MaryLu Tyndall’s THE REDEMPTION – Christian Pirate (well, sort of) Finds Love in this exciting tale!

Set in 1665, this is the story of Charlisse Bristol, who leaves England for the Caribbean, looking for a father she has never known. She thinks him a gentleman but she will be oh, so wrong. Before she gets to Port Royal, she is shipwrecked on an island where she is saved by a band of pirates led by Captain Merrick, a Christian and a privateer for the Crown.

Charlisse is both attracted to and confused by the pirate captain. When she tells him of her search to find her father, Merrick agrees to help even though the man is a horrible pirate, the ruthless Edward the Terror Merrick once served under.

There’s lots of adventure in this one with battles at sea and on ship. Tyndall’s descriptions are vivid and the pirate fights realistic. Charlisse seems a bit clueless at times but then she is an innocent. Lucky for her, Merrick is a gentleman in disguise, who tries to keep his band of pirates together while holding to his higher standards and assuring Charlisse’s safety. Her father is, initially at least, a blackguard.

You’ll be glad when they finally dock at Port Royal but the tension doesn’t end there as Charlisse becomes entangled in her father’s world and discovers a kind man of God in Thomas. For inspirational romance lovers who long for a pirate story, this is a great choice!

Jill Marie Landis’ HEART OF STONE – Brilliant Story of an Irish lass Set in Old Texas

Set in the 1870s, this is the story of Laura Foster, an Irish girl who was sold into prostitution as a child. Having escaped New Orleans and a life she didn’t chose, Laura is finally living her dream of running a boarding house decked out in grand style. But even after four years of acting the respectable widow in Glory, Texas, she is always fearful that someone from her past might reveal her true identity.

One man falls in love with her: Reverend Brand McCormick, a man with everything to lose if he marries her. Believing it would only hurt him if he married her, Laura tries to resist Brand’s attentions. But the man loves her and will not be thwarted.

This is very well written and kept me turning pages. I loved the deep character development, the historical details that put the story in the right period and the charming children and side characters that provided a rich tapestry. The faith elements are very well done, too.

I highly recommend this tale, the first in the Irish Angel trilogy.

Christina Skye’s THE BLACK ROSE – Exciting Story of Love Among the Smugglers of Rye with Pirates, Sea Captains and a Wonderful Heroine

Set in 1810, this exciting story is rich in history of the Napoleonic era and the smugglers that made Rye, England famous. It’s also the story of Tess Leighton, impoverished by her father’s debts, who becomes the leader of the Rye smugglers to feed the people and take care of her ancestral home, which is falling down around her.

By night, she runs a dangerous game, one step ahead of the government agents who seek the death of the one called “the Romney Fox”, a smuggler whose calling card is a black rose. In her sleep Tess suffers nightmares from the time her father locked her in the cellars and spiders crawled over her.

After crucial military secrets are discovered being sent to Napoleon, London Viscount Ravenhurst, a hero of Trafalgar, is dispatched to catch the spy. Ravenhurst and Tess have a history: once they were in love. Each felt betrayed by the other and now they are enemies. Worse, he believes she is involved in sending English gold to France, prolonging the war. But neither can deny the passion that still sizzles between them.

He takes her innocence when she is drugged but vows to wed her. She will have nothing to do with him.

Then Tess is betrayed and finds herself the captive of Andre Le Brix, a notorious smuggler pirate, who would claim her as his own. In his arms, she finds the love and peace she seeks.

A very exciting, well-written story of the adventure swirling around the beautiful Tess.

Yes, it’s a bodice ripper and I promise it will keep you turning pages. Great dialog, wonderful characters, a very courageous heroine. What’s not to love? It’s a keeper.

Note: I understand the author has revised and re-released this as Seven Nights with a Pirate. Some reviews say it’s not as good as the original, which is the one I read. I cannot judge the new one, but I loved this original.

The Dangerous Heroes series:

The Black Rose

East of Forever

The Tiger’s Lady

New Review: Charlene Whitman’s COLORADO PROMISE – Inspirational Love Story with a Colorado Horse Doc and an Eastern Lady

Emaline (“Emma”) Bradshaw dreams of attending Vassar and being a botanical illustrator, but her parents have other plans. They have heard of the new settlement of Greeley in the Colorado Territory where the evils of New York can be left behind. A group of their friends have already built homes there and they are eager to join them, so in 1875, Emma and her family take the train to Colorado.

Along the way, Emma reconnects with a childhood friend, Randall, who she finds suddenly an attractive man. Like her, he is from the East and is sophisticated and educated, and they enjoy each other’s company. When Emma takes a fall off her horse and is rescued by Lucas Rawlings, the local veterinarian, she finds the handsome widower alluring, but she cannot imagine herself with the cowboy. Two suitors, each very different.

This is a story of change and choices, of resisting the plans of others to pursue your own dreams, your own life. While Lucas knows what he wants, he must face the ghosts of his past to have it. He still carries great pain from the loss of the first wife who died in childbirth. Emma, on the other hand, is too often manipulated into doing what her parents and others want instead of having the courage to defy them to pursue her own dreams. I loved Lucas (what woman wouldn’t?), but at times I wanted to shake Emma when she caved to her parents’ manipulations and said nothing. She was too concerned about what everyone else wanted for her.

Whitman takes a leisurely pace (400+ pages) to show us the West as it was a decade after the Civil War with tensions over Indians somewhat dissipated but prejudice still very much alive. We meet a town full of interesting characters, some wonderful and some not so, as one might expect. Whitman does a great job of fleshing them out and bringing life to a small Colorado town.

The story has an inspirational bent, too, particularly as regards the faith of the hero in the second half.

One could have wanted a faster pace, but still it’s a great tale and a wonderful love story, well worth the read. I would definitely want to read more by this author.

The fields around Greeley, Colorado