Branded Ann
by Merry Shannon
List Price:
Our Price: $9.60
You Save: $6.35 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.77 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Merry ShannonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-02
ISBN: 1602820031
Number of pages: 196
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Book Reviews of Branded Ann
Book Review: Captivating
Summary: 5 Stars
This book isn't for everyone. It's gritty, very gritty. Unlike most lesbian fiction where a main character starts out evil then immediately their true heart-of-gold comes out when they meet their true love, Captain Ann is a cold-blooded, ruthless pirate, and remains so throughout the book. Even when dealing with Violet, she doesn't soften. Eventually, we are allowed to see what motivates her and in some cases it is surprising. Actions that we would believe unimaginably cruel she finds to be difficult but necessary and sometimes even compassionate.
As the story unfolds, we begin to learn more about the two main characters, Captain Ann and Violet. Every person is a composite of their own experiences, and this is quite true in this book. Both appear at first to be quite simplistic. Slowly their layers are exposed to the reader, but only to the reader. Each layer is carefully pealed away. I said that Captain Ann remains a cold-blooded, ruthless pirate - but that's not entirely true. They both change over the course of the story. Yet every change follows a natural progression, with reasonable and logical justifications.
One thing I really enjoyed about this story is its intensity. This story had just the right amount of tension to keep me reading, but not so much as to make me check the back of the book to see how it ended. When that happens, I generally find I can't finish the book.
Almost everything that happens is foreshadowed, but only slightly. It was just enough that, in retrospect, you could say "I should have seen that coming;" yet not enough so you knew everything before it happened. In fact, there was only one event that I saw clearly when it was foreshadowed - but that was partly due to the synopsis on the back of the book. Other events took me completely by surprise and, in fact, shocked me.
If I had to include a criticism of this book it would be...
I honestly can't think of any.
This is only Merry Shannon's second book. I found her first to be exceptional as well, but this one completely blows me away. I can only look forward to more books from her.
My standard disclaimer - I only give reviews/recommendations of books I consider exceptional.
Summary of Branded Ann
No pirate on the high seas is more bloodthirsty than the notorious Branded Ann, a woman with eyes like ice and a face marred by a mysterious cross-shaped scar. When she raids a merchant vessel bound for Jamaica, her only objective is to obtain the map that will lead her to a legendary treasure. But she hadn't bargained on taking Violet, the merchant's young widow, on board her ship as a prisoner. In spite of her childlike appearance, Violet has a dark side of her own that Ann finds both infuriating and endearing.As Branded Ann sails in search of treasure, her task is made more difficult by a stowaway child, an increasingly rebellious crew, and the treacherous seas of the Devil's Triangle; to make matters worse, she finds herself falling for her not-so-innocent but altogether charming captive. But will Violet be able to overcome the demons of her past and accept Ann's love? And will they survive the treasure hunt that has already claimed the lives of so many before them?
Lesbian Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Lesbian Books
Sleeping Bones: A Kate Delafield Mystery (Kate Delafield)by Katherine V. Forrest
Berkley Hardcover; Published: 1999-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.68
Price in other shops:
She Came to the Castroby Mary Wings
Berkley; Published: 1998-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
The Intersection of Law and Desire: A Micky Knight Mysteryby J. M. Redmann
Avon Books (Mm); Published: 1997-02; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.79
Who Was That Masked Woman?by Noretta Koertge
St Martins Pr; Published: 1981-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.48
Price in other shops:
Brotherly Loveby Randye Lordon
St Martins Pr; Published: 1993-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $71.12
Ambientes: New Queer Latino WritingUniversity of Wisconsin Press; Published: 2011-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.99
Price in other shops:
Bastard out of Carolinaby Dorothy Allison
Dutton Adult; Published: 1992-04-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Ashby Malinda Lo
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Published: 2010-10-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.90
Price in other shops:
The Flowers of Evil (Oxford World's Classics) (English and French Edition)by Charles Baudelaire
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2008-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.28
Price in other shops:
The Flowers of Evil (Oxford World's Classics)by Charles Baudelaire
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1998-09-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Whitewater Rendezvousby Kim Baldwin
Bold Strokes Books; Published: 2006-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.38
Price in other shops:
Wolfsbane Winterby Jane Fletcher
Bold Strokes Books; Published: 2010-07-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.92
Price in other shops:
Wildby Meghan O'Brien
Bold Strokes Books; Published: 2011-06-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.72
Price in other shops:
The Sea Hawkby Brenda Adcock
Yellow Rose Books; Published: 2008-12-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.86
Price in other shops:
Firestorm (First Responders)by Radclyffe
Bold Strokes Books; Published: 2011-07-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.77
Price in other shops:
Lady Knightby L-J Baker
Bold Strokes Books; Published: 2007-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.43
Price in other shops:
Blood Huntby L.L. Raand
Bold Strokes Books; Published: 2011-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.85
Price in other shops:
The Spanish Pearlby Catherine Friend
Bold Strokes Books; Published: 2007-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.58
Price in other shops:
The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sinby Colette Moody
Bold Strokes Books; Published: 2009-03-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.76
Price in other shops:
Sword of the Guardian (Legends of Ithyria)by Merry Shannon
Bold Strokes Books; Published: 2006-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.97
Price in other shops: