Friday, February 3, 2023

Review: Pirate Penance: A Rock ’n’ Roll Novel by E.Z. Prine



Genre: Humor

Description:

“It’s 1984, and Jack St James, lead singer for rock band Pirate, thought he’d married the woman of his dreams only to discover the minister didn’t have a valid license. So it’s off to Vegas, along with the band, to make the marriage official in front of an Elvis impersonator. Jack and his bride rock up to the chapel, only to find that Jack’s cash and credit cards are gone. As Jack chases down band members to get them back, he gets sucked into one band problem after another, only to find his bride now has cold feet.

Meanwhile, back in L.A., George discovers that his wife has fallen in love with another man and wants a divorce. Barricading himself in his hotel room, George refuses to give up his beloved toddler son, even when she gets the police involved.

After trying to help George, Sam is back to escorting his mom and sisters around the tourist sites in L.A. Only a mangy cat grabs his ankle and won’t let go, preventing him from getting in their limo. Trying to do the right thing for the poor little creature, Sam finds himself saddled with a huge vet bill and a growing attachment to a pet he can’t keep. A pet he’s named Hendrix after his rock ’n’ roll hero. A pet who adores him and defends him from his sisters. A pet whom everyone has fallen in love with except the one person who can decide Drixy’s future – the germ-obsessed Jack St James.”

Author:

“E.Z. (‘Easy’) Prine writes about the escapades of Pirate, a fictional eighties hard rock band out of Manchester, England. The Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 sparked what has become E.Z.’s lifelong devotion to ‘classic rock’ and fascination with those luminaries we call rock stars.

The Pirate series is E.Z.’s love letter to rock ’n’ roll and personal thank you to all the artists and supporting others who brought this amazing contribution to our world. May we always rock on.”

For more visit the website for Pirate and follow their Facebook page.

Appraisal:

This book has a short novel, the third of the series, plus three short stories.

The novel ties up the major story threads that needed a resolution from the first two books in the series. Jack and Lucy have a bit of a trip-up on the way to the altar and figuring out whether they’re going to get married or not is a big part of the story here.

There are also three short stories after the main story that focus on members of the band outside of the main storyline and timeline of the novels. They’re a lot of fun and help the reader get to know and understand some members of the band better who hadn’t received a lot of attention thus far.

With the prior book taking the band to the end of the tour that Jack planned on making their last, this might be the end of series, but the possibility of more to come isn’t completely ruled out. I found this series to be a very fun read, full of humor, but with a plot that kept me guessing as to where the story was headed while also keeping me engaged the whole way.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

In my reviews of the first two books in this series I suggested that adult language and content was to be expected in a book focused on an 80s rock band. Nothing has changed in this book.

While it might be possible to read this book and figure out what is going on I’d advise against it. Instead, get the first two books in the series and read them first. Too many things going on that you’ll only half understand otherwise.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

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