2.5* rounded up

Running Close to the Wind is a book where your enjoyment on it hinges on how well you gel with the humour, and unfortunately it wasn't really for me.

What kept me reading was an interest in seeing where the plot were going and how the characters' relationships played out - and I did enjoy the last third more than the first. Also I did enjoy some of the jokes.

It was the MC, Avra, who most of my issues were with. He was simply annoying AF - whiny, pathetic and constantly thinking with his d***. I found myself skim reading a lot of his dialogue and interactions with Tev and Julian because they had me rolling my eyes with irritation. I personally think this book and its pacing would have been improved by being shorter, and that could have been achieved by lessening the number of times Avra went off on a monologue about how pathetic or horny (or both) he was.

Overall, lovers of queer fantasy pirates might still like this, but YMMV on the humour.

This follows Avra, a semi-retired spy that's blessed with luck, and who accidentally managed to steal some very important documents from his government. The natural course of action after this escapade? Escape to his ex, a fearsome pirate captain, of course.

This was such a weird book, and I honestly think that most won't really enjoy it that much. The humour is very present and strange, and there's soooo many sex jokes. I've seen it described as tumblr humour and I think that's very accurate! The mc, Avra, is also this childish, horny guy that is very over-dramatic and annoying. This is really jarring in the beginning especially, and for the first 100 or so pages I considered just DNF'ing. But I love Rowland's work, and eventually I started really getting into it. If you expect just a fun pirate romp with like, aspects of a sex comedy, I think you'll have a great time just like I did.
If you expect anything more serious like the authors previous works, which tend to be more slow-paced character studies, I think you'll be disappointed in this.
Rowland is a master of characters, and this still got that. The worldbuilding here is also top notch - the sea serpents especially were super cool. This is what really hooked me - how these sea serpents can affect trade and shipping during mating season, and how this again is something that pirates also have to deal with.

Ultimately, it's a story about three people learning how to properly love each other during dangerous and ridiculous circumstances. I especially loved the dynamic between Asta and Teveri - they've been on and off for years, and it becomes very clear as you get further into the book that there's some sort of communication issue between these two. With the introduction of Julian, they manage to smooth these issues out. It's very fun to see the progression from annoyed exes to a somewhat functional throuple.

All in all, this really wasn't my type of book, BUT somehow it still really worked for me. It's silly, self-indulgent fun, and I think we all need more of that in our lives!

Running Close to the Wind is a hilarious upbeat nautical adventure.

Avra is irrationally lucky - even when things seem to have gone terribly, somehow it turns out to have gone his way - but he refuses to believe in luck as a concept. However when he wanders into the Arasti shipbuilders guild and wanders back out with their most closely guarded secret, even he has to believe in it a *little* bit.

This book made me laugh out loud. Avra was a hilariously endearing narrator, and I enjoyed spending time in his life. It was a definite change in tone from Rowland’s previous books I’ve read, but in a seamless way, and if you’ve read A Taste of Gold and Iron this is set in the same world so there are some cool Easter eggs to notice.

A hilarious, pun-filled trip on the seven seas. This book was exactly what I needed when coming off an epic, heartbreaking fantasy read. It was funny, and light-hearted, melodramatic and saucy. A perfect read.

Arva, Tev and Julian were the perfect mix of characters, with sensitive Julian bridging the gap between the needy, sweetheart Arva and perpetually grumpy Captain Tev. I can't wait to see more of these characters as Julian untangles their feelings and intrinsically understands the root of their behaviours.
Sea serpents, thieves, mysterious animals and revolutionaries all add to this fantastical ocean quest, but the character dynamics are really the backbone here.
With the possible exception of the Cake Competition, which may have been my favourite part of the whole story! A bunch of big, burly pirates, battling seagulls and sabotage to protect their employer's cakes! I loved the sheer breadth of insults about rival cake-makers, and defy anyone not to giggle out loud.
A book that will have you kicking your feet in glee and snorting into your pina colada! Perfection.

A book to have a great time, this is your story.
Here we find funny characters that make you live a lot of hilarious moments that will make you laugh a lot.

It has been a great story where we have gay pirates, so we are already on the right track, it has been a great story to spend all the time while still having a smile on your face and having a good time.

This story has a great combination of plot, setting, characters and moments, that will make you stop laughing when you remember it; the author's writing is so great that you can't help but say that the absurdity of some things in the story only make it more unforgettable and make you want to read it again.

Adventure on the high seas with colorful characters that will make you forget reality and have a great time laughing your head off and wanting to be part of the crew and laugh at the incongruent characters.

#RunningClosetotheWind #NetGalley

This was, quite simply, impeccable. I was laughing by page 5 and never really stopped. It is not an exaggeration when I say that after finishing this, I was bouncing off the walls with excitement and still giggling to myself for a solid 90 minutes. I cannot feasibly write an extensive review on all the parts of this that I loved as I would essentially quote the entire book and say 'it's so good!!!'.

Upon opening this I saw that the dedication was to Terry Pratchett, one of my favourite authors (2nd favourite to be precise) since I was about 10 years old and picked up the Bromeliad trilogy. Rowland did not disappoint. The blend of outrageous comedy and satire and comments on the human conditions is reminiscent of the early Rincewind books, while still being entirely Rowland's own style and work.
Writing a comedy is hard. Tone is notoriously hard to convey through text alone and the delivery relies so heavily on how the reader interprets it. But Rowland has mastered it. This was an absolute riot from the get go and there were so many points where I was genuinely wiping away tears of laughter from my eyes. The cake competition is far and away the best thing I have read in the last few years.

Most comedies rely on coincidences. Characters conveniently get lucky and make it through tricky situations by the skin of their teeth, in a way that can make it hard for the reader to truly believe that there are any stakes. Rowland acknowledges this, and instead of asking us to pretend we don’t know that all will be well in the end, Avra is ‘cursed’ with good luck. No matter how hard he tries, things just go right for him. He defines himself as a luck agnostic, but everyone around him is well aware that this man is the four-leaf clover of people. With less time having to be given to coming up with convincing ways out of various scrapes we instead get some incredibly dry humour and Rowland manages to sneak some truly great character work into a book that is largely about Avra desperately wanting to shag someone to make himself feel better.

I adore this book. It is the best book I have read all year. Second place goes to A Taste of Gold and Iron, also by Alexandra Rowland. They may now be an auto-buy author and I most certainly will be forcing anyone and everyone I know to buy and read this. I give myself one more week before I read it again with my excuse being 'it is pride after all...'

I was really taken by the premise, and I'm all for witty and slightly absurd writing, but this just didn't do it for me. I got tired of Avra and his point of view very shortly into the book, and while having some innuendo and jokes of that nature is fine by me, when it's every other sentence it gets old and cringy really quickly. I'm all for tension and chemistry, but this was not subtle at all, and even a bit uncomfortable. This wasn't for me, unfortunately.

This was an interesting read. I really liked previous book from the author in this world, but there was something about this one that didn't quite work for me. I couldn't quite get into the language and the main character. He was just obnoxious and it was too much goin on in his dirty mind. Ended up being pretty uneventful in the end too, which was disapointing.

But the upside is that I still love the world and the lore. Rowland is a talented author and I really do like how inclusive this world is and how queer normative it is. We need books like this. Unfortunately, this one didn't fit my taste, but I'm sure plenty of people will love it.

4.5/5

This was an absolute blast! I have never had so much fun or laughed so hard whilst reading a book! Alexandra Rowland is so skilled at writing such a vast array of emotions and such different, yet equally enjoyable and compelling, stories!

I loved A Taste of Gold and Iron unfathomable amounts, which is also set in this world, but Running Close to the Wind takes place in a completely different location and has an incredibly different, more light-hearted, tone. I adore both of these books for wildly different reasons. It is such a talent to be able to write across different subgenres and different tones like Rowland has done across only these two books (I am yet to read their other works).

The first thing I have to say, that I so eloquently wrote down in my notes, is: PIRATES! Literally what more could you ask for than a fun, rambunctious, goofy bunch of queer pirates? I can think of nothing better! The whole cast is so lively and vibrant, every single one of the characters we meet along the way have such bold and memorable personalities. They're all so much fun to read about! (That truly is the word of this review, fun, it perfectly encapsulates every thought I had whilst reading!)

One of its comp titles is Our Flag Means Death and if you like OFMD please read this, I beg you, you will absolutely love it! (And if you don't like OFMD... what's wrong with you?)
There's something so freeing about reading about pirates (or watching a show with pirates) even if it's romanticised for all our viewing pleasure; they're outcasts, criminals, people who cannot exist in society, and so they find escape on the seas. This particularly resonates with people from a whole host of marginalised identities and is why pirate stories like these are so important, pirates stories where the main characters are disabled and BIPOC and queer and genderqueer, and of so many varying situations which make their participation in society so much harder and therefore the pirate's life at sea so much more freeing. And this emotion, even in a story as hilarious and whimsical as this one, still punctuates each movement and really adds to our love and affection for the characters.

It is by far the funniest book I've ever read, I was absolutely crying with laughter. It's just hilarious and so silly in the best possible way! As with anything humour-related in books, it will of course be quite subjective as to whether or not you'll like this type of humour, but I think it's incredibly funny and I think most others will think the same. I just kept bursting out laughing!

I don't even know how to begin summing up my thoughts about this book, I just feel such an overwhelming sense of love for it. I had the best time reading it and eagerly await reading it all over again (you're all so lucky, getting to experience it for the first time)! The characters were phenomenal, they had so much personality and wit and joviality. I also loved that we navigated more complex situations in their relationships and guarded emotions; for all its humour, this book was never one note, it still had a whole lot to say. The plot was so much FUN from beginning to end, it's so hard to put down, I just wanted to read and read and read!
My favourite out of context moment is: glowing blue dogs. Come back to this and tell me your favourite absolutely bonkers moment once you've read it!

I wholeheartedly recommend this story, it is the most fun you will have reading anything! And as I so eloquently already said: PIRATES!

Thank you Netgalley and Tor for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. (Seriously, thank you!)

Not sure how I feel about this one, I loved the relationships and the development but the story overall wasn't that well developed. I love the concept of the pirate ex and the ship setting along with the adventures but the plot was not solid. I think I could warm up to this more on a reread as the ending gripped me so the overall story is not built strongly or standing well. 3 stars

I’m not sure how to review this book. I’m actually not sure what I’ve just read! I’m definitely sure that this is one of the weirdest books I’ve read in a long time! I think I enjoyed it but, it did take me a while. That might have been the ‘Carry On’ (very 1960 / 70s series very non politically correct comedy films,) or maybe the key protagonist Avra - who is most definitely one of the most exhausting characters I’ve ever read!

I know, it sounds like I didn’t enjoy it but, I’m not saying that! This is most definitely a camp, queer, comedic, low stakes fantasy that is most definitely character driven. Avra is an ex-government spy with what must be the world’s highest sex drive and the luck of the Irish, pot of gold at the end of a rainbow finding, walking shamrock! (Yes, I know all the stereotypes in that analogy.) There’s a soulful, brooding, introverted captain - Teveri, who tolerates Avra at best in their most excellent day and you’ll find out what happens on the rest of the days and finally Julian, a drop dead gorgeous celibate Vintish monk that Tev and Avra both lust after!

It took me a little to get into the story and get my head around Avra’s character but, as the plot and comedy progressed, he grew on me - a bit like mould. Once it’s there, it hangs around!

The plot itself is almost a sidebar to the characters but, it is there and through it I definitely found the characters more endearing as I got to know them and if you’re looking for something that tickles your fantasy fancy or if you like Pratchett, Discworld and something a little bit different and funny, you won’t go far wrong with Running Close to the Wind. It’s a fun, zany read and definitely brings a whole new dimension to baking and cake competitions!

Thanks to Pan MacMillan, Bookbreak UK, Tor and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Running Close to the Wind is a queer fantasy comedy by Alexandra Rowland set in the same world as her fantastic queer fantasy romance A Taste of Gold and Iron. It follows ex-spy Avra as he accidentally on purpose steals a priceless secret. He flees on a pirate ship captained by his on-again, off-again lover Teveri. They hatch a plot to sell the secret to the highest bidder on the black market, but they must first unravel the secret with the help of handsome scholar monk Julian whose vow of celibacy is an inconvenient complication.

This is an odd, odd book and a vast departure from the tone and storytelling of A Taste of Iron and Gold. It can certainly be read as a standalone. This is foremost a pirate fantasy comedy with the sheer amount of jokes, ridiculous characters/situations, and all around buffoonery. This book is very unserious, has no antagonist, and plays a lot of the plot for laughs. There’s storythreads involving getting into the sexy monk’s pants whose past sexual escapades has forced him into a vow of celibacy, escaping sea serpents and catching glowing blue dogs, and smack-talking a cake-baking competition.

Avra, our main protagonist, is a horny little man in his mid-30s who is blessed with luck. He leans into his personality of horniness and patheticness but with a lot of heart if you can overlook that feeling of watching a trainwreck of a person. Honestly, he would be so exhausting if he weren’t so entertaining instead. He is in love (or lust) with nonbinary Tev, and you can tell that there’s real feelings of friendship if not love between them. They are also competing with each other on who will get to break Julian’s vow of celibacy in a series of increasingly hilarious teasing exchanges. Yes, a lot (and I mean A LOT) of the humor is surprisingly sexual, but it is actually mostly just teasing because the limited amount of sex was all closed door. There’s a hint of possible polyamory, but the book ends before it happens.

Running Close to the Wind is chaotic fun in fantasy book form.

I think the best word I can come up with to describe this book is "unhinged". It's fast paced, funny and utterly daft. Avra is freakishly lucky and has accidentally stolen one of the greatest shipping secrets out there - how to get past the sea serpents in breeding season. Picked up by his ex's pirate ship, he and Captain Tev come up with a plan to sell and make them all rich legends. But first Brother Julian, the inconveniently celibate monk scientist, has to figure out exactly how it works, and they have to be on the Isles of Lost Souls for THE cake competition.

Avra is by turns deeply irritating (to the crew, to Tev, to the reader) and someone who you really want to win out. Tev's crew are mostly very enjoyable side-characters, and Tev themself has a fascinating back story. The plot has some deeply silly aspects - the cake competition is both pivotal and daft - but wins out because it's overall relatively quite straightforward, it's the unhinged characters who make the book stand out.

It's not for everyone, but I loved it.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me at 77 pages.

Having loved A Taste of Gold and Iron, I really hoped I would enjoy another book set in the same universe (despite it being based around pirates which I don't usually like). Unfortunately this just didn't work for me. It's completely different from ATOGAI in tone, premise and characters, and I suspect may appeal predominantly to a different kind of reader.

I would suggest giving this book a try of you are a fan of irreverent, comic fantasy. It is genuinely funny; even though I wasn't enjoying the book I still laughed out loud multiple times. You do also need to be a reader who does not mind reading unlikeable or annoying main characters.

It's well written and easy to read and I'm sure there are people who will love this book, sadly I am just not one of them.

I really liked A Taste of Gold and Iron, but I think this is a book that is unfortunately not for me.

It's very heavy on sex and desire, which isn't something I enjoy, but if you like your pirate adventures with a pool of libido and a treasure chest full of sex jokes then this is the tale for you.

I will still absolutely recommend this book to all my pirate loving friends, because the problem may just be me not liking pirates enough.

3.75 rounded up to 4.

I wasn't stuck on what to say about this book, I was more stuck on what to rate it. Merely because there was so much going on, and yet not at all... Lemme explain;
This was a low-stakes fantasy with a character that has amazing luck (hilariously so), who continues to pine after a captain who clearly cannot stand them on their best days.
Going into this fantasy, I thought it was going to be a smidge bit more serious, think of Pirates of the Carrabian. Instead, we get an outright funny story about an ex-government spy, a broody captain and a dorp-dead-gorgeous celibate monk (both the MMC and I had trouble wrapping our brains around that).

To get to the nitty-gritty, I enjoyed the story, there was something continuously pulling me towards the narrative. It did, however, take me a long while to get to love Avra because I *FELT* his extrovertedness through the book and it exhausted me. So much so that this book took me over 20 days to finish...

Despite an exhausting (more than normal high libido) main character, the author's writing style definitely intrigued me enough to scope their other works.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Tor for sending me an ARC for my honest review.

A very chaotic, humorous and horny tale about pirates, not pirates, sea monsters and cake.
It very much had the feel of Our Flag Means Death (though not very PG13) and Voyage of the Damned, the humour was very chaotic, at some points a little tiresome, but it was an enjoyable read with a lot of fun characters that got a lot of baggage.

It was VERY different than A Taste of Gold and Iron that I read before, but it's great to see that the author got such a wide range.

OMG, what was that?? In the best way possible, what the heck did I just finish reading? This was the funniest, weirdest, unbelievable and horniest book I’ve ever read 😂 This book is describes as ”Our flag means death” meets ”Six of crows. I’ve yet to read Six of crows, but I have watched Our flag means death, and I adore that show. Makes me laugh so much each time, like this book did. The characters are INSANE and crazy, and also so lovable and goofy. Like nothing is taking seriously here, they way the characters speak is just hilarious and so interesting. The thought process of our mail character, can’t even describe it, you just need to read it! This book has no explicit scenes, but DAMN do they talk about it. These people are the horniest bunch I’ve ever read or seen 😂 Also love the queer representation in this book, non binary characters, gay, pan sexuals, all the colours of rainbow literally 🌈👏🏼 I still can’t believe I’ve had this ARC since FEBRUARY, and I didn’t read it until now. God, I’ve been missing out.

La verdad, no sé si rendirme ya con Alexandra Rowland o seguir intentando encontrar a la escritora que tanto me gustó con A Conspiracy of Truths pero que me decepcionó terriblemente en A Taste of Gold and Iron. Con Running Close to the Wind recupera un poco el crédito perdido, pero no deja de ser una broma un tanto chabacana demasiado estirada.


En cuanto al libro en sí, está tan enormemente volcado en hacernos reír con las constantes referencias sexuales del narrador y sus allegados que la verdad, deja poco poso. Avra Helvaçi es un espía, pero se pasa la vida pensando más con su miembro viril que con cualquier otro órgano de su cuerpo. Cuando la fortuna de la que hace gala durante toda la novela lo sitúa en el mismo barco que su antiguo amante el capitán Teveri az-Haffar y el hermano Julian con su inconveniente voto de abstinencia, todo se convierte en un carrusel de exaltación de la belleza de ambos, con una dura competición en la escala de Henrycavillismo que me acabo de inventar pero que sin duda sabréis interpretar. Que haya un secreto que descifrar, una conspiración que desentrañar y mucho dinero que ganar palidece frente a la posibilidad de envainar el sable pirata.

La única vez en la que deja de tener tantísima relevancia el sexo es en una competición de pasteles entre los piratas, por que, ¿por qué no? Claro que ya no me sorprende nada, ahí tenemos la novela de Lavanya Lakshminarayan Interstellar Megachef o la serie Disco Space Opera de Cat Rambo para saber cuánto daño ha hecho Master Chef en el imaginario colectivo de los autores del fantástico.

La broma se alarga demasiado para mi gusto, porque me temo que el humor que destila no es exactamente el mío. No está mal escrito y puede ser divertido, pero no lo puedo recomendar.

This book was the funniest thing ever! I love that more and more fantasy worlds are queer normative, I think that's a great way to exploit that aspect of the fantasy genre, that possibility to completely let go of our society's norms and tabous. I do think that because it was so silly all the time, it lacked any stakes whatsoever and that made it a little hard to truly care for any of the characters. 4 stars