Haunted by the vivid imagery and tumultuous emotions from Pam Godwin's "Sea of Ruin," Jenn and Mistie found ourselves ensnared by the novel's dark romance, debating its stark themes and the protagonist's perilous plight.

Content Highlights

• Intense feelings
• Challenging themes
• New Darkness?

Jenn's Rating: Darkness 5, Spice 5, Overall 4

Mistie's Rating: Darkness 5+++, Spice 5, Overall 4

NEW DARKNESS SCALE UPDATED JULY 2, 2024 - 5 Skulls

Other Books Mentioned: Dead Soldiers Vs Tailors, Consequences, Sweet Savage Love, Tears of Tess, Bridge Kingdom Duet, Den of Vipers, The Ritual, Haunting/Hunting Adeline, That Sik Luv

love isn't a decision. It arrives unannounced, breeds madness and leaves a sea of ruin in its wake. Hate him or love him. Either way, he's in certain hell, and today we are chatting about sea of ruin by pam godwin which is for those who've listened to the first episode, our dark romance episode.

This is a triggering book for Jenn. Do we want to recap on what made it triggering for you, or do we just want to refer them back to that episode and then just talk about the book itself?

I mean, I feel like we'll probably end up landing on it as we talk about it okay so since you read it most recently.

And it's so funny because, like when we've talked about serious, like books in the past that I've read and you're reading for the podcast, like the one we just did, I I oh still beating, like I remember the overall book but there aren't like specific scenes that live rent free in my head and Sea of Ruin. I've read two years ago and I'm pretty sure that from start to finish, I could give you like all of the main big scenes throughout the entire thing and I still, two years later, don't know how to rate this book. So this will be very interesting and I'm so excited because no one I know has read this book and I have been dying to talk to somebody about it.

So I'm going to say like this this is what a dark romance is supposed to be. It has all of the elements, it makes you feel, all of the feels. But I also want to say that I feel like it's close to a bodice ripper. I think the only difference between this and a bodice ripper is a bodice ripper goes for years. Like this is like less than like three or four years. You know, a bodice ripper spans like five, plus years, plus years. So it definitely. This is if, if people want to know what a dark romance is, this would probably be what.

I would recommend or suggest, and I feel like out of everything that we've read, besides dead soldiers and tailors, like you had a lot of abuse off page that was mentioned and then you had like a very intense abuse scene sexual assault scene on page, but with this there were like three, four four sexual assault scenes like at least.

So. She was almost raped by the prisoners on ashley's boat because he threw her in there first yeah then there was the other commander and then there, those were the three sexual assaults.

But the fourth scene was they just beat her because they thought she had syphilis well, I mean when, when the commander caught her, that was a I mean I would consider that sexual assault in what happened is, doesn't she, doesn't he like? I'm trying to think of how the scene went, but it was, it was. It was a scene that you messaged me and you're like this was not a sexy spanking and I was like oh, oh, okay, the punishment.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah that one. I think that's a borderline scene yeah, I mean that would be like that would be like dub nom com yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking I, I think, before her and Ashley admit their feelings.

I think a lot of their scenes is dub nom com for sure, because she's like I like him. But why do I like him? I know I have this plan, but I really don't want to. Okay, yeah, I'm not gonna lie. It like I read the first part of the book, you know, because we were supposed to meet and then that didn't happen because things came up and then I literally just finished it last night because I I figured it was gonna be like the last because we were recording.

I had forgot we were recording and then I was like wait, are we recording? Because she didn't say anything about finishing and I was like she had to have finished it within like the last couple of days.

Yeah, and it's not that because it was bad and it's not really because it was dark. I have a thing I don't like historicals and I didn't realize that it was historical. Yeah, yeah, dark. I have a thing I don't like historicals and I didn't realize that it was historical. Yeah, yeah, I like the idea of the part, but it I it was. I don't know if I really have anything bad to say about it. To be honest, like I understand why it was triggering for you, or I can assume why it might be triggering because of all of those scenes, but I guess I'm so used to reading bodice rippers that it like don't get me wrong, like the scene like that. Yeah, I was like, oh my gosh, please don't let this happen. Like I was totally rooting for her and like I didn't want all the bad things. And when the bad things happened, I was just like, oh my gosh, I can't believe this is happening. Why is this happening?

yeah but I still enjoyed it very much. I, I was just like oh my gosh, I can't believe this is happening.

Why is this happening? Yeah, but I still enjoyed it very much. I I was. I was okay until the last like scene where she was a prisoner on the other boat, like that scene. That's when I stopped and I think I was at like 72, 73 percent and I sent a message into the bang book club. I was like y'all, I need to know, like, does our girl get a happy ever after? Because if she doesn't, I am out like at this point we've been through more trauma, more like bullshit than I can put up with for her not to get a happy ever after.

Yeah.

And even that topic was kind of controversial. You know, they're like technically yes, what do you mean?

technically.

But some people were like, no, I didn't really count it as a happy ever after. You know, I didn't like the way it ended, I don't like who she ended up with, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then some people were like, yes, absolutely, it wraps up, you know, really nicely. I was like, okay, that's helpful.

Not at all and see, this is okay. This is gonna sound really like. I know there's like an english lit word in there, but I don't like reading other people's reviews because they're liars, like whoever said it's not happily ever after. They're a liar. They don't know what the definition of happily ever after is. Those well, I mean it's also.

It's also something like interpretation, like I mean, I could see why some people wouldn't be happy with how she ended with things yeah, but the definition of a happily ever after is she gets with the person that she's meant to be with that and they run off into the sunset together.

Yeah, but I feel like there's definitely an argument that she should have only had to have ended up with one person that she really loved, of having to like not settle but like concede that commander guy and pirate guy were already in love before she came along. I agree with you.

Okay, I like the way it ended I'm drawing battle lines in my head right now.

I'm drawing battle lines in my head right now. No, I liked the ending. I liked that she had both characters. I love that development of the story, but like I can see the argument.

I want to go back. Irregardless of personal preference of who they wanted her to end up with I'm sorry I have to paddle this out for those listening she still ended up with who she was supposed to, yeah. So again, the people who are saying that there's no happily ever after do not know the definition, because you may not like the person but that's your personal preference, but for the character she got her happily ever after yeah so, and I kind of called the thing between ashley and priest same I was like I'm like this can't like no, that can't be it.

And then the sister was brought up. I'm like okay maybe it's the sister, but I'm like there's something here there has to be. And then that just made my heart break for Priest, like because that he gave a vow to Ashley before he met her and he couldn't break that vow and he didn't even though it destroyed his world, and that just that. I love loyalty, yeah, but he didn't stop fighting for it, it even though he couldn't tell her yeah like true, I loved it.

I, I think. I think maybe the only thing. No, I'm like walking through the book in my head. I don't know if there's anything I did not like about this book.

I, as you know, I mean I really struggled with it. I um, I've never read a bodice ripper, so maybe it's not a genre I need to explore.

No, if this, if this is triggering for you, absolutely not. I would never recommend recommend a bodice ripper, because it's years of abuse and bodice rippers.

Yeah, I don don't. I don't think I could. I could stomach it, because this, this was a tough read for me. I the thing that kept me going going is that godwin did such a phenomenal job of writing her character. Like you rooted for her, you wanted her to come out on the other side, you wanted her to be victorious in the end and, you know, and get her happy ever after. And that was literally the only reason I kept reading was because I'm like I just want to see this woman win. I just need to see her win.

And and I that I mean that was what, for me, drove me to complete the book was you just couldn't not root for somebody like that you are talking about, like so many incidents of assault and abuse and neglect and that kind of thing over like the entirety of the book that my logical brain is like I have no idea how this girl is gonna like live the rest of her life without intense therapy.

You know so, like, when you have that much abuse in a book, I have a hard time suspending belief to like believe in the happy ever after Because, like in the real world, she would need so much like therapy and understanding and patience and you know men who really like, you know, like take it easy on her in multiple ways mentally, emotionally, physically, all the things and none of that was there, all the things, and none of that was there. You know, like they're both. Just like Priest was a little, a little less aggressive, from what I remember, like once they got back together, you know, but I mean still, the girl needed like a spa day, spa week, a good therapist and like I have no idea what else, and she got a couple days in bed and lots of sex.

I feel like she got weeks in bed.

Was it weeks?

I think it was almost two months, really yeah, because it took them five weeks to get where Ashley's private residence was, and then it gave like a progression of okay, after such and such time she could set up After such and such time. You know she started walking and then used a sword, so I took it for a few months at least two of her healing and them taking care of her.

You would know better than me, Because I mean, like I said, it's been a couple years since I've read it, so yeah, because I mean after the meetings that she took.

Yeah, it had to have been a couple months.

Yeah.

Slowly being able to get up and move. She just did a really good, clean way of jumping by, you know, doing those little things, and then all of a sudden you know they're riding off into the sunset. Not necessarily. They're riding off to go. You know, take down some ships, but on the sunset I would totally read a sequel of this.

No, no, if there's enough for a sequel, I mean it could be a sequel. Well, if, like, the Navy caught up with them and like maybe actually Ashley got captured and let me just say I was hesitant about his name to begin with, and now I know why she gave him that name, because he was the other love interest. I was like maybe that was one thing I didn't like. I didn't like his name, I think I think another thing, what was the other thing I was going to say I didn't like I would have liked let's go down the hypothetical road I would have liked it better if we had less of the sexual assaults, if we would have maybe got rid of one of those, or the beating or like whatever. And then I want to move her learning about their relationship, like 25 maybe before the end of the book, and then that be the tension between them navigating this three-way relationship.

That to me would have been way more gut-wrenching than those those violent scenes yeah because I like the angst and I think that the whole and, but I think the only way for that to work would have to have been a second miscommunication trope. Although technically, him not telling her about ashley is not a miscommunication, it's just a flat out. I cannot tell you, but I think for what I want to happen there would have to be some kind or no communication at all. She would have to seen them almost kiss and then just leave again, and then them chasing after her while also trying to fight them amongst themselves to convince her that she's, you know, she's their glue, she's their heart.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, I would have been okay with something like that.

But I just don't think it fits her character though she's just too she doesn't follow the standards character though she's just too she doesn't follow the standards. So it shouldn't be surprised that she is okay with them being together, as long as she gets them to and they all love each other and live no, I completely agree.

I definitely think like she was rightfully fine, you know, with their, with their relationship, because, at the end of the day, like she, just she, was just ready to like be with her person and go on the next adventure I realized something that I was very upset about.

I cannot believe she opened the stupid compass and then didn't get to read her dad's letter. That I did not like at all. I'm like you know you're gonna die because you don't know it. Like why would you make that vow to yourself that you're gonna see the inside of it before you die, knowing you know like you're never gonna see the inside of it because that was the deal that you made. They're watching you like you're on. That upset me. I was very upset about that.

I would have not opened it, you're going to have to help me out what happened.

So mad dog or whatever. After they took over the blitz of Ashley ship cause priest set them free. She got out of the other commander. They're on the Island, they try to. They want a piece of her Cause. You know she had his beard taken off. He there were the prisoners on Ashley's ship.

Yeah.

But then Priest, you know, did that whole syphilis thing. But then they're all about to be killed and she's like let me tell you what my dad left, because everybody knows who her father is. You know, parrot parrot not parrot Pirate Sharp, not parrot pirate sharp. She has the compass that she hasn't been able to open and she's like I have this. My dad left me treasure. You know who he is, but you have to abide by these things.

And then, once we get on the boat, I will try and open it and I won't look into it and I'll give it to you as long as you spare ashley and priest. But they won't have, they won't rape her because they think she has syphilis. So that's when they beat her and she knows that she's going to die and she makes a vow to herself. Well, I need to see the end, I need to open this before I die, like I can't die without opening it. And that just bothered me because I'm like, if you know you're going to die, we know you're going to die, we know you're going to die, why would you give the people who are beating you, who are killing you, what they want?

Yeah, but it saved Priest and Ashley, didn't it?

Yeah, but they had already left. They had to leave them on the island. So Priest and Ashley aren't there no more, they're safe.

Oh, I gotcha. Yeah, that's the only thing I really I mean I understood understood doesn't she find out, she gets the treasure?

no, she doesn't oh her dad had the map but he wrote her a letter in there and mad dog she couldn't hear. And mad dog, I guess, apparently read it, or mad wolf or whatever his name is, I don't know, I don't remember. He read it to his crew and then ripped it up into pieces in front of her and threw it into the ocean. So she never got to she like tried to read his lips, but yeah. And then they Probably at the time too.

Yeah, then they tied her up and then left her there to die and then, not too long after that, priest and Ashley show up and save her. But I was really upset about that. I think that was a little too. But they did find the map for the treasure, so they did get the treasure, but she didn't get to know what the letter said.

Yeah, I probably blocked it out because I can't handle stuff involving dads.

Yeah, but when they got to the treasure, her dad did have a photo of her mom and dad there painted or whatever they did back in the 1700s, of her mom and him while she was pregnant with her. So she at least have the photo. But yeah yeah, you know, another thing that kind of bothered me a little bit her I don't know pirate ship terms for people joba j-o-b-a-h.

I don't remember what his name is I didn't like the fact that he's the one who hid the compass for priest at the beginning. We find that out at the end. She's like where did you hide my you know my compass on my ship? And he's like I gave it to jopa. She's like that little shit. And he's like I knew you wouldn't do nothing. You trust him. I'm like, well, not any, not anymore. But apparently she still does trust him. I'm like, no, I needed that. I needed that to be I don't know.

I almost feel like you know, because we've had that episode about what makes a good heroine and she doesn't necessarily give in, but in a way she kind of does, she toes that line very close. You know, like after he, after, like, for instance, after, like ashley takes her anally for the first time and he watches her like break down, like after he gets her off, she's like, well, I might forgive you right, like I mean, I know it's different because you know it's kind of like the captive a little bit. You know she's the captive, so she's got to play her cards, right, but at this point she's already aware that he has feelings, like they've kind of already admitted feelings for each other. Mm-hmm, she really is just kind of, and you know, I don't know, there were just little things like that. I guess, now that we're talking about it, you know the same thing with joe.

But like I mean, I understand that priest is your husband and they have a camaraderie or whatever. But if push comes to shove, who is he gonna pick if he had to, you or him? And you have to be careful because first off, you're like the first woman female pirate captain, so like I know that they like respect you because you know they came for you multiple times, otherwise they would have just took your ship and ran Like I get that there's loyalty to a point. But when you have, like the core group, when loyalty is questioned a little bit and maybe I'm just overthinking it, maybe it's not that big of a deal for the whole overarching story arc, but she toes that line I mean from everything that that again I remember I remember her crew being, you know, really loyal to her.

You know, I think I think I got the impression that Joba knew more than he let on. So I think that's why, you know, he didn't say anything about the compass Like he he, he knew priest well enough to know, like he wouldn't arbitrarily cheat on her, and you know Joba wanted them to do it together or whatever.

Yeah, I could see that. I don't know. I think at this point I'm just like being nitpicky.

That's fair. I mean I loved the story and I loved the like development of the relationships and how, like she tied in, priest and ashley getting together and then you know they were off to do their you know next thing and you know, but both were there to to help heal her and and all things. Like I, I did love the story. It is not something that, like I would read again or want like recommendations similar to.

Yeah, I could see that, so now I know. For future reference, don't recommend bodice strippers to Jenn.

Hey, now we know.

Now we know, which is now I'm thinking, you know, about the one that's triggering for me consequences and that might be triggering for you because there is a lot of abuse in it. It's a husband-wife thing for revenge. It's going to be, interesting.

It's going to be interesting. I don't think I have anything else. I really enjoyed it. I'm surprised that I enjoyed it Again because it checks a lot of things that I'm not usually a fan of, but I think, like you said, she did an amazing job writing this story, articulating it, giving you know the characters. I almost wish there was more her and priest on page than her and Ashley. Yeah.

I completely agree.

I think that's the. I think that is a deterrent for me. I would read if there was a sequel, there would have to be.

Actually, I don't even want a sequel, I just want more priest in this one, because I just don't know how she would have done it unless she added it like you got a year or two before she left him, like there's really no way she could have added more priest to the story. But I kind of like that starts and they're already separated oh, okay, yeah.

So just going back to bodice ripper, if it had been like a true bodice ripper, we would have seen their whole courtship, or at least the beginning, like the middle, and then the end. Then she has the the, the thing with ashley. So then they would equal, have they?

we would have equal amounts of time with them right so by adding the first years with priest, that would have made it span years. So then it really would have been a bodice stripper, although maybe that might've changed it. No, it's still because of the things with Ashley and the the abuse.

Yeah, I was looking to see how many pages it was and I mean it was 467 pages. I remember it being a fairly long book. So I just I think you would have struggled, I think she would have struggled, to add depth to Priest's relationship with her at the beginning and still have. I mean you would have been at a 700 page dark romance novel at that point.

Yeah, bodice or Preservative can be really long. Oh really, yeah, like 500 plus pages sometimes, because again, it's spanning years. It's a you know almost a saga, like it's, you know, five plus years up to I think one of them I've read it spans 10 years yeah, there's no way so I think sweet savage love for those who read bodice rippers. Please don't come at me if I'm wrong. I think sweet savage love spans like 10 years hmm, yeah, that's, this is too much.

I can do some dark romance, apparently, because, like we've at least landed that I can handle some dark romance. But like this is, this is where I draw, like like I I read tears of tests and I know it's something that, like you know, we'll we'll eventually talk about on the podcast. But but like I did not struggle with Tears of Tess the way I struggled with Sea of Ruin, Really Okay.

Now I'm more intrigued to read it.

Well, and I thought about saying something to you along those lines. But I was like you know, and part of the reason is because I want you to be able to go into it and have your own genuine reactions, your own genuine journey with the characters. So I really try not to give like like one of my friends right now is she finished? She read Bridge Kingdom and Traitor Queen and then she started in Adequate Air like immediately and she was like I'm so excited, I'm gonna like devour this series. I'm like you might. You're like I just didn't say anything because, like the next two books in the series are aren't, in my opinion, like they're not nearly as nearly as good as the first two yeah so so you know you, I didn't.

I don't want to sway your journey one way or the other, but yeah, that I didn't you're talking. You're talking about someone who is sold into sex slavery and I did not struggle with it the way I struggled with this.

I think it also comes down to writing how they they write it, because it's left up to our imaginations and, depending on the words that they use and how they weave the story together, it can be more brutal for our own minds.

Yeah.

But, yeah, I didn't like her mom. I didn't like that her, even though you find out that she's secretly been in love with her dad the whole time. I didn't like how she treated. I didn't like that her, even though she you find out that she's secretly been in love with her dad the whole time. I didn't like how she treated her daughter like it was her fault, Like no bitch. You opened your legs, you fell in love and I know you think that you're doing things right, but you didn't have to take it out on your daughter. Your unhappiness, yeah.

Yeah, agreed.

I happiness, yeah, so yeah, agreed, I don't. I'm pretty sure there's more. I just can't think of anything. It was just really great hard story, like it was brutal, like when we talk about things in dark romance of being brutal or brutalized, this and it happening on page. We might as well just jump into the ratings Are ready to jump into the yes, yeah, so for the darkness, like brutal, brutalized brutalization, like on page, different scenes and multiple times, like five, five, it's five skulls, like there's no way that it could be any. You cannot give this anything, if, if, we should probably give it eight, to be honest, even though we're only on the scale of five.

I mean, here's my like, this is where the rating system like you like, and why, if I send you because I have, like this, whole saved list of book recs, if I tell you to check your trigger warnings, like I want you to check your trigger warnings because you have to protect yourself.

Where like, technically, we rated Bridge Kingdom and Traitor Queen five stars for darkness two Because it hit all of the themes that we talk about on the scale. But, like bridge kingdom and traitor queen, do not read the way sea of ruin raids. So, like, I would recommend you should still read bridge of bridge kingdom and traitor queen. Even though it's a five skull darkness rating, sea of ruin needs to have like a 10 skull darkness rating and if, like, you need to double and triple check your triggers and also, like, if you get 78% into the book and it's too much, like, give yourself grace and DNF or skip ahead a chapter every other 10 chapters.

I think it's a level of intensity.

Yeah, absolutely.

So now, now having spoken of this and read this book, do we need to revamp the?

scale. I think I know we always put like caveats typically, like in our show notes, but I mean potentially we may need to revisit the darkness scale because like this, this is a lot darker than anything we've read on the podcast so far, except for potentially Dead Soldiers and Tailors, and that wasn't anywhere near this.

And again, you're still talking multiple scenes with you know on page and Dubnunkon with that duet and really I only think about the first book when we say that I feel like the second book yeah, the second one was just a fluffer.

Okay, this is. This is something that we're gonna have to to re-evaluate. I love this because then it changes everything and that means that we can go back and re-rate everything on a new scale yeah, I think I don't.

I mean I don't think we have to like go through like episodes, but I do think you know updating the notes and yeah that kind of thing would probably be a good good idea.

Just because, like, I went into this book completely blind, like this was the first book that I was like, oh you know what, when I read dark romance, it would probably be a good idea for me to check triggers, because prior to this book, I never read about triggers, okay, because I just I was like, meh, I'm probably, you know I'll be fine, and, um, okay, wasn't so, for the sake of this episode, with our current scale, now we know that we need to revamp it, you know, because of intensity, wise, because, like you said, this is not at the same level as bridge kingdom, right on our current five plus plus, plus yeah, for sure and then the spice five.

Yeah, I'm gonna.

I'm gonna have to say because once you get to like the consensual at least a four for sure yeah, like even even the dub non-con and then the consensual scenes, like all of them are hot, and then you have multiple partners and yeah, I mean like the whole first like Dubnone Con scene with Ashley and her, that's a pretty kinky scene. So I say we have to do five chili peppers, yeah, five peppers. Yeah.

I can agree with that.

So what is your rating overall? I'm struggling with it, because I'm going to probably say a four. That's where I landed. Was a four Like.

I don't want to say a five because I don't know if I would reread it. Not that that makes it a five, actually. No, I think I'm going to stick with a four. I would give it a four Like a very high four, like a 4.9, but I just can't fully give it a five for even though, the few things that I was being nitpicky about because as an angst whore I would rather have that than the violence and the sexual assault and I didn't get that amongst the three of them yeah but it's a high four for me like it's definitely oh sorry no, go ahead I was gonna say it's definitely gonna be something that we will talk about and it will be a foundation and a baseline of, because normally I would use cliche.

I know normally I would use den of vipers as a baseline for some people because of the, the scenes.

No, den of vipers is no longer going to be my baseline because that is, you know, candy compared to this yeah this is so much more darker and I think it's the intensity, and I think when we do look at the new scale, we're going to have to add consent in there as a factoring for one of them the level of that, because that's just that's. I can't believe that's not something that we thought about when talking about dark romance, but here, we are in season two.

We're learning to learning curve peeps well, I think, I think there's a big difference when, like when, you're talking about dark romance you for most dark romance books there is an element of dub con non-con you know, but and I mean, and I guess really like dub con more than anything, like I think of the Ritual Haunting Adeline, you know, like Haunting Adeline was, I feel like Haunting Adeline and Hunting Adeline and I know we haven't talked about the, those on the podcast, but like those are typically my baselines because that's something that a lot of people, like a lot of book talkers, a lot of you know popular, like it's part of the popular series and it hits the dark scale so well and I feel like Sea of Ruins still is darker. Okay, I'm going to have to add those to my.

I mean they're on the list, but push them up further on the list to read.

Well, I think, and I guess what, when I read something like Haunting or Hunting Adeline, you go into it knowing that, like even the non-con scenes, the whole time you're in her head, the whole time you're in her head, you know, like she, she now, now, I didn't, I didn't know, you had it rather. So now I don't want to say anything too much. Uh, let me think. Okay, so like the ritual, like she's involved with him, even even if she's not like consenting, she's aware of it in some capacity, either like mentally or after the fact or whatever, and he doesn't brutalize her. Where, like, I think the difference here is that one, you're not talking about the main male character. I think that's another differentiator.

Like when you're talking about hunting and haunting Adeline, the ritual, anyone who's quote unquote abusing her, that sick love, is another good one. It's the main guy. So, like you know, at the end of the day they actually love, their, they love, and like they're, you know, either pushing her to a different limit or you know they realize she's turned on by it or whatever. The case is there where this she's being brutalized by someone who is not, who is who she ends up with and and it's it. There's zero consent like it is true assault and rape. It's not dub or non-con right and I think that that's the biggest.

the only other book we've read on for the podcast that hits that is dead sailors, or dead soldiers and tailors, and that scene was not nearly as explicit and it was one scene and this was, I think four is what we ended up at I couldn't have summed it up better than myself.

Jenn, you do that. This is why we're co-hosts. You have the beautiful words, I just have the feelings and the grunts well, I think you know it's.

It's one of those you know. I think I feel like through this, through this episode, we've had several revelations on why this book is so much harder versus other. Quote unquote dark romances.

Yeah, I'm really glad that I've read it, because not only for the new baseline, but to understand your not space, your comfort level in reading now and I can appreciate it now that I've I've read it alongside you right.

Yeah, all of that to say I, I, through this conversation, I landed. I landed on a four because at the end of the day, like I was rooting for the heroine so hard she was, I'm struggling with saying a strong character. When I say that she is a strong character, what I mean is that she was so well written and she had zero quit. She was also, she was also written. Why I'm struggling saying strong is because in the real world, if you experience something like this, she is not a representation.

She's the exception on the roll.

Yeah, she's not a representation of how to get through, manage that type of abuse, like. That's why I'm struggling with saying she's a strong character. She's a strong character in the sense that, like I loved her, rooted for her, she was so well written. In the real world, all I would want to do is, like steal her away and say, okay, just stay here in this white padded room. I'm going to get you like the best therapist in the world. And once you get through that, then like let's just go have tea or something.

Yeah, it would have made it more realistic if, like, maybe, as she was healing, like she had nightmares or like, struggled a little bit.

Yeah, I think I think that's one thing that I'm really not. I don't know especially this book, not so much the other books, and I've mentioned this very lightly in other episodes. Like what I'm struggling with, I guess in this book so much is that there was no PTSD after anything that she went through, and I guess that's what makes it difficult for me to suspend belief at the end, like once you get to the end it's like okay, everything's hunky-dory and you know they just have to figure out how to navigate this relationship while he's, you know, a commander and all the things I'm just like girl doesn't have, like ptsd, nightmares, anxiety I mean this is gonna, this is gonna be so stupid, but I mean, it is the 1700s.

Does those things even exist back then?

well, they may not. They may not exist in like medical terms, but I mean they still existed.

Yeah, I know, I'm just being silly, trying to end on a laughing happy note.

Sorry, but all that to say, I do rate it a four. I love the story. I love that she ended up with all three. The consensual dub con scenes were very hot, very well done. I would read Pam Godwin again under the right circumstances, like I would want. I would either want it to be a book that somebody I know has read and like knows me well enough to know if I can handle it, or I almost, and this is what this is why I. I struggle like I don't want to spoil it but I also want to be very I'm never going into a Pam Godwin book blind again fair, that's fair okay anything.

Any last words before we walk.

The plank stay tuned for a new episode of how we're going to rate our romances, because I'm quite excited about this. This changes things.

Yeah.

I like it.

I'm excited, me too. All right, y'all, if you have read Sea of Ruin or any other Pam Godwin book, we would love to hear from you. Find us on Instagram at bonesofthestory S-T-O-R-I-E and tag us in your stories and let us know what you thought.

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This is Mistie and Jenn signing off from Bones of the Storie.

Transcribed by https://podium.page