Epeolatry Book Review: Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

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Title: Running Close to the Wind
Author: Alexandra Rowland
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Publication Date: 11th June, 2024

Synopsis: A queer pirate fantasy standalone adventure by Alexandra Rowland, the author of A Taste of Gold and Iron.

“Come for the irrepressible gremlin of a narrator, stay for the plot-relevant cake competitions! A whip-smart, hilarious and exuberant high seas romp.”―Freya Marske, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Marvellous Light

A LitHub most anticipated book of 2024

Avra Helvaçi, former field agent of the Araşti Ministry of Intelligence, has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world―and the only place to flee with a secret that big is the open sea.

To find a buyer with deep enough pockets, Avra must ask for help from his on-again, off-again ex, the pirate Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār. They are far from happy to see him, but together, they hatch a plan: take the information to the isolated pirate republic of the Isles of Lost Souls, fence it, profit. The only things in their way? A calculating new Araşti ambassador to the Isles of Lost Souls who’s got his eyes on Avra’s every move; Brother Julian, a beautiful, mysterious new member of the crew with secrets of his own and a frankly inconvenient vow of celibacy; the fact that they’re sailing straight into sea serpent breeding season and almost certain doom.

But if they can find a way to survive and sell the secret on the black market, they’ll all be as wealthy as kings―and, more important, they’ll be legends.

Generally, when I imagine a vacation (which is a lot, because I can’t even remember the last time I hadn’t travelled unless it was part of a necessary move), it’s in an environment the polar opposite of where I grew up in Florida. Emphasis on “polar”. I daydream of snowy forests, crackling fires in a cozy cabin, mugs of hot cocoa, and chilly storm-grey oceans.

Lately, however, my imaginary getaways landed me on a tropical island, fruity drink in hand, and doing absolutely nothing.

So I was keen to dive into Alexandra Rowland’s fantasy novel, Running Close to the Wind, and not just because I have a long-standing fascination with the pirate world. With this book as my compass, I could set sail across the oceans and let the doldrums I’ve been stuck in blow away on a strong gust of wind.

But there’s more to the book than just an adventure story to breeze through on a hot summer’s day. It’s such a well-charted story line that you’re certain not to drift off course, not even with the surprising-at-first appearance of a cake competition.

And sometimes it’s nice to read a book with a character(s) you can relate to, but it’s even better to follow relatable characters that have certain, ahem, adventures outside your realm of experience. I say this, even though I’ve had lots of wild n’ crazy adventures myself. I still harbor a typical Virgo-staidness when it comes to—again, ahem—certain matters of the heart, and, well, of the nether regions. (Yes, that’s as frank as a Virgo gets.) 

Still, these risqué scenes were handled delightfully, with many a chuckle, and I only blushed maybe once through a steamy passage. Even though he was the main character, randy Avra was the perfect foil to the other, more stoic characters in the book, and enlivened every chapter he appeared in from the beginning of the adventure all the way to the journey’s end. Even some of the sad parts redeemed themselves in a touchingly bittersweet way (no spoilers!).

I’d recommend that everyone who reads this review changes their course immediately in order to purloin a copy of this modern maritime fable for themselves. Pirate treasure (and cake) awaits!

/5

Available from Amazon, Bookshop and Barnes & Noble.

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