Blacksouls by Nicole Castroman

Finally reaching Nassau, Anne and her friends, Cara and Coyle Flynn, seek out their uncle, Alastair Flynn, for work and safety. Meanwhile, Teach’s ship, the Deliverance, is attacked by pirates. The captain refuses to fight and is killed, causing Teach to take command and save the ship. Because Teach’s actions can be interpreted as mutinous, Teach and faithful crew members are arrested once they arrive in Nassau. It seems even in the New World, innumerable forces are trying to keep Anne and Teach from being together. But they are determined to find a way, even if it means turning to piracy.

Castroman does not disappoint in her second Blackhearts novel. The suspense, unpredictability, and action is amped up when Anne and Teach enter the New World. Anne becomes a stronger character as she fights for her independence and Teach’s freedom. This is an ironic switch because Teach did the same for Anne while in England. Anne’s profound strength and courage is mostly due to Alastair's wife, Beth. Thanks to Beth, Anne has hope to be with Teach because Beth and Alastair have made a life for themselves in the Caribbean. However, racism, slavery, greed, and Old-World prejudices are still prevalent. When things finally fall apart in Nassau, Anne and Teach realize they must create their own world so they can be together.

Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

For five months Anne has been surviving servitude to the rich shipping merchant, Master Drummond. However, Anne secretly plans to escape to the West Indies—the location where Anne’s English father and her West Indian mother fell in love. Anne’s goal is sidetracked when she meets Master Drummond’s son, Edward “Teach”. Teach, freshly returned from a year at sea, is immediately drawn to Anne because of her strength, intelligence, and beauty. He offers her true friendship, but she hesitates not only because of their differing social classes, but because Teach is engaged to a baron's daughter. As time goes by, the pair cannot deny they have met their match in one another.

After visiting sites associated with the pirate Blackbeard, Castroman began wondering what motivated Blackbeard to become a pirate. From these musings and her research, Castroman created Blackhearts, her debut teen novel. Castroman puts forward a noteworthy piece of literature that will have readers spellbound by her two incredibly strong, leading characters: Anne and Teach. Anne doesn’t know where she belongs because of her English/West Indian background. All she knows is that she needs to escape. Teach doesn’t want to live an aristocratic lifestyle. All he knows is he needs an escape. When the two meet, Anne finds a refuge and Teach finds an equal. With Blackhearts, Castroman expertly shows that a book can still be considered a “romance” when sex is not included. Anne and Teach’s relationship is more of a meeting of minds and hearts, similar to characters like Jane Erye and Mr. Rochester. A bright literary future awaits Castroman if she creates such quality reads like Blackhearts.