Certain parts of her are certainly unpleasant: she’s spoiled, entitled, and shallow. That disappointed me, because this was such a good opportunity for it.įinally, the portrayal of Patience. Though Castroman explores her relationship with her mother and her relationship with her Caribbean origins somewhat, we never get into the politics of the time: namely, slavery. She’s also the child of a former slave from the West Indies, with a white merchant father. He tries to coerce Anne into sex at least twice before he realizes how wrong he was.Īnne herself is Teach’s father’s maid- no matter how much she asserts herself, Teach is still in the position of power, and one can see that from powerless she describes herself as feeling during certain encounters. When Teach and Anne first encounter one another, it’s during a creepy encounter at the market. The one other thing that seemed off was certain aspects of Teach’s character, and from that, how Castroman wrote Anne and Patience. The sequel, however, is very much a swashbuckling, heart-stopping adventure story. That didn’t make it any less compelling, but I do think much of the advertising is misleading.

The truth is that until the very end, this story takes place firmly on land, with both characters planning and awaiting their escape by sea. This book is advertised, both on the back cover and in bookstores, on goodreads, etc, as a swashbuckling, adventure filled romance. There were also, however, a few details that I found a little sketchy, and I want to talk about both of them.

I liked the premise of the story: the unlikely match between Teach and Anne, their desire to escape and their similar dislikes of their place in society (different though they may be), Anne’s personality and the way she never forgot her worth, and Teach’s willingness to stand up for her. It takes place in 17th century England, and alternates between the point of view of two protagonists: Edward “Teach” Drummond, the son of a rich merchant and Anne, the biracial daughter of a merchant and a (former?) slave from the West Indies. The story is based on the legend of Blackbeard the Pirate it gives us an idea of who he was before he became one of the most ruthless pirates in history. “Blackhearts,” a debut young adult novel by Nicole Castroman, is a book that combines historical legend with romance.

Black hearts nicole castroman