Hooked by a Hero

by Merry Farmer

The only thing more exciting than finding adventure and love on the high seas is the mystery of who Caspian really is….

When Dr. Elias Pettigrew is forced to leave England for Australia at a moment’s notice to avoid being trapped into marriage with an odious woman he could never love, he has no idea what will become of his life. Australia needs doctors, so he is certain he will find employment, but is it worth giving up his entire life, his friends, and his fortune for?

The answer to that is a resounding “yes” when he meets the beautiful and enigmatic Caspian. But a mystery surrounds Caspian that Elias cannot figure out.

Caspian certainly did not expect to find his soulmate on a sea voyage back to his ancestral home, nor did he expect for the love of his life to be an Englishman. But as soon as they meet, Caspian feels their sizzling connection. But how does he explain to Elias who he is?

None of that matters when storms and a mutiny threaten the lives of everyone aboard the Fortune, and when the passengers and convicts are stranded on an unknown island, fall deeply in love under the most unlikely circumstances possible. But when Elias discovers who Caspian really is, will it drive them apart forever?

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 12, 2025

About the author

USA Today Bestselling author Merry Farmer lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Justine and Peter. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. Her books have reached the top of Amazon's charts, and have been named finalists for several prestigious awards, including the RONE Award for indie romance.

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Dr. Elias Pettigrew is forced to leave England for Australia at a moment’s notice to avoid being trapped into marriage with an odious woman he could never love. Australia needs doctors, so he is certain he will find employment. On the ship he meets the beautiful and enigmatic Caspian. Caspian certainly did not expect to find his soulmate on a sea voyage back to his ancestral home, nor did he expect for the love of his life to be an Englishman. None of that matters when storms and a mutiny threaten the lives of everyone aboard the Fortune, and when the passengers and convicts are stranded on an unknown island.
This was different, exciting, full of danger, romantic & unputdownable. I loved both Elias & Caspian, their attraction was immediate but two men falling in love on the confines of a ship meant there was no privacy so they were able to become friends before lovers. Elias appeared in the previous book & I was so looking forward to his story & it didn’t disappoint. Caspian had me intrigued as he had one very large secret. The storm & mutiny had me on the edge of my seat, The characters were well portrayed some I loved & some I loathed. This is my favourite of the series
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a different type of Tales of the Brotherhood book. Only a small section takes place in England, which is the only connection to The Brotherhood. Also, it has a strong paranormal aspect. It is a slow-burn, soul mates romance between Elias, a doctor fleeing a marriage trap, and Caspian, an unusual and secretive man. I enjoyed the book and look forward to more from the series.

[Penumbra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hooked by a Hero is the fourth book in the ‘Tales From the Brotherhood’ series. It stars Dr. Elias Pettigrew, a physician, and Caspian. This is told from Elias and Caspian’s povs.

I like the cover. The cover model and colors are striking.

The blurb does a good job of describing the plot so I won’t rehash it. I will mention that Elias is the doctor mentioned in Book Three who was tricked into agreeing to an engagement and marriage he didn’t want. Luckily, he was given a ticket for passage to Australia and this story is about Elias’ trip and his meeting Caspian.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. I enjoy this author’s stories and have read a lot of them. I really enjoy the historical ones. But even though this book starts out being set in historical times, it isn’t anything like the first three books in the series because it isn’t a historical. It’s a fantasy/paranormal that ends up as a contemporary by the end. It doesn’t fit in with the first three books. Once Elias meets Caspian the story enters a whole different genre. This would be more appropriate as a fantasy spin-off of the Brotherhood, and reminds me of the recent Dragon Prince series set in an alternate world. It felt disorienting to read this because it didn’t fit in with the other books and it couldn’t even be considered historical because it jumped ship with Caspian’s secret.

I’m glad Elias finds the love of his life. I liked how the author told us what happened when Elias asked his solicitor to sell his estate so he’d have money to purchase land in Australia. The conniving Lady Eudora and her mother evidently tried to get all of Elias money claiming she would’ve been his wife. That made me laugh that she failed. I’d love another book that mentioned what happened to her after she failed.

I’m wondering if this is the end of the series. Only because the story traces Elias and Caspian lives up into contemporary times, at least into the 1980’s, which I found rather sad. Because we know by then that all the friends Elias knew have passed on. Since the book ends in current times that takes it out of being a historical.

In the end, I didn’t enjoy this story as much as I did the other books in the series, and that’s because this book didn’t know what it wanted to be. Was it a historical? I wouldn’t say it was even though the main event of Elias and Caspian meeting started there. The one defining thing was what or who Caspian was, which put this story firmly in the Fantasy/Paranormal genre ending in the Contemporary genre. I couldn’t get past that discordance between this book and the others in the series. Therefore, I can only give Hooked by a Hero, 3 Stars.

I received an ARC from the author. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delightful addition to the Tales of the Brotherhood series, one that took me down a totally unexpected rabbit hole. Clues were there all along, the idea was totally unexpected, but it was an interesting and different one, adding some whimsy to Elias’s story.

When Brotherhood member Dr. Elias Pettigrew was tricked into an engagement with Lady Eudora at the house party in book 3, Vanquished By the Viscount, his total focus is on escape to Australia to avoid Lady Eudora and her aunt. The first person to catch his attention on board ship is an enchanting man, Caspian, an enigma by himself. As the voyage continues, the two are drawn together. Given the attitudes of the times in England toward homosexuals, they must be extremely circumspect, but others on board watch carefully. When the situation changes during a storm, all of the passengers and many of the crew are put in danger, ending up shipwrecked. How Elias and Caspian survive and get to live their lives is part of the tale, as well as the answers to all of Elias’s questions about Caspian’s home country and his life before the voyage.

The characters are interesting and engaging, easy to get drawn into their relationship and story. The side characters are equally engaging, particularly Ruby and Mr. Hunt. I was amused by Caspian’s faux pas when he called Elias by his first name shortly after their meeting, apparently a no-no in 1840s England. The world building around the ship had me feeling like I was right there with the characters and the congenial group they formed. You have the obligatory villains, Dick and Tumbrill, there is adventure and hand-to-hand fighting, huge storms, castaways on a deserted island, treasure, and efforts to find private places to be together. The story was fast paced and flowed easily, and the ending gave Elias and Caspian a HEA with ties to the current day. An entertaining read which held my interest as I read it in one sitting. If you enjoy the Brotherhood series, whether the historical or current one, I am sure you would enjoy this one, and its twist, also. Definitely 5 stars from me.

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of this book and as a treat to myself I sat down and read it in one day. It’s a marvelous and very different addition to the Tales from the Brotherhood series from Merry Farmer. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but there is an element to this story that doesn’t appear in the previous books. I love how Ms. Farmer uses things that she has found out in her travels to add verisimilitude to her stories, like she does in this book with people being shipwrecked on islands for long periods of time before being rescued.
Dr. Elias and Caspian are both lovely characters and their situation made me sad as do a lot of stories of historical characters like them. I like the way that Ms Farmer has of inventing ways that make sense for her gay characters to be able to be together, but this one has them beat! As is usual for a Merry Farmer book this one has lots of great side characters that add both good and bad things to the story. I am really hoping that we will see Elias and Caspian showing up in other books. I will be looking for them like old friends!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A merman Swiss Family Robinson tale. I really enjoyed this left turn in the Brotherhood series by Merry Farmer. We're still set in Regency England, with Dr. Elias Pettigrew feeling to Australia to escape a marriage entrapment scheme. On board he meets the lovely and interesting Caspian, the most beautiful man he's ever seen. The two men begin a friendship that slowly grows into more over the months of their voyage. There is swashbuckling action when the prisoners and some of the crew aboard the ship stage a mutiny and shipwreck them on a deserted island in the Indian Ocean. As they work with the other survivors to build a settlement while waiting for rescue, Elias knows that Caspian isn't telling the full truth about who he is. But he's fallen in love and none of that matters. What matters is fighting back against the mutineers and their greed. I really enjoyed this book's take on the mermaid myth and the good old fashioned adventure parts. The 2 MCs are dashing and all the side characters are very good, especially the young heiress Ruby. And the running theme of them getting interrupted constantly was cute. I would definitely recommend.

[Emily Pennington]

Elias and Caspian . . .

Dr. Elias Pettigrew had been entrapped in an engagement he did not want with the horrible woman Lady Eudora he could never love, so his only recourse was to board a ship in England and escape to Australia where he should not have any problem finding employment. Fortunately, this turned out to be the right move for him to make because it enabled him to meet the intriguing Caspian who would change his life. Caspian was likewise intrigued by the doctor, the strong feelings he aroused surprising even him! The mystery surrounding Caspian was definitely enough to hold the reader's attention on its own! Will he explain himself to Elias while the reader listens in? Or will we have to dig among the pages and figure out his identity and his secret for ourselves? Being stranded on a strange island after enduring storms along with a mutiny erupting has put everyone at risk. Where is this adventure taking us? And will there be a HEA for our heroes? Will the truth of Caspian's true identity break their trust and end any chance of a future together? Or will it be exactly what they needed to survive this fateful journey into the future that waits for them?

[Manon · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story. We start where the last book, Vanquished by a Viscount, ended. On the run from a forced engagement Elias is escaping to Australia.

Rescued while boarding the ship by Caspian, a story unfolds which is just a bit different to the rest of this series but I think it’s really my favourite.

There is so much mystery about Caspian and I am not spoiling the story here, it’s not something you would expect in a historical romance.

It’s quite a lot packed in this novel, meeting all the passengers, a mutiny, stranded on a remote island with more adventures and the ending is very different.

I also love the secondary characters, they really band together on ship and when stranded. Especially Ruby is so great, I would love to have one of her descendants reappearing somewhere again.

It’s a funny story, the heat is less as it seems our two heros have an issue with lack of privacy. But there is plenty of chemistry between these two.

[Jeanette Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooked by a Hero is the fourth book in Merry Farmer's Tales From the Brotherhood series. While all the books are loosely connected, this one is more of a sequel to book three, Vanquished by a Viscount. . Elias Pettigrew escaped an unwanted marriage by taking passage to Australia. Onboard ship. he meets Caspian. There's a paranormal twist
not found in the earlier books. And we get a mutiny and a shipwreck.
So lots of tense drama and some excitement. Quite a few surprise twists. Lots of passion. And a panoramically satisfying ending. Elias and Caspian have a sizzling friends to lovers romance. World building was excellent. Secondaries were strong minded and well written.
Ms. Farmer's attention to detail and her ability to give men their HEAs during a time period that did not allow MM bondings makes for entertaining reading. Quick and fun.
I received an advanced copy from the author and this is my review.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This is book four in the author’s Tales of the Brotherhood series and features Elias, a Victorian era member of the Brotherhood—an exclusive club geared towards the safety and protection of likeminded men—fleeing London for Australia to escape the marital trap set by a money grubbing Miss and her matchmaking Mama. Caspian, the other MC, was a completely unique character (you have to read the book to find out more!) and, I think, my favorite of the two though I LOVED Elias’s chase scene in the very beginning of the book.

I have to say, I was a little disappointed throughout the vast majority of the book; it was a super slow burn along with also being pretty low heat and, in my mind, I was already rating it a 4 star read… all the way to the end and, oh my gosh, that ENDING… it shot up to 4.5 like that (snaps fingers). It was AMAZING!!! This is a book you’re really gonna want to read! 4.5 stars

I received a copy of this book for free but am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great installment in this series! I enjoyed meeting Elias in the previous book. He seemed awkward and shy and got himself caught in a marriage trap. This tale started where the other left off with Elias being helped by the Brotherhood to escape the clutches of the damsel and her mother. The first meeting between Caspian and Elias is amazing. Definitely something at first sight. Adventure at the high seas on the way to their happily ever after. Read this wonderful romance in which both main characters grow into who they are supposed to be with each other.

[Josee A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I have to say I am not often surprised by a book but this definitely took me by surprised. I loved Caspian and Elias and how their love was immediately visible and profound. All the challenges they had to overcome and how they worked together was wonderful. The side characters were awesome. I especially loved Ruby! I would have loved to have more steam but with the lack of privacy, I guess it's to be expected. All in all, this was a joy to read!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had so much going on. Starting with Elias running away from his life in England onto a ship going to Australia. Caspian and his secrets are crazy. There are hints about the secret but I still can't believe it. These two try to find time to themselves but continue to be interrupted by the secondary characters that helps to add a hilarious tone with some of the challenges in the book. I enjoyed this book and look forward to what is next in this series.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooked by a Hero by Merry Farmer is a great addition to her Brotherhood world. Without giving away too much, this is an historical MM romance with a twist. It’s lots of fun, and a very fast read. Farmer’s writing pulled me in from the first pages, and I loved the whole book. Caspian and Elias are great for each other, so beyond the genre twist, this is a slow burn, with elements of insta-love, and mild suspense on the high seas. Enjoy!

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating 4.5
It’s an absolutely wonderful story with a unique twist that even I never anticipated. I loved both Caspian and Elias and the attraction they felt for each other during a time that was dangerous. It’s a great storyline that was presented in such a manner that held my attention. It’s a story worth reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Bookfunnel and are voluntarily leaving a review.

[stardragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of Elias Pettigrew and Caspian. Elias is leaving England to avoid a marriage trap. He boarded the Fortune headed to Australia. Caspian is also a passenger on the ship. They endure violent storms, a mutiny, the ship being damaged and being stranded on a deserted island. This book was so much fun to read with so many secrets and dangerous encounters but also myth and romance.

[Lisa C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story of Dr. Elias Pettigrew and Caspian while they are sailing to Australia. There is a lot of mystery around Caspian and Elias wants to know all about it. Loved these characters, their adventure and the fantasy woven into the story. Couldn't put it down.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really a fun and beautiful story with a touch of fantasy involved. Caspian certainly dropped the clues, but Elias was easily distracted by his amorous attention. Fun twists to this story!

I received a free copy of this book from the author. The thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Lee E Sills · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book I have yet to read a book by Mary I did not enjoy my only complaint with this book and for me, it was a small thing is that I was expecting this to be one of her M/M historical romances but I Would call the book more of a Fantasy romance, because one of the MCs was a merman so if you’re someone who just really hates fantasy romance This Book might not be for you

[Belinda Zamora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical PNR

I really enjoyed this book.
Elias and Caspian are thrown together for a wild ride and really work well together.

[Lena Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

NR