Crossbones (Kingdom of Bones, 1)

Okay, first of all...that cover! It's gorgeous, completely the reason I decided to give this book a read and I was not disappointed! It has everything a great pirate book should; swashbuckling adventure, a pirate treasure, dueling, and even some romance.Kimberly Vale wasted no time setting the mood in Crossbones, opening with one of the main characters, Csilla, being lead to the gallows to hang. From there, there's no real lull in the adventure, each chapter alternates between three POVs, Csilla, Kane, and Lorelai, giving a great look into the plot as a whole. Unfortunately, the characters felt almost forced together and therein, they just automatically liked each other...I mean, they're pirate captains, where's the edge and grit? The relationship and character arcs could have been better suited to being steal-your-booty, swashbuckling pirates.I think, for a debut author, this is a fantastic first book. It's fast-paced and quite fun to read. I definitely recommend giving it a go!Huge thank you to Wattpad Books via NetGalley for the e-ARC to read and honestly review.

The book is a quick and interesting read about pirates competing for the Crown to become king or queen of the pirates. It's has a good backstory involving Gods and magic. There's also a great adventure, almost like a scavenger hunt.It's told in 3 POV and each person has a stake in the Trials, whether by winning or by blood. I liked all of the main characters, they are each different with their own agendas and personality, and are certainly not without flaws, which makes them human and relatable. Even if they are pirates they are quite likable.What drew me to the book is the cover and the synopsis. The pirate genre has died out and I'm glad to see it come back. This book has a unique plot and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I do wish the book is longer to get more in depth character development and a deeper plot, that's really my only wish. Great pirate read.

Absolutely magnificent!Csilla, captain of the Scarlet Maiden, is heading to the Gallows and wondering why her family and crew aren’t there to save her. Kane, captain of the Iron Jewel, is fighting to earn enough gold to pay off a debt. Loralei struggles to have patience with her mother who seems to be going senile and has fearful outbursts at inopportune moments. These three will soon be entwined in the adventure of their lives. The pirate king is dead and the Trials will take place to find the new ruler. The pirate captains will complete in the Trials and one of them will become the next pirate ruler. A secret has been hidden for years. An heir who has no idea who she truly is will throw a kink into everything that has been set forth. True adventure, pirate wit, intrigue and great characters build one enjoyable read worthy of 5 swashbuckling stars!

Great escape reading. A little too predictable, but we’ll written and I enjoyed the action as well as the characters.

It took me a minute to get around to reading Crossbones and after finishing it, I CANNOT WAIT to read DARK TIDES!I give Crossbones four stars! There are poignant quotes, which I dog-eared (I couldn’t find my page markers, I’m sorry!), and themes of found family, enemies-to-lovers, and a hidden heir.The Characters in this book are probably my favorite aspect! Of course a hidden heir mystery and a treasure hunt are fun on their own, but found family gives me all the feels.The pacing of Crossbones was very well done, but I could feel at points that this may have originally been serialized on Wattpad? Sometimes a plot point appeared out of the blue, kind of unnaturally (r.e. Flynn and the crown, teaming up, two major LI’s interest in each other). I also felt there were character aspects that could have been better developed, like Csilla’s jaded nature isn’t really given fodder to back up how often she says she was betrayed in the past by people she trusted.My biggest issue is a major plot hole though:<spoiler>is the major plot hole of the Storm line not having produced male heirs, so even though there were blooded female Storms, they could not be queen, but the solution to this problem was to create The Trials, which then allowed women to become queen anyway if they won. That was a logic plothole that bugged me the whole way through and the only thing that made me feel better was when I decided on my own that the sexist royalists basically implied a woman could only be queen if she won The Trials. If Vale had just thrown that tidbit in there somewhere, I think it wouldn’t have bothered me as much.</spoiler>

The Pirate King has died and without an heir a new King, or Queen, must be chosen. All pirates vying for the crown must compete in the trials where the winner will be awarded the Bone Crown.The book follows four main characters, 3 pirates who were once friends and a stowaway seeking to avenge her mother's death.First, I absolutely loved the cover of this book. I would have picked up the book for that reason alone. But the story was very good as well.The book had it all. Adventure, strong female leads, betrayal, great chemistry between the characters, and not one but two romantic arcs.I will say the book was a bit on the slow side and did take me longer than normal to finish. However I would still highly recommend giving this book a read.I am hoping there will be a sequel to this book even though I have heard it was a standalone novel. I feel like there is more that needs to be said.Overall I give this book 4 stars.

As an avid reader of pirate fiction I enjoyed this one. It’s a nice light read with fine pace and likeable characters, in a well-built world with interesting stakes at play.