If the Tide Turns blends the aftermath of the Salem witch trials with pirate adventures, following Maria, a wealthy young woman, and Samuel Bellamy, a sailor-turned-pirate trying to earn his fortune. I appreciated the historical depth and Samuel’s portrayal as a more honorable pirate. While the romance takes a backseat, their individual journeys, especially Maria's, held my interest. The pacing felt a bit rushed at times, but overall it was an engaging and well-researched story.

Enjoyable historical fiction that was easy to read and compelling, with a basis in real life events. I had a good time with this book.

If the Tide Turns was a really enjoyable listen. I loved the setting and narrator was fun. I loved the modern themes applied to historical situations.

3.5 rounded up to 4
This book is based off a real pirate and his "love." I was honestly hoping there would have been more substance to their relationship but there wasn't. It was pretty brief and felt like insta-love. Regardless, this book was more about their life journey and what they struggled with during their LONG time apart. Their reunion at the end of the book was pretty brief too and that's sad, but it is what it is. The narrator was good. I was able to listen to it at 3x speed and finished it in one day!

Necessary content warning: death of baby after/during childbirth. physical abuse to the mother thereafter.
If you are okay reading that content and you like historical fiction. I definitely recommend this book. I enjoyed it for what it was!

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the ALC! ♥

This is like a cleaner wanna-be (American) Outlander minus the time travel aspect and without the deep, likeable characters. The writing style sounds like it's trying to be Diana Gabaldon, along with all of the historical research that the author put into the book. Sam is basically a wanna-be Jaime Fraiser...except with the name Sam (as in Sam Heughan...the actor who plays Jaime Fraiser...am I reading too much in to that...I think not). But Maria (pronounced Moriah in the audiobook which I found to be really strange) is nowhere near a Claire Fraiser. Maria is sniveling and whiney and boring. So we have Sam trying to teach an innocent and naive Maria how to swim. They fall in love. He is penniless and her parents won't let him marry her....then he leaves to be a pirate and they aren't together for the majority of the book. So the beginning starts out like the first Outlander, and then it jumps to the storyline of one of the sequels where Jaime and Claire are apart and have to live their lives apart thinking that the other one is gone forever. Ensue lesser relationships, etc. The character of Maria is even accused of being a witch (which I thought was not played out or explained very well) just like Claire. Maria even goes through a portion of time where she is abandoned and alone barely getting along in the wilderness and runs in to native Americans who help her...much like the Outlander storyline when Claire is washed up on the beach, alone and almost dies but for the help she finds. I don't know, it just felt like three or four Outlander books pushed in to one, but rushed and not fleshed out, and characters that you don't love as deeply because its all rushed.

Also, I went into it expecting it to be completely different so it took me a while to get over that misconception. I expected it to be more YA like Fable/Namesake and I expected it to be a little more fantasy considering Maria has premonitions. The audio narrator didn't help. She sounded like an old woman (and old English British?? even though it was set in America after Salem Witch Trials) even though Maria is very young. I definitely didn't jive with her. Another thing that confused me was how they called Maria "Goody" as her surname but I am under the impression that surname was used for a married women like "Mrs." and Maria was unmarried.

Not my cup o' tea.

This book was a bit different than I expected. I thought there would be a bit more romance to the story, but even without it, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

We start the book off meeting Maria, a young woman in mid 18th century Eastham, Massachusetts. She is set to be married to an older man, that she has no desire to marry. She meets Samuel, who she is greatly drawn to, but her parents won’t hear about how much she wants to be with him instead because he is simply a sailor, far too beneath her station. Samuel leaves, determined to return a wealthy man and prove Maria’s family wrong.

Samuel turns to piracy to try to gain some quick cash and notoriety, which leads to him captaining a ship.

I liked Samuel’s character. It shows a different side to pirates that you don’t expect based on all the tales we’ve heard about pirates in the past. How bad they were, how they treated women, how they did anything they could to steal from others. Samuel and his crew show a different kind of man. I enjoyed reading about their adventures.

I like the female narration of this book. Pilar gave us a good view of Maria, and made Samuel’s exploits seem less dire and threatening.

Thank you Kensington Books, RB Media and NetGalley for my physical and audio copies of this book.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I had the pleasure of being an ARC reader thanks to NetGalley. I took my time reading this book. There were parts that were hard to get through but I’m glad I finished it.

The poor characters went through a lot to finally getting to where they were meant to be.

Fencing, fighting, pirates, true love, heartbreak, adventure....
If the Tide Turns by Rachel Rueckert is a historical fiction about love, loss, and endurance. Set in the Golden Age of Pirates on and off the coast of Cape Cod. Based on historical people and historical events that took place in Massachusetts a handful of years after the Salem witch trials.

It took me a while to get through this book, not because I did not enjoy it, I did, but there was a lot to unpack. I had so many conflicting emotions. I loved how Sam and Maria meet, thought their story is rather tragic - star-crossed lovers from the beginning. They are together for a short time at the beginning, but Maria’s family make sit quite clear that he is not good enough for her. He sets off to make his fortune so that he can return to her worthy. So much happens to each Sam and Maria throughout the story. Both of their characters grow tremendously through the trials and tribulations they experience. I cannot deny that my heart broke several times for each of them, with so many different reasons why. I really was rooting for them, but felt so much despair - this is why it took me so long to get through their story.
There was also a fair representation of injustice towards women (witch accusations) and indigenous peoples (land disputes, among other things). This was a beautifully written historical fiction. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was quite good. She had a very soothing voice which, in my opinion, suited the author’s style of storytelling.
I would recommend this book if you enjoy having your heart torn out, ripped to pieces and be put slowly back together, if you enjoy some piracy while seeking one’s fortune, or slow burn period piece.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Recorded Books for a review copy of the audiobook. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

I was instantly untried by the title, cover, and premise of this books. Give me pirates and women accused of witchcraft any day! The story kept me intrigued with a Rollercoaster of events that ebbed and flowed like the sea itself. I enjoyed the narrator for this audio as well. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a male narrator for the man's perspective to help me keep track of which character's head space the narration was coming from.

I don’t really do historical fiction often but this was such a beautiful and poignant story. The author truly brought this world to life and clearly did her homework! It was feminist, romantic, and I love books with women who challenge societal norms. Mix that with pirates and two POVs and this was delightful.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for this ALC!

What a beautifully narrated story. I enjoyed the premise, the historical period, and the coming of age of it all. There is just so much that goes on unseen and I love it when an author peels back the layers of history to the wants and desires and questions of the characters. A poignant read, indeed!

“They fear what they do not understand.”

This story is told in third person alternating points of view following two characters on their separate journeys after their initial relationship hits a roadblock and circumstances lead them in different directions for a prolonged period. There’s a romantic element but most of the timeline is spent apart in separate stories with no contact. I switched between the ebook and the audiobook which was narrated by Pilar Witherspoon. This was my first time listening to this narrator and I enjoyed her pleasant tone.

This is another one of those books where had I lived at the time, I would have been burned as a witch at some point during the story. It takes place in a small community in Massachusetts beginning in 1715. I really enjoyed Maria’s story though at times I was rather perplexed by the conflicting sentiments and actions of her parents as well as a sister who comes in and out of the story disapproving at will. Maria was a woman with obvious interests and pursuits that did not benefit a woman living during those times, so shortly after the events of Salem. She falls for a boy that her parents deem inappropriate and puts all her unwavering faith in his promises, sometimes to her detriment.

I also enjoyed the story of Sam as he leaves the community in search of his fortune so that he may come back for Maria and make a life with her. Unfortunately, his path to earning his fortune takes a turn towards piracy, which I loved reading about. He has encounters with Blackbeard and others that delighted my pirate-loving heart. I had only a cursory knowledge of Samuel Bellamy before reading this fictional account of his exploits, but I really enjoyed learning more about him.

Recommended to historical fiction lovers who enjoy stories of the early colonies and pirates.

Thank you to Netgalley, Kensington Books, and Recorded Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are entirely my own.
If The Tide Turns was a little slow paced in the beginning and a little predictable. I thought about DNFing, but I continued on and enjoyed the story. I liked the addition of the Native American woman and that story line. I was able to connect with Maria and wanted to finish her story. A good book also makes you want to learn more about the characters. I looked up Black Sam Bellamy and Little King and learned about them-very interesting.
If you are a historical fiction lover give this one a try.

Thank you @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for the ALC of this amazing book!

We all know historical fiction is hit or miss with me, and I typically have to realllllly be in the mood for it. BUT when I heard that Rachels book got pirated just days before it was to be released, I knew I had to support her and get it. I requested the ALC, pre-ordered the Kindle version, and made plans to order a physical copy of it from a trans/queer owned bookstore.

And I’m so glad I did. I’m glad I listened to it, because the narrator, @pilarwitherspoon, was absolutely amazing. It’s amazing what a narrator can do to make a book even more enjoyable that it was to begin with.

But If The Tide Turns is amazing. It tells the story between Maria (pronounced Mariah) and Sam Bellamy (a turned pirate). Told in both POVs over 2 years, it breaks down the effects their relationship has to a family and a community during the 1700s. It’s such an incredible read. There were parts that left me gasping and clutching my pearls. Rueckert did a phenomenal job doing the research and I even told her that I wish there was more - which she does include an authors note, and I do need to finish it as it was not part of the ALC.

But go get this book. Now. You will NOT regret it.

Thanks, NetGalley for the ARC!

This is a story of a man looking for purpose and the means to provide for the woman he loves and a woman who never gives up no matter her circumstances. It’s a look at the treatment of women who did not follow the status quo’ for that time and at piracy. The romance really takes a backseat to the individual character development and I loved that.

I recommend to fan of historical fiction and stories about the sea!

What a great story. Set during the time period of pirates and just after the Salem witch trials. Wonderful combination of those two eventful periods of history, based on the true life Samuel Bellamy.
Maria Brown was the willful daughter of strict well to do parents, that has her future planned out for her in a trade of sorts. There was no way she would fall into that trap. She meets Sam as she is determined to learn to swim. Sam having quit the Kings Navy has time to teach her. As they spend time together they fall in love, but her parents refuses Sam’s suit. He leaves as he is given a job opportunity and promises to return. As time passes Sam career has him now going from privateer to pirate and Maria finds herself pregnant and no word from Sam. To protect her unborn child she does as her parents expect and marries the man they had chosen.
The story goes back and forth between Sam and his life as a pirate and Maria’s hardship as the truth unfolds about her pregnancy. Very compelling story that I throughly enjoy with the audiobook version. The narrator was awesome! The only part was near the end it seemed it skipped a small part? I did re-listened to the section so not sure if that was the way it was written. Overall excellent story, can’t wait to see what next Rachel will write. Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions expressed are mine and mine alone. #IftheTideTurns

I really enjoyed the unique premise of this book and all that it entailed. It was an interesting look into that era and what it would have been like for women at that time if they had committed a social crime. I’m intrigued by Samuel Bellamy and his life story. The audiobook book was well done and overall it was a great story.

This romantic tale of a real sailor turned pirate and the lover he leaves behind is exciting and heartbreaking. The themes of social justice make the story feel fresh and relevant...this is more than just adventure on the high seas, it contains reminders of our nation's sordid history. The audiobook narration was well done.