The Pirate of Fathoms Deep by Megan Derr

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was about reading this book. Dan's WifeĮDIT: Asked on a mm forum and the answer was that the first husband was transgender and did bear the king's children. If it was such a big thing for Lesto, how come a deep discussion didn't happen until the epilogue? I felt short changed. I was left guessing and that did affect how I viewed this story and this pair, especially when they kept mentioning children. I was leaning towards mpreg in that first book but again nothing was written about this being a common or rare. It was never said if a surrogate was used or if it was the king's consort that bore the king's heirs. I also wondered about the king's first husband able to have kids and the two other brothers don't or can't. There had to be a big transition yet it's barely touched on. I wondered how life outside the palace worked for this couple and not just how they'd be as parents. As this was Shemal's story, I wanted to see his progress. There was a huge jump from barely able to form his childish scrawl in a note to reading a book. While the epilogue was nice, it would've been even better to see Shemal overcoming his past to be Lesto's equal in every way. His heart was lined up but his words didn't get across. But no, men can be difficult to figure out and Lesto has been self contained and focused for years, has an image, and for whatever reason. He should be mature enough that when someone like Lesto focuses on him, it's solid. And that's a little hard to believe since Shemal is in his 40's. It was no wonder things fell apart and of course Shemal's confidence flagged. Lesto spent very little time with Shemal and in true man fashion never said much. While this was a nice continuation in the series, it didn't match the first. Once again bodies falling left and right. Thank goodness they were on the same page otherwise they wouldn't have survived. Both men walked away from each other, hurt, and in an odd twist of fate they meet up again, air their differences, and start all over. As I had read these two books back to back I couldn't pinpoint that meeting. Lesto and Shemal met in the first book but it was barely touched on.

Because pirates love jewels and earrings of course! The muscle bound hunk in this story is Shemal, he of the thick thighs and even thicker long hair with a love of earrings. I was surprised to read Lesto's physical form: He wasn't this muscle bound warrior but instead a slim supple man with a core of strength. Lesto is the right hand of the high king - Advisor, military commander, and brother-in-law. The Pirate of Fathoms Deep is Lesto and Shemal's story.

The Pirate of Fathoms Deep by Megan Derr