Blog Tour: Blacksouls (Blackhearts #2) by Nicole Castroman + #Giveaway

Welcome to the Blacksouls Blog Tour! This marks one of several stops on the Fantastic Flying Book Club (FFBC) blog tour hosting Blacksouls by Nicole Castroman, the much-anticipated sequel to Blackhearts, an origins tale of Blackbeard the pirate. Below you’ll find out more about the book and author, read my review, have a chance to enter a giveaway to win a copy of Blacksouls (Yay!..I mean, Arrr!), and visit other stops along the tour. Ready? Well, weigh anchor and get underway!

About the Book

Blacksouls (Blackhearts #2)
by Nicole Castroman
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.

Goodreads|Amazon|B&N|iBooks|Book Depository|Kobo

My Review

A lovers’ drama sails across the open seas in Nicole Castroman’s long-awaited second installment in the Blackhearts series. A tale of two lovers–Anne Barrett and Edward “Teach” Drummond–trying to carve out their own existence in a world where wicked men with even more sinister aims wield unnatural stores of resources and power. Blacksouls is a journey through the troubled waters of Anne and Teach’s uncertain circumstances as they struggle to reunite and, later, hold on to each other as forces work to rend them apart. Often, it reflects back to the cruelties and abduction that forced Anne onto the Providence (a sorry excuse for a seaworthy vessel) and Teach, the Deliverance (the pride of the seas). With the help of her new friends, Cara and Coyle, Anne makes her way to Nassau, a strange land filled more treachery than she first surmised, despite its turquoise waters and paradisaical landscape. Whatever she can learn of the Deliverance‘s fate and the inner workings of the island is through Alastair, Cara and Coyle’s uncle, and Beth, the object of his affection. As danger, in the form of two approaching pirate ships, lurks off the coast of New Providence, Teach battles his way to shore, only to be accused of mutiny. To spare his crew’s lives, Teach must find a notorious pirate, George Easton,* and bring him to justice.

Castroman’s story treks both leagues of seawater and a spectrum of civil right issues–touching on abolition, feminism, and miscegenation–that still bear relevance in our modern era. Yet, within the depths of it all rests Anne and Teach’s resistance against the restraints of tyrannical authority figures and seizure of their own autonomy. They war to become lords and masters of their own fate, and champions of freedom for others, even in the face of terrible risks. But what they lack in patience, wisdom, and experience, they make up for in strength, bravery, resourcefulness, and loyalty…and allies. Anne and Teach’s efforts don’t go unnoticed or unrewarded. And they each bear scars to prove it. But that’s not all that awaits…

Castroman wields her literary craft to weave an intricate tale filled with passion, intrigue, and deception that wrenches your gut and leaves you emotional yet hopeful. (Though I anticipated more depth where some issues were concerned, Castroman did not disappoint.) As she does so, Castroman breathes life into new dynamic characters to love and hate, and brandishes nautical terms and details of the period like a seasoned corsair. Arrr! Blacksouls is a Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-esque novel of love, independence, and injustices you’ll want to dive into, that cries out for a captivating, swashbuckling sequel.

Rating: 4/5

*I assume he’s based off of Peter Easton, a lesser known pirate of the early 17th century–with some liberties taken with his timeline.

I received a free copy of Blacksouls as part of the FFBC Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest