This was unfortunately a huge disappointment for me. I absolutely loved one of the author's previous books (A Taste of Gold and Iron) to the point it's one of my favorites and was so excited about this one. In addition the description sounded like something I would love. But from the beginning of the novel I just couldn't get into at all. The writing style feels pretty abrasive and I couldn't get attached to any of the characters at all. In fact, I was quickly turned off by most of them and because I didn't care about any of the characters, the plot just seemed irrelevant.

I really wanted to and wish I did love this one but instead it's been one of my biggest disappointments so far this year. I will continue to read more by the author though because this could have just been a fluke. Not every book fits.

I absolutely loved this book! Absolute hilarious mayhem is the best way to describe the story and I honestly didn't know quite what I was getting into but I'm so glad I got to read it - especially as it has helped get me out of a huge reading slump.

The first couple of chapters were a bit of a struggle as it dives straight in to utter madness that has a lot of very fast dialogue (think Gilmore Girls but faster) in between info on the history of the characters. Once I got into the flow of it, however, and started to really appreciate the different cadences of each character's dialogue, it became much easier to follow. The humour and pacing reminded me quite a lot of Terry Pratchett so fans of his writing are likely to enjoy Running Close to the Wind.

I truly love how unapologetically queer and slutty so many of the characters are, especially as it leads to some hilarious dynamics and moments. Having Avra promise repeatedly to swallow dicks like a python had me crying with laughter.

As well as being funny, there are some really sweet moments and characters are given the opportunity to grow. Seeing relationships develop and getting insight into why people are the way they are adds a great depth and actually helps the humour be more powerful.

I really hope we see more of these characters in future works as I am hooked and want to know if Julian really did break his vow and show Avra exactly how good a boy he is.

In short, massively disappointing (especially as I completely loved one of this author's earlier books, A Conspiracy of Truths) and trying far too hard to be funny - sadly, it's my view that the harder you try at this, the less you succeed. I'm sure there will be people out there who absolutely adore this book but I'm decidedly not one of them. I finally gave up on this book at about 64% percent and it made so little impression on me that I just had to look up the name of the main character in order to write this review even though I deleted the ebook just a couple of hours ago.

The basic premise of the book is that our protagonist (the extremely annoying Avra) is a former spy who has fled his employers while in possession of some important documents. The book is set in a part of the world where sea serpents mating regularly makes travel by boat impossible unless you have the secret way of subduing them that Avra's country has developed. Clearly this is a secret worth selling but Avra needs to stay alive long enough to make profit from it, which leads to him running off to a pirate of his previous acquaintance (Tev) to see if they will keep him safe and also are interested in profiting from it too.

So far so good. Sadly, the interesting set up of the world in which this book is set is undercut by the sheer annoyance factor of the main character and the 'oh, look at me I'm being so witty and funny and look at me!' dialogue. This is supposed to be a grown adult in his 30s who has been working as a spy for a number of years, yet who comes across as a simpering idiot who only thinks about sex. The annoying thing is that at times there are elements to the character which would be much more interesting (like the 'you treat us like people and that's why everyone is glad to see you' conversation with a sex worker later on) but this is subsumed by everything else.

The other main characters are really two-dimensional - there's also a ridiculously handsome monk/scholar in there somewhere, so I assume that there'll be some sex later on. I didn't get that far. I'm sure the author had a great time writing this, the acknowledgments section seems to imply this, but I wish I'd had an equally great time reading it instead of being left disappointed that someone I know can write a much more interesting book than this wasted my time by making their main character a walking caricature.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

Honestly this will not be a book that everyone loves and if blunt it took me a while to actually care at all for these characters ! The author has given us a pirate story set in the same world as her fabulous A Tale Of Gold And Iron but it’s the most kooky set of characters you will ever read about ! Avra is irritating ( by choice ! ), Teveri is ( think they not he or she ) distant and easily annoyed and then there’s Julian the apparently extremely hot Monk who calmly puts up with all of Avras shenanigans and trust me he could test the patience of a Saint. Yet this odd trio do stumble through sea serpents, blue dogs , pirates, ghosts and the most bizarre best cake competition you will ever read about.
As I stated I don’t believe this comedy of pirate hijinks will appeal to everyone. I think Avra with his peculiar mouth noises, lack of self worth and at times childish ways will stymy many. That having being said though as I stuck with it and the story unfolded I did find myself invested in what would happen. There’s an on off relationship between Avra and Teveri that initially appalled me but the reality is we all have our own quirks, foibles and needs . I did find the ever horny Avra to be a genuinely kind person who respected others and of course there’s the mysterious Julian who I always imagined with a twinkle in his eye. Is this a romance ? Well Teveri and Avra certainly have an understanding and as this ends none of them get arrested so I think this couple could indeed become a throuple . I will just say though that even though there’s plenty of references to bedroom olympics there’s definitely nothing upon these pages to get the reader needing a cold shower so safely enjoy this completely bonkers and madcap story !
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Before beginning I would like to thank NetGalley and Tor for a copy of this book!

A nautical novel, brimming with sexual comedy. I wasn't quite sure what I expected after reading Rowland's last book, it certainly wasn't this, but I absolutely loved it. Not only did I find myself giggling during the book, but I was also pleasantly surprised by how shockingly poignant it was.

While the setting was lovely, as was the amazing representation always found in Rowland's books, my favourite part was the characters. Despite many layers of well-timed (and poorly-timed) sexual jokes, I grew really fond of the characters. Avra, and his relationship with Teveri in particular, was simultaneously abused and incredibly realistic. I am not quite sure how Rowland achieved it, but it was a pleasure to read. Julian was such a fun character too; a sexually mischievous monk who has taken a vow of celibacy? In theory, it's amusing, in practice it is hilarious. My only critique would be that the plot was not as polished as I would have liked. I felt it was cut a little short and was a little clunky, but when jamming in as many jokes about genitals as possible, the plot is bound to not be perfect.

Nonetheless, it was an amazing read that I will undoubtedly recommend to anyone I come in contact with for the foreseeable future. As long as they do not mind sex jokes.

Despite the description being right up my street, I've had to DNF as I really couldn't get on with the writing style. It just felt like a mush mash of sentences and 10% in I still don't know what was happening.

I had so much fun with Rowlands latest book, it was an absolute delight to read. While it's set in the same universe as Iron and Gold and the Chant series (loved the chant camo, will always want more of them), you don't need to read them in order to still fully enjoy this. In fact, I recommend starting with this one as it is by far the funniest one. It's been a while since I laughed so much at a book, but this one is just so ridiculous and pulls it off with its charming main character, Avra. I loved him so much and every silly thing he said and did. The poly romance was great, the push and pull between them all was delightful, especially when the celibate monk would pull on Avra's hair to encourage more information out of him. What really puts this book over Iron and Gold is that not only is the romance but it also a very entertaining plot. The stolen secret that would destroy the monopoly an empire holds over the seas is being decoded by the monk, and I loved the political rant he goes on about sharing this information rather than selling it to the highest bidder.

If you want a funny queer fantasy full of pirates, cake competitions and the slutty celibate monks, then pick up this book as soon as it comes out. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Also, thanks to the publishers for sending me a physical ARC after all the formatting issues I had with their ebooks!

"I'm going to tear down something that the most powerful people in the world very much don't want to have torn down. And I'm going to get away with it." [loc. 5067]

Ex-spy Avra Helvaçi is possessed of unusually good luck, a bunch of secret papers from the Shipbuilders' Guild, and a long-lasting fixation on dashing nonbinary pirate captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār. (He is not, however, possessed of any personal dignity whatsoever.) Reunited, the two join forces to become (a) really rich and (b) not dead, with a mutual aim of (c) persuading the gorgeous Brother Julian that vows of celibacy are really boring.

I've reread the novel for a more thorough review, though the summary above encompasses most of the important points. I note that I did not mention the Heralds, the Tarotesque deck (the Alchemist, the Bower (which is not always about sex), the Sea-Serpent) which Avra often uses -- his possibly-Goddess-given luck providing spookily accurate readings -- to assess a situation or predict an outcome; the truthwitch, overwhelmed by Brother Julian's oversharing; the Scuttle Cove cake competition, with its high seagull mortality rate and creative critiques; the subtle exploration of Avra's psyche and Tev's backstory; the crew of The Running Sun, as diverse and characterful a bunch as you could wish for; and the overarching theme of revolution. It's apposite that the author dedicates this book to Terry Pratchett, and says in the afterword that 'the best comedy comes from a place of deep, righteous anger -- and as long as you can laugh, there's still a part of you that's free.'

This is a hilarious and heartfelt novel, which I suspect some people will find highly irritating. I loved it and look forward to buying it for all my friends, especially those who are fans of a recent, much-lamented TV show about queer pirates.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy: UK publication date is 13 JUN 2024.

I really wanted to like this more than I did.

The premise was there. I see what was trying to be done with this book, but I just don't think it was for me. The ending was just so lack luster. I wanted more.

A very conflicted three stars.

Avra has insanely good luck. Sadly, that means he keeps running into Captain Teveri, a pirate who has tried everything they can to get rid of Avra who is like an annoying, clinging cat, a piteous pup, a lecherous leech.
Avra, now a former agent for the intelligence ministry, seeks a mutually beneficial alliance with Teveri as he has recently stolen classified information that could change the tides ( get it ;)? ) of Tev’s crew.
Oh, and of course, there’s an unfairly hot priest on board who has taken vows of celibacy. Avra has taken an oath to get in his pants.

“Therefore I will point out, to my great regret, that it is more prudent to wait on the matter of beating him up and leaving him for dead until we have a contract for the sale in hand. At which point, we can maybe just butcher him and sell the meat to Eel-Face Yusin as some weird kind of fish.”

The main character was INFURIATING. He is a self-proclaimed flibbertigibbet and just won’t shut up. Which I normally love. But he’s also a 35-year-old man who refers to himself as a ‘poor little slut’ multiple times.
Avra is, simply put, pathetic and annoying. He has zero filter, no intelligence, and one heck of a sex drive. Like he is unbelievably horny all the time. Yet he is oddly entertaining, like a train wreck you can’t tear your eyes from.

”In the last two days, I have been through more than any silly little slut should ever have to go through!"

Thankfully, Tev is a lot easier to root for. Gender non-conforming, done with everyone’s crap (understandable), broody, witty, and seemingly nursing a dark past.
Also, he writes the best inventory entries, ship logs, and diary accounts which end and start each chapter!

This book is just bizarre. Absolutely whacky.
Turtle astrology. Sea serpents. Glowing, blue dogs. Cake competitions… Like 20% of the book is a cake competition where they trade insults.

So this book is like its main character - infuriating, long-winded, yet utterly addictive and hilarious.
This kept going between two, three, or four stars! 🌟

Would I recommend this? Kinda? I had a fun ride but I also wanted to scream and rip my hair out.

“And we're all going to try to get through this with our so-called friendships and sanity intact until we can fuck Arast over and die in a blaze of glory."

Thank you to Pan MacMillan for providing a physical arc in exchange for a review!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. I went into this having LOVED a taste of gold and iron, so I was surprised to find that I did not enjoy this as much. This book had a very different tone, and I just did not enjoy the immaturity of the main character. It was hard to believe that he was supposedly a 35 year old. This book is also at least 75% sex jokes, now I don't mind sex humor in general, but here it was very much overdone. However, I did quite like the overall storyline so despite this I am glad I read it, but not one I would come back to unfortunately.

Running Close to the Wind had me flying through the pages, grinning most of the way and laughing out loud on a few occasions. I loved it, and it has become an instant favourite that I plan to revisit in the future. Having said that, I don’t think it’s for everybody… I hope my review will be a good gage of whether or not you’d enjoy it, so let’s get to it.

If you’ve read A Taste of Gold and Iron by the same author, know that this takes place in the same world, shortly after the break-in at the Shipbuilder’s Guild, and there are small allusions to some of the events in that first book. However, you do not need to have read ATOGAI to understand Running Close to the Wind, and in fact the tone and content is so different that there’s no guarantee you’ll like one if you enjoyed the other! Where ATOGAI was serious, and political, and full of mutual pining, RCTTW is chaos from the word go, with innuendos on every page, a main character who is attracted to everyone he meets, pirates, and some delightfully ridiculous world-building. It was fun from start to finish, but there was also an undercurrent of emotional development and dealing with trauma and conflict in an open and healing way. The fact that the climactic moments of this book occur during an annual cake-making competition that the pirates take very seriously (there are even armed guards for each contestant) should give you a good gage of the seriousness of it.

It all starts when Avra Helvaçi decides to test whether he is unusually lucky or not by trying to break in to the Shipbuilder’s Guild of his own country days after someone else did and the entire city is on high alert. Not only does he succeed, but he stumbles upon the secret to Arashti’s ships being able to sail and trade even in the thick of sea-serpent breeding season, when all other ships are stuck on shore. Despite being a former field agent for Arasht, Avra runs straight for pirate Captain Teveri, whom he’s had a rocky relationship with for years (he worships Teveri, and Teveri generally finds him a bit of a nuisance). Though the pirate is reluctant to put up with Avra at first, they can’t deny the goldmine that has landed in their lap, so they enlist the help of new crew member Julian, a beautiful but tragically celibate priest, to try and recreate something they can sell.

Thus begins the adventure, and though I thought it was quite tightly plotted, the mission often felt secondary. I didn’t mind because I enjoyed the interactions between characters, and seeing how much of Avra’s life is just stumbling from one situation to the next and being extremely lucky in the weirdest ways. The story is told in third person, but it’s a close third following Avra, with the occasional captain’s log entry by Teveri to show their perspective. Avra is the definition of a chaos gremlin, with no filter, the constant need for attention (especially Teveri’s, even when it’s negative attention), and a penchant for composing rude poems, so if that does not appeal to you I don’t recommend you read this. He’s full on, but he’s also incredibly caring and genuinely nice to everyone he meets, and wasn’t a field agent for nothing: he’s smart and resourceful, and his luck gets him out of sticky situations in the most hilarious ways.

The rest of the characters were also a lot of fun, and though I was initially unsure about Teveri, I warmed to them quite quickly, and also really enjoyed Julian. There’s a strong found-family feel to the crew on Teveri’s ship, and though this is a stand-alone at the moment, I’m hopeful we’ll get to see more of them in the future. I appreciated seeing a little bit more of the world, even if it’s also mostly set on one location, there’s a bit more development of other cultures and histories that we didn’t get to see in ATOGAI. It’s a world I’d happily read more about, and I do hope Rowland is not finished with it because I love their writing style and though I haven’t read their first series, I’m beginning to think I’d happily pick up anything they write!

Dnf at 20%

I really wanted to like this book and I normally love a good pirate story, but unfortunately this story didn’t click with me. I didn’t feel connected to the characters at all. The humour was a bit much for me. I don’t know, maybe if the humour was a bit toned down, I would have been able to enjoy it.

Thank you Netgalley and TOR for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland was not what I expected. I absolutely loved A Taste of Gold and Iron and this is set in the same world so I immediately wanted to read it. It is however a very different vibe and fundamentally a comedy. This means that if the humour suits you, you'll have a great time, however if you're like me and tire of sex jokes quickly, you'll probably want to give up a couple chapters in. I didn't give up, and did end up having fun while rolling my eyes at points. ⭐⭐⭐

Avra, ex-intelligence agent, has stolen the biggest state secret and ends up teaming up with his ex Teveri, the captain of a pirate ship, to sell it for unimaginable amounts of money. Unfortunately it's not that simple and many antics ensue. First they have to decode the secret, but luckily the crew just picked up a scholar. The extremely beautiful Julian, a monk with "an inconvenient vow of celibacy". You can probably guess what comes next.

The main character Avra is extremely annoying at first. He rarely takes things seriously and is constantly trying to get people's attention by screaming and whining. He does get a bit more depth as the book progresses and that meant I enjoyed the second half of the book more. The most interesting thing about him is his luck, he is believed to be blessed by the goddess of luck. That leads to him winning all games of chance and an unlikely number of lucky coincidences.

The plot is fun, I enjoyed getting to see the pirate republic and the cake competition was highly entertaining. I did laugh at bits even if it wasn't all my kind of humour. I have more mixed feelings around the dynamic between Avra, Teveri and Jullian. Some of it is so well done as they get to know each other and see past the surface. However, I felt like a lot of the emotional depth we got in A Taste of Gold and Iron was missing, and instead we get a lot of talking and thinking about sex. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but personally I've never found sex as a character motivation particularly interesting, I wanted more focus on the feelings.

Running Close to the Wind is out June 13th, thanks Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the eARC!

reeeeeeeeee (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

I adored this book. It's another queer normative world, but this time we're adventuring on the high seas! Well, actually, a little more around an island, and actually, a lot of it we're just hiding on top of a wardrobe attempting to stab people who are trying to get us down. Sorry, silly sluts can't help themselves! (Honestly, I'm sorry to all who are reading this review, in honour of Avra I'm letting my chaos gremlin out to play and smattering this review with references to the book!)

Avra is kind of a disaster, he's fairly obtuse, perpetually horny, and rarely thinks things through. But he's ineffably polite, and, oh, probably blessed by a luck goddess so everything always seems to work in his favour... in the end. The getting there can be pretty hair-raising tho!

Don't expect anything too serious in this book, it's just queer fun meant to amuse and entertain, and in my mind that's exactly was it did.

NB captain, slutty queer chaos gremlin, and, well, Julian. I don't want to spoil anything there. Probably a thruple by the end of the book. Maybe.

Honestly, it was a great little adventure, losing half a star because the ending feels a *tiny* bit rushed.

This is a comedy, explicit but not smutty. The world building is great and didn't feel too heavy. The characters were amazing, they really drove the book. Avra is hilariously annoying, Tev is a whole mood, and Julian is a tease. I love this trio and how their relationships evolve throughout the book. The captain notes from Tev's point of vue were great to read, and added an interesting insight as to what goes on in Tev's head. The plot was good, although the book ended before I thought it would. I understand why but I think I would have liked if it had gone to the end of the resolution? The whole mood of the book is funny and witty. I really liked it overall.

Admitting their debt to Terry Pratchett, this is the sex positive, fantasy fuelled, sequel-of-a-sorts to Rowland's breakout hit A Taste of Gold and Iron, and infused with the same queer but quotidian sensibility.

Running Close to the Wind introduces the glib, unblessed-in-the-height-department, huckster of an anti-hero in Avra, supernaturally lucky but not the cleverest person the room—and as sexually precocious as a rabbit on the first day of Spring; his one-time paramour and nemesis, the ungendered and mysterious Captain Teveri; and the perfectly handsome and imperfectly celibate monk Julian, looming over them both like the holy love child of Ryans Reynold and Gosling.

If you wanted to know what might have happened on a queer version of Dread Pirate Roberts' very own ship, you've come to the right place. This is a riotous, sex positive wonder of a fantasy romp, and fully indebted to Terry Pratchett's irreverent reverence for the genre. It lands full-blown with three fascinating characters who just won't shut up and keep getting under each other's collars in the worst and sexiest of ways.

And what's more, this novel features (no spoiler) the most effed-up GLORIOUS cake competition ever committed to literature, that is, a PIRATE cake competition and all that that implies. Imagine Drag Race with cake. And knobs on. And sprinkles. (Multiple entendres very much meant, thank you very much.)

Look: come for the unabashed polysexual shenanigans of a pirate ship's crew; and stay for the world-building, the genuine laugh-out-loud humour, and a cake competition to top all cake competitions anywhere, in any era.

Cake.

This was possibly one of the most fun books I have ever read! I was absolutely delighted the whole way though, and I loved seeing the world of Rowlands' books from a very different perspective. I can't wait to tell regular customers about these terrible gremlin characters

I am so incredibly worried that people will DNF this after 100 pages, and it breaks my heart. Listen--I've been there. I had doubt, and I'm on my knees begging for forgiveness. All the silliness and frankly outrageous character decisions in the beginning of this book will make the final pay-off so ridiculously sweet you'll be in tears. There's an unspecified amount of crime I'd commit for Avra Helvaçi. Please--if you're on the fence about this one, or have started reading and are ready to slam the pages shut after one or ten jokes too many: stick with it. You've got the whole range of human emotion to experience, sometimes all at the same time!
TL;DR: KEEP READING! Pirate adventures, heartbreaking character revelations, cake competitions, laugh-out-loud humour and the OT3 of a lifetime are waiting in your future!

Review contains mild spoilers!

Genuinely had started to enjoy this book despite all the criticisms I had, then the ending just happened kind of suddenly, kind of like a door being slammed in your face. I was sitting at somewhere between a 3 and 4 star until this point.

The book takes almost nothing seriously, but for the occasional beats with the characters which I really appreciated as someone who loves a character-driven story. I spent a significant amount of time worrying that there wasn't going to be much more to Avra's character other than being a "silly little slut". Turns out he does have hidden depths, and I think the way these came across was very in keeping with the tone of the story - which is a compliment I can definitely give, because the tone and general vibes are very consistent throughout.

I will say, I'm not a person who deliberately seeks out smut or spice in books, I tend to avoid it whether on purpose or by accident. However in this case, it felt extremely odd for Avra to spend the entire book being silly-horny and making a big deal out of getting laid only for these scenes to fade-to-black. And one of the biggest things that Avra, the main character, constantly whines about is Julian's vow of celibacy. Only when Julian finally decides to break that vow, that's when the book ends? So there isn't even a satisfying conclusion to that whole debacle. We also hear a lot about Avra's supposed "luck" and it's made to be a big deal mentioned a lot, but we never explore that. Which leads me into my next criticism: I felt like there was a lot of lore or context I was missing at times. This could be because the book is set in a fantasy world that has already been established in Rowland's other books, or maybe Rowland just didn't feel it was needed considering this book is just Avra's horny shenanigans with plot being kind of a secondary thing.

In one of my notes, I described this book as being like that weird uncle you meet for the first time at a family gathering and he says the most out-of-pocket weird stuff. And at first you're like "what the hell is this guy on?" But after spending some time with him and having a couple of drinks, you start to vibe and enjoy his company and you can laugh at the stuff he says (I did laugh a lot when reading this book), but you never stop thinking he's kind of a freak.

I think ultimately for me, the book ventured too far into being silly and didn't connect with anything deeper or more substantive in a way I would have liked in order to find it satisfying. There were avenues left unexplored, the ending was kind of jarring, and I felt I was missing context or world-building from Rowland's other books. I enjoyed Avra, Teveri, and Julian as characters separately and together, and I think the more grounded aspects of them was done very well and in keeping with the tone of the rest of the book. I laughed very genuinely several times (disclaimer: I'm not saying the humour is particularly intellectual, I'm just saying I like jokes about sex and I like characters being melodramatic on purpose). Based on this book, would I read any more of Rowland's work? Not likely. Would consider reading a sequel depending on what it promised to be about, but again, not sure on that one because this one left me so disappointed.

A shame, because I wanted to like it, it has so many of my favourite things: pirates, queers, silliness, characters with hidden depths, and the objectification of a man with a great set of tits.