Eri M Caro

Rears & Vices

HE THOUGHT HE’D BE A HERO BY NOW—AND THAT IT WOULD MEAN SOMETHING.
It’s 1816. The wars with France and America are over. Royal Navy career man Everard Anderson de Anglada sails the peacetimes Great Lakes, demoted to captain of a tiny ten-gun schooner. When Preston D’Arcy, Everard’s former lieutenant and too-handsome ex-flame, forewarns him about a court-martial they must judge, Everard is begrudgingly grateful.

HE’S RADICAL, RESPECTED, UNFORGETTABLE—AND A PIRATE.
On the docket, however, is Vitaliy (Vitya) Gray, American. Everard has crossed paths with him before—not strictly as enemies. Vitya’s charges mean he’ll hang. With quick thinking and quite a lot of perjury, Everard delays the trial. It costs him—and D’Arcy—everything: for Vitya’s true identity is V. Varfolomey, infamous pirate fleet captain and anti-colonial weapons smuggler. At least three crowns want him dead.

TOGETHER, THEY COULD BE LEGENDARY…
Between hasty jailbreak, philosophical debates, and proposals (pirate marriage, no-strings), Everard finds himself, his heart, and even D’Arcy commandeered: to the Gulf of México. There, piracy is nothing like he imagined, and Vitya is everything Everard ever truly wished to be.

…SO LONG AS LEGEND DOESN’T GET IN THE WAY OF LOVE.
As Everard struggles to regain his purpose in his new husband’s shadow, he must also reconcile the irresistible pulls of D’Arcy’s insistent affection and Vitya’s undemanding steadfastness. Then, with the Spanish crown looming, dangerous secrets and betrayals come to light, and Everard is offered a position with the revolutionary Galveston navy. Everard must decide: fulfill at long last his desire for legacy… or stay beside the men with whom he’s fallen in love and make a legacy of their own.

OUT NOW!

Audiobook coming May 26, 2026 from Podium Audio! Preorder here.

For business inquiries, please contact Cheyenne Faircloth at Handspun Literary.

For content warnings included in this book, please click here.

Praise for Rears & Vices

“Rears & Vices is a sexy, swashbuckling adventure full of intrigue, romance, and queer pirates defying empires. It shimmers with marvelous historical detail and sensuous prose. I loved it!” —Felicia Davin, author of The Scandalous Letters of V and J

"Full of adventure and romantic in every sense of the word, Rears & Vices delighted me from start to finish." —TJ Alexander, USA Today bestselling author of A Gentleman’s Gentleman

"Avast ye landlubbers! E.M. Caro's sexy and swashbuckling Rears & Vices delivers all the passion, intrigue, and high stakes of a thrilling pirate adventure with deliciously modern sensibilities. A bygone maritime era comes alive in Caro's lush, vibrant prose. This book dropped anchor on my heart from the first page!" —Venessa Vida Kelley, USA Today bestselling author-illustrator of When the Tides Held the Moon

“Rears & Vices took me on a swashbuckling adventure from start to finish. A highly enjoyable poly pirate romp, lush with historical and nautical detail, with a fantastic cast of characters. I can't wait to dive more into E.M. Caro's world.” —Emma Denny, author of One Night in Hartswood

“Gloriously queer, devastatingly romantic, and unbearably hot. Rears & Vices is one of the freshest and most surprising historical romances of the decade—I loved it.” —Alexandra Vasti, USA Today bestselling author of Ladies in Hating

"Rears & Vices is a smart, searing hot romance full of intrigue and rich historical detail. The characters in this pirate polycule are fiercely loyal to each other and their principles. I could sail the high seas with them forever!" —Faye Delacour, author of The Lady He Lost

By Any Means

New York City, 1905.

Investigative journalist (and fierce anti-capitalist) Laurie Tulley is no stranger to the sins rich men commit in the name of profit. He’s made a front-page career out of unearthing the injustices of industry.

But when his editor turns his sights onto wealthy glass industrialist Charles "Chary" Wright, Laurie sees neither injustice nor sensationalism. All the openly queer and once-disowned Fifth Avenue businessman seems to have is a dead brother, a bizarre inheritance of a blueberry farm, and a lotta trauma.

Chary has his secrets, however: the big, life-ending kind. When Laurie comes snooping, he’s determined the reporter won’t find them out, no matter how handsome he is.

Then a worker from the glass factory is murdered. Chary himself is brutally attacked. As Laurie uncovers murder after past murder, he realizes there’s a story to be written after all… so long as he can keep a professional distance.

And when Chary finds himself in the arms of the very man meant to be his ruin, he must confront exactly how far he’ll go for love—and just which ghosts he’s willing to bring forth from the past.

Coming September 8th, 2026!

For business inquiries, please contact Cheyenne Faircloth at Handspun Literary.

For content warnings included in this book, please click here.

Amazon | Request on NetGalley!