Pirate Lovin'



It's no secret that I love trashy historical romance novels. In the past I have tried to hide it but now I'm proud to be branded as a shameless romance book hussy. And why shouldn't I? Have you ever read one? Did you get caught up in the magic and romance and lust and all out joy that only a work of pure escapism can bring? If you haven't you should probably try it or else the cool kids are going to start rumors about you being frigid.

As I've mentioned before, I'm systematically (the system being which ever book I can find for the least expense at the time) working my way through Sarah MacLean's list of must read romances. She hasn't let me down yet. Two of her picks happen to be of the piratical persuasion and take place at sea, aboard a ship that has only just turned semi-respectable, both with captains who have themselves, yet to embrace respectability.



Till Dawn Tames the Night

Author: Meagan McKinney
Publisher: Dell
Date: April 2, 1991
Pages: 467
Genre: Historical Romance


Till Dawn Tames the Night by Megan McKinney, happens as directed above to a prim and proper English school mistress, on a ship bound for Jamaica where she believes she is to take a position as a lady's companion. Little Aurora Dayne has no idea that it's all a ruse brought about by the ship's captain, the quite dastardly and dangerous Vashon. Vashon believes that Aurora is in possession of information that will lead him to a priceless treasure that was spirited away by Aurora's father, an accomplished thief. We have a kidnapping, a tussle and ultimately an unbreakable bound but not before we have a great deal of sexual tension and interpersonal strife.



Gentle Rogue

Author: Johanna Lindsey
Publisher: Avon
Date: December 1, 1990
Pages: 448
Genre: Historical Romance


Gentle Rogue marks my second run in with romance author Johanna Lindsey so I knew a bit of what to expect with this pirate romance. Lindsey's novel is quite tame when compared to Mckinney's. Georgina Anderson, shipping heiress, sister to five brothers and stubborn, naive hot head, has gone to England in search of her long-lost fiancé. When she failed to recieve word from him in over six years, it shouldn't have surprised Georgie that her wayward love had long since forsaken her for another. Interesting times have left George and her friend Mac stranded in England without funds and in great need of getting back to America before Georgie's flight is discovered. It makes perfect sense that she and Mac would hire themselves out to work on a ship in exchange for passage back to America, just as it makes perfect sense for Georgie to disguise herself as a cabin boy to James Malory, a licentious English lord who is on to her from the start.

Of our two "heroes" I'm quite fixedly team Vashon. I couldn't stand Malory's voice and his incessant and boisterous dialogue. James, how can we lust after you if won't stop talking? Don't you know that the hero is just around to brood and look good? Vashon was an absolute slime of a human being which of course I found endearing because one must always root for the bad boy to win. But where James was all talk, Vashon simple carried out his evil plans without a lot of quip.

Aurora was a little mouse of a thing and she never developed any backbone so I could take or leave her. But Georgie was a troublesome, interfering insufferable hell raiser (I guess I can relate) and I supported her antics from the start. Couldn't we have them switch and let Georgina and Vashon get together? That's the primary reason I chose to talk about these two books together. I loved half of each of them SO MUCH that I just want to squish the two together and let the parts I don't like fall out.

Still, they were both great pirate romances and I greatly enjoyed them both. I enjoyed them even though the cover of Gentle Rogue, being one of those covers screams "THIS WOMAN IS READING TRASH! LOOK! RIGHT THERE! TRASH!" Lurve. Yay for pirates.

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Laura @ A Jane of All Reads
I read excessively and hoard books like a greedy dragon. Theoretically, I also plan to use them to barricade myself against the forthcoming zombie apocalypse.

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