Blog Tour: Jiddy Vardy by Ruth Estévez

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Young Adult title Jiddy Vardy.

Every so often, I find myself in need of a romantic read – not just a typical boy meets girl kind of story but with something else to it, pirates for example or – as in this case – smugglers. There is something very appealing about reading about characters who in real life would possibly be last to be included on any guest list I might draw up but who on the pages of a book can have me cheering them on as they lead their morally dubious lives.

In this title, originally published in 2018, our heroine is not an individual born within a smuggling community but one who has been adopted by it after her early birth at sea coincides with the ship carrying her and her parents being boarded by pirates. These ne’er do wells then proceed to throw her mother and father overboard before taking pity on the newborn who we first meet eight years after this event, having somehow made her way to the Yorkshire coast – more specifically Robin Hood’s Bay – where she has forged a strong bond with farmer’s son Jonas and made an enemy of local girl Nellie after being taken in by childless couple Mary and Thomas.

Fast forward another eight years, and Jiddy has had her first tastes of being part of the community’s smuggling ring and has been brought up to be useful around the home, learning the skills of a seamstress which enable her to gain employment at the grand house of Squire and Mrs Farsyde – a job that Nellie had hoped to gain, increasing the other girl’s animosity towards her. Now a beautiful young woman, Jiddy’s relationship with Jonas starts to shift from friendship to love and all seems to be well until the local preventives, whose job is to put an end to the smuggling, are replaced by far more organised dragoons determined to enforce the law.

When a series of events threatens to destroy her relationship with Jonas, Jiddy is offered a lifeline – one that will reveal her origins to her and force her to choose between the only life she has known and the one she was meant to have. With her heart pulled in two very different directions, which one will she choose?

I enjoyed the book hugely but while I know that fiction calls for the reader to believe what is often unbelievable, there are elements of the book that are – quite frankly – verging on the preposterous. Firstly, we have to believe that the pirates who are cruel enough to throw Jiddy’s mother overboard are not only soft-hearted enough not to do the same to her newborn baby but to go out of their way to ensure her survival. Then, later, when the origins of Jiddy’s name are revealed, we have to assume that there has been some sort of psychic intervention that has influenced this. These, in addition to some other plot details that I don’t want to include for fear of too many spoilers, will possibly impact on some readers’ pleasure but if you approach the book as being a not too serious historical romance, I’m sure you’ll be fine.

I would suggest that for some readers at the lower age range for Young Adult reads, or for those who are squeamish or more sensitive, a few parts of the plot might be a little too graphic but certainly many teenagers will really enjoy meeting Jiddy and for those that do, there is a sequel – Jiddy Vardy – High Tide – also on sale and a Book 3, Jiddy Vardy – Full Sail, which publishes December 2nd.

My enormous thanks go to publisher ZunTold and to TheWriteReads for my gifted virtual copy of the book and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour. Jiddy Vardy is on sale now. Don’t forget to check out the other stops on the tour.