This book grabbed my attention by the blurb. I think I went in with a lot of expectations: LGBTQ+ Pirates and Princesses, slow-burn romance, pirates, found family. But I don't think it reached them just quite.

The book follows an mc named Liana Foley. I really liked her character. I liked reading about how much she cares for her crew. I felt like she had a good personality that developed throughout the book. Also Rihan, a princess was the love interest. I felt like we didn't get a lot out of their relationship. I felt like the pace of their relationship didn't match up to the pace of the plot. To go with that, I feel as if the pacing was kind of inconsistent and didn't hold my attention.

The plot did a good job and showing off both main and side characters. I loved the strong female mc's. I personally really liked how there were serious topics discussed. It's refreshing to see that in a fantasy novel. I also loved the found family moments scattered throughout this book!

It had a great set-up nonetheless and I feel like as the series progresses, the story and relationships can too.

I totally enjoyed this book from the beginning to the end. It made me want to know whats going to happen next!!! I love the strong female characters and strong "family" unit of the crew.
I've ordered the book and I can't wait to get my hands on it and reread this book from beginning to end again!! Excellent job Shawna Barnett

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of Windfall by Shawna Barnett! I enjoyed this book mostly for the plot! It did take me a while to get into and I found it a bit slow in the beginning, mainly because a lot of the characters were being introduced and not much was happening. Once the pace picked up it was a lot more enjoyable and easier to follow the plot.

My problem with the book is that I expected a sapphic pirate story involving a romance between Rhian and Liana. There never is any romantic relationship between the two and they seem to lack chemistry even as friends. In fact, the two women already have relationships throughout the book and are happy in those relationships.

The best part of the book was definitely the plot, the adventure was fun and it was nice to read about pirate life with a woman as the captain. The side characters were really fun too! There’s also ace rep which is always nice to see.
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1.5 stars.

This wasn’t a bad read by any means, but I was frankly bored out of my mind for half of it and annoyed the rest. Which makes it sound like a bad read, but honestly I think in this case it’s mostly more of a “me” thing than a “you” one.

The biggest problem for me was the writing. The pacing was weird (too slow in some parts and too fast in others), the romance was contrived and way more insta-love than I’d been hoping for, the characters were idiotic, and the execution of everything was just kind of cringey. Wattpad 2018 vibes. Like, the good side of Wattpad, but still Wattpad.

Good things: the concept. That’s kind of it. I did enjoy some parts, though (the beginning was pretty fun!), even if they weren’t necessarily definitive enough to be listed point blank. Definitely a good starting place, but all in all it could use some work.

I have read the beginning of this book and can tell it is not for me. I don't appreciate books that show how strong and tough our female lead character is by repeated brushes with sexism including a rape attempt. I understand some people want that in their stories as a parallel to the real world, but it's just not my thing. I don't like leaving bad reviews for things where I'm clearly not the target audience, so I'll just leave the feedback here.

This book was lots of fun! I found the worldbuilding to be incredibly engaging and as invested as I was in the plot, I was just as invested in learning more about the world. Though I found it a bit slower at the beginning, it picked up very quickly and was ultimately a great read from start to finish!

2.5/5

I was very excited to start this book, all I had heard was pirates, princess, and a potential sapphic romance. Unfortunately, perhaps my previous biases may have seeped through into my experience reading the book.

We primarily follow Liana Foley, a captain of a crew I grew to love. The found family trope is always welcome to me, and I enjoyed the little bickering and encounters between Liana and her crew.

I liked the coexistence of magic and piracy in the plot, and the reveals of not just Liana but side characters too, but there was not much, I felt, to grip on to.

I thought there was a lot of potential for the story and how it was set up, but in the end, I just felt it fall a little flat. I think Liana was a wonderful main character, and I did enjoy her moments, but I didn't find myself caring all that much. Which was a disappointing reality since I really wanted to invest myself.

The book does have on paper bisexual and asexual representation in its characters, and I appreciated the discussion around the identities. I enjoyed seeing Liana so comfortable in herself, but the sapphic romance was ... not there? The synopsis made me think there would be more focus put on it but, Rhian and Liana did not have many moments and they are both happy in their previously established relationships. And, I can't believe I'm even saying this, I didn't want the respective men to get hurt. Ameen was amazing, and Whyte obviously loved Rhian.

That's not to say that there could not be a potential f/f romance in the future of the series. It just did not develop very far in this book. I liked the idea of the trope, but I didn't feel the characters had much chemistry.

All in all, I will probably pick up the next book just to see if I will indulge more in where the characters go with their story and hopefully enjoy it a little better.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

CW for this book: Attempted rape, Domestic violence, Torture, Murder

I actually ended up enjoying this book a lot! It started off pretty weak for me with being thrown right into the story and not really understanding what was going on. Honestly, it took me halfway through to really get into the story (both the plot and characters bored me up until that point). But after that, I was hooked.

Like: pirates, princesses AND magic? Yes, thank you!

Liana was definitely my favourite character, and my favourite parts were those from her point of view. I love reading about bisexual characters and being able to see myself in them! But... how old is she supposed to be? How old is anyone supposed to be, actually? Both Liana and Ameen feel very adult. Compared to them, Rhian feels extremely young and naïve.

There was an attempted rape scene in the beginning, and while I absolutely appreciate the content warning in the description, that scene felt completely unnecessary. It added nothing to the plot.

Also, the love square felt a bit unnecessary. Both Liana and Rhian are very much in love with their partners, which made the slightly romantic hints and moments between the two of them feel strange. Since this is the first book in a series though, I suppose there is more to it - and that it will be explored more later on.

One thing that bothered me a lot when reading was the way accents in speech were written out. I understand that the author wanted to portray a specific way of speaking. However, it slowed down the reading a lot for me.

Not a 5-star read for me, but I enjoyed it, and I know that others are going to love it.

3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
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This is a perfectly fine and fun bi pirate (birate, if you will) misadventure, however I feel as though it is a bit misleading. For some reason, I was expecting Rhian and Liana to get together in this book? I didn’t feel much chemistry between them though, and even the one scene that implied a beginning romance felt one sided and forced due to the lack of buildup. I don’t know which couples will end up together, but frankly I don’t feel invested enough. If it’s a slow burn, it’s a little too slow in my opinion. In contrast, plot was fast-paced and exciting... But for some reason I was dragging my feet through it? Something about the writing threw me off, even though I can’t actually pin what was wrong. Perhaps it was the intentionally incorrect English to show certain characters’ dialects? Or maybe the forcibly inserted expositional moments? They weren’t awful, but it just didn’t feel very natural. That being said, the plot itself had many twists and turns, and I enjoyed the story’s intensity and liveliness! It’s very satisfying for anyone who likes pirate books, and there is quite a crew of characters to love! Though there were enough issues to affect my enjoyment of the book, I think it was still enjoyable and fun—it’s fair to say Windfall was a 3 star read!

#Windfall #NetGalley
I have to say I really enjoyed this book! I can't wait to get a physical copy
5/5 stars :-)

Actual Rating - 3.5

I have mixed feelings about this book. Firstly, I loved the bi and ace representation, there is so little of it, especially ace rep, in literature, it was nice to see. That being said, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about one of the bi characters nearly cheating on her fiancé, it does somewhat reinforce negative stereotypes.

Liana is a good main character, she has a strong personality and moral code that she stands by. I would have liked it if she had been able to win at least one fight instead of always being the damsel in distress.

Rhian and Ameen are both good characters, each have a very different relationship with Liana, showing different sides of her. They are both themselves well developed, I look forward to seeing Ameen's story progress in particular.

The writing style was good, and I loved the setting of Vioria. Each of the character interactions were well written, I look forward to seeing more in the sequel.

This took me a wee while to get into the story. Also not sure about it being a F/F romance. Didn't start out that way, which I think is one reason I had trouble getting into it. Still not sure about F/F even at the end. May read sequel when it comes out but not sure.

I have to start of by saying that I was gifted this book in exchange for an unbiased opinion.

I LOVED this book. I wasnt sure where it was going when if first started with Captain Liana and her crew robbing the guard. It took me a moment to realize that that was suppose to have happened in the past and it then immediately jumped to the present.

I love all the characters. The interactions between Liana and her crew and the people at the inn. I love that they paint her as both ruthless and caring. She will do what it takes to ensure the safety of her people.

Rhian was a lot more naïve than I was expecting her to be. She was very innocent at the beginning but I do like that you get to watch her grow as a person and I love watching Liana and her grow closer. I have to say that I was disappointed that they didn't end up together at the end of the book, though they definitely set up for a second book.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. It was a light, easy and fun read that had me entertained the entire way.

I think it’s fair to say me and this book got off on the wrong foot, when in the opening chapter there’s an attempted rape. Because it didn’t do anything whatsoever in the story, it was just there for a reason I cannot comprehend, perhaps to establish the world as misogynistic (which, do we really need anyway?). So it was an inauspicious start.

Things went downhill from there.

On the whole, I was just bored by this book. The plot had promise, but it dragged a lot. Most of the first part was taken up introducing the main characters, and setting up the scenario on which the plot is predicated. The second part? Did nothing to further that. It was mostly about Liana travelling back home to her foster sister and helping her out with her abusive husband. Which. Has a place in fantasy, true, but it just felt so out of place given the rest of this story.

Actually on the whole, the entire book felt a bit cut and pasted together out of plotlines that didn’t really fit together. Part of that may well be that this is an ARC, I will accept. But it didn’t help me get into a book I was already a little predisposed to dislike because of the misogyny.

Which brings me to another point: what’s the point of having misogyny in your fantasy world if you’re not going to challenge it? It’s a fantasy world! You can have anything you want, and you choose to add misogyny? And not fully challenge the patriarchal systems that led to it? Okay, so maybe that’s a future-book-thing, but even so. There could have been hints of it. Instead, all I got was yet another misogynistic fantasy.

Add onto this the fact that there seemed to be no real establishing of characters’ personalities and motivations before they did things — a few times I was genuinely surprised at their reactions because I didn’t realise that’s the kind of person they were — and you have yourself this two-star read.

Of course, I’m well aware that I may just have come across another book that’s not for me. So if you’re intrigued by the premise, please do ignore this review.

This was such a good book! First, the world-building was seriously impressive. From the start, their world is clearly described and easy-to-understand, meaning there wasn't that 3 chapter "I have no idea who you are or what is happening" feeling that I sometimes get with fantasy/sci-fi. It was original and imaginative, while also being very well executed.

Marin was a lovely dad and it was interesting to read about their foster parent/child relationship! I also really enjoyed the myriad of strong, empowered, female characters. Throughout the story, Liana asserts that her name and title are "Captain Liana Foley," not "Miss."

However, I really wish it had been (so much) gayer. There was so much potential between Liana and Rhian, and it felt like their relationship should've been more. But from the beginning, they are both in very serious relationships with men, meaning their relationship couldn't be explored. It was great that their interactions helped Rhian to better understand her sexuality (yay bi rep!), but for a book that promises queerness, it was seriously lacking. I could be wrong, but it didn't seem as if there were even any queer side characters. In fact, the only mention of queerness in their society was that Rhian had been taught it was "forbidden."

The cliffhanger was intriguing, but it still felt like there was a solid conclusion, which was nice. Hopefully, in the next book, we'll get to learn more about the rest of the characters (especially Liana's crew!) and their backstories.

A book about pirates and princesses in the sapphic category...according to the blurb. This was one I was looking forward to reading. And even though the book in itself wasn't bad, it had a lot of strong female characters in it. Their strength didn't come from being good in fighting and beating every man (which is sometimes quite enjoyable but not altogether realistic) but more strength of character.
It had rather well fleshed out main and secondary characters and it looks like Barnett will expand on that in the second book, so she put in a good foundation character wise.
But, and this is a big but for me... after reading the blurb I was expecting a romance between the princess and the pirate. Yet to my complete surprise both of them are in love with a man and while at first I thought it would be a messy love triangle but it could still work out since there were certain signs that made me think I knew where the writer was going, this was not where the writer was going. We get a few lines about attraction, but both have given their heart to another and to be honest there wasn't enough chemistry to like the pairing but now I am reading a book labeled lbtgq with a blurb that promises me a romance and instead I get a nice enough pirate story with a few lines about a princess wanting to kiss the female pirate as if that's enough to be put into the lbgtq category. My disappointment was leading me towards 2 stars, but in all fairness, the book was okay. The blurb and category it was put into wasn't.

*** An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review ***

“I don’t think I’d mind becoming a pirate” - it’s always been a bit of an escapist dream to be a bisexual pirate queen, and Windfall provides an excellent version of that dream.

Having not had time to read books for fun, this was the book to get me out of the slump. I read this cover to cover in an afternoon, carting my tablet around as I cooked dinner and unloaded the dishwasher one-handed. It was enthralling and fun and I even gasped aloud at some of the twists!

Windfall follows pirate Captain Liana Foley, a strong leader who both commands and cares for her crew, as she accidentally kidnaps Princess Rhian and then the aftermath! For the 18th Century, it was especially exciting to see the women define their own form of agency and leadership (especially as sapphic-coded pirates/royalty!). However, it wasn’t just the main characters, the barkeeps and relatives provided different forms of ‘strong female characters’ that weren’t reliant on their ability to fight their way out of a situation.

The reason I gave this 4.5 stars (rounded to 5 as I still enjoyed this so much) was because I thought the characterization of differing characters was… patchy. For example, Liana’s second in command had the opportunity to play a far more significant role with their abilities (although this does seem to be a bigger focus in the second book from the preview I have read) and so that was a bit disappointing on reflection. Similarly, I thought that Rhian appeared to play second fiddle to Liana and this character deserves further fleshing out.
On the other hand, I appreciated that all the characters had some backstory, even the minor ones. Again, I remain hopeful for the sequel and to see more of these characters and what they are capable of!

As far as plot, twists and writing style goes, I still thoroughly enjoyed Windfall and I eagerly await Book 2!

My thanks to NetGalley, the author Shawna Barnett and IBPA for the e-ARC.

I really, really wanted to love this. the premise of this book is absolutely phenomenal, but the execution wasn't what I expected it to be.

pirates in history were so< gay, and maybe that's the reason why so many queer folks like me are so fascinated by them. this is about queer pirates and queer princesses in <i>theory</i>, but not very much in practice. I picked this up because it's sapphic. I was hoping that, as the synopsis prompted me to think, it'd be somewhat similar to The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, as in that it'd be a light-hearted, historical fiction, with a cute, slow-burn romance. that wasn't really the case.

don't get me wrong; I didn't mind that this story was rather serious and that it discussed a lot of serious topics. but I think a lot could have been added through moments of humor and lightheartedness.

my biggest issue with this novel is Rhian and Liana's relationship. I hoped their romance would be the main focus in their dynamic, but (this is not a spoiler) they're both in relationships. and they both seemingly love their partners, and want to be with them, while also liking each other? I don't see how that made the story better in any way and I think this book would have had much more potential if it wasn't a love triangle, or, in this case, a love square?

I don't think Rhian was presented enough because she felt bland and underdeveloped. I felt no chemistry between her and Liana either.

nonetheless, I think the atmosphere of this story was wonderful. 18th-century pirates, palaces, balls, ship voyages, it was all amazing.

Overall, Windfall had an amazing premise but fell short. It could have been a lot more through simple character development and expanding some parts of this story.

I received an advanced copy of this book. I have to be honest it is my first review. And I am glad it was this book. Pirates,princesses, magic, need I explain more.
It started a bit slow. I had a hard time getting into the introduction of characters. The worldbuilding is really slow but it keeps up the intrigue to know more.
But as this is a series it is to be expected. Once the action starts the pace is relentless. But again it slowed a bit in the end.
But it finished with an interesting cliffhanger.
Both the female leads are good. But I feel as though the princess character growed more than than liana the pirate.
But I think as the series grows liana's character will get stronger. She's a good leader. But every time in one on one battle she gets defeated. But I think she'll come through.
The villains you will grow to hate. There's some abuse off the pages but it makes you root for the characters.
There are enough twists and turns to keep you engaging.
Overall I think it's a solid book to start a series.I hope the writer keeps up the solid work.
And I'm going to read the prequel to know more.