Under the Jolly Roger: Bloody Jack #3

I absolutely LOVE this series, and especially this third book. I have to admit I got a bit annoyed with Jacky when she was landlocked in the second book, but in Under the Jolly Roger, she is back at sea, and the story is the most exciting one yet (and I think the best in the series, having now listened to all of them up to Book 7, The Rapture of the Deep). There were parts that had me cheering out loud and clapping, or covering my mouth in horror as I listened to this on my commute and around the house. Kellgren continues to dazzle with her narration -she one of the best narrators out there, and in fact is definitely more of an actress than a reader. Each book is a real performance, and it's like I'm watching a movie in my head while she reads. It's amazing how well she even does the male characters - I forget that I'm listening to one female doing all the parts - it feels like a full cast.

I had no problem waiting a month for my new credits between the first and second book, and the second and third book, but when Under the Jolly Roger reached it's breathtaking conclusion, there was no possible way I could wait, and ended up buying the fourth book sans credits, and it was well worth it, as I've now listened to the third and fourth books twice each.

Don't hesitate to buy this audiobook - it is Jacky Faber at her most resourceful and brilliant, and the entire cast of characters is fantastic - from the loyal Werewolves, to the wonderful and trusty Higgins (I wish I had my own Higgins!!), to the gaspingly evil villain Captain Scroggs. The final scenes of the book are easily the most beautiful and dramatic of the entire series thus far. This book is not to be missed.

I had ignored this series despite my love of Historical and particularly Nautical Fiction (I count Dewey Lambdin and Dan Parkinson two of my favorite authors) due to the fact that it was considered a young adult title. Boy was I wrong for ignoring it. this series grabs you by the ears and makes you want to continue listening to the adventures of this plucky waif who makes the most of any situation. This is one series where I literally could not stop listening. A lot has been said about Katherine Kellgren's reading on this series and she deserves every bit of praise she has received, she breathed life into all of the characters until you couldn't help but feel you were listening directly to their voices and feeling their emotions. This is one series that I will not be deleting off my computer, as I know I will want to listen to it again someday.

Love the entire series but I'm going to take this book to note just how wonderful a narrator Miss Kellgren is. Her energy, dynamic voice acting, and wonderful singing voice pull you into the story. You won't want to put this 'Book' down!

I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book, although despite my rating of 5 stars it could have been a little better. The beginning is a little slow and there are a couple coincidences which seemed a little far fetched. The part which takes place aboard the Wolverene ( the major part of the book) is absolutely fantastic. This and the excellent climax at the end make this a 5 star book. I had some concerns about the parts aboard the Emerald, where the book seemed to take a turn. It didn't make much sense that nobody fires back, for that would have caused a real moral problem, wouldn't it? The low point is when Jackie gets a politically correct sermon about racial slurs. While I agree wholeheartedly that racial slurs are bad, it was out of place and if the author wanted to make this point it should have been done through plot and not a speech.
That said, I will give this book 5 stars because the complaints are really quite minor and I enjoyed this as much or more than any book I have every listened to.
I recommend this book for any age but I caution that if this book were a movie there is a disturbing and important scene which would push the boundaries of a PG13 rating.

So I finished this in less than a week. At first I didn't think I was going to like it, for some reason I didn't like the way it was heading after book 2. But again I was so into the whole story line within the first 2 chapters.
But here I sit for another 17 more days before I can have more. I have now ran out of credits and don't want to listen to anything eles I have in my library and I have a few that I still need to listen too, I will have to make do.
The narrater is so good. I feel it when she gets all crazy my heart rate goes up. I love how these are so full of passion and umf in the voice, and I just love these books. My husband thinks I am crazy I go around pretending to be proper lady; eyes hooded, chin up, teeth apart, lips together and of course with the accent to lol. He laughs at me, he is not even sure what I am doing but its all fun to me.

As soon as we finish listening to one, we get the next. A great favorite at my house. The ***ONLY*** reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because at times when the action gets exciting, the narration gets a bit overwrought and a wee bit screechy for my taste, but it's rather a small flaw in otherwise top-notch narration. Hooray for Jacky Faber!

While in no danger of winning any pultizers, this whole series of audio books is a pleasure, and the performance is wonderful.

Can I give the narration and the book a total of 15 stars instead of just 5 for each category - Overall, Performance and Story?

Absolute perfection!

I loved this book! I had my ear buds in constantly until I finished it. Jacky is back at sea where she belongs. The story moved quickly from one adventure to the next. I sometimes worried that the end was coming for Jacky, and had to remind myself that there are more books in the series. Even knowing she would come out in the end, I had to keep listening to hear what happened next.
Although I am well past my teen years, as are my children, I am loving this series!

I continue to love this series and narrator. I recommend it for all adults and young adults (and children whose parents don't mind some allusions to sexual situations that will mostly go over their heads, and are never on stage or involving the main character).