#43 Under the Jolly Roger by L.A. Meyer
The following review has potential spoilers for previous Bloody Jack books. There are no spoilers for Under the Jolly Roger.
When her time at the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls ends poorly (and with the city of Boston in flames), Jacky Faber decides to head back to London to reunite with her beloved Jaimy Fletcher. But when she witnesses evidence that Jaimy has been unfaithful to her, she panics and runs straight into a press gang. As Jacky is dressed in male garb, they mistake her for a boy and attempt to press her into service on a ship. When Jacky reveals her true gender, she is horrified with the ship's captain refuses to let her go as he desires nothing more than to see Jacky in his bed. Jacky must depends on her nautical knowledge and quick wits to keep her alive, as she ship heads out to patrol the French coast.
Upon reading Under the Jolly Roger I realized once again that there are some things that L.A. Meyer does really, really well. He knows how to craft a great adventure story. Jacky's latest adventure on the high seas is exciting, suspenseful, and filled with great humorous moments that often had me laughing out loud. The book's enjoyability is enhanced by the author's keen eye for historic detail. Meyer does a great job of immersing the reader into the time period without making his book feel like a text book. In Under the Jolly Roger, this can been seen in his portrayal of nautical life, as well as his glimpses into the different lives that young women lead in British society during this time period (the early 1800s).
The biggest strength of the series lies in Meyer's ability to craft exceptional characters. Jacky is a wonderful protagonist, a fantastic storyteller with a bold sense of humor. Although she's not against embracing some morally gray things when necessary, she is deep down a very noble and heroic character. She is also quite flawed, as she is impulsive and often overreaches her boundaries, which only serves to make her more endearing. Some of the side characters are just as memorable, my favorites would have to be Mairead, a strong willed young Irish woman and Higgins, a proper British butler with the soul of a pirate. The strength of these characters lessen the impact of things that would normally get on my nerves, such as Jacky's near supernatural ability to attract potential suitors.
I experienced Under the Jolly Roger as an audiobook, which was a change from the first two books where I just read the print version. This was a great choice. The narrator Katherine Kellgren is an exceptional voice actor who gives impassioned performance. As a bonus, she also has a rather nice singing voice, which comes in handy during Jacky's time as a performer. As a result of this positive experience, I plan on listening to the rest of this series on audiobook.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: the print version if 544 pages
Source: Lewiston Publc Library
Similar Books: For other works of historical fiction that focus around young women and ships, try The True Confession of Charlotte Doyle by AVI, and Steel by Carrie Vaughn
Other books I've read by this author: Bloody Jack, The Curse of the Blue Tattoo
xposted to bookish , temporaryworlds , and goodreads
When her time at the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls ends poorly (and with the city of Boston in flames), Jacky Faber decides to head back to London to reunite with her beloved Jaimy Fletcher. But when she witnesses evidence that Jaimy has been unfaithful to her, she panics and runs straight into a press gang. As Jacky is dressed in male garb, they mistake her for a boy and attempt to press her into service on a ship. When Jacky reveals her true gender, she is horrified with the ship's captain refuses to let her go as he desires nothing more than to see Jacky in his bed. Jacky must depends on her nautical knowledge and quick wits to keep her alive, as she ship heads out to patrol the French coast.
Upon reading Under the Jolly Roger I realized once again that there are some things that L.A. Meyer does really, really well. He knows how to craft a great adventure story. Jacky's latest adventure on the high seas is exciting, suspenseful, and filled with great humorous moments that often had me laughing out loud. The book's enjoyability is enhanced by the author's keen eye for historic detail. Meyer does a great job of immersing the reader into the time period without making his book feel like a text book. In Under the Jolly Roger, this can been seen in his portrayal of nautical life, as well as his glimpses into the different lives that young women lead in British society during this time period (the early 1800s).
The biggest strength of the series lies in Meyer's ability to craft exceptional characters. Jacky is a wonderful protagonist, a fantastic storyteller with a bold sense of humor. Although she's not against embracing some morally gray things when necessary, she is deep down a very noble and heroic character. She is also quite flawed, as she is impulsive and often overreaches her boundaries, which only serves to make her more endearing. Some of the side characters are just as memorable, my favorites would have to be Mairead, a strong willed young Irish woman and Higgins, a proper British butler with the soul of a pirate. The strength of these characters lessen the impact of things that would normally get on my nerves, such as Jacky's near supernatural ability to attract potential suitors.
I experienced Under the Jolly Roger as an audiobook, which was a change from the first two books where I just read the print version. This was a great choice. The narrator Katherine Kellgren is an exceptional voice actor who gives impassioned performance. As a bonus, she also has a rather nice singing voice, which comes in handy during Jacky's time as a performer. As a result of this positive experience, I plan on listening to the rest of this series on audiobook.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: the print version if 544 pages
Source: Lewiston Publc Library
Similar Books: For other works of historical fiction that focus around young women and ships, try The True Confession of Charlotte Doyle by AVI, and Steel by Carrie Vaughn
Other books I've read by this author: Bloody Jack, The Curse of the Blue Tattoo
xposted to bookish , temporaryworlds , and goodreads