Calling card of the infamous Romney Fox Smuggler, scoundrel, probable traitor, and spy, he plundered the rich and gave to the poor. Men toasted him, women whispered his name like a prayer. Deserted and deceived, exquisite Tess Leighton, emerald-eyed temptress, would do anything to save her family estate-even masquerade as the Fox himself....
A challenge to the Viscount Ravenhurst Scarred by war, betrayed in love, Dane St. Pierre returned from Trafalgar determined to wreak vengeance on Tess, the reckless, willful woman who had turned his heart to ashes yet still haunted his fevered dreams. Now he alone knew her dangerous secret and swore she'd pay the price...
A summons to danger and adventure. In a storm of treachery and high treason, they would be swept into battle on enemy seas. From the rugged Sussex coast to the wave-swept isles of Brittany, a tender torment of remembered passion bound them, plunging them into a danger beyond imagining, a desire beyond restraining...into the dark, rapturous secrets of...BLACK ROSE
Roberta Helmer is an American writer of Chinese art and culture and as Christina Skye is a best-selling USA Today and Publishers Weekly writer of over 23 romance novels. Her romance book have been translated into 8 languages.
Roberta Helmer was born in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A., an is a descendant of Revolutionary War hero Adam Helmer. She attended the University of Pennsylvania and obtained a doctorate in classical Chinese literature at Ohio State University, where she learned to speak fluent Chinese, French, and Japanese. Later, she worked as translator and as a consultant to the National Geographic Society and the American Museum of Natural History. She lived in on the western slopes of McDowell Mountains in Arizona.
Exciting Story of Love Among the Smugglers of Rye with Pirates, Sea Captains and a Wonderful Heroine
Set in 1810, this exciting story is rich in history of the Napoleonic era and the smugglers that made Rye, England famous. It’s also the story of Tess Leighton, impoverished by her father’s debts, who becomes the leader of the Rye smugglers to feed the people and take care of her ancestral home, which is falling down around her.
By night, she runs a dangerous game, one step ahead of the government agents who seek the death of the one called “the Romney Fox”, a smuggler whose calling card is a black rose. In her sleep Tess suffers nightmares from the time her father locked her in the cellars and spiders crawled over her.
After crucial military secrets are discovered being sent to Napoleon, London Viscount Ravenhurst, a hero of Trafalgar, is dispatched to catch the spy. Ravenhurst and Tess have a history: once they were in love. Each felt betrayed by the other and now they are enemies. Worse, he believes she is involved in sending English gold to France, prolonging the war. But neither can deny the passion that still sizzles between them.
He takes her innocence when she is drugged but vows to wed her. She will have nothing to do with him.
Then Tess is betrayed and finds herself the captive of Andre Le Brix, a notorious smuggler pirate, who would claim her as his own. In his arms, she finds the love and peace she seeks.
A very exciting, well-written story of sea captains, pirates and smugglers swirling around Rye and the beautiful Tess.
Yes, it’s a bodice ripper but it will keep you turning pages. Great dialog, wonderful characters, a very courageous heroine. What’s not to love? It’s a keeper.
Note: I understand the author has revised and re-released this as Seven Nights with a Pirate. Some reviews say it’s not as good as the original, which is the one I read. I cannot judge the new one, but I loved this original.
5 stars! I loved this book, I love a good smuggler theme... It did hit on one little trope later in the story that I’m not to fond of, but it resolved quickly enough so as not to detract from the story. I would definitely read this again. A favorite for me!
Just finished and there was a lot that I didn't like about this story. It felt all over the place and it got worse as the story went on. Here's a few questions that I came up throughout the story. 1. What happened to Tess to give her nightmares? 2. How did Dane learn all he did? I wanted some more from his view and his story during all of this. 3.Who was that old lady on the island? any relation? also who was that pregnant woman that was mentioned?
There are probably more but so much is going through my mind I can't think of anything else right now.
I really actually didn't like Tess at all. She seemed really fickle(if that is the right word) with her affections and attraction. I didn't like how she was so against being with the man she loved but was okay with being with a pirate who admits to stalking her and practically falls right into bed with him even though he's slightly abusive towards her considering they had technically just met and she was extremely vulnerable considering she couldn't see.
I thought Dane was kind of an ass as well as Andre. They both were forceful almost to the point of rape, I was a little horrified at their actions and the fact that they were so arrogant that they kept repeating that she wanted them even though she denied it. I read this part of a box set Pirate Hearts: Plundering Love on the High Seas and loved the first book even though the hero made me mad at times as well. But this one I didn't like the writing as much and there was a lot of information missing, the twist seemed unrealistic and was not really played out very well.
This book was the fifth book i have ever read just for the pleasure of it. But from the moment you start you cant let it down. You fall instantly into the story and totally inlove with the characters. I loved it so much I have actually read it more than once.
Note by the author that this book was "Published by Dell in 1991 as THE BLACK ROSE - This ebook edition has been extensively revised to better reflect the author's original vision." Since I have never read the original book, "The Black Rose," I do wonder if some parts of "Seven Nights with a Pirate" might have been more easily understood had I read the original work. As I was reading, I couldn't help but feel as though I was missing out on vital parts of the story.
Background: Viscount Ravenhurst was a naval hero - hardened by the battles he endured, specifically the battle at Trafalgar. He has been requested by the government to travel to Romney Marsh - home of a major smuggling operation in order to unearth a spy (the Romney Marsh Fox) believed to be selling secrets to Napoleon.
**Spoilers** Coincidentally, Ravenhurst has previous connections to the Romney Marsh area - specifically with Tess Leighton with whom he fell in love five years previously and to whom he had hoped to marry at one time. He hasn't seen her for five long years but he has never been able to get her out of his blood. It's obvious that things didn't work out with Ravenhurst and Tess but we are left to try and figure out exactly how and why things didn't work out throughout the entire book. In fact, I never was able to figure out exactly what happened, except that it Tess's cruel father, also lies and secrets that were kept from both parties for five years. At any rate, Ravenhurst agrees to go to Romney Marsh where he meets up with Tess - now trying to work off her father's old debts while attempting to keep her family's inn running by involving herself in the local smuggling operations.
I wanted to like this book and in fact, I found the primary characters interesting enough - there was a lot of fire between Ravenhurst and Tess but he was full of anger and she was determined that she would never be able to have Ravenhurst because of circumstances in her past. Apparently, her father gambled and wenched away the family fortune and then had nothing left to sell except for Tess and this is one of the major incomplete parts of the story. Tess has recurring nightmares which involve being kept in the dark in a tunnel and she can't sleep without a light in her room but we never have the full story of what happened. Her cruel father is now dead and she is alone in the world with the exception of a younger brother currently at Oxford. This is a major source of contention and frustration with people who love Tess because she works her fingers to the bone and risks her life in the smuggling operations while her brother has all the advantages of a young gentleman without any effort on his part.
In Part 2 of the book, Tess is the victim of an explosion but is rescued by a pirate which results in her spending a week with him on his ship and on the island where he has a cottage - thus the name of the book - "Seven Nights with a Pirate." There is a lot of passion and fire between Tess and the pirate - and, yet - up to this point, it's obvious that she still has major feelings for Ravenhurst. So, there are a lot of questions that continually go through the reader's mind. I will say that by the end of the book, we do have an understanding about Ravenhurst's relationship with Tess and also the pirate's relationship with her - nothing we didn't suspect of course. Finally, there are answers to the identity of yet another major character - the Romney Marsh Fox and his relationship with Tess.
This book became somewhat tedious because so much desired information is missing. I was constantly frustrated - especially by the end of the book when I realized I would not be getting the answers to some of my questions. At one point, I actually thought perhaps a huge section of the book was placed in the wrong area of the book because it just didn't seem to fit. In fact, I felt this way about several sections although to a lesser degree. All in all, I felt this book had a lot of potential but I would have liked more complete information regarding the following:
Why did Tess have nightmares about the tunnel, darkness, and how did she lose her virginity - why didn't she feel worthy to become a wife? Did her father succeed in selling her to one man, to several men, or did she escape that nightmare?
What was the relationship to the woman brought to the island where the Pirate lived and who was obviously raped by the military staff which resulted in her pregnancy and eventual death?
Exactly how did it work that on occasions Tess acted as The Romney Marsh Fox - was it with the permission and knowledge of the real Romney Marsh Fox? I never quite figured that out.
When Ravenhurst left Romney Marsh to travel to London for a meeting with the government official for whom he was working, it seemed as though it was their first meeting. He had actually been in his spying role for a few weeks at this point.
Last - although Ravenhurst was mad for Tess, he would leave without any explanation for a few days at a time knowing full well she was in danger with the officials who were trying to capture the smugglers. Specifically, the leader who kept coming and tearing up her hotel and demanding to be alone with her, threatening to have his way with her. Ravenhurst's character let me down on these occasions. Yes, he did manage to show up a couple of times when she was in way over her head but then he would leave for days at a time.
I would give this book a 1 star or 2 star rating for the most incomplete and frustrating story-line of any book I have ever read except that I really did love the pirate - he was awesome - therefore, my 3 star rating.
The book was alright but I didn't understand why both characters hate each other so much. Both characters had a previous history (I think the time spam was 5 years)where they were in love and they loved each other a lot. However, they didn't go further because the male character Dane saw the female character Tess with another man. Tess is a poor aristocrat and she is involve in contraband in order to keep her home. I didn't like the way both characters treat each other, I mean it was cruel and Dane was determine to have his revenge because of Tess's betrayal. The destiny meet them again when Dean was assign to find out who is behind the contranbands. I love the intrigue in the story but author may want to change the way her characters express themselves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A tough, sexy, but vulnerable hero that needs to learn to trust again blended with a pirate’s adventures upon a moonlit sea is the perfect match for spirited Tess Leighton. Determined to resolve her father’s debt issues, Tess begins her secret “other” life during the shadows of the night. A spy and a pirate are destined to clash, and despite fiery passion that soars between them, betrayal and suspicion loom on the horizon. The stakes are high as Tess stands to lose everything, including her heart, if she gambles wrong. Dare she risk her future and her very soul on a pirate that has the power to turn her life upside down?
Another great, adventurous love story by Christina Skye…definitely an A+++ read.
Not as good as the abbey series but still an engaging story. Leaves a bit to be desired as far as plausibility, as in how did she not recognize Andre's scent or voice, particularly when we are told his voice is distinctive, very reminiscent of the Dr Syn stories with a bit of the peninsular war thrown in. Was kind of left feeling that parts of the story were taken out during editing as there were references to her past which arent included in the book and there were still quite a few loose ends particularly about her brother and why he came back to the village.
A very well written creative tale of Tess and Dane as their past becomes intertwined with their present. Excellent character development. Interesting intriguing plots throughout the story. Definitely captivating reading.
When you forget your book at your moms house and read this. Oi. Thirty years old. A lot of manhood on thighs. Sadly aggressive sex and sexual conquering portrayed as romantic and wanting - have not aged well since 1991. RIP Christina Skye. No hard feelings.
Love and adventure always keeps the reader entertained. The hero and heroin are perfect for each other. Tess is headstrong and brave smuggling to make her way alone. Then Dane com's back from war with Napoleon and spying still for the Government. His mission was to stop the transfer of gold by an English traitor and to stop the Romney Fox from her smuggling of brandy and silks. He believes the Fox to be a man and the traitor he is seeking.
I was hoping for a revival from Christina Skye (my high hopes were quickly dashed with Defiant Captive), and my hopes were answered and still denied (this was quite rare) with this novel choked full of mysterious settings, equipped with characters who are not what they appear. Dane (AKA Viscount Ravehurst) is on the surface, your typical brooding alpha hero. But we soon learn that upon his return from a war, he lost both parents and his fiancee; if that doesn't make you sad, the reason he and the heroine lost out on each other years before just might. Entering Tess, we see the feisty heroine who literally takes no prisoners (seriously though...) she smuggles by night to pay off debts and gain financial independence on her own terms, which is more than admirable. However, while the plot is promising, and the heroine quite admirable, I cannot bring myself to re-read a single one of her books. The novel is full of action yes, but overstuffed in subplot. I only find the HEA satisfying because the couple has been fighting the entire novel through. Tess is by far the best and most well written of Skye's heroines (makes you wonder if maybe she had a ghost writer this time around....) and maybe with an emphasis on strictly her own exploits (a la Skye O'Malley, and even that's too eerily associated with Cutthroat Island to swallow) the novel would've fared better.
Loved this story. I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter in this book it kept my interest through most of the plot and the characters were developed to the point where I knew I would give this one a 5 star. I also found the backstory and overall romance between the heroine and hero quite refreshing unlike some of the 'bodice ripper' novels I have read.
I had a really hard time with this book. I fully admit I actually didn't read the whole thing, I skimmed a lot of sections. I just couldn't seem to get into the characters.
The plot line was fantastic but it was hard to believe a man who hates woman as much as Dane St. Pierre does/did could ever be anything other than a massive jerk. I think it would have been easier to get through and finish if his "hatred" had been turned down to a more understandable margin.
I love Christina Skye books but this one was a no go for me and I can't see myself ever recommending it to someone, unfortunately.
The book ended without explanation about anything that happened 5 years ago - it was as it had never happened - all the pain, betrayal and loneliness was just forgotten after it was mentioned all the time.
I wanted one day of rest with a nice book and now I feel like I've ruined my day with this book.
I was enthralled with this book from the beginning. I loved the H and h and also the mystery involved. It kept me up late to finish and I did not figure out the villain until the page before he was exposed. Great read and highly recommended.
I liked this book. Mainly a historical romance but well written and a nice mystery-action story... Reminded me of Brenda Joyce's books (the de warenne series).