This was my first by Marsha Bauer and I LOVED it! Bauer does some important things so well, avid romance readers will be drooling: (1) She develops characters slowly, layer by layer, so you feel you really know them; (2) The chemistry between the hero and heroine is amazing and develops over time; (3) the love scenes are so tender yet real they will have you squirming; (4) the plot twists are wonderfully creative but still believable, not contrived; (5) her dialog is real and complex, not that frivolous stuff so frequently found in romance today; and finally (5) her story is so enthralling I could not put it down. She does move from head to head rather quickly and briefly at times, but it didn’t bother me at all. Her style is easy to read and very enjoyable.
This is an American historical set in 1814. It’s the story of violet-eyed beauty, Ivy Woodruff, the product of her mother’s two-week capture by a notorious pirate, Keils Cauldron (his ship is the Black Cauldron). Raised by her English mother and minister father who, though not her real father, loved and accepted her, Ivy hates the pirate who used her mother and then dismissed her. Ivy is 22 and employed as a governess, sailing on the Chesapeake Bay with her employers, when the Black Cauldron captures her ship. On board, a young pirate leader, Drake Jordan, attempts to take her to his cabin when she cries out to her real father, Keils Cauldron who is standing on deck. Keils’ only son has just been murdered and Keils is hunting for the killer with Drake when he is faced with the young woman with his own violet eyes and black hair claiming to be his daughter.
That’s pretty much the set up for this intriguing story in which Drake (who is wildly attracted to Ivy), and Keils drag Ivy with them on the hunt for the murderer, a hunt that will have some surprising turns. At the same time, Keils is keeping Ivy close, insisting she sleep in Drake’s room so he can watch her and prevent her escape. Keils is also exploring the evidence Ivy says proves she’s his daughter, all the while thinking she is deceiving him. Drake, an educated, wealthy pirate (by choice) prides himself on only having robbed the British, but that doesn’t impress Ivy, who is betrothed to a caring young minister and has no desire to repeat her mother’s history.
It’s a story as old as time: we set out to be our own person and end up repeating family history. It’s also a story of choices, some good and others better (though perhaps more difficult). It’s a story of trust and how easily it can be destroyed. And, of course, it’s a story of love. Bauer did a great job drawing the character of Ivy. She is beautiful, intelligent, honest, principled and courageous. Drake is complex, loyal (to his friends) and brave, a man who doesn’t question his choices. He is also a man who knows his own mind, and he knows he wants Ivy. He is a pirate to love!
You won’t regret getting this one, I promise.
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