Call of the Sea Blog Tour (Review/Guest Post/Giveaway)

TITLE Call of the Sea
AUTHOR Rebecca Hart
PUBLICATION June 21, 2012 by Inkspell  Publishing
READ June 14, 2012
BUY IT Amazon / Inkspell Store

Elysandra Winters has always yearned for a life of adventure on the rolling seas and is willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill her dream. When her Privateer father continually refuses to allow his only daughter to sail, Ellie defies him, disguises herself as a boy, and goes in search of a captain who will give her a chance to prove her worth.

Thanks to the cursed selkie blood coursing through his veins, Daniel O'Rourke needs the sea to survive. After giving up on his humanity and spending three years in seal form, he decides to give his human side another chance. Daniel goes in search of a job and a sense of normalcy, earning himself a position aboard Captain Winter’s ship, The Siren's Call. However, his new captain’s first assignment has nothing at all to do with sailing, and everything to do with his headstrong young daughter.

Years later, when the leader of a band of bloodthirsty pirates murders Captain Winters, Daniel and Elysandra’s lives come crashing back together with the force of a hurricane. Both experts in deception, they must find a way to trust each other if they are to have any hope of hunting down the captain’s killer.

A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I have to be honest here, I went into this not expecting much, that cover was a total turn off for me.  I'm still not a fan of the cover, and it's really too bad because I do think that it will be a turn off for potential readers (covers matter!) The story behind this cover was exceptionally good, I'll admit I had a hard time walking away from it to get stuff done around my house. Within these pages is a great paranormal romance tale that will most definitely take you by surprise.

I am not one for historical books, as a matter of fact I tend to run from them like the plague but the idea of pirates and a kickass heroine sucked me in.  To show how little I knew going into this novel I'll let you in on a secret; I thought "selkie" was another name for a pirate! Well, as you can deduce, when I realised that one of our MC's was a seal and he shifted into a human I was more than a little surprised.

As I mentioned the thing that drew me to this story was how strong I pictured Elysandra Winters to be and she was just that. Ellie had the strength to go after what she wanted even though she had an immense amount of obstacles in her way.  In that time women were seen as bad luck on a ship and her dream was to work on a ship, despite this she went after her dream and became a well respected privateer. She was also very protective of her heart, she wasn't about to give it to just anyone and in my eyes Daniel was the right guy for that.  Daniel was a sweet, caring character that I fell for almost immediately. Yes, he was half seal and that was kind of weird but his intense need to protect Ellie at all cost's was endearing. The romance between these two is quite sweet and it grows very strong, leading to a very 18+ scene, so this one is definitely not for the kiddos!   One thing that I longed for in this character was more knowledge of his selkie side.  Often Daniel thought about how, when in his seal form, he was paying his debt for the year, but this debt is never explained.  I would have liked to have known more of the selkie lore so that I knew exactly what he was referring to.

The novel has great pacing and it keeps you sucked in but the ending felt quite abrupt and rushed.  There was so much substance in the middle when they were back in Newquay and then their final mission is limited to very few pages.  I would have liked to have seen more of a struggle to achieve their goal, after all that build up I felt a little robbed by the ending. Despite my few complaints I still recommend this one to anyone looking for something a little different.  The premise was unique and the story was engrossing.

Five Things I Learned as a Pirate (Daniel’s POV)

First off, I want to make clear we were, I am, a privateer, not a pirate. Captain Winters, rest his soul, had a Letter of Marque from King Charles II, giving him the King’s blessing to attack enemies of England on site. One that passed to Ellie upon his death, and to me upon our marriage. With that settled, *grins* I’m happy to share with you what I’ve learned in my years on the ocean.

1. When they say “keep a weather eye on the horizon”, they mean it. The enemy can come from any direction, as can conditions. You can be steering down the barrel of forty-foot seas before you know it. *chuckles softly* The same can be said for relationships, too, especially when you’re dealing with someone known to be volatile. *winks* It’s good to be vigilant.

2. It’s important to have someone at your side you can trust with your life, because you -will- need to.

3. Government backing doesn’t guarantee honorability, and sometimes valor is found amongst the refuse.

4. Never drink straight rum through a straw. This one should be fairly self explanatory.

5. Trust your heart. Even when the road is obscure and the situation is bleak, your heart will never lie to you. In the end, you may just find you’ve gotten everything you’ve ever wished for just by being true to it. *smiles* If you’re lucky.

As part of the blog tour Inkspell Publishing & Rebecca Hart are offering up a signed paperback copy of the novel. This giveaway will run until June 30, 2012 and is open to US residents only, just fill out the rafflecopter below to enter!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

This has been a part of the Call of the Sea blog tour brought to you by Inkslinger PR. Click here to see the other great stops on this tour.

* Call of the Sea will be on sale at the Inkspell Store for 30% off from June 21st - 30th so now is the perfect time to grab a copy!