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Sunfire #4
Danielle
Twice she'd lost her heart, but who was her life-long love?
It is 1814 when New Orleans beauty Danielle Verlaine helps Geoffrey, a young pirate, escape from her family's plantation and the authorities. Immediately she is captivated by his dashing good looks and dangerous lifestyle. While her fiance, Paul, is both handsome and sweet, Danielle yearns for something more. Her chance comes when the pirate's kidnap her and hold her for ransom. Danielle comes face to face with Geoffrey again. A love stirs inside her, and the spirited Danielle must decide between a comfortable life with Paul or an adventure as a pirate queen.
It is 1814 when New Orleans beauty Danielle Verlaine helps Geoffrey, a young pirate, escape from her family's plantation and the authorities. Immediately she is captivated by his dashing good looks and dangerous lifestyle. While her fiance, Paul, is both handsome and sweet, Danielle yearns for something more. Her chance comes when the pirate's kidnap her and hold her for ransom. Danielle comes face to face with Geoffrey again. A love stirs inside her, and the spirited Danielle must decide between a comfortable life with Paul or an adventure as a pirate queen.
362 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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July 26, 2008
“(See my review of "Amanda" for my series overview.)
Despite my nitpicky carping on, I am truly and thoroughly enjoying my massive Sunfire re-read project.
Until this... this... festering mound of... this. (This was one volume I could never find as a teen, so this is a first-time read.)
Danielle is the story of an irritating little princess and her irritating parents, who reside on an irritating plantation outside of New Orleans, a non-irritating place that should not have been associated with this travesty. The year is 1814, the war is the one of 1812, and the celebrity guest stars are Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte.
Danielle Verlaine, age 15 (and she alone among the Sunfire heroines actually does not turn 16 during the course of the story) is peripherally involved in the war, but the major plot revolves around her romantic idealization of the pirate Jean Lafitte, her conflicts with her pirate-hating father, and her dissatisfaction with her nice-guy fiance, Paul Milerand, and -OOH, a hot young pirate! Shiny! Yes, fate throws handsome Geoffrey Lafitte, a fictional nephew of the non-fictional Jean, at Danielle's perfect little princessy feet, which probably don't even smell.
In case you can't tell by now, Danielle is my major problem with this book. Vivian Schurfranz would have us believe that Danielle is smart, spirited, and independent, when she actually comes off as vain, willful, and reckless. I can accept a certain amount of dumb shenanigans from a 15 year old, but you can't actually expect me to believe that after Danielle is kidnapped by pirates who give her an option to go right home, she is actually going to get hold of her fear and terror enough to decide to stay on with them for a few days in order to carry a report of their good behavior back to her influential father? Even if Geoffrey is really, really cute? Reading a few newspapers doesn't make Danielle smart. Having her swim in the river in her petticoat doesn't make her interesting. And reiterating a zillion times that Danielle is "independent" does not make it so.
You know what? I can sum it up for you in a few short quotes, all from the first chapter:
Danielle's first line, spoken to her horse: "Let's go slowly, my beauty, until we reach the banana grove."
If this doesn't make you roll your eyes, then you don't have eyes.
Danielle's father is "a fiercely independent plantation owner who didn't allow slaves on his plantation- only freeman who were paid a decent wage."
Ooookay. I know this is ridiculous. You know this is ridiculous. Even Schurfranz, deep down, knows that this is ridiculous. Yet she's obviously employed this historically inaccurate conceit in order to make Danielle and her family more palatable to modern readers. There is simply NO WAY that the Verlaines would find hundreds of men willing to voluntarily take the nasty, sticky, back-breaking job of sugarcane harvesting, and even if they could, there is no way that they could make enough of a profit to keep them in the lifestyle that they are described as living. It's not that there couldn't be abolitionists in the American south at this time, it's just that they wouldn't be *plantation owners.* Plantations could not have existed without slave labor. If you want to write a story with this setting, you are going to have to deal with the issue of slavery, and not with this lame copout.
Not only does Danielle's internal monologue inform us that her father calls her the "most beautiful and the brainiest" girl in New Orleans, she meets up with Paul, and they run into Jean Lafitte, who calls her beautiful, then a mean pirate sneers at her, and she internal-monologues that "her beauty held no fascination for him."
And this is in the *first chapter.* Then Danielle tenderly nurses the wounded soldiers, and Andrew Jackson chooses her to open a ball with him because she is so gosh-darn beautiful! Somewhere in there is some kind of daring escape from pirates who want to ransom her, a few more attempts to convince us that Danielle is marvelously special, (such as her random visit to Betsy Summers, a character that appears to have been introduced only to show that aristocratic Danielle is magnanimous enough to visit someone who lives on the waterfront) and a few huge, glaring signs that Geoffrey is not the dazzling shiny prince he appears to be.
And then the war is over, and we're left with a final third of the book that is solely and entirely devoted to Danielle's excruciatingly boring little love drama. We all know Geoffrey stinks as a human being by this point, so watching Danielle waffle between her beaux is utterly pointless. We're all just waiting for her to grow the heck up and quit whining about how no one likes her crappy pirate boyfriend. For a hundred pages.
Here's a nagging question: if the Verlaines are so progressive and independent and smart and perfect and odorless, why in the heck did they involve Danielle in a "marriage contract" with Paul in the first place? And since Danielle is obviously going to end up with Paul (who is nice, but entirely too insistent that the 15 year old agree to marry him), it completely negates her very valid point that they ought to let her choose her own husband. Sloppy, sloppy storytelling.
Which is a shame, because as usual, it's obvious that a good deal of research went into this novel. Schurfranz (the most hit-or-miss of the Sunfire writers) has an annoying habit of making the historical figures too much of a presence in the story. Just not my cup of tea. And after that eye-rolling doozy of a first chapter, it was pretty much all downhill for me.
Verdict: Minus a star for a plot that is actually a heck of a lot dumber even than it sounds, minus one more for the historically dubious slaveless plantation, and minus three for the single most irritating heroine I have ever encountered in literature. Which makes my official rating "no stars." Don't bother seeking this one out unless you're a completist (I *am,* darnit!) or you find it really cheap.
Despite my nitpicky carping on, I am truly and thoroughly enjoying my massive Sunfire re-read project.
Until this... this... festering mound of... this. (This was one volume I could never find as a teen, so this is a first-time read.)
Danielle is the story of an irritating little princess and her irritating parents, who reside on an irritating plantation outside of New Orleans, a non-irritating place that should not have been associated with this travesty. The year is 1814, the war is the one of 1812, and the celebrity guest stars are Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte.
Danielle Verlaine, age 15 (and she alone among the Sunfire heroines actually does not turn 16 during the course of the story) is peripherally involved in the war, but the major plot revolves around her romantic idealization of the pirate Jean Lafitte, her conflicts with her pirate-hating father, and her dissatisfaction with her nice-guy fiance, Paul Milerand, and -OOH, a hot young pirate! Shiny! Yes, fate throws handsome Geoffrey Lafitte, a fictional nephew of the non-fictional Jean, at Danielle's perfect little princessy feet, which probably don't even smell.
In case you can't tell by now, Danielle is my major problem with this book. Vivian Schurfranz would have us believe that Danielle is smart, spirited, and independent, when she actually comes off as vain, willful, and reckless. I can accept a certain amount of dumb shenanigans from a 15 year old, but you can't actually expect me to believe that after Danielle is kidnapped by pirates who give her an option to go right home, she is actually going to get hold of her fear and terror enough to decide to stay on with them for a few days in order to carry a report of their good behavior back to her influential father? Even if Geoffrey is really, really cute? Reading a few newspapers doesn't make Danielle smart. Having her swim in the river in her petticoat doesn't make her interesting. And reiterating a zillion times that Danielle is "independent" does not make it so.
You know what? I can sum it up for you in a few short quotes, all from the first chapter:
Danielle's first line, spoken to her horse: "Let's go slowly, my beauty, until we reach the banana grove."
If this doesn't make you roll your eyes, then you don't have eyes.
Danielle's father is "a fiercely independent plantation owner who didn't allow slaves on his plantation- only freeman who were paid a decent wage."
Ooookay. I know this is ridiculous. You know this is ridiculous. Even Schurfranz, deep down, knows that this is ridiculous. Yet she's obviously employed this historically inaccurate conceit in order to make Danielle and her family more palatable to modern readers. There is simply NO WAY that the Verlaines would find hundreds of men willing to voluntarily take the nasty, sticky, back-breaking job of sugarcane harvesting, and even if they could, there is no way that they could make enough of a profit to keep them in the lifestyle that they are described as living. It's not that there couldn't be abolitionists in the American south at this time, it's just that they wouldn't be *plantation owners.* Plantations could not have existed without slave labor. If you want to write a story with this setting, you are going to have to deal with the issue of slavery, and not with this lame copout.
Not only does Danielle's internal monologue inform us that her father calls her the "most beautiful and the brainiest" girl in New Orleans, she meets up with Paul, and they run into Jean Lafitte, who calls her beautiful, then a mean pirate sneers at her, and she internal-monologues that "her beauty held no fascination for him."
And this is in the *first chapter.* Then Danielle tenderly nurses the wounded soldiers, and Andrew Jackson chooses her to open a ball with him because she is so gosh-darn beautiful! Somewhere in there is some kind of daring escape from pirates who want to ransom her, a few more attempts to convince us that Danielle is marvelously special, (such as her random visit to Betsy Summers, a character that appears to have been introduced only to show that aristocratic Danielle is magnanimous enough to visit someone who lives on the waterfront) and a few huge, glaring signs that Geoffrey is not the dazzling shiny prince he appears to be.
And then the war is over, and we're left with a final third of the book that is solely and entirely devoted to Danielle's excruciatingly boring little love drama. We all know Geoffrey stinks as a human being by this point, so watching Danielle waffle between her beaux is utterly pointless. We're all just waiting for her to grow the heck up and quit whining about how no one likes her crappy pirate boyfriend. For a hundred pages.
Here's a nagging question: if the Verlaines are so progressive and independent and smart and perfect and odorless, why in the heck did they involve Danielle in a "marriage contract" with Paul in the first place? And since Danielle is obviously going to end up with Paul (who is nice, but entirely too insistent that the 15 year old agree to marry him), it completely negates her very valid point that they ought to let her choose her own husband. Sloppy, sloppy storytelling.
Which is a shame, because as usual, it's obvious that a good deal of research went into this novel. Schurfranz (the most hit-or-miss of the Sunfire writers) has an annoying habit of making the historical figures too much of a presence in the story. Just not my cup of tea. And after that eye-rolling doozy of a first chapter, it was pretty much all downhill for me.
Verdict: Minus a star for a plot that is actually a heck of a lot dumber even than it sounds, minus one more for the historically dubious slaveless plantation, and minus three for the single most irritating heroine I have ever encountered in literature. Which makes my official rating "no stars." Don't bother seeking this one out unless you're a completist (I *am,* darnit!) or you find it really cheap.
December 28, 2008
Ok, so the Sunfire books were romance novels for young teenagers, romance novel lite, if you will.
Each one was set in a different historical era.
And as you can probably tell from looking at the covers, each young woman was facing a choice between two young men. Wow! Most of my teenage life, not even one fellow was interested in me, so I was pretty intrigued by the idea of having to make a choice of men. I was basically just ready to take whoever came along and expressed a little interest in me. (That's what I ended up doing too, to disastrous results.)
Each one was set in a different historical era.
And as you can probably tell from looking at the covers, each young woman was facing a choice between two young men. Wow! Most of my teenage life, not even one fellow was interested in me, so I was pretty intrigued by the idea of having to make a choice of men. I was basically just ready to take whoever came along and expressed a little interest in me. (That's what I ended up doing too, to disastrous results.)
May 21, 2020
Edit: April 4th, 2020 (Self Quarantine Day 18)
And so the horror of reading my old reviews continues. Did college me know what spell check was? She must have considering she would go on to graduate from college. The shame!
So, this is Day 18 of self quarantine, minus a trip to the vet, a horrifying trip to Walmart yesterday and a couple of trips to my grandparents to unload groceries or take out the trash. I haven't been to the movies since I saw Frozen 2 and I haven't been out to eat since late February. I think I'm slowly losing my mind since I'm using a Goodreads review to document my time in isolation.
I think this is the reason I had such a terrible time with this book; I'm cranky and this didn't help.
The first time I rated it, I gave it a generous 3 stars. I certainly don't remember liking it the first time. This is only the second time I've read this book. This is easily a one-star book for me, so I have no clue why I was so nice the last time.
Danielle is an awful protagonist. For one thing, it's very hard to like her. She is always proclaiming how independent and self-reliant she is, yet she is constantly whining to her parents and Paul (suitor 1) how "I HAVE TO MAKE MY OWN CHOICES ABOUT MARRIAGE" and "WHY CAN'T YOU TREAT ME LIKE AN ADULT." She even tries to whine at future President Andrew Jackson by asking if she could help with military campaigns. Girl, you are 15. Sit down.
And yes, in other times periods, 15 is a grown up age. Danielle just acts like a 15 year old from our time.
She is also constantly bragging about how pretty she is. Oh Danielle with your cerulean blue eyes and lovely blonde hair, won't you please be in the parade as one of the 19 prettiest girls in the county. Oh Danielle, your beauty takes away from the pain of the bullet hole in my side, won't you write to my parents. Oh Danielle, you are so lovely I shall make you my pirate queen and we will sail the seas together forever.
Other characters aren't even worth mentioning because they are few and far between. Danielle doesn't have any friends or siblings unless you count suitors one and two as friends, which I don't. Her parents pop up every now and then, but they are largely sidelined, only appearing in the first couple of chapters and last fourth of the book. She has an aunt that she spends some time with, but there is nothing interesting about her except for a minor plot about a love interest in the army. Other major characters (if you can call them that) are apparently historical figures. I knew who Andrew Jackson was, but Jean Liffete and Betsy Summers were also real people. (I admit the War of 1812 barely warrants a mention in our SC 4th grade textbooks, so this war isn't one I'm overly familiar with.) We have more scenes with the three people mentioned above then with the suitor Danielle will eventually get together with. Maybe more than both suitors combined.
This is a problem because none of those people actually force Danielle to grow. Danielle learns nothing throughout this book. She doesn't change as a person and she gets everything she could want. Even though she makes some awful choices throughout the book, nothing bad happens because of it. There are no consequences. It's just so boring.
Another big issue is the plot which is all over the place. You read the summary of this book and thought it was about a girl kidnapped by pirates, didn't you? Wrong. It's about Danielle not wanting to be married, meeting a pirate king, meeting said pirate's hot nephew, the British taking her house, her mom being kidnapped by the British, her escaping from the British, following the American army around as a nurse, secretly meeting with hot pirate, worrying over her naval fiance, her fiance almost dying, watching people die, falling in love with a pirate, and only after a few more things happen does Danielle finally get kidnapped by pirates about a third of the way through to book. And if you hated reading that incredibly long sentence, you have now experienced some of my pain in reading this book.
I just hated this book. Don't read it. I shouldn't have reread it considering I face-palmed at the first sentence. Literally. AND I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO FACE-PALM RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THE VIRUS! THANKS DANIELLE! NOW I HAVE TO WASH MY HANDS AND FACE.
And just to punctuate how stupid this book ends, I'm going to spoil the ending below. Read this since you shouldn't read the book. Or don't. This could be a good hate read.
Danielle: The pirates stole our precious cameos when they kidnapped me, Mama!
Mom: Oh no! But how did you bring them back?
Danielle: My hot pirate boyfriend Geoffrey rescued them for me! Isn't he the BEST!
Dad: He's a pirate! All pirates are awful!
Danielle: OH DADDY! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I HATE YOU!
*scene change*
Geoffrey: Let's make out in this secluded spot away from all people Danielle.
Danielle: Oh Geoffrey, your so wonderful and amazing and, HEY! Why do you have one of my cameos?
Geoffrey: UM.
Danielle: GIMME!
Geoffrey: I'll bring you the other one too.
Danielle: M'kay. Do you want to come to dinner to court me?
Geoffrey: *sigh* fine. Can we make out then?
*scene change*
Danielle: Geoffrey stole our cameos Mom, but he is totally a nice guy!
Mom: *skeptical face* Are you sure about that?
Danielle: Of course! He's so handsome and he loves me and he promised he'd never steal again!
*scene change*
*After Geoffrey courts Danielle*
Geoffrey: Run away with me Danielle!
Danielle: I don't know...
Geoffrey: I'll come back tomorrow for your decision.
Dad: Now that we've met him, you can't marry the pirate. You must marry the guy we choose for you when you were six.
Danielle: BUT I DON'T WANNA! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!
*scene change*
Danielle: Maybe I shouldn't run off with Geoffrey.
*Danielle get's dirty*
Mom: Oh Danielle, you must act more lady like.
Dad: HOW DARE YOU NOT ACT LIKE AN ADULT! EVER SINCE YOU STARTED HANGING OUT WITH THAT PIRATE!!!! *Insert angry teacher noises from the Peanuts*
Danielle: NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ME!
*Danielle decides to run away with Geoffrey*
*scene change*
Geoffrey: Oh darling, I'm so glad you are coming with me.
Danielle: OH yes, let's go.
Geoffrey: *playing Let's Get it On* Why don't we stay and make out?
Danielle: NO! Let's go! LET GO OF ME!
Paul: AVAST YE SCOUNDREL! LET HER GO!
Danielle: *Le GASP* Don't hurt Geoffrey, Paul!
*Insert low stakes fist fight to the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song*
Paul: I won.
Geoffrey: *from ground* I'll kill you by cutting you into tiny little pieces and feed your entrails to the sharks.
*Danielle is torn between the two.*
Paul: Go to your love.
*Paul leaves the girl he's known since childhood with a potential rapist and actual kidnapper*
Danielle goes to Geoffrey.
Danielle: I love Paul.
Geoffrey: Argh, I hate you. I could have any woman I want.
Danielle: I know. Goodbye now!
*Danielle leaves a pirate at her house where he could rob it.*
Danielle: PAUL I LOVE YOU LET'S GET MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!
Paul: I'VE WAITED FOR SO LONG!!!!
End
Original Review circa 2011
Yeah, I'm not happy with this book. Not happy at all. I loved Danielle, but both of her suitors, ugh, didn't care for either of them to much. All the interaction with Paul was mostly flashbacks or Danielle refusing to marry him, which only made me see him as a stuck up prat. Geoffrey was your typical dashing pirate, but with all of Danielle's girlish fantasies of him, it was easy for a reader to look past that and see what he was really all about. I much preferred Christopher to either of those two boys. It stinks what happened to that adorable Tennessee soldier.
The one thing that really made this book enjoyable though was Danielle's action scenes. First we get a terrifying escape from the British through the swamp, and then a even scarier escape scene from pirates! Both were nail-bitters, even if they were a tad similar. I probably would have enjoyed that last fight at the tail end of the book if it hadn't had been so predictable and out of character for the two characters doing the fighting. Cause, let's face it, the loser was more likely to win, but the author wanted the other guy to win.
All in all, don't get your hopes up for this one. Pirates, wars, and romance does not add up well in this novel.
And so the horror of reading my old reviews continues. Did college me know what spell check was? She must have considering she would go on to graduate from college. The shame!
So, this is Day 18 of self quarantine, minus a trip to the vet, a horrifying trip to Walmart yesterday and a couple of trips to my grandparents to unload groceries or take out the trash. I haven't been to the movies since I saw Frozen 2 and I haven't been out to eat since late February. I think I'm slowly losing my mind since I'm using a Goodreads review to document my time in isolation.
I think this is the reason I had such a terrible time with this book; I'm cranky and this didn't help.
The first time I rated it, I gave it a generous 3 stars. I certainly don't remember liking it the first time. This is only the second time I've read this book. This is easily a one-star book for me, so I have no clue why I was so nice the last time.
Danielle is an awful protagonist. For one thing, it's very hard to like her. She is always proclaiming how independent and self-reliant she is, yet she is constantly whining to her parents and Paul (suitor 1) how "I HAVE TO MAKE MY OWN CHOICES ABOUT MARRIAGE" and "WHY CAN'T YOU TREAT ME LIKE AN ADULT." She even tries to whine at future President Andrew Jackson by asking if she could help with military campaigns. Girl, you are 15. Sit down.
And yes, in other times periods, 15 is a grown up age. Danielle just acts like a 15 year old from our time.
She is also constantly bragging about how pretty she is. Oh Danielle with your cerulean blue eyes and lovely blonde hair, won't you please be in the parade as one of the 19 prettiest girls in the county. Oh Danielle, your beauty takes away from the pain of the bullet hole in my side, won't you write to my parents. Oh Danielle, you are so lovely I shall make you my pirate queen and we will sail the seas together forever.
Other characters aren't even worth mentioning because they are few and far between. Danielle doesn't have any friends or siblings unless you count suitors one and two as friends, which I don't. Her parents pop up every now and then, but they are largely sidelined, only appearing in the first couple of chapters and last fourth of the book. She has an aunt that she spends some time with, but there is nothing interesting about her except for a minor plot about a love interest in the army. Other major characters (if you can call them that) are apparently historical figures. I knew who Andrew Jackson was, but Jean Liffete and Betsy Summers were also real people. (I admit the War of 1812 barely warrants a mention in our SC 4th grade textbooks, so this war isn't one I'm overly familiar with.) We have more scenes with the three people mentioned above then with the suitor Danielle will eventually get together with. Maybe more than both suitors combined.
This is a problem because none of those people actually force Danielle to grow. Danielle learns nothing throughout this book. She doesn't change as a person and she gets everything she could want. Even though she makes some awful choices throughout the book, nothing bad happens because of it. There are no consequences. It's just so boring.
Another big issue is the plot which is all over the place. You read the summary of this book and thought it was about a girl kidnapped by pirates, didn't you? Wrong. It's about Danielle not wanting to be married, meeting a pirate king, meeting said pirate's hot nephew, the British taking her house, her mom being kidnapped by the British, her escaping from the British, following the American army around as a nurse, secretly meeting with hot pirate, worrying over her naval fiance, her fiance almost dying, watching people die, falling in love with a pirate, and only after a few more things happen does Danielle finally get kidnapped by pirates about a third of the way through to book. And if you hated reading that incredibly long sentence, you have now experienced some of my pain in reading this book.
I just hated this book. Don't read it. I shouldn't have reread it considering I face-palmed at the first sentence. Literally. AND I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO FACE-PALM RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THE VIRUS! THANKS DANIELLE! NOW I HAVE TO WASH MY HANDS AND FACE.
And just to punctuate how stupid this book ends, I'm going to spoil the ending below. Read this since you shouldn't read the book. Or don't. This could be a good hate read.
Danielle: The pirates stole our precious cameos when they kidnapped me, Mama!
Mom: Oh no! But how did you bring them back?
Danielle: My hot pirate boyfriend Geoffrey rescued them for me! Isn't he the BEST!
Dad: He's a pirate! All pirates are awful!
Danielle: OH DADDY! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I HATE YOU!
*scene change*
Geoffrey: Let's make out in this secluded spot away from all people Danielle.
Danielle: Oh Geoffrey, your so wonderful and amazing and, HEY! Why do you have one of my cameos?
Geoffrey: UM.
Danielle: GIMME!
Geoffrey: I'll bring you the other one too.
Danielle: M'kay. Do you want to come to dinner to court me?
Geoffrey: *sigh* fine. Can we make out then?
*scene change*
Danielle: Geoffrey stole our cameos Mom, but he is totally a nice guy!
Mom: *skeptical face* Are you sure about that?
Danielle: Of course! He's so handsome and he loves me and he promised he'd never steal again!
*scene change*
*After Geoffrey courts Danielle*
Geoffrey: Run away with me Danielle!
Danielle: I don't know...
Geoffrey: I'll come back tomorrow for your decision.
Dad: Now that we've met him, you can't marry the pirate. You must marry the guy we choose for you when you were six.
Danielle: BUT I DON'T WANNA! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!
*scene change*
Danielle: Maybe I shouldn't run off with Geoffrey.
*Danielle get's dirty*
Mom: Oh Danielle, you must act more lady like.
Dad: HOW DARE YOU NOT ACT LIKE AN ADULT! EVER SINCE YOU STARTED HANGING OUT WITH THAT PIRATE!!!! *Insert angry teacher noises from the Peanuts*
Danielle: NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ME!
*Danielle decides to run away with Geoffrey*
*scene change*
Geoffrey: Oh darling, I'm so glad you are coming with me.
Danielle: OH yes, let's go.
Geoffrey: *playing Let's Get it On* Why don't we stay and make out?
Danielle: NO! Let's go! LET GO OF ME!
Paul: AVAST YE SCOUNDREL! LET HER GO!
Danielle: *Le GASP* Don't hurt Geoffrey, Paul!
*Insert low stakes fist fight to the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song*
Paul: I won.
Geoffrey: *from ground* I'll kill you by cutting you into tiny little pieces and feed your entrails to the sharks.
*Danielle is torn between the two.*
Paul: Go to your love.
*Paul leaves the girl he's known since childhood with a potential rapist and actual kidnapper*
Danielle goes to Geoffrey.
Danielle: I love Paul.
Geoffrey: Argh, I hate you. I could have any woman I want.
Danielle: I know. Goodbye now!
*Danielle leaves a pirate at her house where he could rob it.*
Danielle: PAUL I LOVE YOU LET'S GET MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!
Paul: I'VE WAITED FOR SO LONG!!!!
End
Original Review circa 2011
Yeah, I'm not happy with this book. Not happy at all. I loved Danielle, but both of her suitors, ugh, didn't care for either of them to much. All the interaction with Paul was mostly flashbacks or Danielle refusing to marry him, which only made me see him as a stuck up prat. Geoffrey was your typical dashing pirate, but with all of Danielle's girlish fantasies of him, it was easy for a reader to look past that and see what he was really all about. I much preferred Christopher to either of those two boys. It stinks what happened to that adorable Tennessee soldier.
The one thing that really made this book enjoyable though was Danielle's action scenes. First we get a terrifying escape from the British through the swamp, and then a even scarier escape scene from pirates! Both were nail-bitters, even if they were a tad similar. I probably would have enjoyed that last fight at the tail end of the book if it hadn't had been so predictable and out of character for the two characters doing the fighting. Cause, let's face it, the loser was more likely to win, but the author wanted the other guy to win.
All in all, don't get your hopes up for this one. Pirates, wars, and romance does not add up well in this novel.
September 17, 2020
One sentence sums up this whole book:
"General Jackson was arriving today, but the most important though on Danielle's mind was Geoffrey."
Bless our heroine's heart.
Pluses:
I never knew much about Jean Lafitte. Can't say this an accurate historical portrayal, but I appreciate the effort.
Technically the book DOES pass the Bechdel Test. I think the only conversation between two women that does not involve the discussion of a man goes as follows:
"Come and have coffee and bread before we leave," her mother called from downstairs.
"Yes, Mother. I have a few things to do and I'll be right down."
"Fine, dear. I'm securing and locking the shutters in every room downstairs. The coffee will be brewed in ten minutes."
"All right, Mother."
Minuses:
Revisionist History is fun! Pretty remarkable that a successful sugar plantation owner eschews slavery as much as our heroine's father does. Andrew Jackson is a hero. And not one breath given to the 1811 German Coast Slave Revolt.
According to a quick internet search, the name Danielle was not popularized until about 1935.
Geoffrey is the embodiment of rape culture.
"General Jackson was arriving today, but the most important though on Danielle's mind was Geoffrey."
Bless our heroine's heart.
Pluses:
I never knew much about Jean Lafitte. Can't say this an accurate historical portrayal, but I appreciate the effort.
Technically the book DOES pass the Bechdel Test. I think the only conversation between two women that does not involve the discussion of a man goes as follows:
"Come and have coffee and bread before we leave," her mother called from downstairs.
"Yes, Mother. I have a few things to do and I'll be right down."
"Fine, dear. I'm securing and locking the shutters in every room downstairs. The coffee will be brewed in ten minutes."
"All right, Mother."
Minuses:
Revisionist History is fun! Pretty remarkable that a successful sugar plantation owner eschews slavery as much as our heroine's father does. Andrew Jackson is a hero. And not one breath given to the 1811 German Coast Slave Revolt.
According to a quick internet search, the name Danielle was not popularized until about 1935.
Geoffrey is the embodiment of rape culture.
Read
January 9, 2019I remember reading and lovin' this as a teen - wonder if I can find the book and what I'd think of it now as an adult?
February 11, 2016
*Rereading my way through the Sunfire series, in publication order*
Danielle Verlaine is insufferable almost from the very beginning of this book. She's rebellious (we know this because she swam in the Mississippi River in her underthings) and rides alone in the streets of 1814 New Orleans (which is okay because she carries a set of horse pistols). She's being courted by the completely boring Paul, who she doesn't take seriously. "You'll have my love when you're a rich and famous captain," she flippantly tells him. What a catch, Paul! But then she meets Geoffrey, nephew of the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte. He's dashing and handsome and, duh, a PIRATE. Though just about every single person around her repeatedly says that Geoffrey is Bad News, she insists on swooning and sneaking out to meet him. There was some history tossed in there--the War of 1812 was going on, after all, right there in the middle of the book--but was clearly not as important to Danielle as OMG PIRATES. In the end, I really didn't care who she ended up with.
Danielle Verlaine is insufferable almost from the very beginning of this book. She's rebellious (we know this because she swam in the Mississippi River in her underthings) and rides alone in the streets of 1814 New Orleans (which is okay because she carries a set of horse pistols). She's being courted by the completely boring Paul, who she doesn't take seriously. "You'll have my love when you're a rich and famous captain," she flippantly tells him. What a catch, Paul! But then she meets Geoffrey, nephew of the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte. He's dashing and handsome and, duh, a PIRATE. Though just about every single person around her repeatedly says that Geoffrey is Bad News, she insists on swooning and sneaking out to meet him. There was some history tossed in there--the War of 1812 was going on, after all, right there in the middle of the book--but was clearly not as important to Danielle as OMG PIRATES. In the end, I really didn't care who she ended up with.
January 14, 2010
Swoon. I remember reading so many of this collection in middle school. I love a good clean historical fiction romance.
"Sunfire was the name of a series of 32 young adult books put out by Scholastic, Inc. during the 1980s. The books always took place during an interesting point in American history and featured a girl who was usually ahead of her time in her attitudes and actions. The basic plot usually involved her being caught up in the particular historic event of the time while also having to choose between two suitors (rarely, this number might change). Almost always, the winning suitor was the one who approved of the heroine's liberal attitudes and who was kind of a rebel in his own right--not the family-approved kind who offered mere comfort and stability. All in all, the books were good clean fun for a young girl..."
- from http://www.geocities.com/brynahilde/sunf...
"Sunfire was the name of a series of 32 young adult books put out by Scholastic, Inc. during the 1980s. The books always took place during an interesting point in American history and featured a girl who was usually ahead of her time in her attitudes and actions. The basic plot usually involved her being caught up in the particular historic event of the time while also having to choose between two suitors (rarely, this number might change). Almost always, the winning suitor was the one who approved of the heroine's liberal attitudes and who was kind of a rebel in his own right--not the family-approved kind who offered mere comfort and stability. All in all, the books were good clean fun for a young girl..."
- from http://www.geocities.com/brynahilde/sunf...
August 19, 2013
I was enjoying my reread of Sunfires until Danielle. This one was just not...good. It was *okay* in the beginning when something was going on besides spoiled Danielle and creepy Geoffrey's relationship. Then the war ends and we just have Danielle obsessing thinking about Geoffrey. Oh, merchants are going broke because they can't sell their stuff...but what about Geoffrey? Oh, tons of people just died in a terrible war...but what about Geoffrey? This got very old, very quickly. Oh, Geoffrey just stole some priceless cameos? Oh well, he just didn't know any better (than to STEAL from his girlfriend and her family??? Sorry, Danielle that one doesn't work for me). If I wasn't so OCD about series, this one would've been a DNF pretty early on.
October 19, 2014
Ugh. The only reason why I read this is because when I was in high school, I read this series of books but my local library never had this one. Since my first name is Danielle I thought how awesome would it be to read something with my name. Don't judge me for idiotic teenager thinking. I honestly had no clue that these books were YA historical romance. I never cared about the romance portion of them and was more interested by the historical background. Fast forward to this year when I bought this off of Amazon. Finally read it. Dear god this book is terrible. It's like it was written by a 12 year old for other 12 year olds since all the characters don't act like real people do. Just so, so bad. Great example of how not to write YA and historical romance.
January 8, 2009
I honestly tried to read this one about five time, and could never get through the first third. I wanted to like it, having the same name, but it never could keep my attention. I still have this book, maybe someday I will pick it up, and get through it.
August 20, 2012
Still reading/rereading the Sunfires. I did not read this one in my preteen years (thank goodness). It is pretty horrendous. There is not anything to redeem it. Plot and characters were boring and unlikable. So sorry that I bought it. Not recommended!
March 25, 2016
This was the first "smut" (or what I thought was smut) I ever read, and as a teenager I thought it was the sexiest thing under the sun. I just found it cleaning out some old boxes, and re-read it. It sort of delighted me anew, but mostly from nostalgia I think.
Read
June 16, 2020Second reading (at least)--the date below
November 11, 2010
I loved it. I would deffinately recommend this to other people. Except you guys. I am pretty sure you do not want to read a love/romance novel.
April 11, 2011
Historical fiction, I was fifteen, and I LOVED it!!!
September 26, 2012
I was really excited to read this one with the pirate (As I am a big fan of them) But I was very disappointed by the writing.
January 6, 2016
Danielle was childish and stupid and I can't see why Paul still wanted her.
May 16, 2021
I devoured these Sunfire books as a teenager. This particular book was less exciting than I remembered.
The Cover
Why is Geoffrey wearing the puffy shirt from Seinfeld and a belly dancer hip scarf? Is this traditional pirate wear? I kind of expect him to start dangling from a trapeze at any minute. And really, could Paul look any more like a stick-in-the-mud? The glowering scowl is less than magical. I guess we're supposed to know that Danielle is fetching because of her fan. Or maybe she's just hot (temperature wise) -- she's in New Orleans after all.
The Romance
Honestly, Danielle had a crap choice to make in the romance department. While Geoffrey was apparently a smoldering sexpot, he was also a klepto and bit full of himself. Teen me found him dashing. Mom me wanted to ground him, Danielle and pretty much every one in the book. Paul wasn't much better. I guess he was ambitious and steady. Teen me would have been bored senseless. Mom me would hold a parade for him. He also burned down a pirate island, which seemed like poor planning for a long, safe life.
Brat Level
Danielle is a bit spoiled - her daddy owns a sugar plantation and is a bit of a bigwig. She wants to live her life - riding her house, pulling guns on intruders, charming Andrew Jackson and befriending Americans. Her parents keep trying to encourage her to have manners and be respectable - the big jerks.
History Lessons
You'll learn about the War of 1812, the Battle of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson and Jean & Pierre Lafitte - pirates extraordinaire.
The Cover
Why is Geoffrey wearing the puffy shirt from Seinfeld and a belly dancer hip scarf? Is this traditional pirate wear? I kind of expect him to start dangling from a trapeze at any minute. And really, could Paul look any more like a stick-in-the-mud? The glowering scowl is less than magical. I guess we're supposed to know that Danielle is fetching because of her fan. Or maybe she's just hot (temperature wise) -- she's in New Orleans after all.
The Romance
Honestly, Danielle had a crap choice to make in the romance department. While Geoffrey was apparently a smoldering sexpot, he was also a klepto and bit full of himself. Teen me found him dashing. Mom me wanted to ground him, Danielle and pretty much every one in the book. Paul wasn't much better. I guess he was ambitious and steady. Teen me would have been bored senseless. Mom me would hold a parade for him. He also burned down a pirate island, which seemed like poor planning for a long, safe life.
Brat Level
Danielle is a bit spoiled - her daddy owns a sugar plantation and is a bit of a bigwig. She wants to live her life - riding her house, pulling guns on intruders, charming Andrew Jackson and befriending Americans. Her parents keep trying to encourage her to have manners and be respectable - the big jerks.
History Lessons
You'll learn about the War of 1812, the Battle of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson and Jean & Pierre Lafitte - pirates extraordinaire.
September 16, 2017
Nostalgia book- I read and loved this series as a girl. They are written by different authors but each one has a heroine, a historical background, and two beaus. This one was set in the war for New Orleans. There are Americans, Creoles, Navy men, and pirates. Danielle is learning to be a woman with an independent spirit. One man will squash that independence, one will encourage it. Sometimes the heroine spends more time with one beau than the other so the reader wants more development. This time Danielle has flashbacks of memories with the other beau so this helps with development of that relationship. I can always remember why I was so drawn in by these books.
March 10, 2018
I remember this was my first Sunfire romance. I was about age 11 and even at that young age I thought the covers looked stupid and I presumed the series was dirty and superficial. My girlfriend convinced me to try them and I was pleasantly surprised and how good these short historical novels are.
June 5, 2018
Oh man, Danielle (the girl and the book) was super annoying. I wanted her to get caught in the swamp and never come out. The ending was even more rushed than usual for a Sunfire book, and really she should have wound up alone for being such a spoiled child.
(Note to future self: took so long to read due to not working out at home consistently.)
(Note to future self: took so long to read due to not working out at home consistently.)
March 23, 2025
2.5 stars. I loved this series as a kid, and am re-reading them obsessively. Nostalgic, but this author sucks compared to the others in the series
July 3, 2017
I originally read this series back in the 80s, checking them out from my elementary school library. Having re-read them as an adult I think they stand the test of time and are still relevant as far as historical fiction is concerned.
June 8, 2021
Not as enjoyable as the rest of the series. The information on the war and history of New Orleans was great, but she just seemed so clueless to the pirate.
April 25, 2017
I feel like I'm far too generous with my ratings, because I seem to give most books four stars. A ten star system would be much better. As it is, this is a lowish four stars. I found it fascinating to find out what was real and what was fictional when reading this one. It was never one of my favourites in the series, although it's still pretty good.
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