What do you think?
Rate this book
Heart's Masquerade
Heart's Masquerade (A Pirate Romance) [Paperback] [Jan 01, 1993] Simmons, Deborah
364 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1989
37 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
Deborah Simmons
157 books204 followersDeborah Simmons is the author of twenty-five historical romances and novellas, published by Avon, Berkley, and Harlequin.
A native midwesterner, Simmons graduated cum laude from Wittenberg University and was a journalist before turning to fiction. Her first book, Heart's Masquerade, was published by Avon in 1989 and was followed by a number of Harlequin Historicals, including a USA Today Bestselling anthology. Her 2003 release, A Man of Many Talents, was a launch title for Berkley's Sensation imprint.
Two of her books have been finalists in the Romance Writers of America's annual RITA competition for excellence: The Gentleman Thief in 2001 and A Lady of Distinction in 2005.
Simmons has sold two million books in North America, and her work has been translated and published in twenty-four foreign countries, including illustrated editions in Japan. She is a member of RWA, Novelists Inc., and the Author's Guild.
"I like to think of my stories as adventures," Simmons says. Most take place in Regency or Medieval England, such as her popular series on the thirteen century de Burgh family. But no matter what the setting, you'll find interesting characters, romance, humor, and mystery.
A native midwesterner, Simmons graduated cum laude from Wittenberg University and was a journalist before turning to fiction. Her first book, Heart's Masquerade, was published by Avon in 1989 and was followed by a number of Harlequin Historicals, including a USA Today Bestselling anthology. Her 2003 release, A Man of Many Talents, was a launch title for Berkley's Sensation imprint.
Two of her books have been finalists in the Romance Writers of America's annual RITA competition for excellence: The Gentleman Thief in 2001 and A Lady of Distinction in 2005.
Simmons has sold two million books in North America, and her work has been translated and published in twenty-four foreign countries, including illustrated editions in Japan. She is a member of RWA, Novelists Inc., and the Author's Guild.
"I like to think of my stories as adventures," Simmons says. Most take place in Regency or Medieval England, such as her popular series on the thirteen century de Burgh family. But no matter what the setting, you'll find interesting characters, romance, humor, and mystery.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 20, 2015
This isn't really a review. Just a bit of nostalgia. This is the first romance novel I ever read. I was in 8th grade and picked on mercilessly by my classmates for reading it. Every now and then I'll read it again and I still love it. It is the quintessential romance novel with a strong, adventurous heroine and a tall, dark, and handsome hero. It has pirates and kidnappings, dukes and duchesses and happily ever after. Still a favorite with me.
May 20, 2010
I just finished reading The Devil Earl which was EXCELLENT. I immediately turned around and looked for all of Deborah Simmon's books. Heart's Masquerade is NOT even in the same league as The Devil Earl and sadly I can't recommend it.
Heart's Masquerade is a ship romance (which I usually love!) What went wrong with this book? Well for starters, Catherine "Cat" disguises herself as a boy and ends up"stowing away" with Captain Ransom as his cabin boy. This relationship is developed well, but come on, I want the best relationship to be between the couple...not a "boy and a man".
When Ransom finally comes across "Catherine" in all her feminine glory he doesn't ever get that "she" is "he". I really didn't buy that after that long in close quarters that their would be absolutely no spark of recognition. I just couldn't suspend my belief system long enough to buy into this story.
For some GREAT SHIP ROMANCES try: The Windflower by Laura London, My Heart's Desire by Andrea Kane, The Pirate Lord by Sabrina Jeffries, and Night Secrets by Kat Martin.
Heart's Masquerade is a ship romance (which I usually love!) What went wrong with this book? Well for starters, Catherine "Cat" disguises herself as a boy and ends up"stowing away" with Captain Ransom as his cabin boy. This relationship is developed well, but come on, I want the best relationship to be between the couple...not a "boy and a man".
When Ransom finally comes across "Catherine" in all her feminine glory he doesn't ever get that "she" is "he". I really didn't buy that after that long in close quarters that their would be absolutely no spark of recognition. I just couldn't suspend my belief system long enough to buy into this story.
For some GREAT SHIP ROMANCES try: The Windflower by Laura London, My Heart's Desire by Andrea Kane, The Pirate Lord by Sabrina Jeffries, and Night Secrets by Kat Martin.
June 15, 2023
This is one of my absolute favorite books, I have read it several times!!! I just love Ransom and Cat! This is one of Simmons’ first books and you can kind of tell, but it is still my favorite of hers (I have read all of her books). It starts with Catherine (Cat) “masquerading” as cabin boy on Ransom’s ship and has a wild adventure on the high seas on her way to Jamaica. The romance is obviously one sided in the beginning but once Ransom meets Cat as a woman it moves at a nice pace. When I first read it, I wasn’t sure how Simmons was going to introduce them as man and woman, but I was not disappointed with her ingenuity. It’s not a perfect book, but it is so fun and intriguing. I love the adventure on the high seas that I will read again and again.
I recommend it and Deborah Simmons. If you don’t love this book but are a fan of regency romances I suggest trying one Simmons’ other books, such as The Vicar’s Daughter. WARNING: there is sex in this book, it is not erotica, but enough to be a steamy & hot adult romance. Please do not read if that offends you.
Romance-5/5 Steaminess-2/5 Explicitness-2/5
https://bigcomfychair.wordpress.com/
I recommend it and Deborah Simmons. If you don’t love this book but are a fan of regency romances I suggest trying one Simmons’ other books, such as The Vicar’s Daughter. WARNING: there is sex in this book, it is not erotica, but enough to be a steamy & hot adult romance. Please do not read if that offends you.
Romance-5/5 Steaminess-2/5 Explicitness-2/5
https://bigcomfychair.wordpress.com/
January 12, 2024
I really liked this book a lot. I like a slower burn romance and I don’t like when there is insta love so I was glad that this book made the falling in love part more real by not being rushed.
I really liked Cat and Ransom. I felt like the author really brought out their personalities well. The story flowed naturally and was never boring. I liked that the author didn’t over emphasize the fact that Cat was different in wanting adventure and not being a normal “lady” while still making it a big part of the book. We were shown that she was comfortable with the rough and tumble life rather than just told through monologues or constantly referring to the fact. I wish those fun personality traits would have shown through more when Cat does go back to being a lady and starts interacting with Ransom.
I do like that Catherine isn’t annoying about going back to being a lady. I feel like a lot of authors would make it so that Cat would be constantly complaining about a normal life after adventuring on a ship. But this author refrains from that obvious trope and makes it so Cat is perfectly fine being a lady, like she’s comfortable in both roles depending on what she needs to do to survive. Which is refreshing to me. But when she and ransom are interacting when they are in Barbados, Cat starts to become a tiny bit like that annoying female that gets her feathers rumpled at everything the guy says while the guy just gets to smirk and tease and be the cool one. Cat even mentions it at one point that she’s being way too haughty towards Ransom and I completely agreed. Especially given how uncharacteristic it is of how she normally acts. I’m fine with a little bit of indignation, especially when she thinks ransom is only interested in her for a one night stand type situation. But she was on the verge of being too uptight and it spoiled her character a tiny bit because it wasn’t who she normally was the whole rest of the story. It didn’t get too bad but I wished it didn’t happen nearly as much.
I also wish there would have been more specific sparks of recognition for Ransom about Catherine being the same person as Cat. He continues to say she seems familiar, but that’s it. After living together for the length of time they did and for how much he claimed to care for the boy, you’d think there would be instances as he’s interacting with Catherine that would specifically remind him of his cabin boy. But there was nothing. It would have given the story some added anticipation of will he or won’t he figure her out. It did feel a bit odd developing the romance the way it did with Ransom thinking Cat was a boy at first, but I thought it worked out okay.
One thing I don’t love is when a book jumps from random points of view throughout a story. It feels like the easiest path an author can take to get their story across and so it feels a tiny bit lazy almost. Although I did love the storytelling and writing for the most part this is just a tiny thing that I don’t love in general, but definitely didn’t ruin the story or anything overall. I liked the wondering and intrigue of when truths would come out and when and how certain things would happen so it made for a page turner. Overall I really liked this book.
I really liked Cat and Ransom. I felt like the author really brought out their personalities well. The story flowed naturally and was never boring. I liked that the author didn’t over emphasize the fact that Cat was different in wanting adventure and not being a normal “lady” while still making it a big part of the book. We were shown that she was comfortable with the rough and tumble life rather than just told through monologues or constantly referring to the fact. I wish those fun personality traits would have shown through more when Cat does go back to being a lady and starts interacting with Ransom.
I do like that Catherine isn’t annoying about going back to being a lady. I feel like a lot of authors would make it so that Cat would be constantly complaining about a normal life after adventuring on a ship. But this author refrains from that obvious trope and makes it so Cat is perfectly fine being a lady, like she’s comfortable in both roles depending on what she needs to do to survive. Which is refreshing to me. But when she and ransom are interacting when they are in Barbados, Cat starts to become a tiny bit like that annoying female that gets her feathers rumpled at everything the guy says while the guy just gets to smirk and tease and be the cool one. Cat even mentions it at one point that she’s being way too haughty towards Ransom and I completely agreed. Especially given how uncharacteristic it is of how she normally acts. I’m fine with a little bit of indignation, especially when she thinks ransom is only interested in her for a one night stand type situation. But she was on the verge of being too uptight and it spoiled her character a tiny bit because it wasn’t who she normally was the whole rest of the story. It didn’t get too bad but I wished it didn’t happen nearly as much.
I also wish there would have been more specific sparks of recognition for Ransom about Catherine being the same person as Cat. He continues to say she seems familiar, but that’s it. After living together for the length of time they did and for how much he claimed to care for the boy, you’d think there would be instances as he’s interacting with Catherine that would specifically remind him of his cabin boy. But there was nothing. It would have given the story some added anticipation of will he or won’t he figure her out. It did feel a bit odd developing the romance the way it did with Ransom thinking Cat was a boy at first, but I thought it worked out okay.
One thing I don’t love is when a book jumps from random points of view throughout a story. It feels like the easiest path an author can take to get their story across and so it feels a tiny bit lazy almost. Although I did love the storytelling and writing for the most part this is just a tiny thing that I don’t love in general, but definitely didn’t ruin the story or anything overall. I liked the wondering and intrigue of when truths would come out and when and how certain things would happen so it made for a page turner. Overall I really liked this book.
August 16, 2018
Cat suspects that her cousin murdered her step father and now her life is also in jeopardy. She has just escaped his clutches, and a mysterious man rescues her. He is the captain of a ship heading out the next day so she decides to dress as a boy and get a job as the captain's cabin boy.
I enjoyed this story of Cat and Ransom, first as cabin mates then as Ransom pursues "Catherine" on land. He didn't recognize her but she seems familiar.
I'll look for more Simmons books.
I enjoyed this story of Cat and Ransom, first as cabin mates then as Ransom pursues "Catherine" on land. He didn't recognize her but she seems familiar.
I'll look for more Simmons books.
October 12, 2014
this one had potential but failed miserably.... And I still don't understand, how the hero and his crew failed to recognize the heroine who masqueraded as a boy by simply covering her hair and wearing breeches.... were they blind or stupid I wonder? not happy with this one!
August 9, 2016
For the most part, I really liked this book. There was a few chapters in the middle which seemed to stall in their progress but beginning and end was good!
November 8, 2023
Totally improbable but I gave it three stars because I was stressed and needed something amusing as a diversion.
I mean, come off it, he didn't notice she was female? When he's fondling her arms didn't notice the scar. The plot has more holes in it than a golf course. Strictly speaking it should be categorised as "romantic fantasy." And why of earth don't US authors get names and titles right in these books? Ransom Dupree! Might strike a chord in the American south but nowhere else and certainly not in the UK in this period.
I mean, come off it, he didn't notice she was female? When he's fondling her arms didn't notice the scar. The plot has more holes in it than a golf course. Strictly speaking it should be categorised as "romantic fantasy." And why of earth don't US authors get names and titles right in these books? Ransom Dupree! Might strike a chord in the American south but nowhere else and certainly not in the UK in this period.
August 21, 2019
Good light read especially if you have been reading Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley (Playing the Ashes) where one character is so disgusting as anyone could ever find in literary fiction... This is a great soothing balm to help one relax and de~stress.
February 17, 2022
4.5 stars
The only thing I didn't like was her young age.
The only thing I didn't like was her young age.
May 10, 2021
They don't write books like this anymore. Secret identities, pirates, cabin boys, feisty heroines. I loved everything about this book.
Cat, running from a murderous cousin, hitches a ride on Ransom's ship as his cabin boy. She's 16 when she does this and hasn't yet filled out her curves. She falls in love, he becomes very attached to his cabin boy. When she later leaves the ship life, he finds her at a ball in Barbados 6 mos later, filled out and grown-up. He doesn't immediately recognize her and she, having seen him IRL, vows not to be one of his insipid admirers. I really loved that aspect.
I read that Deborah wrote this book after the birth of her first child. Frankly, I am impressed. I had a baby this past year in lockdown in the middle of a global pandemic and haven't been motivated to do anything beyond raising this baby. I have read some of her other books and see that she is still writing.
The end wraps up a bit too neatly and it's almost like an editor cut out a bunch of chapters at the end. They were like nope, we need you to wrap this up in 2 pages. So that's pretty disappointing but it's not like you are really reading for that anyways. I will say it's really nice that the last 20% is them married and in love. You never really get to see the HEA so it was a nice change.
Cat, running from a murderous cousin, hitches a ride on Ransom's ship as his cabin boy. She's 16 when she does this and hasn't yet filled out her curves. She falls in love, he becomes very attached to his cabin boy. When she later leaves the ship life, he finds her at a ball in Barbados 6 mos later, filled out and grown-up. He doesn't immediately recognize her and she, having seen him IRL, vows not to be one of his insipid admirers. I really loved that aspect.
I read that Deborah wrote this book after the birth of her first child. Frankly, I am impressed. I had a baby this past year in lockdown in the middle of a global pandemic and haven't been motivated to do anything beyond raising this baby. I have read some of her other books and see that she is still writing.
The end wraps up a bit too neatly and it's almost like an editor cut out a bunch of chapters at the end. They were like nope, we need you to wrap this up in 2 pages. So that's pretty disappointing but it's not like you are really reading for that anyways. I will say it's really nice that the last 20% is them married and in love. You never really get to see the HEA so it was a nice change.
August 18, 2012
I was given this book in a box of many genres. I am not usually into romance novels but this was fantastic. It kept me up nights wanting to continue.
January 14, 2015
At first it didnt grab my interest but as I kept going I started to like it. I couldnt put it down once I picked it up. Can not wait to read more by her.
historical
January 4, 2019Romance and Adventure on the High Seas
An attempt on her life forces Catherine Amberly to flee her manor house for the role of cabin boy on a ship bound for the Caribbean. But the threats she thought left behind follow her into the heat of the tropics, and soon she faces a more potent danger in the form of Ransom Duprey. When she finds herself falling for the privateer captain, Cat abandons ship for the life of a lady once more.
Ransom has his own enemies-and suspicions about the beautiful young woman in the Barbados ballroom. Although they've never met, she seems to know him better than he does himself, and the more she denies him, the more determined he is to uncover all of her secrets...
"This is a fun-filled adventure with pirates, villains, lords and ladies, suspense, romance, and much more." - Bookbug
Two-time RITA Finalist Deborah Simmons is the author of 28 historical romances published by Avon, Harlequin, and Berkley, as well as a romantic comedy.
An attempt on her life forces Catherine Amberly to flee her manor house for the role of cabin boy on a ship bound for the Caribbean. But the threats she thought left behind follow her into the heat of the tropics, and soon she faces a more potent danger in the form of Ransom Duprey. When she finds herself falling for the privateer captain, Cat abandons ship for the life of a lady once more.
Ransom has his own enemies-and suspicions about the beautiful young woman in the Barbados ballroom. Although they've never met, she seems to know him better than he does himself, and the more she denies him, the more determined he is to uncover all of her secrets...
"This is a fun-filled adventure with pirates, villains, lords and ladies, suspense, romance, and much more." - Bookbug
Two-time RITA Finalist Deborah Simmons is the author of 28 historical romances published by Avon, Harlequin, and Berkley, as well as a romantic comedy.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews