Retro Friday Review: Curse of the Blue Tattoo by LA Meyer

Retro Friday is a meme hosted by Angie of Angieville and "focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc."

Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady by LA Meyer
Publisher: Listen & Live Audio
Publication date: (book published in 2004)
Length: 14 hrs 13 min
Source: Audiobook from Library
For: Fun
Series: Bloody Jack Adventures, Book 2

*Likely to be spoilers for the first book, Bloody Jack*
After being set off shore in Boston to attend a ladies' school, Jacky misses her life on the open seas - and Jaimy, of course. She's finding that all of her training at sea and on the streets didn't prepare her for the horrors of being a lady. It seems that around every corner is a new disaster, waiting for Jacky to put her foot in it.

Things I Liked:
Are you prepared for more Jacky-raving?  If not, skip right on by this review.  Oh, Jacky.  I love this series with a serious passion and I can't get enough of Jacky's hard-headed, foolish, impulsive charm.  She goes from one disaster to the next, leaving a wake of destruction behind her, but you can't help but love her!  I'm also quite impressed with the natural historical fiction details about Boston that Meyer manages to squeeze in.  I once again must rave over the inimitable Katherine Kellgren, who does a fantastic job narrating the audiobook, keeping me enthralled in the story not only with her many and varied accents, but with the emotions she can portray with that voice.  I am so happy to have more adventures with Jacky, and thrilled there are still more books in the series for me to devour (all with similarly awesome titles).

Things I Didn't Like:
Ok, I have to admit the adventures leave you a bit incredulous.  It's a big stretch to imagine her literally going from stepping in one pile of poop right into the next with no break between.  But honestly, I just can't help but follow her wherever she goes.  Count me a fan of Miss Jacky Faber.

Read-alikes:
Start with Bloody Jack by LA Meyer (and prepare yourself to be entertained)
It kind of reminded me of (an irreverent, more lively version of) A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@
a fair number of cuss words

mrg-factor: XX
they do tend to get a bit bawdy

v-factor: ->
mostly for some scary situations she finds herself in

Overall rating: *****

Please tell me some of you are Jacky-addicts?  I may have to create a week-long celebration for this character!

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage