Month: August 2017

The Pirate Takes A Bride by Shana Galen

On By BarbaraIn Barb's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Pirate Takes a Bride (Misadventures in Matrimony, #4)Barbara’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Misadventures in Matrimony #4
Publication Date: 05/07/2014

Riveting! Sexy! Entertaining! Fast Paced! Memorable and relatable characters. This book is everything I have come to expect of a Shana Galen book. It is a great, exciting read.

I did not read the other books in this series and that did not seem to be a problem. However, this book was so good that I am going to read the rest of the series!

The beginning is a heartbreaking, gut wrenching scene. Ashley had given him her innocence only the night before and tonight she discovers him being intimate with another woman. Her heart is broken and the love she had for him has turned to hate – forevermore. She was going to make Lord Nicholas Martingale sorry! Frankly – after reading that section, I wanted to make him sorry myself!

Eight months later, in Gretna Green, Ashley Brittany finds herself mistakenly married to Nicholas by a drunken anvil priest. The wedding was supposed to be between Ashley’s friend Maddie and Nicholas (I believe that tale is told in Blackthorn’s Bride), but the priest filled out the papers incorrectly and suddenly she was married to her worst nightmare. The anvil priest is passed out on the floor and then, the pirates show up and she finds herself being forcefully taken to their ship. What more could happen in one night – well – she MIGHT discover that Nick is a pirate captain and it is his ship.

Nick isn’t as bad as you’d think from reading that first section of the book. That little scene she discovered was set by him in order to destroy any feelings she might have for him because he is a pirate and is on a mission of vengeance against another pirate. Now, I don’t have a problem with him discouraging her for that reason. What I personally found fault with was the fact that he encouraged her love, took her innocence and then decided it wasn’t in her best interest.

The pirate, Yussef, is a heartless swine who preys on innocent women and children. He will do anything to inflict pain and suffering – especially upon Nick and his crew. So, while Nick and his crew were in England, Yussef attacked the coastal village where Nick’s crew and their families lived. Yussef knew there would be nothing but children, women and the old and feeble left in the village.

Nick is one stubborn man and I was beginning to think this might be the one romance novel that didn’t have an HEA. He was absolutely pig-headed and determined that he was not going to love and share a life with Ashley. Luckily, love found a better way.

Ashley is a very strong, courageous and determined woman herself and you just have to admire her for that. She’s also very compassionate and loving and that serves her well.

Now, for my second (and maybe third) bone to pick with Nick. Nick has an illegitimate daughter that he loves totally, but he makes no bones about letting Ashley know that he never loved the girl’s mother. If he cared for the daughter at all, he could have said that although he didn’t deeply love her mother, he had affection for her. It has to be hurtful for the little girl to be aware of her father’s lack of feelings for her mother. There must have been some affections there because they lived together for years.

This was a great read and I highly recommend it.

A Christmas Peril by J. A. Hennrikus

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, MysteryLeave a comment

A Christmas PerilBarbara’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Theater Cop Mystery #1
Publication Date: 09/18/17

This book is exciting, interesting, filled with twists and turns and many well developed and likable characters. I believe this is either the first or second book by this author and it will be interesting to see how she develops as a writer as time passes. It certainly lays a great foundation for the series.

Edwina “Sully” Sullivan was once part of the state police of Massachusetts, but she is now medically retired and divorced from her unfaithful husband. She’s moved back to her hometown, Trevorton and taken on the job of General Manager for the local theater. Sully was surprised to find that her skills learned on the police force would serve her well at the theater, but they do.

Sully deliberately chose not to become a PI because she wanted to leave police and investigative work behind. That has worked for five years. However, when the town’s leading citizen is murdered and his son (who is Sully’s friend) is the main focus of the investigation, she has to at least look into it a little to see if she can help.

When she arrives at the police station to see what she can do for her friend, she finds he has a very good lawyer – Sully’s ex-husband. She’s not sure how she feels about that. There is a tingle of excitement at seeing Gus again – but – she doesn’t really want to be around him.

The investigation is filled with twists and turns, multiple murders and multiple perpetrators. One of those perpetrators is a surprise!

Sully is a very relatable character and you can just feel her being pulled by her interest in the case all the while she is trying to stay out of it. She’s also pulled to Gus and it is obvious that the softer feelings are still there for him. He seems to still be drawn to her as well – especially since he didn’t want the divorce – he wanted to work things out. So, it will be interesting to watch and see the romance grow throughout the series. I say that hoping that it will grow because I really like both characters and can see them working together really well.

“I requested and received this book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”