most celebrated merchant ship in the British fleet—until he rebels against his captain. Mutiny is a capital offense and Teach knows it could cost him his life, but he believes it worth the risk in order to save his crew from the attacking Spanish ships.

Sailing on the same blue waters, Anne barely avoids the Spanish attack, making it safely to Nassau. But lawless criminals, corrupt politics, and dangerous intentions fill the crowded streets of this Caribbean port. Soon, Anne discovers that the man entrusted to keep the peace is quite possibly the most treacherous of them all—and he just happens to hold Teach’s fate in his terrifying hands.

Life and death hang in the balance when Teach and Anne are given a dangerous mission. It’s a mission that will test their love, loyalty and devotion, forcing them down a path neither one could have ever imagined.

My rating:  5 stars

I loved this second book in the series just as much as I loved the first one!  And just like the first one, even though there is no sequel listed, there just has to be another one, it was totally left with so much more to happen to finish the story.  So I'll be asking the author about it soon!  I was lucky enough to meet the author this past March at Apollycon, when I was able to tell her just how much I loved her first book!  

This second book in the series got a little bit more into the pirate days of Teach, or as we call him today, Blackbeard.  Not only that, it went a little darker with delving into the horrors of the slave trade, and how anyone who was not considered 100% "white", was treated.  Teach and Anne finally got to find each other again, but not until both had been part of drama, drama that would soon keep them apart once again.  Anne's new friends from her ship ride, Coyle and Cara, take her to their uncle Alistair who owns a bar on the island of Nassau, and he takes them in, even Anne, and lets them work for him.  It is here that Anne sees just how horrible the people on the island treat slaves, seeing them beat and even treated herself like one.  When Teach makes it to the island, he's had a treacherous journey with a very horrible captain, who in the end causes Teach to be accused of mutiny, and he'll end up owing a "favor" to Mayor Webb, in order to get his men and himself back out onto the sea where they want to be.  

As I mentioned, there is so much more of the pirate life, with Teach chasing after a pirate, as well as having to become like a pirate himself in the end to save himself as well as Anne.  We lose some beloved characters, and we learn who can be trusted, and who cannot.  All in all, another great story.  One that makes me want to go out and do all the research like the author did, to know exactly what is truly known about Blackbeard's life.  But, since I know that there HAS to be a third book, I will wait.  

If you've got time, you should go back and check out a fun post I did earlier to promote this book where I came up with the top 10 pirate words or phrases HERE.  And for fun, here is a picture of me with the author at Apollycon.

Nicole was lucky enough to come with her very own best friend...she has a twin sister who can read her mind and finish her sentences for her.

At the age of 13, she went to Europe for the first time and it changed her life. She loves learning about different people, languages and cultures and speaks fluent German. She knows enough Spanish to get herself into trouble and can still read the Cyrillic alphabet from when she studied Russian.

She received her B.A. from Brigham Young University and has lived in Germany, Austria and two different places called Georgia. One is located on the Black Sea. The other is the state of Georgia where she now lives with her handsome husband and two beautiful children who continue to amaze her.

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Promo Post: Top 10 Pirate Words and Phrases - Blacksouls (Blackhearts #2) by Nicole Castroman

Book info:

Title:  Blacksouls  
Author:  Nicole Castroman
Series:  Blackhearts #2  
Genre:  YA Historical Fiction
Published:  April 11th, 2017

Synopsis:
 
Nicole Castroman brings the dangerous pirate ports of the Caribbean to life in this vibrant sequel to Blackhearts—the reimagined origin story of history’s most infamous pirate, Blackbeard.

Edward “Teach” Drummond is setting sail to the Caribbean as first mate on the most celebrated merchant ship in the British fleet—until he rebels against his captain. Mutiny is a capital offense and Teach knows it could cost him his life, but he believes it worth the risk in order to save his crew from the attacking Spanish ships.

Sailing on the same blue waters, Anne barely avoids the Spanish attack, making it safely to Nassau. But lawless criminals, corrupt politics, and dangerous intentions fill the crowded streets of this Caribbean port. Soon, Anne discovers that the man entrusted to keep the peace is quite possibly the most treacherous of them all—and he just happens to hold Teach’s fate in his terrifying hands.

Life and death hang in the balance when Teach and Anne are given a dangerous mission. It’s a mission that will test their love, loyalty and devotion, forcing them down a path neither one could have ever imagined.
 
I loved the first book in this series, Blackhearts, so when the opportunity to be a part of an Irish Banana tour for book two arose, I took it! Now, I actually ended up that I'm going to be on two tours for it, so look for my review on another tour later this month.  My idea for this post was something I thought would be fun, pirate words and phrases!  Who doesn't love that, not to mention Talk Like a Pirate Day in September, this year on September 19th.  Of course we know a lot of them from movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, but others are just famous.  So I looked up to find what I felt were the 10 most well-known and my favorite pirate phrases or words.  Have fun reading through them, and when you've finished, you'll not only be ready for this year's Talk Like  Pirate Day, but you'll be in the mood to read Blacksouls as well.

1.  Ahoy! - An energetic greeting to yer fellow mate...like hello.

2. Arrr!! - An interjection that can mean many different things:  Yes, I agree, I'm happy, or many other things!

3.  Avast ye! - Stop and pay attention.
 
4.  Booty - No, I'm not talking about your backside, but in this case it is a pirate's treasure.

5.  Davy Jones' Locker - Mythical place at the bottom of the ocean where the evil spirit of Davy Jones (not the singer from the band The Monkees) brings sailor and pirates to die.

6.  Dead men tell no tales - It means take no prisoners and leave no survivors, that way there won't be any witnesses.

7.  Jolly Roger - This is the famous pirate flag with the skull and cross-bones.  It was usually put up to convince someone to surrender.  The cover of this book looks like one!

8.    Matey - A friendly greeting towards someone who could be a friend or shipmate.

9.  Shiver Me Timbers - An expression of shock, surprise, or annoyance, kinda like saying, "Oh crap!"

10.  Walk the Plank - It's the act of punishment where they usually blindfold the prisoner and then force them to walk on a board jutting out from the side of the ship until they fall into the sea and are left to die.

So, are you talking like a pirate now?  :-)

About the author:

Nicole was lucky enough to come with her very own best friend...she has a twin sister who can read her mind and finish her sentences for her. 

At the age of 13, she went to Europe for the first time and it changed her life. She loves learning about different people, languages and cultures and speaks fluent German. She knows enough Spanish to get herself into trouble and can still read the Cyrillic alphabet from when she studied Russian.

She received her B.A. from Brigham Young University and has lived in Germany, Austria and two different places called Georgia. One is located on the Black Sea. The other is the state of Georgia where she now lives with her handsome husband and two beautiful children who continue to amaze her.

And just for fun, here's a picture of me with the author two weeks ago at Apollycon in Orlando, Florida.

 

Waiting on Wednesday: Blacksouls (Blackhearts #2) by Nicole Castroman

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  My choice this week is a sequel, but one that the author had said she didn't know if she'd be able to publish because the publisher hadn't approved it yet or whatever.  I really enjoyed the first book, Blackhearts, though, and can't wait to read on!  Here's the blurb from Goodreads:

Nicole Castroman brings the dangerous pirate ports of the Caribbean to life in this vibrant sequel to Blackhearts—the reimagined origin story of history’s most infamous pirate, Blackbeard.

Edward “Teach” Drummond is setting sail to the Caribbean as first mate on the most celebrated ship in the British fleet—until he rebels against his captain. Sailing on the same blue waters, Anne barely makes it to the Caribbean, where she hopes to learn more about her ancestry. What she doesn’t expect is a port filled with lawless criminals and danger lurking around every corner.

With the mutinous Teach in chains, Anne must brave the perilous, pirate haven of Nassau in order to save not only Teach, but her new friends on the island. But when Teach is offered a deal—capture a notorious pirate or waste away in the Governor’s dungeons—what he discovers brings him closer and closer to becoming a pirate himself. And further away from Anne who is being held hostage in exchange for Teach’s loyalty to the Governor.

Now Teach must decide if he should risk his own soul to save Anne. Even if that means turning into a ruthless pirate…

Even if that means turning into Blackbeard.

What do you think, does it sound like a fun story to you?  I'm so excited!  Ready to read on in this story.  Now to get another egalley when they're available!  So, what book are you eagerly awaiting this week?