Review: Within a Captain's Hold by Lisa A. Olech

Within a Captain's Hold 
by Lisa A. Olech
Series:  Captains of the Scarlet Night #1
Pub. Date:  Nov. 24, 2015
Publisher:  Lyrical Press
Pages:  247
Format:  eARC
Source:  NetGalley


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Captain Jaxon Steele is a tall, sun-bronzed, fierce-fighting Pirate King. He and the notorious crew of the Scarlet Night are both feared and respected for their ruthless reputation. The Captain’s only love is the open sea and the ship he calls home. When it comes to women, he has three rules: never sleep with another’s wife, don’t take virgins into bed, and most importantly, never bring a woman aboard—that brings the worst luck of all.

Annalise Gatherone has to leave London—tonight! Usually her only concern is the color of her latest gown, but now she’s choosing between life and death. Desperate to escape the clutches of an evil Duke, she stows away aboard the Scarlet Night, hoping she’s bound for Port St. Maria. Winning Captain Steele's affections, she just might sneak by unharmed. But when her plans are altered in ways she never imagined, she must batten down the hatches for a journey into unknown waters…

So there's this evil duke, more like a batshit crazy duke if you ask me. The evil duke is sadistic and likes to hurt women and the sight of blood stirs him, particularly in the nether region. He was a great villain, a somewhat schizo Jack the Ripper type character. You don't see many of those in modern historical romances. So the evil duke has set his sights on the virginal Lady Annalise with the fiery red hair, and he won't take no for an answer.

In a last ditch attempt to keep out of the evil duke's clutches, Annalise stows away aboard a privateering vessel, the Scarlet Night. Things go awry for Anna fairly quickly, starting with rough seas, an injury, and being discovered by the pirate captain, Jaxon Steele. Anna was a good, solid, likable heroine. She was genuine in all her interactions with people, and her love and feelings toward Jackson were open and encouraging. I usually don't connect well with the sweetly naive heroine, but Anna's character didn't push that annoying heroine button for me.

Captain Jaxon Steele has fought for his position tooth and nail, ever since he was fished out of the drink at the young age of 14. Jaxon's life definitely has not been easy, but he seems to be the honorable sort of pirate. He was a big ol' softie when it came to Anna, and he was fair and jovial when interacting with his crew. For all the danger the couple faced from pirates and the evil duke alike, the romance was more on the sweet side with a few steamy moments thrown in. There was some hot and cold relationship drama, mostly on Jaxon's part, but he always had Anna's best interests at heart.

The story had some great secondary characters, particularly Cookie (Sam-u-el) and Sarah. Cookie was the lovable pirate and our comedic relief. He was the stereotypical peg leg grandfatherly type. Cookie's wife, Sarah, was a soft Caribbean woman in bright colors with a touch of mysticism. I think she was my favorite secondary character - I had a great picture of her in my head.

I recommend this book for those who want to dabble in pirates but may not care for the old school bodice rippers. If you tend to be a fan of the bodice rippers, this one may be a little too sweet for you. I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

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Review: Chance the Winds of Fortune by Laurie McBain

Chance The Winds of Fortune 
by Laurie McBain
Pub. Date: July 1980
Re-Release:  Oct. 6, 2015
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca
Pages:  505
Format:  eARC
Source:  NetGalley


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Fortune smiled on Dante Leighton, titled lord turned pirate. Sailing before the Sea Dragon's towering masts, he plundered hearts and cargoes from the Carolinas to Trinidad's turquoise lagoons. But one treasure always eluded him .... Until, a world away, at the English country estate of Lucien and Sabrina Dominick, a series of dazzling intrigues results in the abduction of their golden-haired daughter, Rhea .... And now, in a gathering wave of turbulent emotion, the fates of Rhea and Dante converge unforgettably -- in a quest for sunken Spanish treasure ... and a love worth a thousand fortunes. 

Lud, this book gave me heart palpitations and anxiety. It's truly one of those old-school romances that I love so much. They just don't write books like this anymore, so I am happy to see some of them being re-released (without being turned into the fluff reads that most historicals are today). 

I was chatting with someone recently who compared these books to the current trend of "dark romance." I agreed with her somewhat, the historical romances written in the 60s-80s did often have darker events happen. Many of them were classified as bodice rippers for that very reason. However the dark aspects of those stories are not what really draws me in... it's the action and adventure and the feeling that you have just read a sweeping saga by the end of one little book. You have these characters that you love and they are experiencing tragedy and betrayal and love and I get caught up in the moment with them. Hence, the heart palpitations and anxiety. I would love to see more authors today produce books in this style... but I'm sure they would get bashed by all the modern feminists much as has happened to E.L. James and even Diana Gabaldon. I cringe every time I see someone complain about that spanking scene. (I mean why should they give a fig about historical accuracy, right?) Ack, I need to get off my soapbox and get on with the review.

Our heroine in this installment of the Dominick Series is Lady Rhea Claire, eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Camerleigh from the first book, Moonstruck Madness. Everyone loves Rhea Claire (myself included) as she is truly a kind soul who could win over even the most unlikely individuals. 

Rhea is kidnapped from her home by old enemies of the Duke. The majority of the story focuses on the dastardly plot, kidnap and ensuing events, and the family's search for their missing member. It was all very detailed and drawn out, and I loved every minute of it. The story really had very little romance. Indeed, by 85% there had still been no tender feelings or grand passion. And strangely enough, I was fine with it.

I would not really class our hero as such... he didn't do anything so heroic. Dante, Marquis of Jacqobi is somewhat of a pirate and treasure hunter. He and Rhea Claire are thrown together in the midst of his quest, and he does not act very charitably toward her.  (This is usually the theme in the good old bodice ripper if you haven't read one before.) 

The villains in this story were great! I hated them with a passion and got nervous whenever they were in the picture. As for the story itself, like I said, there wasn't a lot of romance - it was mostly the hills and valleys of the plot conflict. While I was fine with it, I can see where others might want that grand passion. It would have added something to the story, I admit. As much as I loved the story, there was a plot hole that caused me to deduct a star. Many references are made to Dante's revenge and elude to some betrayal from his past... but we never learn what it is and it's never resolved. The end was abrupt and left me wanting. A epilogue reuniting the family would have been nice, or showing that Dante gave up his revenge for love maybe? Who knows, maybe that happens in the next installment, which I will be reviewing soon. So, stay tuned!

Update:  I just read the blurb for the next book, Dark Before the Rising Sun, and see that Rhea and Dante's story continues! So yay, ignore anything I said about their being no resolution. I noticed the last book of the trilogy was published 2 years after this one... so happy I don't have to wait that long. It would've made me cranky. 

As with my previous review for this re-release series, I just love the older covers. So let's look at a cover evolution for this one:

I received anadvanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Beauty's Curse by Tamara Hughes

Beauty's Curse 
by Tamara Hughes
Series:  Love on the High Seas #2
Pub. Date:  June 9, 2015
Publisher:  Entangled Scandalous
Pages:  175
Format:  eARC
Source:  Publisher / Netgalley
   

My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

England, 1722

Amelia Archer will be the ruin of her family. Her extraordinary bad luck is burden enough, but her sweet, trusting nature often lands her in impossible scrapes. After the last straw, Amelia's harried father ships his unfortunate daughter off to the Colonies to live with her aunt. But wherever Amelia goes, bad luck is sure to follow...

Pirate David Lamont is taken with the lovely young Englishwoman the moment she's pulled aboard from her sinking vessel. But sailors are already a superstitious lot and Amelia is unwelcome. In a feat of chivalry, David defends and claims her for himself...

Now their fortunes—for good or ill—are invariably tied. But as much as she longs for him, Amelia cannot allow a romance. For a lady of misfortune can only bring ruin to those she loves… 

Note that this is the second book in a series, and some of the characters apparently were featured in the first book. I didn't know that until the author's note at the end and it's driving me a little bonkers.

Despite this book being in a pirate trilogy, it wasn't so much a pirate book. Our main character, David, is not your average swashbuckling pirate out to loot and pillage. He is a musician, carrying his violin everywhere that he goes. He is also chivalrous and has higher moral standards than we normally see in pirates. I liked David, I just happen to like my pirates to be a bit more alpha male than he was.

Poor Amelia has the worst luck of any fictional character I have read. She is clumsy as an ox, and this unfortunate aspect, along with a shrew of a stepmother, has given Amelia horrible self-esteem. She also has the odd habit of trusting anyone she meets, which has caused her grief on more than one occasion. I also liked Amelia, though I did find myself doing an eye roll at her nature or antics on occasion.

For me, this story was somewhat slow-paced. There was adventure, but not a whole lot of action. We follow along with Amelia (and later David) as one tragedy after another befalls them. Given that sailors and pirates of the time were a superstitious lot, you can imagine that Amelia's little black cloud makes her an outcast. I sympathize with this as I get that black cloud following me around sometimes too. But David tries to show her that she is not cursed and they fall in love along the way. However, when you have two people with low self-esteem, it does not an easy relationship make.

Overall, this was a nice way to pass the time. I haven't read a pirate book in a while so it was a nice diversion from the standard regency era historical romance. I really wish I had known to read the first book before this one though (hopefully a Goodreads librarian can fix that). 

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Love on the High Seas Series