The Gift by Julie Garwood

Book Description:
A child bride, Sara Winchester had grown into a winsome beauty, joyfully anticipating the day when her husband Nathan, Marquess of St. James, would return to claim her heart at last. Charmingly innocent, she dismissed the ancient feud that divided Nathan's family from her own...and she was totally unaware of his past exploits as the notorious pirate, Pagan. The man who now stood before her was perplexing, arrogant and powerfully handsome...a warrior-gentleman whose gentle touch aroused her to the wildest, deepest pleasures of love.

Nathan had never bared his soul to any woman, but he was soon utterly beguiled and exasperated by Sara's sweet, defiant ways. Aboard his ship, The Seahawk, she was brave, imperious and determined to win his heart completely - yet upon their return to England, her love would be sorely tested as a vile conspiracy tried to tear them apart. With their future at stake, they would discover the true destiny of their passion...for all time! 

Quickie Review:
I must say I really enjoyed this book, it was full of humor and Sara, the heroine, reminded me very much of Garwood's endearing medieval heroines who are adorably unaware of the havoc they wreak in their lord's castle, only here it's on board a ship - or a boat, as Sara keeps calling it, much to her husband's chagrin, for he is the captain of said "boat."

Set during Regency times, Sara and Nathan married at a very young age at the order of King George III (who was in his mad stage at the time) to bring their two feuding families together.  She was four and he was fourteen.  Fourteen years later with neither having anything to do with the other, they must consummate the marriage in order for Nathan to come into his inheritance.  Her side of the family is full of villains who want to have the marriage annulled, except Sara is good-natured and eager to get away from them and to help save her aunt who has been held prisoner (long complicated story) by her evil uncle.  One thing leads to another and Nathan, who has grown into a great big, beastly man with a scar, aims to find her and kidnap her.  Bracing himself for the strong possibility she will be as ugly as sin (the women in her family are known for it), he is captivated and happily surprised by how beautiful his wife turned out to actually be.  He follows her before absconding with her (and her aunt, who they rescue) on his ship to set sail for the Indies (and where her aunt has an island home.)

Once on board the ship, Sara has no idea who her husband really is - the notorious pirate, Pagan (we learn about him in the previous book in the series, Guardian Angel).  There are many great moments throughout the book and as Sara and Nathan get to know one another as man and wife, (despite his seasickness and the fact she wants to get to know him first before sharing a bed) Sara manages to poison his entire crew and nearly destroys the ship itself with her parasols.  Basically she scares all the men half to death, they're convinced she is cursed.  But, eventually they come around and wind up loving her just as much as her stern captain does.  One of my favorite scenes was when Sara misunderstands one of the crewmen, Jimbo and believes he's calling Nathan "daft" when he's really saying "aft" and then she makes him promise never to call the captain aft again.  (Believe me it's funnier than it sounds!)  Hero and heroine are great together.  Between Sara's screwball logic and Nathan's exasperation, despite his passion for her (and there is the usual Garwood heat in this romance) it was a delightful read.  I love these kinds of stories, I thought they only existed in her medievals, but how wrong I was!

This was a really fun book, with the usual drama towards the end as Nathan goes to loggerheads with Sara's father, who turns out to be just as much a villain as her uncle.  A grand finale with the Prince Regent himself made for a very satisfying ending and another winner from Garwood!

4/5

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The Bride and the Buccaneer by Darlene Marshall

Book Description:
'Lucky Jack' Burrell's quest for revenge against Sophia Deford will have to wait until he discharges a debt. He has to help her find the fabled pirate treasure Garvey's Gold, then he can wring her dainty neck. Sophia has no intention of sharing anything with anyone. She will have all of Garvey's Gold, no matter how much Jack's lean-muscled body makes her want to get to know him just a little bit better before she gets rid of him. As the two adversaries squabble their way across Territorial Florida following the clues on their treasure map, they know that before they're through they're either going to kiss each other, kill each other, or both...

This was a cute and amusing pirate historical romance set in early 1800's Florida before it becomes a part of the United States. I love forced marriage scenarios and this one was full of humor and not a little hotness! Our hero, Jack Burrell and heroine, Sophia Deford are forced to marry, although they have a dubious past together - one in which Jack has vowed to get revenge on her if it's the last thing he ever does. Years before in England, while Jack was playing highwayman he is fooled by Sophia's damsel in distress act when he stops her coach to steal her lecherous guardian's gold. Due to an unforseen happenstance, Jack unexpectedly rescues her from her guardian's clutches and brings her to his cave. She wastes no time in knocking him out from behind, stealing his clothes and leaving him trussed up and naked absconding with the money!

Now five years later, they meet again face to face. He a pirate, she a passenger on a ship he takes by force in the middle of the Caribbean. Sophia is fulfilling her good friend's last dying wish to find a fortune in gold - "Garvey's Gold". But the catch is, she needs Lucky Jack Burrell to help her find it. He's now a pirate - or a privateer - and she's determined to get the gold. They strike a bargain and he agrees to help for half the gold. But then fate steps in, in the form of Captain Sinister (from one of Marshall's previous books), another pirate who forces them to marry on board his pirate ship. They're married now, but in name only, despite how handsome he his and how cute she looks crawling into his hammock at night in her nightie - alone. The constant banter and dialogue between these two was amusing and delightful, one of the best features of the book! There was a lot of chemistry between the two and the sensual moments between them were memorable and well done as well.

There were loads of funny little details in this story that cracked me up. The budding romance between Jack and Sophia was great, they're constantly throwing barbs at one another with a fast paced repartee. She is singleminded and determined to find this gold and she's not going to let anything get in her way - namely her attractive pirate husband who has a penchant for sleeping in the nude and wearing an eye patch that he doesn't really need. He wants the gold too, but he also wants Sophia! He is determined to seduce her any way he can, but he finds himself developing stronger feelings for her than just lust. How long can Sophia hold out before she succumbs to his charm and 'monstrous engine of delight?' Despite the way he makes her feel when she's in his arms - and bed, will our heroine double cross her handsome pirate husband in order to get it all for herself - or does she fall for him instead?

I really enjoyed the story, Jack and Sophia make a great team together. They have interesting friends too who make colorful characters, such as Reuben and his wife Betsey. It was good plot with the treasure hunt for the gold and wondering if Sophia is going to realize she can do a lot worse than a man like Jack. Will she ever thaw towards him and drop this pursuit of the gold that seems to be the only thing on her mind? Some parts of the story dragged a bit or were a bit too coincidental or perfect, but not much, there is a great deal of slogging through jungle and woods with mosquitoes and other bugs, I presume. I was tired out from all the walking and climbing and riding they had to undertake to find the gold, but for the most part I enjoyed most everything about this book. The ending was exciting to find out if they're able to find the gold or not and I was on the edge of my seat all the way up to the surprising - but not too suprising - finish.

Sophia is a force to be reckoned with. She's quick on her feet, brave, smart, pretty and knows how to get her way and achieve it by any means. But I wish she had been kinder to Jack when it was obvious he had tender feelings for her. Jack is a great guy to have around. He strong, able, resourceful, smart - yet, Sophia puts him off his pace, he's less of a pirate around her and he has a tendency to fall for her wiles and allurements so that he doesn't realize what a schemer she really is. This was my main problem with these two. She was too absorbed with getting the gold to realize what a great guy Jack was, and he walked right into her deceptions because he was falling for her - and her pretty face. Despite their flaws, they brought out the best in each other by the end and I was glad to see that she learned a thing or two from him and grew to appreciate her dashing - and loving husband.

I've read all of Darlene Marshall's pirate romances, and I highly recommend this one, it was a lot of fun and one of her best to date.

4/5

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Pirates by Linda Lael Miller

Book Description:
A thoroughly modern woman encounters a dangerous, dashing eighteenth-century buccaneer is a sensuous, joyous, utterly heartwarming tale of love....

Phoebe Turlow needs to get out of Seattle and forget about the man she just divorced, her dwindling finances, and the lonely nights that stretch ahead of her. But she can't foresee what awaits her on Paradise lsland....

Duncan Rourke is known to historians as "the pirate patriot." He's been dead for two centuries -- or at least he's supposed to be, until Phoebe Turlow steps out of a van, into a run-down island hotel, and into his world.

Neither Phoebe nor her pirate can envision the glorious venture that is about to unfold. They understand only that they have found each other, and a grand passion across the chasm of time...and they fear only the moment when it may vanish. Passionate, emotional, and completely entrancing, Pirates will steal your heart.

I had high hopes for this time travel book that I've had on my TBR list for ages. It sounded good to me, but as I began to read it, I kept scratching my head and thinking to myself why does this storyline sound so familiar? Was it the hero's scarred back from a flogging by a sadistic English officer? Or maybe it was because a 20th century woman goes back 200 years in time only to find love and romance and then returns to her present time, pregnant with her 18th century husband's child - but then rejoins him again two hundred years earlier? Sound familiar to any of you Outlander fans? Sheesh!

As much as there were some Outlandish similarities, this book was not at all like Jamie and Claire's story. Phoebe is an unemployed divorcée who is down on her luck. She takes a trip to the Caribbean, all expenses paid, as long as she sits through the interminable time share pitch that the hotel makes as a prerequisite. While conveniently dressed for the fancy Saturday night masquerade party as a serving wench from the eighteenth century, she pushes the wrong button on the elevator and finds herself back in the Caribbean, only it's now 1781 and the Revolutionary War is going full tilt in America and she comes face to face with Duncan Roarke, the owner of the hidden Caribbean mansion where she finds herself. The mansion is his pirate lair, only he doesn't seem much like a pirate at all. He's more of a patriot for the American cause, although the rest of his family are all Loyalists.

Duncan is surprised at who Phoebe is, but believes her time traveling story, thanks to the help of his servant Old Woman, who is a wise native islander that teaches Phoebe the ways of the eighteenth century. She seems to have some sort of psychic power and has been waiting for Phoebe to arrive. She informs Phoebe that she will marry Roarke and bear him children. Well, that took care of any surprise for the rest of the book. Ho hum - bo-ring! Phoebe takes it all in (eventually) and falls madly in love with Duncan, even though he's gone off sailing for weeks and has left her behind on the island. While he's gone, she thinks of him constantly. Who wouldn't? He's handsome, dashing, plays the piano and looks like a pirate! Then, at one point, Phoebe leaves Paradise Island and goes off on her own because Old Woman told her to. She meets the same sadistic British officer that flogged Duncan and a whole other subplot enters into the story. She works as a serving wench in a tavern and bides her time until Duncan comes and finds her.

What got me was, what did Duncan see in Phoebe and why did he want to even find her? I found her annoying and often stupid, particularly when she keeps on wanting to befriend Duncan's former island mistress! Plus I can't stand romances in which the heroine falls in love immediately and the hero and heroine have sex before page 50. Now, I was reading this on kindle, so I don't know what page it was, but it seemed too damned early, and I did not understand the attraction Duncan had for Phoebe. In fact, so much about this whole plot line was trite and clichéd, I could barely get through it!

One interesting short lived part of the book was when Duncan went forward in time with Phoebe for a while, but then he inadvertently leaps back in time again without being able to let Phoebe know or say good bye to her. She figures it out soon enough, but what I didn't understand is why she just moped around pining for him. Why didn't she go to the elevator again and again every night and try to leap back to him again? It took her ages to figure it out! I did like their reunion, which was full of battle scenes and excitement. Although there was some sailing in ships that took place in the boat, the title Pirates is sadly misleading. This book is not in the least bit about pirates, don't get your hopes up. It's about an American patriot posing as a pirate to attack British ships for the Americans.

Meanwhile, the side stories involve the dilemma of Duncan's family being Loyalist, yet wanting to protect Duncan and his Revolutionary leanings. His mother and brother and sister all wind up having to flee Charleston (where he is from) and go live with him at his Caribbean hideaway. They all accept Phoebe with alacrity, not even questioning her background as strange or her odd short hairdo! I normally love time travel stories, but I do like to have a little reality thrown in them too, even if that sounds paradoxical. For Duncan's family and friends to all be so accepting of Phoebe (who I couldn't stand) just irked me and was unrealistic! Okay, okay, so I'm a time travel snob.

If I had the chance to do it all over again, I'd pass up this book, but it was part of my Time Travel Reading Challenge list, so I stuck with it. I wish I had been warned, I'm surprised it's gotten such good reviews elsewhere. Lovers of this book must be die hard Linda Lael Miller fans or have never read Outlander. What can I say, I've been spoiled by Diana Gabaldon. This is the only book I've read of Ms. Miller and I suspect it will be the last.

2.5/5

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The Pirate Lord by Sabrina Jeffries

Book Description:
A Splendid Opportunity

A shipload of women -- theirs for the taking! Pirate captain Gideon Horn couldn't be more delighted. His men are tired of wandering the high seas and want to settle down with wives on the uncharted island paradise they've discovered. And the women are bound to be grateful to be rescued from the life of drudgery awaiting them in New South Wales ... Lord, he's so clever!

A Splendid Passion

Married? To pirates? Sara Willis couldn't be more appalled. First she demands proper courting -- at least a month. The darkly handsome pirate lord gives them two weeks. Then Sara insists the men vacate their huts for the women -- Gideon demands her kisses in return. As the demands heat up, so do their passions -- and soon Sara can't remember just why she's fighting the devilishly seductive captain so hard...

Ordinarily I don't read pirate romances, but this one was chosen as the April Group Read at LibraryThing so I thought I'd join in. It was cute and not half bad! I was reading it only when I went to the gym, so it took me most of the month to get through, but ordinarily if I were reading this the usual way, I probably would have finished it in a day.

This is the story of Sara Willis who is the stepsister of an English earl during Regency times. Sara is a reformer, she's always looking to improve the conditions of the working or lower classes. She's a do-gooder and doesn't mind getting her hands dirty or mixing with the riff raff to do it. Not your typical society debutante who is only interested in balls and finding a husband. She is scrappy and speaks her mind - she's also a rabble rouser when it serves her purpose.

She talks her stepbrother into allowing her to sail on a female convict ship to Australia. I thought this was terribly far-fetched that her brother would agree and let her, but I went along with it. She is there to see to it that the conditions on board the ship are decent for the women and she is there to teach them how to read and sew as well - basically to look out for their interests and make sure they're not used by the sailors. She wants to be sure they are treated justly. Unbeknownst to Sara, her brother has hired Petey, the sailor brother of his butler, to work on the ship and keep an eye out for his sister and protect her.

En route to Australia the ship is captured by the notorious pirate, Gideon Horn, known as the Pirate Lord. Of course, he's tall, swarthy, handsome as sin and he and Sara clash immediately. He wants all the women on the ship to become the brides of his crewmen. The pirates want to settle down and retire on a remote tropical island they call Atlantis. They think of it as a Utopia that they can colonize. Naturally, Sara is outraged by this idea but comes to realize that the women have no choice. But, Sarah at least makes a bargain with the attractive pirate captain and talks him into agreeing that the women can choose who they want to be their husbands after a week.

Over time, not only do Gideon and Sara argue, but he becomes strangely attracted to this wilful and feisty redhead. He desires her and plans on seducing her. She can't help but fall for his charms as well and they have some sizzling encounters which are satisfyingly sensual, but not over the top, well done. She fights her desire at first, but then comes to realize she doesn't want to anymore and they begin to fall for one another. Fortunately, but unfortunately, Petey is there to protect her and he leaves the island intent on going back to England to get her brother to rescue all of them from the island. Sara gave Petey her blessing to do this when he left, but that was before she and Gideon became inseparable and affianced - she wants to be his wife now and live on Atlantis with him forever as man and wife.

Well, you can guess what happens, her brother returns and forces her to leave the island with him or he'll burn it all down. So, she must leave Gideon without saying good-bye and he gets the wrong impression and thinks she is just some fickle society girl and never really cared for him. Bitter over highborn women, Gideon is carrying around his own baggage. His mother was the daughter of a duke and she ran off with a tutor and had him and then left him behind with his drunkard father to raise him while she went back to her ducal life. He's never forgiven her for it, and because of it, distrusts and hates the nobility. He thinks the worst of Sara at first. He jumps to all the wrong conclusions, which I felt was also far fetched. He's a smart and worldly man, he should have trusted his instincts better in her regard, despite his insecurities - but then there would be no angst! Of course we know she really does love him and it all ends well, she is indomitable and stubborn, but knows how to get things done and ultimately she is able to restore his faith in women. It's a bit predictable and I guessed the ending, but still it was a fun little book to read while working out at the gym.

If you like pirates and romances, this isn't bad. The side characters are interesting, I really liked Silas and Louisa's story and Queenie, the prostitute redeems herself by the end. (It was no surprise who she winds up marrying, we already get a clue on that one earlier on.) Like I said before, it was a cute, sweet story. My first romance by this author, but probably not the last. I have a feeling the next book in this series is about Sara's brother, since there was very much of a lead in to a sequel with him. I'll probably read it.

3.5/5

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Captain Sinister's Lady by Darlene Marshall

Book Description:
Morgan Roberts, AKA Captain Sinister, dreams of leaving the sea and running away to farm, but when the Zephyr comes across a damaged ship wallowing in the Florida Straits, it's just too good an opportunity for any self-respecting privateer to pass up.

Amanda Stephenson is a widow traveling from Yorkshire to Charleston in the 1820's to set up her soap-making business. It's a grand adventure, just as she's always dreamed-until her ship is boarded by the crew of the Zephyr. Amanda's plans for her future do not include large, hairy, uncouth pirates.

Morgan Roberts has his work cut out for him, but he's prepared to try his most piratical tricks if it will convince the luscious widow to become Captain Sinister's Lady.

I began reading these pirate romances by Darlene Marshall because Diana Gabaldon recommended them. I wasn't thrilled with the first, but I loved the 2nd. The third comes in somewhere in between the two. It was okay, not bad, but not great.

I liked our heroine, Amanda Stephenson, a young and voluptuous widow that makes soap of all things. She's a head turner with a strong backbone and she's an enterprising businesswoman as well. Captain Morgan Roberts is instantly smitten and has decided he wants to give up his pirate ways and settle down on his farm and marry her. He just has to convince her that he's worth marrying. Morgan isn't exactly the usual swashbuckling pirate. He's a bit older than the usual with a scruffy long beard. The author never says exactly how old he is, but he has graying hair and people are always referring to his age around him as if he's getting up there in years. I'd say he's forty something - who knows?

The two of them are thrown together and there's some good sexual tension between them while living together on a small island in the Florida Keys (where most of the book takes place). Eventually he takes her to Savannah where she is introduced to friends who are able to help her and get her new clothes and the backing to start up her business. These are nice people, who happen to be Jewish, which is an unusual touch. I wonder how many Jewish families settled in the United States back then, it was kind of interesting to think about.

While in Savannah Morgan cleans himself up (thank God!) and shaves the beard and gets some fancy dress clothes. I was a bit surprised that Mandy (as Morgan calls her) realizes she loves him that same night and accepts his marriage proposal all of a sudden! I was expecting more of a courtship, but then they go down to St. Augustine where he has a house and the story takes off from there. Morgan gets a pardon from the president of the United States by agreeing to give up being a privateer and to help the US Navy get rid of the pirates along the coast.

While on their so-called honeymoon, there is a one night interlude at the same tavern, Gannymede's Cup, that plays a part in the two previous books and then they wind up down in Key West to clean out the pirate lairs for the Navy. While there, Morgan is injured and is feeling his age. He takes it out on Amanda and they quarrel a bit, but nothing to really worry about. There was some excitement at the end, I guessed who the unknown traitor was and the villain dies - all a bit predictable.

Overall, this was a nice little book, but nothing earth shattering. The storyline was different, but did not keep me on the edge of my seat. The romantic interludes weren't bad, but again, not overly thrilling. I'm not a big pirate romance reader, so that might be part of the reason why this didn't really grab me. I think Ms. Marshall has some potential, since her 2nd book was great, but her books need something, I can't put my finger on it, maybe more depth and feeling, they seem a little lightweight to me.

3/5

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