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The Pirate's Lady
SAVAGE HUNTER
When lovely Jennifer Grey discovered she was shipwrecked on Chad LaShelle's outlaw island, the innocent girl wished she'd died at sea with her fellow passengers. She'd heard of the notorious pirate's scurrilous reputation and the flawless beauty hadn't a doubt as to what his fate for her would be. The jet-haired rake would crush her in his steely embrace, touch her with his bold caress, and force her to ease his manly desires. Though the odds were against her, the terrified blonde fled through the jungle forest, scared of the sinewy captain…but fearing her primitive response to him even more!
DELECTABLE PREY
The forest rang with Chad LaShelle's arrogant laughter as he watched Jennifer's form disappear between the leaves. The chase would only intensify his appetite... and heighten the taste of victory once he caught her. His blood warmed thinking of how he'd encircle her tiny waist and explore her silken swells. And once he'd threaten to turn her over to his men if she resisted his attentions, the blackhearted scoundrel was sure she'd fall into his trap. As he set out in hot pursuit Chad vowed that before the sun set in a blaze of tropical splendor, he'd transform Jennifer from an inexperienced miss into The Pirate’s Lady
When lovely Jennifer Grey discovered she was shipwrecked on Chad LaShelle's outlaw island, the innocent girl wished she'd died at sea with her fellow passengers. She'd heard of the notorious pirate's scurrilous reputation and the flawless beauty hadn't a doubt as to what his fate for her would be. The jet-haired rake would crush her in his steely embrace, touch her with his bold caress, and force her to ease his manly desires. Though the odds were against her, the terrified blonde fled through the jungle forest, scared of the sinewy captain…but fearing her primitive response to him even more!
DELECTABLE PREY
The forest rang with Chad LaShelle's arrogant laughter as he watched Jennifer's form disappear between the leaves. The chase would only intensify his appetite... and heighten the taste of victory once he caught her. His blood warmed thinking of how he'd encircle her tiny waist and explore her silken swells. And once he'd threaten to turn her over to his men if she resisted his attentions, the blackhearted scoundrel was sure she'd fall into his trap. As he set out in hot pursuit Chad vowed that before the sun set in a blaze of tropical splendor, he'd transform Jennifer from an inexperienced miss into The Pirate’s Lady
493 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1987
5 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 25, 2022
Lessons from this book:
- rape is not that bad if the guy is hot
- rape can actually become love if repeated enough times
- rape is not rape if it’s pleasurable for the woman even though she is still forced through it
- STDs and accidental pregnancy apparently aren’t an issue
I am enlightened, truly.
And to tell you the truth, I know we should sympathise with poor little heroine but she is so dumb and annoying and not that good of a person at all. Also, apparently she is so beautiful that no man can resist her and everyone falls in love with her. Gah.
And you know what else? The main hero is definitely a shitty person but at least he knows it and acts like it.
So yeah, this books made me “like” a rapist over his victim. Now I hate myself, thanks writer!
- rape is not that bad if the guy is hot
- rape can actually become love if repeated enough times
- rape is not rape if it’s pleasurable for the woman even though she is still forced through it
- STDs and accidental pregnancy apparently aren’t an issue
I am enlightened, truly.
And to tell you the truth, I know we should sympathise with poor little heroine but she is so dumb and annoying and not that good of a person at all. Also, apparently she is so beautiful that no man can resist her and everyone falls in love with her. Gah.
And you know what else? The main hero is definitely a shitty person but at least he knows it and acts like it.
So yeah, this books made me “like” a rapist over his victim. Now I hate myself, thanks writer!
August 9, 2014
"Vulgar, obscene and dirty! Women should not be encouraged to fantasize such acts!! 0 stars!" ...Ohh *click* add to list! LOL I love these negative reviews on some of these books, it makes me know which to put on my to-read list next. lol <3 Thanks, peaches.
July 24, 2023
Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers
Overall: ⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖 (I had to force myself to repeatedly pick this up and wanted to give up multiple times)
Feels: 🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡
Romance: 💞
Sensuality: 💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥 (There’s a few scenes, most are rape, others are so vague you don’t know what’s going on...)
Humor: No
Perspective: Third person mostly from the heroine, but also the hero, Garth (a side character), and a villain
Percentage which mains are first on page together: 9%
Cliffhanger: No
HEA/HFN: Happily Ever After (bleh)
Epilogue: No
Format: physical book
(Descriptions found at end of my review)
Should I read in order?
I believe this is a standalone.
Basic plot:
Jennifer is stranded on an island when the ship she was traveling on sinks in the Atlantic during a storm.
Give this a try if you want:
- Georgian time period (1741)
- Island setting (in the Atlantic)
- you’re okay with serious content warnings including murder and rape (by the hero) on page
- kidnapped/captive theme
- body betrayed me trope (where you don’t want to be intimate, but when they touch you your body betrays your brain and falls into passion with them)
- murder mystery
- literal bodice ripping
Ages:
- Heroine is around 20, not sure about the hero but he’s older
First line:
Black, turbulent clouds hugged the horizon, choking out the last bright, golden rays of sunshine.
My thoughts:
“If you’re trying to make me feel guilty, don’t bother. I’ve never felt guilty about anything in my life.”
I wanted to like this book SO BADLY!!!! Look at this cover!!! I am in love!!!
Well, I didn’t like anything about this book except the first 40 pages. Once the hero enters the book, I struggled until the very end. And even the first 40 pages, the heroine is stranded on an island and she admits she’s been a pampered helpless lady her whole life but has no problem making nets to catch fish, builds a shelter with a door and window, starts fires, and knows tons about survival.
I know reading old school romance you never know when you’re going to get some toxic aspects. Misogyny, dubious consent or rape. Severe jealousy. Codependent relationships. I can really love some dark elements. I can looooove dubious consent and pushy, arrogant jerky heroes. But one thing I chase when it comes to that is some form of remorse from the hero. For example, Whitney, My Love by McNaught, while toxic AF has a hero that is at least remorseful. This hero, Chad, had zero remorse and it was awful to read.
He not only rapes the heroine repeatedly, he distrusts her, uses her, threatens her until the very end. He is cruel and comes off as downright stupid to me in some situations.
Those chasing that dark, forbidden old school romance bodice ripper feel should give this one a go. (Maybe for fans of Stormfire by Christine Monson, or The Silver Devil by Teresa Denys?)
It didn’t work for me and I had to force myself to finish it. I saved some quotes below that feature my annoyance with this story. Read at your own risk.
Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts: Any typos are my own. Please avoid if you love this book because it’s mostly me ranting.
Content warnings:
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs
Overall: ⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖 (I had to force myself to repeatedly pick this up and wanted to give up multiple times)
Feels: 🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡
Romance: 💞
Sensuality: 💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥 (There’s a few scenes, most are rape, others are so vague you don’t know what’s going on...)
Humor: No
Perspective: Third person mostly from the heroine, but also the hero, Garth (a side character), and a villain
Percentage which mains are first on page together: 9%
Cliffhanger: No
HEA/HFN: Happily Ever After (bleh)
Epilogue: No
Format: physical book
(Descriptions found at end of my review)
Should I read in order?
I believe this is a standalone.
Basic plot:
Jennifer is stranded on an island when the ship she was traveling on sinks in the Atlantic during a storm.
Give this a try if you want:
- Georgian time period (1741)
- Island setting (in the Atlantic)
- you’re okay with serious content warnings including murder and rape (by the hero) on page
- kidnapped/captive theme
- body betrayed me trope (where you don’t want to be intimate, but when they touch you your body betrays your brain and falls into passion with them)
- murder mystery
- literal bodice ripping
Ages:
- Heroine is around 20, not sure about the hero but he’s older
First line:
Black, turbulent clouds hugged the horizon, choking out the last bright, golden rays of sunshine.
My thoughts:
“If you’re trying to make me feel guilty, don’t bother. I’ve never felt guilty about anything in my life.”
I wanted to like this book SO BADLY!!!! Look at this cover!!! I am in love!!!
Well, I didn’t like anything about this book except the first 40 pages. Once the hero enters the book, I struggled until the very end. And even the first 40 pages, the heroine is stranded on an island and she admits she’s been a pampered helpless lady her whole life but has no problem making nets to catch fish, builds a shelter with a door and window, starts fires, and knows tons about survival.
I know reading old school romance you never know when you’re going to get some toxic aspects. Misogyny, dubious consent or rape. Severe jealousy. Codependent relationships. I can really love some dark elements. I can looooove dubious consent and pushy, arrogant jerky heroes. But one thing I chase when it comes to that is some form of remorse from the hero. For example, Whitney, My Love by McNaught, while toxic AF has a hero that is at least remorseful. This hero, Chad, had zero remorse and it was awful to read.
He not only rapes the heroine repeatedly, he distrusts her, uses her, threatens her until the very end. He is cruel and comes off as downright stupid to me in some situations.
Those chasing that dark, forbidden old school romance bodice ripper feel should give this one a go. (Maybe for fans of Stormfire by Christine Monson, or The Silver Devil by Teresa Denys?)
It didn’t work for me and I had to force myself to finish it. I saved some quotes below that feature my annoyance with this story. Read at your own risk.
Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts: Any typos are my own. Please avoid if you love this book because it’s mostly me ranting.
Content warnings:
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs
Read
January 28, 2010In general, whenever I tell someone I write romance, this is apparently the type of book they think of. Why people's brains are stuck in the 1980s I don't know. When I say "contemporary fiction" does anyone still think Hemingway? But this image of the romance genre has stuck.
So I decided to read one of these Old School romances.
I really don't know how to "rate" it. The prose was vivid, I cared about the characters, and I didn't want to put the book down.
I also wanted the hero to get killed off so our heroine could fall in love with one of the other main male characters. (This is Not Good for a romance experience, by the way.)
The hero is a realistic pirate. Good on the realism.
Unfortunately this means he is a rapist. Who killed a girl who tried to fight back. Well, he didn't kill her *himself*. He had his men do it. This either makes him eligible hero material or lazy, depending on your point of view.
We find this out early on, by the way. Because he uses it as a threat when he, yes, rapes the heroine.
He rapes the heroine several times. Until Stockholm Syndrome takes over and for her own mental survival, she convinces herself she enjoys it and she loves him.
Do you see the problem here?
Again, this is a 1980s romance. Written at a time when there was still resistance to the idea of a woman enjoying sex outside of marriage Just Because.
So the idea of being "forced" to enjoy yourself meant you had the pleasure without the guilt.
In that mindset, I get how this scenario would have been considered a Good Thing. But only if both parties knew they were role-playing.
It breaks down when the hero rapes the heroine as soon as he sees her and the heroine doesn't even know whom he is. Not only is there no joint role-playing, there isn't even a mutual connection, let alone affection. And violence = love? No. Road closed. You cannot get there from here.
But this doesn't invalidate the book entirely - it's a reflection of its place in time. As long as you approach it as you would a historical document, you won't throw this book against the wall.
As it was so well written, I'm going to try another of this author's books.
But please, non-romance reading people, update your brains. This is NOT how we write romance in 2010.
So I decided to read one of these Old School romances.
I really don't know how to "rate" it. The prose was vivid, I cared about the characters, and I didn't want to put the book down.
I also wanted the hero to get killed off so our heroine could fall in love with one of the other main male characters. (This is Not Good for a romance experience, by the way.)
The hero is a realistic pirate. Good on the realism.
Unfortunately this means he is a rapist. Who killed a girl who tried to fight back. Well, he didn't kill her *himself*. He had his men do it. This either makes him eligible hero material or lazy, depending on your point of view.
We find this out early on, by the way. Because he uses it as a threat when he, yes, rapes the heroine.
He rapes the heroine several times. Until Stockholm Syndrome takes over and for her own mental survival, she convinces herself she enjoys it and she loves him.
Do you see the problem here?
Again, this is a 1980s romance. Written at a time when there was still resistance to the idea of a woman enjoying sex outside of marriage Just Because.
So the idea of being "forced" to enjoy yourself meant you had the pleasure without the guilt.
In that mindset, I get how this scenario would have been considered a Good Thing. But only if both parties knew they were role-playing.
It breaks down when the hero rapes the heroine as soon as he sees her and the heroine doesn't even know whom he is. Not only is there no joint role-playing, there isn't even a mutual connection, let alone affection. And violence = love? No. Road closed. You cannot get there from here.
But this doesn't invalidate the book entirely - it's a reflection of its place in time. As long as you approach it as you would a historical document, you won't throw this book against the wall.
As it was so well written, I'm going to try another of this author's books.
But please, non-romance reading people, update your brains. This is NOT how we write romance in 2010.
May 25, 2011
Feeling slightly squeamish...
Heroine, Jennifer Grey, is a typical beautiful blond young woman on her way to England to marry her fiancé.
The ship gets destroyed in a storm and she ends up as the sole survivor on what appears to be a deserted island in the Atlantic. she gets along ok by herself for about a week, managing to arrange shelter and get food etc.
Unfortunately for her, it appears that in fact it is inhabited by a large bunch of pirates who have built a town and use this as their home base.
The wretched so called hero, Chad LeSalle, is the illegitimate half brother of Jennifer's fiancé who hates both his father and half brother.
He comes across Jennifer and the minute he sees her, decides he will have her. He doesn't know her from Adam, doesn't speak to her or ask her name, but simply attacks and rapes her. He then gets angry as she hadn't told him she was a virgin , although he concedes this would not have stopped him - but he might have gone easier - what a gent! He proceeds to drag her back to his village half naked and locks her in his bedroom. The h cries during the event but I have to say, does not seem overly put out thereafter, which given her background just seems totally incredible. She escapes the room and runs away into the hills.
The not so charming a hole is furious that she would disobey or humiliate him like this and goes after her the next day, where he threatens to set his men on her to rape her if she tries to escape again.
Only on the way back to the village does he finally even enquire after her name.
She is afraid to tell him her true identity and gives a false name, but he has the ship's log and he realises who she is and that they had once between betrothed but now she is set to marry his half brother and he sees his opportunity for revenge on his family.
He goes up to the room and then violently rapes her again, whilst wondering what sort of game she is playing at and why she does not enjoy the honour he's doing her - I'm serious....
He then goes to treat J's battered feet with salve and we have an even more charming moment when she comments on the fact he is wearing an ear ring and we learn that he had captured a Spanish vessel 5 years previously and been taken with a young woman Dona Maria. He had killed her father in front of her and then taken her to his cabin to rape her but she had managed to stab him in self defence. His crew disposed of her ( probably in a very unpleasant manner but he never bothered to find out how) and he was presented with her ear ring as a trophy. He proceeds to brag about this to Jennifer and is simply cavalier about rape.
Jennifer's reaction to this latest incident is very facile. She cries and fights during the rape and this would generally mean the experience would have been painful and degrading. However, as soon as it's over, she's asking him questions and admiring his chest. When he starts boasting about Dona Maria's death she tells him that he is disgusting ( YES!!!) but within minutes he kisses her and she responds (NO!!!!). A fundamental rule of life should be that murderous raping socio paths are not attractive!!!
I know that this is from the late 80s but it is pretty uncomfortable. In real terms the h has suffered multiple traumas within a 3 week period: her father dies, she has to leave her country to travel to England to marry a man she does not know, her ship is wreaked and everyone one on board is killed, she is washed up ashore after a long period in the sea, she struggles to survive for a week by herself with no companionship and little hope of imminent rescue, she then discovers that there are pirates on the island, she is raped by an unknown man on the beach within minutes of him spotting her, she is captured and paraded in a state of undress through a pirate village, she runs away hurting her feet and is captured again, he rapes her again pretty violently swearing to use her for revenge and then brags about raping other women and having them killed if they try to defend themselves or resist. These are not the types of things that you just get over and most normal people would be in shock and distress. Instead she appears to take it in her stride as if well, it really isn't that serious, and I do not find this remotely credible. Also it sends a pretty bad message re acceptable behaviour.
The hero displays absolutely no remorse for his actions and it's really problematic that he is such a scum bag.
So from page 120 on: Chad sends a dress maker Megan, up to J but Megan informs her that she must pay for the clothes herself somehow. m and J get on and eventually M suggests she will try and help the h get off the island. Chad comes upstairs and proceeds to rip J's new dress off her, as it is too conservative and he doesn't like it.
On her way home Megan is raped, murdered and mutilated. Chad is furious that this has happened on his island. He locks J in the room telling her Megan is dead and leaving her o believe that he has killed her. She then makes a further escape. She comes across the murderer but escapes and is eventually found Willard and is then recovered by the captain who locks her away in a prison cell for 3 days. Think boiling heat, hardly any water, no company and rodents and you should get the picture...
at some stage during this she comes to think that Chad's actions have all been aimed at protecting her and keeping her safe from the murderer ( WTF?!?) . self deception survival instinct kicking in?
Her imprisonment causes discontent within the village so Chad eventually let's her go but after her bath, he proceeds to threaten her further by warning her that if she steps out of line or encourages rebellion, one of the villagers will be imprisoned in her place.He forces himself on her again but this time she comes to enjoy it and after he storms out she realises she loves him....I repeat WTF! At the same time she concludes that as he is keeping her in the inn where the whores reside, that this must mean he intends to prostitute her but this doesn't change her conclusion that she must live him.... I want to cry and not in a good way...
She ends up serving at the inn along with the whores and causes an incident when other men try and have her and she is faced with further rape. Chad gets rid of them and is furious with her actions. He decides to take her to the mansion he is building and make her work as his housekeeper/ mistress.
Just past the half way point and need a further break!
Ok circa page 270 : j is really impressed with the mansion/ castle( presumably built on the proceeds of piracy and deaths of hundreds of people) but she doesn't dwell on this and just thinks how proud his father would be of him. She has an epiphany that he is unhappy because he has never been loved and deserves her sympathy. WTF - So do most criminals/ rapists/ murderers but it doesn't mean you fall for them.
She plays the piano and he remembers the unhappy events that led to his step mother's death and his father's rejection of him. He breaks a glass in distress and she think she spots a look of agony and remorse in his eye. Doesn't it just pull at your heart strings....? At least he doesn't force himself on her that night.
So the next day she kind of pines for him but tells the gentle Willard that she is duty bound to return to England and marry Charles. It literally does not seem to have occurred to her that Charles may not be entirely enthusiastic about this in light of the fact that his hated half brother has ruined her.
She and Willard go swimming and she discovers Chad's treasure trove and potentially her way off the island. On her way back she discovers that one of the whores Modesty has been murdered but the killer also dies and was a deck hand on J's ship. She tells chad that if she had known he was ashore, she would never have run from him, which even Chad feels is incongruous given his actions towards her to date. We are even told that he had thought to court her, not because it was something she would appreciate or want but so that he could break her spirit and dominate her. At this stage he is starting to show some remorse or at least to question his actions.
He gets drunk at the inn comes home late and gets angry at j. She fears he will strike her so she runs to her room and he gives chase. It all boils down to the fact he wants his daddy's love. (ugh) he tells her that he can never love her to which the h responds ' but I can love you' and they have enthusiastic sex. I want to vomit.
Aother pirate ship captained by garth Lathrop arrives. Early on in the book, Garth is in jail, when sleazoid half brother Charles visits and offers to pay him to kill Chad. garth had introduced Chad to pirating to the extent that then Chad had taken over his ship the Black Falcon. Lathrop tells chad of Charles plot . Why he does this is not clear as at this stage it is stated that Lathrop intends to go through with it. He then meets J by accident and forms a bargain with her to return her to London. J and chad have a further argument about his father and again fall into bed with each other.
That night Garth's men attack the island. Garth shoots Chad thinking he's killed him but telling him in advance that J had paid him to get her off the island so that he thinks that she was involved. J is devastated by events but goes with Garth to London, all the while blaming herself for event. In the interim Cpt Lanthrop starts to fall for her and hopes that she will reject Charles however he is unable to tell her that he would have killed Chad anyway because of the money Charles had promised him. It is all very convoluted.
Back on the island , surprise surprise, it emerges that Chad is not dead but seriously wounded. Lanthrops men work the villagers like slaves to build a new inn and every woman on the island is raped. This causes some outrage with some of Chad's men in hiding and Chad also expresses a desire to have this stopped : given that up until now he and his men have no issue with rape, this just smacks of hypcpocrisy ie it's ok if we do it but not these other pirates.
Meanwhile in London: j is brought to the Wadsworth house and her future father in law is delighted to have her safe. Sleazoid Charles is not so enthusiatic and it emerges that he has also been trying to have her killed. He also plots to have his father killed so that he can marry a commoner called Fern. Charles and j argue and she swears she will never marry him - he's not too upset about this as he's still planning to kill her. Sir Charles ( the father) is told that Chad is dead and let's J know that she will have the plantation in America even if she doesn't marry sleazoid. Jennifer overhears part of Charles plot about killing his father, calls for help but Charles catches her and when interrupted byhis father, stabs him. She runs away and Charles tries to blame her for the attack. Jennifer makes it back to Captain Lanthrop who swears revenge on the sleazoid and takes her back to the island in the interim. He manages not to force himself on her and they become quasi friends. She asks him to give the villagers their freedom and he agrees to give it a try.
J goes to the house and is accosted by Chad who wants to kill/ lover her - what can you say, he's conflicted...
They have sex and he then drags her to the village where his men and the villagers have captured Lanthrop and his men and are about to kill them. At this stage Garth Lanthrop tells the truth about his motives. His men are locked up and chad decides to have a think/ talk. He comes to j the next morning dressed as a gentleman and begs her forgiveness which she grants. Chad, Garth, J and their friends all then put together their dealings with Charles and Chad and Garth join forces to go after Charles.
At this stage things become very confused and muddled.
They go to see Sir Alexander Reardon, while at the same time referring to him as a duke . I think the author may have had a fundamental misunderstanding the English nobility and title and parliamentary system - as a Sir is a knight and definately not a duke and likewise one man does not have the final say in parliament. There is some plot to do with the French but this is never been made clear. It all comes to a head when it emerges that Charles was the child of neither of his parents and he had been responsible for the death of his 'mother '. Garth shoots him and ends the agony.
The king gives everyone a pardon, the h and h marry and return to their island in wedded bliss.
The end.
Thank God
The funny thing about this book was that it was actually strangely readable.
Clearly there was much wrong with the thing and as one of the other reviewers points out this is by no means a good book.
The plot lines were incredibly convoluted and unnecessary.
The main problem remains with the so called hero and his relationship with the heroine. His actions in the first 120 and more pages are so rotten that he just comes across as despicable; that fact that he's pining for his father's love is not a justification for his behaviour; he shows little remorse and certainly never acknowledges any such feeling to the heroine and in light of that it is simply impossible for the reader to understand how she can have fallen for him. His actions in the last half of the book are not that bad but he does not come across as redeemed.
Quite frankly I hated him from the start and by the end I still really didn't care for him and its hard to like a romance when the central relationship just rings hollow.
Heroine, Jennifer Grey, is a typical beautiful blond young woman on her way to England to marry her fiancé.
The ship gets destroyed in a storm and she ends up as the sole survivor on what appears to be a deserted island in the Atlantic. she gets along ok by herself for about a week, managing to arrange shelter and get food etc.
Unfortunately for her, it appears that in fact it is inhabited by a large bunch of pirates who have built a town and use this as their home base.
The wretched so called hero, Chad LeSalle, is the illegitimate half brother of Jennifer's fiancé who hates both his father and half brother.
He comes across Jennifer and the minute he sees her, decides he will have her. He doesn't know her from Adam, doesn't speak to her or ask her name, but simply attacks and rapes her. He then gets angry as she hadn't told him she was a virgin , although he concedes this would not have stopped him - but he might have gone easier - what a gent! He proceeds to drag her back to his village half naked and locks her in his bedroom. The h cries during the event but I have to say, does not seem overly put out thereafter, which given her background just seems totally incredible. She escapes the room and runs away into the hills.
The not so charming a hole is furious that she would disobey or humiliate him like this and goes after her the next day, where he threatens to set his men on her to rape her if she tries to escape again.
Only on the way back to the village does he finally even enquire after her name.
She is afraid to tell him her true identity and gives a false name, but he has the ship's log and he realises who she is and that they had once between betrothed but now she is set to marry his half brother and he sees his opportunity for revenge on his family.
He goes up to the room and then violently rapes her again, whilst wondering what sort of game she is playing at and why she does not enjoy the honour he's doing her - I'm serious....
He then goes to treat J's battered feet with salve and we have an even more charming moment when she comments on the fact he is wearing an ear ring and we learn that he had captured a Spanish vessel 5 years previously and been taken with a young woman Dona Maria. He had killed her father in front of her and then taken her to his cabin to rape her but she had managed to stab him in self defence. His crew disposed of her ( probably in a very unpleasant manner but he never bothered to find out how) and he was presented with her ear ring as a trophy. He proceeds to brag about this to Jennifer and is simply cavalier about rape.
Jennifer's reaction to this latest incident is very facile. She cries and fights during the rape and this would generally mean the experience would have been painful and degrading. However, as soon as it's over, she's asking him questions and admiring his chest. When he starts boasting about Dona Maria's death she tells him that he is disgusting ( YES!!!) but within minutes he kisses her and she responds (NO!!!!). A fundamental rule of life should be that murderous raping socio paths are not attractive!!!
I know that this is from the late 80s but it is pretty uncomfortable. In real terms the h has suffered multiple traumas within a 3 week period: her father dies, she has to leave her country to travel to England to marry a man she does not know, her ship is wreaked and everyone one on board is killed, she is washed up ashore after a long period in the sea, she struggles to survive for a week by herself with no companionship and little hope of imminent rescue, she then discovers that there are pirates on the island, she is raped by an unknown man on the beach within minutes of him spotting her, she is captured and paraded in a state of undress through a pirate village, she runs away hurting her feet and is captured again, he rapes her again pretty violently swearing to use her for revenge and then brags about raping other women and having them killed if they try to defend themselves or resist. These are not the types of things that you just get over and most normal people would be in shock and distress. Instead she appears to take it in her stride as if well, it really isn't that serious, and I do not find this remotely credible. Also it sends a pretty bad message re acceptable behaviour.
The hero displays absolutely no remorse for his actions and it's really problematic that he is such a scum bag.
So from page 120 on: Chad sends a dress maker Megan, up to J but Megan informs her that she must pay for the clothes herself somehow. m and J get on and eventually M suggests she will try and help the h get off the island. Chad comes upstairs and proceeds to rip J's new dress off her, as it is too conservative and he doesn't like it.
On her way home Megan is raped, murdered and mutilated. Chad is furious that this has happened on his island. He locks J in the room telling her Megan is dead and leaving her o believe that he has killed her. She then makes a further escape. She comes across the murderer but escapes and is eventually found Willard and is then recovered by the captain who locks her away in a prison cell for 3 days. Think boiling heat, hardly any water, no company and rodents and you should get the picture...
at some stage during this she comes to think that Chad's actions have all been aimed at protecting her and keeping her safe from the murderer ( WTF?!?) . self deception survival instinct kicking in?
Her imprisonment causes discontent within the village so Chad eventually let's her go but after her bath, he proceeds to threaten her further by warning her that if she steps out of line or encourages rebellion, one of the villagers will be imprisoned in her place.He forces himself on her again but this time she comes to enjoy it and after he storms out she realises she loves him....I repeat WTF! At the same time she concludes that as he is keeping her in the inn where the whores reside, that this must mean he intends to prostitute her but this doesn't change her conclusion that she must live him.... I want to cry and not in a good way...
She ends up serving at the inn along with the whores and causes an incident when other men try and have her and she is faced with further rape. Chad gets rid of them and is furious with her actions. He decides to take her to the mansion he is building and make her work as his housekeeper/ mistress.
Just past the half way point and need a further break!
Ok circa page 270 : j is really impressed with the mansion/ castle( presumably built on the proceeds of piracy and deaths of hundreds of people) but she doesn't dwell on this and just thinks how proud his father would be of him. She has an epiphany that he is unhappy because he has never been loved and deserves her sympathy. WTF - So do most criminals/ rapists/ murderers but it doesn't mean you fall for them.
She plays the piano and he remembers the unhappy events that led to his step mother's death and his father's rejection of him. He breaks a glass in distress and she think she spots a look of agony and remorse in his eye. Doesn't it just pull at your heart strings....? At least he doesn't force himself on her that night.
So the next day she kind of pines for him but tells the gentle Willard that she is duty bound to return to England and marry Charles. It literally does not seem to have occurred to her that Charles may not be entirely enthusiastic about this in light of the fact that his hated half brother has ruined her.
She and Willard go swimming and she discovers Chad's treasure trove and potentially her way off the island. On her way back she discovers that one of the whores Modesty has been murdered but the killer also dies and was a deck hand on J's ship. She tells chad that if she had known he was ashore, she would never have run from him, which even Chad feels is incongruous given his actions towards her to date. We are even told that he had thought to court her, not because it was something she would appreciate or want but so that he could break her spirit and dominate her. At this stage he is starting to show some remorse or at least to question his actions.
He gets drunk at the inn comes home late and gets angry at j. She fears he will strike her so she runs to her room and he gives chase. It all boils down to the fact he wants his daddy's love. (ugh) he tells her that he can never love her to which the h responds ' but I can love you' and they have enthusiastic sex. I want to vomit.
Aother pirate ship captained by garth Lathrop arrives. Early on in the book, Garth is in jail, when sleazoid half brother Charles visits and offers to pay him to kill Chad. garth had introduced Chad to pirating to the extent that then Chad had taken over his ship the Black Falcon. Lathrop tells chad of Charles plot . Why he does this is not clear as at this stage it is stated that Lathrop intends to go through with it. He then meets J by accident and forms a bargain with her to return her to London. J and chad have a further argument about his father and again fall into bed with each other.
That night Garth's men attack the island. Garth shoots Chad thinking he's killed him but telling him in advance that J had paid him to get her off the island so that he thinks that she was involved. J is devastated by events but goes with Garth to London, all the while blaming herself for event. In the interim Cpt Lanthrop starts to fall for her and hopes that she will reject Charles however he is unable to tell her that he would have killed Chad anyway because of the money Charles had promised him. It is all very convoluted.
Back on the island , surprise surprise, it emerges that Chad is not dead but seriously wounded. Lanthrops men work the villagers like slaves to build a new inn and every woman on the island is raped. This causes some outrage with some of Chad's men in hiding and Chad also expresses a desire to have this stopped : given that up until now he and his men have no issue with rape, this just smacks of hypcpocrisy ie it's ok if we do it but not these other pirates.
Meanwhile in London: j is brought to the Wadsworth house and her future father in law is delighted to have her safe. Sleazoid Charles is not so enthusiatic and it emerges that he has also been trying to have her killed. He also plots to have his father killed so that he can marry a commoner called Fern. Charles and j argue and she swears she will never marry him - he's not too upset about this as he's still planning to kill her. Sir Charles ( the father) is told that Chad is dead and let's J know that she will have the plantation in America even if she doesn't marry sleazoid. Jennifer overhears part of Charles plot about killing his father, calls for help but Charles catches her and when interrupted byhis father, stabs him. She runs away and Charles tries to blame her for the attack. Jennifer makes it back to Captain Lanthrop who swears revenge on the sleazoid and takes her back to the island in the interim. He manages not to force himself on her and they become quasi friends. She asks him to give the villagers their freedom and he agrees to give it a try.
J goes to the house and is accosted by Chad who wants to kill/ lover her - what can you say, he's conflicted...
They have sex and he then drags her to the village where his men and the villagers have captured Lanthrop and his men and are about to kill them. At this stage Garth Lanthrop tells the truth about his motives. His men are locked up and chad decides to have a think/ talk. He comes to j the next morning dressed as a gentleman and begs her forgiveness which she grants. Chad, Garth, J and their friends all then put together their dealings with Charles and Chad and Garth join forces to go after Charles.
At this stage things become very confused and muddled.
They go to see Sir Alexander Reardon, while at the same time referring to him as a duke . I think the author may have had a fundamental misunderstanding the English nobility and title and parliamentary system - as a Sir is a knight and definately not a duke and likewise one man does not have the final say in parliament. There is some plot to do with the French but this is never been made clear. It all comes to a head when it emerges that Charles was the child of neither of his parents and he had been responsible for the death of his 'mother '. Garth shoots him and ends the agony.
The king gives everyone a pardon, the h and h marry and return to their island in wedded bliss.
The end.
Thank God
The funny thing about this book was that it was actually strangely readable.
Clearly there was much wrong with the thing and as one of the other reviewers points out this is by no means a good book.
The plot lines were incredibly convoluted and unnecessary.
The main problem remains with the so called hero and his relationship with the heroine. His actions in the first 120 and more pages are so rotten that he just comes across as despicable; that fact that he's pining for his father's love is not a justification for his behaviour; he shows little remorse and certainly never acknowledges any such feeling to the heroine and in light of that it is simply impossible for the reader to understand how she can have fallen for him. His actions in the last half of the book are not that bad but he does not come across as redeemed.
Quite frankly I hated him from the start and by the end I still really didn't care for him and its hard to like a romance when the central relationship just rings hollow.
April 29, 2013
This one was more of a 3 1/2 *** for me, it took me awhile to read it because of a busy schedule and that my have affected my rating.
Jennifer (h) had been born in London but moved to the Colonies as a young child, a trip that cost her mother her life. Before her family moved, her father and his best friend had decided that their children would marry when they were of age. So when Jennifer's father had passed away she felt strongly that she should honor her father's wish and marry Charles Wadsworth. As she's on her way to England her ship sinks from stormy weather and she's washed ashore a deserted Island......at least she thinks it's deserted.
Chad (H) has lived on his Island for years, he's made it everything he ever wanted and could never have in London. When he was younger he lived with his father, a bastard yes but still excepted and loved by him. He had been told that one day he would marry Jennifer Grey, a child he barley remembered but he knew it was important to his father. Years later , after a terrible accident he had an argument with his father and he's thrown out of the house and disowned. That was when his father had decided that his younger brother would then marry Jennifer.
He couldn't believe his luck when the woman who washed up on his Island was the one and only Jennifer Grey. Now he can use her to get his revenge on his father. He will make sure she is well used before he leaves her ruined on his doorstep.
SPOILERS*************************************************************************************************************
One of the main reasons I didn't rate this one higher was because of how easily Jennifer got over Garth being the one to shoot (and she thought kill) Chad. It happened right in front of her and she was suppose to be in love with Chad. Her actions just didn't ring true for me. =)
Jennifer (h) had been born in London but moved to the Colonies as a young child, a trip that cost her mother her life. Before her family moved, her father and his best friend had decided that their children would marry when they were of age. So when Jennifer's father had passed away she felt strongly that she should honor her father's wish and marry Charles Wadsworth. As she's on her way to England her ship sinks from stormy weather and she's washed ashore a deserted Island......at least she thinks it's deserted.
Chad (H) has lived on his Island for years, he's made it everything he ever wanted and could never have in London. When he was younger he lived with his father, a bastard yes but still excepted and loved by him. He had been told that one day he would marry Jennifer Grey, a child he barley remembered but he knew it was important to his father. Years later , after a terrible accident he had an argument with his father and he's thrown out of the house and disowned. That was when his father had decided that his younger brother would then marry Jennifer.
He couldn't believe his luck when the woman who washed up on his Island was the one and only Jennifer Grey. Now he can use her to get his revenge on his father. He will make sure she is well used before he leaves her ruined on his doorstep.
SPOILERS*************************************************************************************************************
One of the main reasons I didn't rate this one higher was because of how easily Jennifer got over Garth being the one to shoot (and she thought kill) Chad. It happened right in front of her and she was suppose to be in love with Chad. Her actions just didn't ring true for me. =)
June 7, 2025
"Who are you?” she dared to ask.
This time, he did smile . . . openly, and Jennifer thought how much more handsome he was when he wasn’t angry.
"A scoundrel to most women, a threat to the men who sail the Atlantic, and a black mark against my family name.”
One thing for sure, the book is quite interesting; you never get bored.
It deserves a complete 5-star for the writer's engaging and eloquent writing style, but I took one out because the romance sparks towards the end out of nowhere, the hero suddenly quit being a jerk and redeemed himself.
As for the plot, it's one of the books where the hero is, by all means, a classic jerk.
Jennifer miraculously ends up on a deserted island after the ship she was on sank as it encountered a violent storm at sea. She was determined to meet her father's best friend's son, Charles in England. She tries to survive on this island: both she and a cat named Kinsey, whom she took care of on the ship.
Then, she 'meets' Chad, and their first encounter doesn't start off great at all.
The island is owned by Chad, an illegitimate son of an influential lord, and an outcast to his family. He's also Jennifer's intended's half-brother, only that upon their first meeting, neither of them is aware of the other's identity.
"I've met a few ogres in my life. Captain LaShelle, but you are by far the worst. You seem to get some distorted pleasure out of preying on helpless women. If you weren’t truly a coward, you’d treat us the way we’re supposed to be treated. But you can’t. You feel threatened by us because we have the ability to think and to reason . . . and because the majority of us find you appalling. It bruises your ego to think one of us might not want anything to do with you, so you force yourself on us before we have the chance to decide for ourselves.”
I liked Chad's first-mate, Jason... I wish there were a story of his own.
This time, he did smile . . . openly, and Jennifer thought how much more handsome he was when he wasn’t angry.
"A scoundrel to most women, a threat to the men who sail the Atlantic, and a black mark against my family name.”
One thing for sure, the book is quite interesting; you never get bored.
It deserves a complete 5-star for the writer's engaging and eloquent writing style, but I took one out because the romance sparks towards the end out of nowhere, the hero suddenly quit being a jerk and redeemed himself.
As for the plot, it's one of the books where the hero is, by all means, a classic jerk.
Jennifer miraculously ends up on a deserted island after the ship she was on sank as it encountered a violent storm at sea. She was determined to meet her father's best friend's son, Charles in England. She tries to survive on this island: both she and a cat named Kinsey, whom she took care of on the ship.
Then, she 'meets' Chad, and their first encounter doesn't start off great at all.
The island is owned by Chad, an illegitimate son of an influential lord, and an outcast to his family. He's also Jennifer's intended's half-brother, only that upon their first meeting, neither of them is aware of the other's identity.
"I've met a few ogres in my life. Captain LaShelle, but you are by far the worst. You seem to get some distorted pleasure out of preying on helpless women. If you weren’t truly a coward, you’d treat us the way we’re supposed to be treated. But you can’t. You feel threatened by us because we have the ability to think and to reason . . . and because the majority of us find you appalling. It bruises your ego to think one of us might not want anything to do with you, so you force yourself on us before we have the chance to decide for ourselves.”
I liked Chad's first-mate, Jason... I wish there were a story of his own.
May 13, 2021
I regret nothing. I read this back in high school and thoroughly enjoyed it. I may have read it twice 😅
December 6, 2025
The story was actually interesting. A lot of intrigue and mystery. But did we have to have the rape to love trope? Ruined it for me
August 15, 2012
Only since goodreads have I realised quite seriously the crap I've read in my life. I don't even like the reminders but this has got to rate as one of the worst.
Another one that I read a very long time ago but like the best I've read I can remember the worst too and this one sure fits in the latter category.
Years later this is still a gut sickening trashy novel that was surely written for a very very small audience, at least I sincerely hope so.
Another one that I read a very long time ago but like the best I've read I can remember the worst too and this one sure fits in the latter category.
Years later this is still a gut sickening trashy novel that was surely written for a very very small audience, at least I sincerely hope so.
November 8, 2025
I abandoned this book then tried again and then I started liking it but then somewhere around 70% I caught up with a reading funk, then I continued after some 2 months.
First half is interesting but the second is boring.
The H was very brutish and h was dumb. The h did try to run away from the H but suddenly she started loving him. It was all of a sudden. I didn’t understand her love to him when he was so rude to her. Atleast he didn’t cheat and all so it’s fine for me.
First half is interesting but the second is boring.
The H was very brutish and h was dumb. The h did try to run away from the H but suddenly she started loving him. It was all of a sudden. I didn’t understand her love to him when he was so rude to her. Atleast he didn’t cheat and all so it’s fine for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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