The Jezebel's Daughter

by Juliet MacLeod

Loreley Jones, daughter of the governor of the British Colony of Antigua, is orphaned when a hurricane sinks the ship taking her and her family from London to the Caribbean. After washing up on the shores of the Pirate's Republic of Nassau, she is sold into slavery and her virginity is auctioned off. The highest bidder is the notoriously sadistic Gideon Graves, captain of the pirate ship Jezebel, who holds Loreley against her will and repeatedly assaults her, until she is rescued by the Jezebel's quartermaster, Sebastian MacIssac.

Sebastian promises Loreley freedom, but only if she disguises herself as a man and works off the cost of her passage aboard the Jezebel. She soon discovers, however, that the freedom she finds at sea is more attractive than the gilded cage of her former life, and even death can't keep her from fulfilling her destiny.

Genres: Historical Fiction

373 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Juliet MacLeod is a Scottish native currently living in Southern Arizona. She was educated in Edinburgh and New York City, has worked as a web designer and as a magazine staff writer, and is currently employed as chief dog walker and pooper scooper for His Royal Majesty, Cooper Border Collie.

When not slaving away over a hot keyboard, Juliet enjoys reading, watching movies (her favorites are The Princess Bride and PS - I Love You), and listening to music. She has an unhealthy obsession with Benedict Cumberbatch's cheekbones and Jason Statham's smile.

Reviews

[DAulan Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was totally taken by surprise by this book, I listened to the audio version. The narrator was great, and really but a lot of emotion into the story. Wow, I don't know where to start, Loreley Jones goes on a ship to start a new with her family, the ship gets caught in a storm and Loreley is the only one to escape, She is found and sold to the sadistic capt of the Jezebel. The quarter master feels for her and dresses her like a man and puts her to work to avoid the abuse of the capt. She realizes she doesn't want to go back to her old life, this book shows courage, love adventure and true history. I loved it and recommend.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loreley Jones and her family are sailing from England to start a new life in the Caribbean when their ship runs into a massive storm. Being the only one small enough to fit through a porthole, Loreley saved from the sinking ship, but is swept away as she clings to flotsam while the rest of her family are lost at sea. Loreley's life goes from bad to worse when, upon being washed up on shore, she is taken by brigands to be sold to the local brothel.
As Loreley from an aristocratic family and both young and beautiful, her virginity is auctioned off at a high price to a cruel captain who bids not only for her first night, but to have her as his possession that no other patrons may touch. Loreley's time in the brothel is not all bad, she makes a beautiful connection to a slave woman who looks after her like a daughter. Still mourning the death of her family and old life, Tansy's love and affection toward Loreley is both needed and returned.
Life once again changes for Loreley, she is able to leave her prison after some time there, but instead of going back to her beloved England, she becomes (transforming herself into a boy) part of the crew of a pirate ship and falls deeply in love.
The book is a beautiful depiction of life on the high seas in the Golden Age of piracy, but is well researched and more than a little myth-destroying. I'll not touch on the rest of the book as it will give too much away, but I enjoyed reading every page. It is a romance – there are detailed sex scenes and some rape scenes at the beginning that may make some readers uncomfortable, but I feel the author wrote as both her genre and the story needed to make the narration real and lead the book forward. The vivid description of island Voodoo was excellent, as was the detailed and believable characters that I immediately identified with. My favourite was Tansy by far, though Ben takes a close second. This book will sweep you away into another time and place and leave you both satisfied and more than a little tear stained.

[Julia Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can't end a book like that! Please tell me there will be more!

In other news, what an exceptionally well-written and extensively researched novel! I loved it so much more than I expected to, and I mean that as a wholehearted compliment as I already knew I would enjoy it. If you enjoy Outlander, the True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, the Luxe series and pirates, this is a good book for you!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Proper review coming soon, but for now let's just say that I enjoyed this tale immensely, and shall begin pestering the author for a sequel, following that heck of an ending.

[BRNTerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

PUBLISHER: Casa Cielo Press, 9/2015
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SETTING: Bahamas, 1715-1719
MY GRADE: C

The beginning of this story was reminiscent of a 'bodice ripper' but it only lasted for about the first third of the book, unfortunately. Loreley was almost sixteen (born 10/1699) when the story began and nineteen when it ended. I didn't like or dislike her, which is a strange way to feel for a main character.

I like for there to be bad characters in fiction, even romance, so I liked Gideon and wish he could have lasted throughout the entire story. He'd have definitely made the story more interesting. We got zero background information on him. Once he was out of the picture the story changed drastically and became boring and slightly mundane. Loreley became a crew member and Sebastian's lover. That about sums it up.

Twenty-seven year old Sebastian was very boring. He was uninteresting to me and I didn't care a thing for him or about him. He was generally a nice guy but once he told Loreley that if she left, after saving up enough money, and went back to England no man would want her because she wasn't a virgin. He was being selfish, saying anything to make her stay with him on the ship. That comment was out of character for him. No background info on him either.

I think the two main characters were pretty emotionless and the story left me feeling that way too. The synopsis made this sound much better than it actually was.

I received this from the author in exchange for an honest review.