7/28/14

 

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

London, 1820

After the deaths of his parents and a dark, troubled childhood, Captain Nate Bowen vowed he would have his revenge. But he never expected to have the tool of his revenge dropped so neatly into his lap. Juliana Hargate is not only the daughter of his enemy, but is destitute, very much alone – and exquisitely desirable. And now that Nate has saved her life, she’s at his complete mercy…

Captive. All Juliana wanted was to clear her father’s name. Instead, she’s been struck with amnesia – unable to recall even her name – and imprisoned by a tall, imposing, and entirely unscrupulous pirate. A pirate whose eyes seem to look past her skirts and many petticoats, and whose touch sends delicious ripples of desire through her. With every passing day, she finds herself tempted to give him the very thing he’s determined to take…

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Well-written, with a an easy-flowing pace, Falling For The Pirate is exactly what you want in a historical romance. But the characters are hardly cookie cutter. Juliana is a woman of society, which should mean balls and parties and gowns made of silk. Instead, she’s been betrayed and abandoned by her father, left destitute unless she can clear his name.

In a brazen attempt to reclaim her life of luxury, she breaks into her father’s former shipping warehouse, dressed as a chimney sweep and intent on stealing the evidence that will exonerate her father. But when she comes face to face with the shipping company’s new owner, things take a turn for the worse. The resulting pursuit ends with her falling head first off the docks, and being rescued by none other than her father’s enemy.

Captain Nathaniel Bowen takes Juliana in, unsure why he feels so drawn to her. He suspects she was sent by Hargate, a man he’s sworn to seek vengeance against, but he has no idea how connected she really is. Struck with amnesia and unable to remember anything about herself, Juliana leads him down a dance of intrigue that will ultimately force him to reconsider what’s more important — his past, or his future.

I will admit there were moments in the plot that felt contrived and a little too convenient for my tastes, but the author more than made up for that with her expert ability to capture the era’s voice. Each character is distinct, making the dual POV rich and engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the inner turmoil and insecurities of each side. Juliana is feisty and rational, and everything a good romance heroine should be.  And Nate is definitely sexy; his tortured past will pull on the heart strings of many. But it should be noted that the title is a tad misleading — Nate is not actually a pirate. He’s an entrepreneur, more than anything. Yes, he’s the captain of a ship, and there are some slight pirate-ish aspects to his behavior, but at the end of the day, he’s the captain of a shipping vessel. Which, for me, is very different from a true pirate.

But despite that small complaint (and it really is very small; I loved him as a character overall), I really enjoyed this book. Amber Lin is an interesting author, bringing a grittiness to the genre that I hadn’t run across before. I will most certainly be checking out her other works, and I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun read with a darker edge. (I should also note that this is the second book in a series, but it definitely stands alone.)

**Disclosure Statement: I received an copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. **