Cinnamon and Gunpowder

"This is an adventure from start to finish! About a female pirate captain with a pet rabbit and an appetite for exquisite food. I adored the bonus recipe at the end, too! #historicalfiction #pirates #food #adventure"

"😁😂😭"

"Overall I enjoyed this book, I but I didn't tear through it like I thought I would. It was slow to build the story and was very exciting at the end. I loved the chapters of the chef scrounging for unique ingredients and trying strange ways of making his cullinary masterpieces. This was mainly what I expected when I read the description of the book, but I felt like there was not enough of that content in it. The book is also written in journal format, which is an interesting feature that was done well, but not one I'm personally fond of. "

"This is a very difficult book for me to rate. I loved the concept: kind of a "1001 Nights" type story about a chef kidnapped by pirates who can keep himself alive only if he makes a special meal for the enigmatic captain every Sunday.<br/><br/>The cooking and food descriptions are great, and the inventiveness that the main character uses to create meals he knows within the limitations of being at sea are clever and fun.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, the rest of the book is very weird. The book starts out with an almost lighthearted swashbuckling tone, but then veers wildly into a darker type of story where major characters are dying left and right. There is a minor "mystery" subplot about a saboteur on board but it is immediately obvious who it is so there's not a lot of suspense there. A few of the characters are standouts (Mr Apples was great, and while he was basically a plot device I liked Joshua) but most of them are flat and stereotypical (the Chinese twins, everyone involved with the Brass Fox). Sometimes there were huge revelations about characters that never went anywhere, and the confrontation that the whole book builds up to ends in under ten pages.<br/><br/>I feel like a lot of the historical issues were not understood particularly well (multiple characters imply that Americans dumped tea into the sea because of the unethical way it was acquired), which would have been fine in a more fanciful pirate story but not the more serious story the book became."

"I'm excited to share another book that I read years ago and consider it one of my all-time favorites! “Cinnamon and Gunpowder” is an exquisite swashbuckling pirate adventure with 5 cups of good ‘ol pirate-action, 3 cups of humor, a generous sprinkle of food-****, and a pinch of romance. I love historical fiction, and Pirates are one of my favorite historical subjects (also, I love food ), so this was the perfect read for me, but I firmly believe even someone who does not "digest well" (sorry but I have to stay in food-theme for this review, ahah) Historical Fiction could enjoy this story.<br/><br/>Here is the plot:<br/><br/>The storyline is told from the perspective of Owen Wedgwood, a highly esteemed and skilled chef, whose culinary prowess compensates for his rather finicky demeanor. Wedgwood had a steady job working for the wealthy Lord Ramsey until one fine day pirate captain “Mad Hannah” Mabbot barged into his life, uninvited. Mabbot’s unwelcome arrival resulted in the demise of his employer and forced Wedgwood to take on a single task in order to secure his own life. Every Sunday, he is expected to prepare a mouthwatering gourmet meal using whatever ingredients are on board the Flying Rose. A seemingly simple task aside from the scarce ingredients and a crew of pirates as his newfound family. While Wedgwood grapples with the challenges of being Mabbot’s personal chef, he becomes increasingly unsettled as he realizes she is transforming into something more than just his captor. Simultaneously, Mabbot is also facing her own set of challenges as she is pursued by a relentless privateer who will go to any lengths to capture her, all while being on a personal mission to track down the infamous Brass Fox.<br/><br/>First, praise to Eli Brown, he is a fantastic writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed his prose. The pirate-action was *chefkiss* and the writing was delightfully yummy *winks*. The narrative had a unique twist that deviated from the usual pirate-themed stories. There was gourmet food and cooking in it, and the pirate-captures-girl scenario was completely turned on its head. The main protagonist, a hilarious man who cooks delicious food and is a bit of an uptight wimpy, is the one who gets kidnapped by a dashing, ferocious, and beautiful red-haired woman and pirate captain. And oooh, to know Hanna Mabbot or to just be her... I was completely enamored with her character! How could I not be? The remarkable development of Hannah and Owen throughout the narrative makes it difficult not to adore them. The romance between our pirate captain and her chef is sweet and slow-burn, and however is not the focus, it’s still an essential ingredient to their character development. It was just very well done. Prepare yourself with tissues because what I didn't anticipate while finishing this book was shedding actual tears. What else can I say? Forget Captain Jack Sparrow (no, not really, he’s also great!) and fall in love with Mad Hannah Mabbot, her crew, and wimpy Wedgwood. You won’t regret it!<br/><br/>This was a 5-star read!!"