Playing Through Every Choices Book, In Order (Part 84: Shipwrecked)

Hey! Today we crash onto the island of Moku, and contend with smugglers and volcanic activity alike!

Next time, we become a culinary producer working alongside a very temperamental chef...whose last name isn't Ramsey.

Link to previous reviews: https://www.reddit.com/user/stresseatingdog/comments/sj3s3m/all_choices_reviews_megapost/

Shipwrecked

M/C: Lance Valentine

Love Interest(s): Manu

Favorite Characters: Manu, The Parrot

Least Favorite Characters: Dr. Hale, Tak

Rating: 8/10

From one ship-titled book to another, and I personally enjoy this one a lot more, and that isn't just because this one is GOC (although that does make any book automatically better for me!).

First off, I enjoy M/C and Manu's relationship - the rather stoic and gruff captain with the more cheerful and quirky scientist is a fun dynamic, and I enjoy their relationship growing. Admittedly, it feels like they start becoming a couple a bit too early, but I can excuse that with them only having each other for human contact for a time.

This was also the first smut book to be GOC, and for that I will always appreciate this book a lot. Regardless of your personal feelings on the smut books, if they have to be there, I want them to be GOC, and this book was the first to do it.

The villains are detestable, but that's a good thing. When I put villainous characters like Dr. Hale in my least favorite characters, don't think that means I hate them - rather, I love to hate them. Bascially, they did their jobs as villains, and gracing my least favorite list as a purposefully unlikeable character is a good thing. I love how Dr. Hale and Tak both straight up just die at the end, with Dr. Hale even getting literally burned alive by lava. There have been worse villains than these two, but their deaths are like so much more brutal than others.

The CG of M/C and Manu in front of the volcano is so pretty, and in general, the various backgrounds and scenes in this book are really pretty. (just wanted to mention that lol).

I do have some critiques, however. The book takes a bit too long to get going - you don't actually meet Dr. Hale until like chapter ten or eleven*.* This makes the first nine or so chapters somewhat dull, although I do enjoy the relationship building between M/C and Manu.

Speaking of, that's my other major critique - the pacing of the relationship. We go from Manu being unsure and closed off after M/C and them sleep together/kiss on the mountaintop, to Manu and M/C banging in like all of the remaining chapters. It's not a huge deal, but I would have liked to see more natural progression.

The bond score is an interesting idea that doesn't get used often enough for me to truly care, but that's more of a me issue than anything.

Overall, I do really enjoy Shipwrecked. Manu's sprites are really nice, and correct me if I'm wrong, but at the time, they were the first LI to have exclusively POC sprites?

I only wish the majority of the smut books were similar to this one, in terms of GOC...and in terms of actually having a plot.