Audiobook Review: My Salty Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: My Salty Mary
Series: Mary, #3
Authors: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Narrator: Nneka Okoye
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: August 20, 2024
Print length: 448 pages
Audiobook length: 10 hours 54 minutes
Genre: Young adult
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, New York Times bestselling authors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows are back with a fantastical, romantical, and piratical historical fantasy remix that marries the story of The Little Mermaid with the life and times of infamous lady pirate Mary Read.

Don’t call this mermaid “little”—call her “captain,” unless you want to walk the plank.

Mary is in love with the so-called prince of Charles Town, except he doesn’t love her back. Which is inconvenient. Since she’s a mermaid, being brokenhearted means she’ll—poof!—turn into sea-foam.

But instead, Mary finds herself pulled out of the sea and up onto a pirate ship. To survive, she joins them. But Mary isn’t willing to just sing the yo-ho-hos. She wants the pirate life, all of it, and she’s ready to make a splash . . . by becoming captain. But when Blackbeard dies suddenly, Mary has a chance to become so much more: Pirate King . . . or Queen. She won’t let anyone stop her—not Blackbeard’s cute son, not her best friend from back under the sea who’s having a bit too much fun with his new legs, and certainly not everyone who says she can’t be a pirate just because she’s a girl.

She may not be the best man for the job, but she’ll definitely prove that she’s worth her salt.

Yo ho ho! The talented trio who gave us fresh, funny spins on the lives of Mary, Queen of Scots and Mary Shelley is back with an upside-down, inside-out story of infamous pirates Mary Read, Anne Bonny, Jack Rackham, and more! After loving the Janie series (about Lady Jane Grey, Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre, and Calamity Jane), I couldn’t resist reading the “Marys” this year. My Salty Mary delivers an entertaining retelling of historical figures… as a mash-up with The Little Mermaid! Who could say no to a premise like that?

As the story opens, the Little Mermaid (aka Mary) is heartbroken. She’s given up her tail to gain human legs and a shot at true love, thanks to a potion from the sea witch — but the man she saved from drowning and has sacrificed everything for is marrying someone else. She’s speechless — not because she gave up her voice in addition to her legs, but because she’s stunned. When her sister Karen (who lives up to the name) shows up, it’s to offer her a way out: Kill the guy and his bride and return to the sea as a mermaid once again… or don’t, and become sea foam when the sun rises, because that’s what happens when mermaids die.

Mary opts for sea foam and throws herself overboard… and is shocked to discover that she hasn’t died, but is, unfortunately, drowning. A passing ship pulls her in, where Mary finds herself aboard the Ranger, a pirate ship captained by the cruel Charles Vane. Captain aside, it’s a mighty fine ship and crew, and Mary finds a place to belong and thrive, although since women are considered bad luck on ships, she takes on the name Mark and hides her true identity.

It’s a pirate’s life for Mary! She rises from cabin boy to quartermaster over the next year, leading the crew on successful raids while Vance is too drunk to be of any use, and is fast friends with the ship’s navigator Toby, who just happens to be the youngest son of Blackbeard himself. When Blackbeard is reported dead, the pirate community holds a contest to name the new Pirate King. Mary, fighting for equal rites among pirates, is determined to win — even though Vance wants to expose her true identity as a woman, which would result not only in disqualification from the contest, but likely punishment (death) for “betraying” other pirates.

*Side note: It was impossible for me to read this book and not think about the characters from the Black Sails TV series — seen here: Jack Rackham, Charles Vance, Anne Bonny*

Mary is joined by her beloved cousin Jack, who also finds a way to shed his mer tail and walk around on human legs, and who loves human clothing and company more than actually, you know, pirating… but he’s willing to be a pirate (arrrgh!) to please his true love Anne Bonny, who is fierce and magnetic and demands to be taken seriously. With Jack (aka Calico Jack, aka Jack Rackham), Toby, and Anne by her side, Mary has staunch allies and stands a fighting chance, despite the steep opposition coming at them from the more traditional (i.e., misogynistic) pirates.

My Salty Mary is a rollicking adventure full of piratical adventure on the high seas — and some very funny scenes at the local tavern, where the elder statesmen of the pirate community (the AARP — Admirable Association of Retired Pirates), headed by Captains Hornigold, Morgan, and Hook, preside over the rowdy Pirate King competition, to the cheers of other notable pirate Captains — including Crunch, Obvious, Ahab, and Penzance. (It really helps to enjoy puns and corny jokes if you’re going to read this book — I personally found them all really endearing)

And they’d gained thirty-six men, among them a new cooper, which was great because they’d really been scraping the bottom of the barrel when they’d hired the old one.

The authors seem to be quite fond of Titanic references (for random examples, see My Contrary Mary… and yes, there really are Titanic references in a book about Mary, Queen of Scots). Here, the references are just as silly and fun:

“I’ll never let go, Jack! I’ll never let go!” Anne sobbed as Mary hauled her away from the rail.

… and …

“Do you remember the necklace we found that one time?” Mary asked out of the blue.

“Necklace?” Jack thought back. “Oh, the pretty, sparkly one with the big blue heart-shaped jewel? The one some idiot just tossed overboard from a ship?”

And if you were thinking it couldn’t get much sillier… well, a Ted Lasso stand-in, a TED Talk, and a shell phone (where you can play Crabby Crush) are just some of the bits and pieces thrown in amidst all the rum, hooks, and parrots.

The authors weave in some social messaging too — nothing too preachy, but we do get some more serious thoughts about equality for women, freedom to choose, and the rights of formerly enslaved people now living within the pirate community. Mary’s pitch to become Pirate Queen even includes a rallying cry for paid parental leave with job protection!

As with the rest of the books in both the Jane and Mary series, My Salty Mary is silly, over the top, very funny, and non-stop entertaining. I was perhaps a smidge less engaged here than with the other books. I didn’t quite connect with Mary as a person as much as I did with the main characters in the other books, and I would have liked a bit more mermaid life mixed in with all the pirate adventures. That’s okay, though — I still had a really good time!

The narration by Nneka Okoye is lively and dynamic, with terrific character voices (and lots of very effective pirate exclamations). She even sings a bit (during one of Captain Penzance’s performances, naturally). The pacing is terrific, and despite being a bit on the long side, the audiobook absolutely zips by.

I’m a bit sad to have reached the end of the Mary books. I haven’t heard anything (yet!) about the authors starting a new series… but we can hope!

Yo ho!

Interested in the Jane books? Check out:

And don’t miss the first two Marys:

My Contrary Mary
My Imaginary Mary

Purchase links for My Salty Mary: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

8Jun2024

Book Review: A Turn of the Tide (A Stitch in Time, #3) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: A Turn of the Tide
Series: A Stitch in Time, #3
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Kla Fricke Inc
Publication date: October 4, 2022
Length: 270 pages
Genre: Time slip/ghost story
Source: Purchased
Rating:

In Thorne Manor there is one locked door. Behind it lies a portal to the twenty-first century, and nothing is going to stop Miranda Hastings from stepping through. After all, she is a Victorian writer of risqué pirate adventures—traveling to the future would be the greatest adventure of them all.

When Miranda goes through, though, she lands in Georgian England…and in the path of Nicolas Dupuis, a privateer accused of piracy. Sheltered by locals, Nico is repaying their kindness by being their “pirate Robin Hood,” stealing from a corrupt lord and fencing smuggled goods on the village’s behalf.

Miranda embraces Nico’s cause, only to discover there’s more to it than he realizes. Miranda has the second sight, and there are ghosts at play here. The recently deceased former lord is desperate to stop his son from destroying his beloved village. Then there’s the ghost of Nico’s cabin boy, who he thought safe in a neighboring city. Miranda and Nico must solve the mystery of the boy’s death while keeping one step ahead of the hangman.

It may not be the escapade Miranda imagined, but it is about to be the adventure of a lifetime.

A Turn of the Tide is the 3rd book in the A Stitch in Time series, which centers on a “time stitch” located in Thorne Manor on the Yorkshire moors. In each of the previous two books, a woman accidentally travels through the stitch and finds herself in a new world; in the first, Bronwyn travels from the 21st century to the 18th, and in the second, Rosalind does the opposite — a Victorian woman suddenly finding herself trapped in the modern era and unable to get home.

In A Turn of the Tide, Rosalind’s youngest sister Miranda takes center stage. A free-spirited nonconformist who secretly writes pirate adventures under a pen name, Miranda never met a mystery she didn’t want to unravel. When she overhears enough to understand there’s a time passage to be explored in Thorne Manor, she’s eager to try it for herself, dying to learn what life is like 200 years in the future.

Much to Miranda’s surprise, she instead ends up 50 years in the past. She’s traveled to 1790, and immediately encounters a pirate — but he’s not a stranger to her. Miranda has “the sight” and often sees and communicates with ghosts. Over the past few years, Miranda has often seen a sort of echo of this particular pirate, witnessing over and over again his death by ambush on a country road.

Miranda is convinced that this man is not a villain at all, but rather the legendary Robin Hood of the Bay, a pirate known for stealing from the wealthy in order to help the poor and hungry townspeople of York. And once she realizes that this is who she’s encountered, still very much alive, she believes it’s her mission to save him from the death she’s had visions of… whether he wants her interference or not.

A rollicking, swashbuckling adventure ensues, and naturally (or, as the French-speaking Nico would say, naturellement) a romance unfolds as well. Miranda and Nico evade the ambush, but find themselves on the run, pursued by myriad bad guys, and dealing with challenges such as a damaged ship, treasure caves, smuggling tunnels, and even a masquerade ball hosted by their enemy. It’s all quite breathless and dramatic… just as a good pirate story should be!

A Turn of the Tide isn’t quite as emotional as the previous two books — the characters are engaging and have well-drawn personalities, but Miranda’s tale is much less inwardly focused than Bronwyn’s or Rosalind’s.

Beyond the love story, there’s a mystery to solve, as the ghost of the cabin boy haunts Nico’s former ship and clearly died by nefarious means. Miranda and Nico’s goal is to stop the corruption that threatens the locals’ livelihoods, clear Nico’s name and remove the price on his head, and solve the cabin boy’s murder so his soul can move on. It’s all quite fast-paced, full of chases and near-misses and life-or-death scenarios… but given what a spirited romp the story is, it’s clear that all will end well, long before it actually does.

A Turn of the Tide is a very fun read, and as an audiobook, it’s a really enjoyable piece of entertainment. The narrator’s French accent as Nico is pretty awful at times, but after the first few chapters, I got used to it and stopped feeling annoyed.

I’m loving the series as a whole. After each of the three first books, a Christmas-themed companion novella was released — each of which follow up with that books’ main couple while also introducing teeny hints of what’s to come in the next novel.

A Turn of the Tide‘s follow-up novella is Ghosts & Garlands, in which Miranda and Nico spend their first Christmas together in 21st century London. The focus is mainly on their love story and their enjoyment of their ability to slip through time and experience new worlds together… but there’s also a ghost story to solve. It’s warm-hearted and lovely.

Now I have just one book left in the series (unless Kelley Armstrong decides to keep it going!), and I’m looking forward to starting it within the next few weeks.

The A Stitch in Time series is just so good! Highly recommended.

Next in the series:

10Apr2019

Shelf Control #161: The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists by Gideon Defoe

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

A little note for 2019: For the next short while, I think I’ll focus specifically on books I’ve picked up at our library’s fabulous annual sales. With all books $3 or less, it’s so hard to resist! And yet, they pile up, year after year, so it’s a good idea to remind myself that these books are living on my shelves.

Title: The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists
Author: Gideon Defoe
Published: 2004
Length: 144 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

Not since Moby-Dick… No, not since Treasure Island… Actually, not since Jonah and the Whale has there been a sea saga to rival The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, featuring the greatest sea-faring hero of all time, the immortal Pirate Captain, who, although he lives for months at a time at sea, somehow manages to keep his beard silky and in good condition.

Worried that his pirates are growing bored with a life of winking at pretty native ladies and trying to stick enough jellyfish together to make a bouncy castle, the Pirate Captain decides it’s high time to spearhead an adventure.

While searching for some major pirate booty, he mistakenly attacks the young Charles Darwin’s Beagle and then leads his ragtag crew from the exotic Galapagos Islands to the fog-filled streets of Victorian London. There they encounter grisly murder, vanishing ladies, radioactive elephants, and the Holy Ghost himself. And that’s not even the half of it.

How and when I got it:

LIBRARY SALE!

Why I want to read it:

I remember my daughter reading this years ago… and giggling like mad. Sounds super silly, doesn’t it? And who doesn’t need a good laugh every now and then?

What do you think? Would you read this book?

Please share your thoughts!

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link in the comments!
If you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and…

Have fun!

Save

11Nov2018

YA double feature: What If It’s Us and The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Two delightful YA books this week! Once again, a big THANK YOU to the public library for being all-around awesome and for getting me my hold books in record time. Here’s my quick take on my YA reading from the past week:

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera: Two YA authors come together to give us a romantic New York story of first love and do-overs. Arthur is a Georgia boy spending the summer in the big city; Ben is New York born and bred, stuck repeating chemistry in summer school so he can graduate on time. A chance encounter at a post office makes a big impression on both Arthur and Ben — but in the blink of an eye, it’s over, without names or contact info exchanged. But the sparks that flew can’t just die… so each boy does we he can to track the other down — and when, miracle of miracle, they actually find one another again, a sweet romance blooms. What If It’s Us is utterly charming, with plenty of laughs and tears. The ending may disappoint folks who believe in happily-ever-after, but I found it hopeful, grounded in reality but with a definite sense of optimism for whatever might yet happen. And I couldn’t help but love the endless geeky pop culture references, from Hamilton to Harry Potter!

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee: The sequel to the super fun The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is a treat, shifting the focus from trouble-making Monty and his true love Percy to Felicity, Monty’s younger sister (who was a delight in the first book). Felicity is a scientist and scholar, but with one problem: In the 18th century, no medical school or physician will deign to even consider taking on a female student. But that doesn’t stop Felicity, who is so determined to achieve her dreams that she ends up traipsing all across Europe and getting into all sorts of wild adventures in pursuit of her goals. Along the way, she teams up with two fabulous friends, young women with their own hopes and dreams, and shows just how strong a woman can be. This book has it all — friendship, adventure, feminism, and fun — and is a terrifically entertaining read. I hope there will be more about these characters in the future — I’d love to know how their lives turn out!

Two terrific teen reads! Check ’em out! You don’t have to actually be a young adult (*cough* I’m not! *cough*) to enjoy these.

11Apr2018

Shelf Control #116: Silver (Return to Treasure Island) by Andrew Motion

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

Title: Silver: Return to Treasure Island
Author: Andrew Motion
Published: 2012
Length: 416 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

A rip-roaring sequel to Treasure Island—Robert Louis Stevenson’s beloved classic—about two young friends and their high-seas adventure with dangerous pirates and long-lost treasure.

It’s almost forty years after the events of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island: Jim Hawkins now runs an inn called the Hispaniola on the English coast with his son, Jim, and Long John Silver has returned to England to live in obscurity with his daughter, Natty. Their lives are quiet and unremarkable; their adventures have seemingly ended.
But for Jim and Natty, the adventure is just beginning. One night, Natty approaches young Jim with a proposition: return to Treasure Island and find the remaining treasure that their fathers left behind so many years before. As Jim and Natty set sail in their fathers’ footsteps, they quickly learn that this journey will not be easy. Immediately, they come up against murderous pirates, long-held grudges, and greed and deception lurking in every corner. And when they arrive on Treasure Island, they find terrible scenes awaiting them—difficulties which require all their wit as well as their courage. Nor does the adventure end there, since they have to sail homeward again…
Andrew Motion’s sequel—rollicking, heartfelt, and utterly brilliant—would make Robert Louis Stevenson proud.

How and when I got it:

I bought this book two years ago, after (finally!) reading the original Treasure Island for the first time.

Why I want to read it:

I really enjoyed Treasure Island, and was looking for a way to continue the adventure when I stumbled upon a recommendation for this book. It does sounds like fun, and I’m looking forward to seeing if the author can capture the flavor and excitement of the original!

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link in the comments!
If you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and…

Have fun!

Save

29Sep2015

Shelf Control #3: Cinnamon and Gunpowder

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to the newest weekly feature here at Bookshelf Fantasies… Shelf Control!

Instead of looking ahead to upcoming new releases, Shelf Control focuses on already released books that I want to read. Consider this a variation of a Wishing & Waiting post… but looking at books already available, and in most cases, books that are either on my shelves or on my Kindle!

Want to join in? See the guidelines and linky at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

My Shelf Control pick this week is:

Title: Cinnamon and Gunpowder
Author: Eli Brown
Published: 2013
Length: 336 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

A gripping adventure, a seaborne romance, and a twist on the tale of Scheherazade—with the best food ever served aboard a pirate’s ship

The year is 1819, and the renowned chef Owen Wedgwood has been kidnapped by the ruthless pirate Mad Hannah Mabbot. He will be spared, she tells him, as long as he puts exquisite food in front of her every Sunday without fail.

To appease the red-haired captain, Wedgwood gets cracking with the meager supplies on board. His first triumph at sea is actual bread, made from a sourdough starter that he leavens in a tin under his shirt throughout a roaring battle, as men are cutlassed all around him. Soon he’s making tea-smoked eel and brewing pineapple-banana cider.

But Mabbot—who exerts a curious draw on the chef—is under siege. Hunted by a deadly privateer and plagued by a saboteur hidden on her ship, she pushes her crew past exhaustion in her search for the notorious Brass Fox. As Wedgwood begins to sense a method to Mabbot’s madness, he must rely on the bizarre crewmembers he once feared: Mr. Apples, the fearsome giant who loves to knit; Feng and Bai, martial arts masters sworn to defend their captain; and Joshua, the deaf cabin boy who becomes the son Wedgwood never had.

Cinnamon and Gunpowder is a swashbuckling epicure’s adventure simmered over a surprisingly touching love story—with a dash of the strangest, most delightful cookbook never written. Eli Brown has crafted a uniquely entertaining novel full of adventure: the Scheherazade story turned on its head, at sea, with food.

How I got it:

I bought it.

When I got it:

Earlier this year.

Why I want to read it:

Our local public library system picked Cinnamon and Gunpowder as a city-wide discussion book earlier this year (part of the library’s “On the Same Page” program) — and while I didn’t jump on board in time to actually participate in the conversations and activities, I did make a note to myself that I had to track down a copy of the book! I love the sound of a Scheherazade story at sea, and even though I’m not myself much of a foodie, the idea of a master chef and a female pirate captain seems too good to pass up.

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link below!
And if you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and have fun!

For more on why I’ve started Shelf Control, check out my introductory post here, or read all about my out-of-control book inventory, here.

And if you’d like to post a Shelf Control button on your own blog, here’s an image to download (with my gratitude, of course!):

15Feb2015

Take A Peek Book Review: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

“Take a Peek” book reviews are short and (possibly) sweet, keeping the commentary brief and providing a little peek at what the book’s about and what I thought. This week’s “take a peek” book:

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
(originally published 1883)

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

Originally conceived as a story for boys, Stevenson’s novel is narrated by the teenage Jim Hawkins, who outwits a gang of murderous pirates led by that unforgettable avatar of immorality, Long John Silver. Admired by Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, and (reluctantly) Henry James, the story has the dreamlike quality of a fairy tale. It has worked its way into the collective imagination of more than five generations of readers, young and old alike, gaining the power of myth.

The most popular pirate story ever written in English, featuring one of literature’s most beloved “bad guys,” Treasure Island has been happily devoured by several generations of boys—and girls—and grownups. Its unforgettable characters include: young Jim Hawkins, who finds himself owner of a map to Treasure Island, where the fabled pirate booty is buried; honest Captain Smollett, heroic Dr. Livesey, and the good-hearted but obtuse Squire Trelawney, who help Jim on his quest for the treasure; the frightening Blind Pew, double-dealing Israel Hands, and seemingly mad Ben Gunn, buccaneers of varying shades of menace; and, of course, garrulous, affable, ambiguous Long John Silver, who is one moment a friendly, laughing, one-legged sea-cook . . .and the next a dangerous pirate leader!

The unexpected and complex relationship that develops between Silver and Jim helps transform what seems at first to be a simple, rip-roaring adventure story into a deeply moving study of a boy’s growth into manhood, as he learns hard lessons about friendship, loyalty, courage and honor—and the uncertain meaning of good and evil.

My Thoughts:

For a fairly slim book (my edition had 190 pages), it sure took me a while to finish this classic tale of pirates, treasure maps, and treachery. Treasure Island wasn’t a stay-up-all-night, can’t-put-it-down read for me — but it was definitely entertaining and well worth reading.

It’s kind of hilarious, in a way, to read this quintessential pirate story, in light of Pirates of the Caribbean, Black Sails, and even Spongebob Squarepants, and realize that Treasure Island was written at a time when pirate stories weren’t clichéd yet. In Treasure Island, the guy with a wooden leg exclaiming “Shiver me timbers!” while a parrot perches on his shoulder isn’t a joke; he’s honest-to-blazes scary. Doubloons, pieces of eight, cutlasses, buried treasure, the black spot, pointing skeletons used as road signs — here’s where to go to find where they entered popular culture.

It seems practically silly to review a classic like Treasure Island. It’s a classic for a reason! But, bottom line: I’m glad that I finally dug up a copy and took the time to read it. It’s a fun, fast-paced adventure, providing a glimpse into a by-gone era of storytelling — and next time International Talk Like a Pirate Day rolls around, I’ll have something to think about besides these guys:

or this:

or even my current pirate obsession:

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The details:

Title: Treasure Island
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Publisher: Varied (available free for Kindle)
Publication date: 1883
Length: 190 pages
Genre: Classic adventure story
Source: Purchased

11Feb2015

Thursday Quotables: Treasure Island

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
(originally published 1883)

I’m feeling very piratey this week. Watch out! I make burst out in a sea shanty before I’m done…

I brooded by the hour together over the map, all the details of which I well remembered. Sitting by the fire in the housekeeper’s room, I approached that island in my fancy, from every possible direction; I explored every acre of its surface; I climbed a thousand times to that tall hill they call the Spyglass, and from the top enjoyed the most wonderful and changing prospects. Sometimes the isle was thick with savages, with whom we fought; sometimes full of dangerous animals that hunted us; but in all my fancies nothing occurred to me so strange and tragic as our actual adventures.

And there’s this little gem, which I’ll have to remember next time I need an indignant comeback:

“Sir,” said Captain Smollett, “with no intention to take offence, I deny your right to put words into my mouth.”

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Leave your link in the comments — or, if you have a quote to share but not a blog post, you can leave your quote in the comments too!
Visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!