Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: Changing Tides
AUTHOR: Alex Standish
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 117 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 16, 2017
BLURB:
While most pirates sail in search of riches, Captain Devon Hall, the infamous Phantom of the Caribbean, is driven by vengeance. Devon has sworn to put an end to the corrupt governor of Jamaica and break the ruthless man’s stranglehold in the Caribbean.
When Devon is wounded and stranded on land, an unlikely rescuer comes to his aid. Brett Campbell is nothing like his uncle, the governor, and his goals are not so different from Devon’s. Brett longs for freedom, but his obligations to protect those under his uncle’s control keep him from fleeing. Throwing in with Devon might increase both their chances of success—and survival.
When the governor’s attempts to destroy Devon escalate and place Brett in danger and in the hands of the ruthless and depraved pirate Captain Blackburn, Devon must risk everything to save the man he loves and repay his enemies.
All Devon’s ever wanted is his ship, his freedom, friends who stand by his side through thick and thin, and someone to love. But facing dangers at sea and on land, Devon wonders if they will live to enjoy it all.
REVIEW:
So I am torn on this book. On the one hand, it’s pirates from past times and there is some unexplained swashbuckling and drama to be expected. On the other hand, the drama felt really soap opera like and left me feeling like I missed quite a lot.
I think the premise of this story was really promising. The pirate with a conscience and the governor’s nephew working to right the wrongs and save the island from tyranny and poverty. This premise lends itself to be drama filled and a bit OTT. So there was a part of me that really wanted to be able to shut my brain off and just enjoy the action and the mystery and the tension. But there were so many time jumps and unexplained emotions and so much telling and not showing, that I never could get out of my own way to enjoy what I think the author was trying to accomplish.
I never could get into the romance. I never understood or felt the attraction even though I was told it was there very often. I never understood why these men bucked the system for an affair that would never be accepted and I certainly never understood how it turned to love, especially since these men were rarely together on page for any substantial amount of time. And when they were together, they never really spent time together, it was all just pirating and running for their lives. I suppose adrenaline counts for some of it and in life or death situations bonds can form, but I personally never felt anything more than friendship at the most between these men.
I did like Devon and Brett though. As men they were good guys and as such I connected to their tales. I wanted Devon to be that pirate that did all the good and lived in infamy. And I wanted Brett to take over the island. I wanted them to work together to beat the big bad governor and make the island safe for slaves and free men alike.
But I was left with this soap opera feeling where everything was just so overly dramatic and one thing after the other kept happening. And it was annoying because it was just more and more and more and the villains kept popping up out of nowhere.I was quite annoyed that each episode was so tense and then it just resolved itself easily and perfectly. Almost as if the author had a script and stuck to it no matter the outcome. The dialogue was often stilted or corny and only supported the scripted soap opera feeling. In the end I just started skimming to get to the end of the story.
I apologize to this author but this story was not for me and just didn’t work in my mind.
RATING: 
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