This is part of Harmon’s Heroes
of the Sea series (and the first if you’re reading them in chronological
order). It begins in Ireland in 1757, but then moves to the British colonies in
America (Boston) on the eve of the Revolutionary War in 1775.
It’s the story of Deirdre
O’Devir, who as a young girl in Ireland, witnessed an English lieutenant (our
hero, Christian Lord) press her brother into service in the British Navy. She vowed
to her dying mother that she would kill the lieutenant and bring her brother
back to Ireland. Thirteen years later, on her way to Boston to enlist the aid
of her cousin who is in the British Navy, she ends up on a ship captained by
the same Christian Lord she has vowed to kill.
All that seemed a pretty
straight historical setting until I encountered Lord’s crew on the “Hell-Ship.”
Captain Lord has been sent out to straighten out a crew right out of McHale’s
Navy, who are committed to driving all their captains mad. Among others, there’s
a Scot who wears a kilt and plays the bagpipes, and a young woman from Boston,
who is hidden away by his men and aspires to be a French whore. She calls
herself Delight Foley (as in delight-fully) and her one goal in life is to
become the woman of the “Irish Pirate.” In the meantime, she is servicing all
the crew. There’s also a marine guard who habitually sleeps at his post, and a
spaniel who is having puppies in the captain’s cabin. Not your average British
naval warship and not your classic historical romance. But rollicking good fun!
With all that, there is some
great action with a battle at sea. Eventually the story settles into a very well
written historical romance that gives us a glimpse of the early days of the Revolutionary
War in America with the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Minutemen.
Throughout the story we experience the heroine’s love for her native Ireland. A
multifaceted, worthy tale with a bit of fancy.
Heroes
of the Sea series:
Captain of My Heart
Master of My Dreams
My Lady Pirate
Taken By
Storm
Wicked at
Heart
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