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Wild Sweet Witch
From Jamaica to Tahiti to the opium dens of Macao, they loved and fought their way across the tempestuous Pacific. Carey was an innocent English beauty—until she met Adam, the dangerously handsome rebel captain who outfoxed pirates and outraged women with daring ease.
And on the white-hot island of Mahi-Mahi, the lady and the outlaw unleashed a frenzy of emotion that drove them halfway around the world—in a fury of kidnappings, quarrels, hot-tempered escapes and breath-taking rescues—until the final passionate and terrifying climax in the deep and perilous waters of Hawaii.
And on the white-hot island of Mahi-Mahi, the lady and the outlaw unleashed a frenzy of emotion that drove them halfway around the world—in a fury of kidnappings, quarrels, hot-tempered escapes and breath-taking rescues—until the final passionate and terrifying climax in the deep and perilous waters of Hawaii.
332 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 24, 2022
“I don’t die so easily, Adam. I’m a survivor.” And when she had said it, she suddenly knew it was true. She remembered what Mercy Paxton had said long ago about the Pacific and its survivors and for the first time she was aware of something diamond-hard inside her, some core of cold strength. It was something she had recognized in Adam, long ago.
4 stars for this unexpectedly touching romance.
Edit: Months later I'm raising this to 5 stars. This BR has many of my favorite elements-if you're a fan of the genre this is absolutely worth a try.
2nd Edit: The quotes I included at the end are kind of spoilery and I feel guilty about it, so I've put them under a spoiler tag. Don't read unless you've already read the book :)
Wild Sweet Witch starts out with the English heroine, Carey, learning she must accompany her Calvinist brother to the Pacific Islands, where he plans on being a missionary. During their voyage, Carey meets the hero, Adam, who is captain of the Sweet Witch. Sparks don't exactly fly between them, although there's some chemistry. Carey represents to Adam everything he disdains. Not liking missionaries or "bible thumpers" due to past experience, he is ready to be rid of both Carey & her brother.
While Carey & her brother are living on an island, tragedy strikes, and she's taken in by the native Islanders. During this time she learns how to swim, cook, and adapt to her new surroundings. I enjoyed seeing Carey come into her own. One thing that distinguishes the good bodice rippers from the mediocre is authors using tragic circumstances a young heroine encounters as an opportunity for them to grow.
Years later Carey & Adam meet again, under false pretenses. (I'm leaving out some details so I don't spoil anyone :) One of my favorite bodice ripper tropes: "disguised identity" comes into play here. Adam and Carey fall in love, but Adam has no idea the woman he's falling in love with is the little English missionary girl from years earlier. Thus proceeds an intense love-hate-love again story. I like hate to love stories, but where the hate feels real. The hate between these two absolutely felt real. They both had strong reasons to dislike & resent each other. I questioned how these two could ever come together again, yet Araby Scott managed to pull it off.
Adam was more cruel at times than both Seth from Dangerous Obsession & Sean from Stormfire. For this reason, I would only recommend this book to those who enjoy the hardcore, down n dirty rippers. This book features many of the darker BR tropes/themes:
While this had all the OTT WTFuckery that make bodice rippers fun, there was also emotional depth to the romantic arc of this story that ended up being quite touching.
4 stars for this unexpectedly touching romance.
Edit: Months later I'm raising this to 5 stars. This BR has many of my favorite elements-if you're a fan of the genre this is absolutely worth a try.
2nd Edit: The quotes I included at the end are kind of spoilery and I feel guilty about it, so I've put them under a spoiler tag. Don't read unless you've already read the book :)
Wild Sweet Witch starts out with the English heroine, Carey, learning she must accompany her Calvinist brother to the Pacific Islands, where he plans on being a missionary. During their voyage, Carey meets the hero, Adam, who is captain of the Sweet Witch. Sparks don't exactly fly between them, although there's some chemistry. Carey represents to Adam everything he disdains. Not liking missionaries or "bible thumpers" due to past experience, he is ready to be rid of both Carey & her brother.
While Carey & her brother are living on an island, tragedy strikes, and she's taken in by the native Islanders. During this time she learns how to swim, cook, and adapt to her new surroundings. I enjoyed seeing Carey come into her own. One thing that distinguishes the good bodice rippers from the mediocre is authors using tragic circumstances a young heroine encounters as an opportunity for them to grow.
Years later Carey & Adam meet again, under false pretenses. (I'm leaving out some details so I don't spoil anyone :) One of my favorite bodice ripper tropes: "disguised identity" comes into play here. Adam and Carey fall in love, but Adam has no idea the woman he's falling in love with is the little English missionary girl from years earlier. Thus proceeds an intense love-hate-love again story. I like hate to love stories, but where the hate feels real. The hate between these two absolutely felt real. They both had strong reasons to dislike & resent each other. I questioned how these two could ever come together again, yet Araby Scott managed to pull it off.
Adam was more cruel at times than both Seth from Dangerous Obsession & Sean from Stormfire. For this reason, I would only recommend this book to those who enjoy the hardcore, down n dirty rippers. This book features many of the darker BR tropes/themes:
While this had all the OTT WTFuckery that make bodice rippers fun, there was also emotional depth to the romantic arc of this story that ended up being quite touching.
October 14, 2020
This book was a fine read from the beginning. A journey almost around the world of deceit, heartbreak, rape and what not. This is one of the bodice rippers which feels like you have run a marathon. Huge portion of the book revolves on misunderstanding between the H and h.
Captain Adam Falconer (H) has always disliked Caroline (Carey) Wyeth (h) since the moment she first abroads his ship. He hates the prim and proper ladies with their tea parties and their conservative clothes. The story begins with Adam losing his ship to the sea and gambling away with another ship captain tricking him into signing the ship to Adam. Adam now the new Captain of a ship which is the Sweet Witch is ready to sail but before that he takes the previous captain of the Sweet Witch and dumps him beside a shore living him to fend for himself. Adam is a clever man, I experienced in many parts of the book how he manipulates people around. The second time Adam and Carey meet she was disguised as a Tahitian woman, Teura. Adam and Teura/Carey fall in love and they have a wonderful, sweet time. But when the ship docks to the next destination Teura/Carey knew they must separate. She withheld the truth believing Adam loves Teura not Carey. Unbeknownst to her Adam was planning to marry her. When he left the ship to find a priest Carey snucks out of the ship to disappear when she was kidnapped. Adam, after trying to find her believed her dead when he found an evidence of blood. Carey discovers she is pregnant and decides to tell Adam the truth of her disguise but Adam doesn't spare her any attention. Carey manipulates him into marrying her. Her miserable life actions begins from here. Adam and Carey decides to separate. He takes mistresses and lives openly with them. He then leaves her in Macao with enough money for her to return back to England. But when he comes back to Macao after a year he finds Carey didn't leave for England instead she was living with another man.
The heroine goes through a lot, she is raped by her husband and other men too. She was treated as dirt by Adam. Adam isn't cruel, he can be nice but misunderstanding between them brings out the worst side of him. This book has scenes after scenes and a lot of things crammed inside the book. I like how they got their HEA. I enjoyed every moment of the book, my misogynistic side looking forward to how much cruel the hero can be. 😬
Captain Adam Falconer (H) has always disliked Caroline (Carey) Wyeth (h) since the moment she first abroads his ship. He hates the prim and proper ladies with their tea parties and their conservative clothes. The story begins with Adam losing his ship to the sea and gambling away with another ship captain tricking him into signing the ship to Adam. Adam now the new Captain of a ship which is the Sweet Witch is ready to sail but before that he takes the previous captain of the Sweet Witch and dumps him beside a shore living him to fend for himself. Adam is a clever man, I experienced in many parts of the book how he manipulates people around. The second time Adam and Carey meet she was disguised as a Tahitian woman, Teura. Adam and Teura/Carey fall in love and they have a wonderful, sweet time. But when the ship docks to the next destination Teura/Carey knew they must separate. She withheld the truth believing Adam loves Teura not Carey. Unbeknownst to her Adam was planning to marry her. When he left the ship to find a priest Carey snucks out of the ship to disappear when she was kidnapped. Adam, after trying to find her believed her dead when he found an evidence of blood. Carey discovers she is pregnant and decides to tell Adam the truth of her disguise but Adam doesn't spare her any attention. Carey manipulates him into marrying her. Her miserable life actions begins from here. Adam and Carey decides to separate. He takes mistresses and lives openly with them. He then leaves her in Macao with enough money for her to return back to England. But when he comes back to Macao after a year he finds Carey didn't leave for England instead she was living with another man.
The heroine goes through a lot, she is raped by her husband and other men too. She was treated as dirt by Adam. Adam isn't cruel, he can be nice but misunderstanding between them brings out the worst side of him. This book has scenes after scenes and a lot of things crammed inside the book. I like how they got their HEA. I enjoyed every moment of the book, my misogynistic side looking forward to how much cruel the hero can be. 😬
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2025
Read: 3/8/25
Setting: Hawaii, Tahiti, Macao, and San Francisco 1803- 1809
This is definitely an old-fashioned Bodice-ripper. Where the h is treated horribly throughout the whole book, especially by the H. Still, I didn't want to stop reading this soap opera.
Disliked:
1. Is it a romance? Maybe in the beginning, when he doesn't know her real identity. Once she tricks him into marriage, the romance goes downhill fast.
2. Adam! He is hard to like. He takes his anger out on Catherine throughout the book. I was ready to kill him when he left her in a brothel. He disguised himself and violated her. It's hard to forgive that 😠
3. Her secret identity. She pretends to be an island girl to escape the island. The natives disguised her by dyeing her hair and tanning her skin with tea. Adam doesn't recognize Catherine with her blonde hair. He sees an eerie resemblance, but that's it. Really?
Liked:
1. The time period and setting. It's nice to picture all these islands that had just been discovered by europeans.
2. Realistic setting. There were some brutal moments in the book, but it was a brutal time with many pirates. It feels more authentic that way.
Conclusion:
I could list more things I disliked about this story. Still, it captivated me! I couldn't turn away from this car crash.
Setting: Hawaii, Tahiti, Macao, and San Francisco 1803- 1809
This is definitely an old-fashioned Bodice-ripper. Where the h is treated horribly throughout the whole book, especially by the H. Still, I didn't want to stop reading this soap opera.
Disliked:
1. Is it a romance? Maybe in the beginning, when he doesn't know her real identity. Once she tricks him into marriage, the romance goes downhill fast.
2. Adam! He is hard to like. He takes his anger out on Catherine throughout the book. I was ready to kill him when he left her in a brothel. He disguised himself and violated her. It's hard to forgive that 😠
3. Her secret identity. She pretends to be an island girl to escape the island. The natives disguised her by dyeing her hair and tanning her skin with tea. Adam doesn't recognize Catherine with her blonde hair. He sees an eerie resemblance, but that's it. Really?
Liked:
1. The time period and setting. It's nice to picture all these islands that had just been discovered by europeans.
2. Realistic setting. There were some brutal moments in the book, but it was a brutal time with many pirates. It feels more authentic that way.
Conclusion:
I could list more things I disliked about this story. Still, it captivated me! I couldn't turn away from this car crash.
September 13, 2018
Front page description:
"Masquerade!
Captain Adam Falconer sailed the Wild Sweet Witch but a different enchantress held him under her spell.
She tempted his as the amber-eyed headstrong English missionary girl, Caroline Wyeth.
She seduced him as the sensual exquisite Tahitian maid, Teura--whose taboo passion inflamed his tempestuous desire.
She bewitched him as the wanton harlot aboard the Chinese pleasure boat--and his lust showed the darker side of his soul.
But it was through the magic of her love that Caroline Wyeth captured his heart and united their passions in a rapture as engulfing and all-consuming as the South Pacific itself!"
Review:
The description above is a great one. I don’t want to give too many details in this review because that was what made the book so good for me. It was very unpredictable. I didn’t know what would happen next. The book was well written and fast paced. It never slowed down. It starts out in the year 1805. The majority of the book takes place on and around various Pacific islands.
It definitely isn’t your ordinary historical romance. The relationship between the hero and heroine is very different from any I’ve read in other books. In the beginning, the hero has a true dislike for the heroine and everything he thinks she represents. This attitude toward the heroine carries on throughout the story. But, it is not another one of those "I hate you except when we fall into bed together" books.
This is a true bodice ripper in every sense of the word. There is The heroine is put through hell and back by the end of the story. It was a very heart-wrenching read but the HEA does come through in the end.
I loved this book. It was heartbreaking to read all the heroine went through and I thought she may go crazy at times but in the end the HEA felt right. When I finished the book at 3 am this morning, I closed it, hugged it to me and was a little sad to see it end.
***This book review has been provided by the No Book Left Behind Campaign! A Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous group initiative to review the un-reviewed!***
"Masquerade!
Captain Adam Falconer sailed the Wild Sweet Witch but a different enchantress held him under her spell.
She tempted his as the amber-eyed headstrong English missionary girl, Caroline Wyeth.
She seduced him as the sensual exquisite Tahitian maid, Teura--whose taboo passion inflamed his tempestuous desire.
She bewitched him as the wanton harlot aboard the Chinese pleasure boat--and his lust showed the darker side of his soul.
But it was through the magic of her love that Caroline Wyeth captured his heart and united their passions in a rapture as engulfing and all-consuming as the South Pacific itself!"
Review:
The description above is a great one. I don’t want to give too many details in this review because that was what made the book so good for me. It was very unpredictable. I didn’t know what would happen next. The book was well written and fast paced. It never slowed down. It starts out in the year 1805. The majority of the book takes place on and around various Pacific islands.
It definitely isn’t your ordinary historical romance. The relationship between the hero and heroine is very different from any I’ve read in other books. In the beginning, the hero has a true dislike for the heroine and everything he thinks she represents. This attitude toward the heroine carries on throughout the story. But, it is not another one of those "I hate you except when we fall into bed together" books.
This is a true bodice ripper in every sense of the word. There is The heroine is put through hell and back by the end of the story. It was a very heart-wrenching read but the HEA does come through in the end.
I loved this book. It was heartbreaking to read all the heroine went through and I thought she may go crazy at times but in the end the HEA felt right. When I finished the book at 3 am this morning, I closed it, hugged it to me and was a little sad to see it end.
***This book review has been provided by the No Book Left Behind Campaign! A Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous group initiative to review the un-reviewed!***
August 31, 2018
This is an OOT shameless bodice ripper. This book will hit you like a brick with all the violence and unpc action. Yes, it went there and pretty much everywhere. I ding it one star for the stupid dyeing of the heroine's skin. I just don't buy that she would be able to pull off being disguised as a native of Tahiti. It's a HUGE part of the plot as well. The H is mean to the h throughout the book because he feels he's been tricked into marriage. He's a real bastard for most of the book. The whole situation is a frustrating misunderstanding with each of them keeping secrets from each other thoughout the book. I kept wishing the heroine would do something to get revenge on the H. She almost did try stick it back to H towards the end. I won't say how but I liked that little twist especially if she had really gone through with her little plan. This book reminds me of Stormfire in parts of the story because the hero just does many nasty things. I recommend this to those who like down and dirty OTT bodice rippers. This is the best one I've read in the long time. There are so many vivid characters and twists and turns. I'd rather be vague in my review here thereby allowing you a few surprises. I admit this deserves a better review than I am writing now, but hey this was my kid's first day of Pre-K. I am damn tempted to say what the hell and give it a 5 star. OK 4 and a half. Just read this damn book already. OK screw it five stars! More people should give this one a try especially if you do not take bodice rippers too seriously. This isn't for fluffies. I was tempted to give this a five star for sheer shock value for all that happens and keeping me so interested.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2023
През 70-те и 80-те определено част от сюжетите са от клиничен психиатричен интерес! Как, по дяволите, тази луда жена - писателката - може да си позволи чист самоцел с толкова насилие и деградация, и да се опитва да убеди читателките, че една жена не просто може да оцелее, ами да се забавлява и да кръгли очи, все едно нищо не е било?! И то към престъпника, който е причината?! Не разбирам и не ми трябва, това е болестно! 🤬
Но, честно, на недоволните от 50-те нюанса - ей, хора, вие просто не подозирате докъде са се простирали лудите бабки от 70-те и 80-те, честно, горките нюанси са направо манастирски. 😆
Но, честно, на недоволните от 50-те нюанса - ей, хора, вие просто не подозирате докъде са се простирали лудите бабки от 70-те и 80-те, честно, горките нюанси са направо манастирски. 😆
June 25, 2022
This is one heck of a bodice ripper! I absolutely loved this story. The storytelling and setting were excellent. I couldn’t put it down. I felt for the poor h for all she endured. The H is cruel. Loved it!
December 29, 2024
This has a lot of elements that are found even in modern day “dark romances”. I really did not expect the hero to do the things he did although I did understand his motives and to be honest, I liked that his character stayed consistently ruthless throughout the book.
This book took me on a helluva ride. I never knew what to expect and every twist really did have me gasping.
I did like the heroine although I think sometimes, just a little, she made those too stupid to live decisions that could have easily been prevented. But I devoured this book in a day, I was engrossed. The scene with the purple mask — when I found out who that was… I gasped!
For bodice ripper fans, I recommend this!
This book took me on a helluva ride. I never knew what to expect and every twist really did have me gasping.
I did like the heroine although I think sometimes, just a little, she made those too stupid to live decisions that could have easily been prevented. But I devoured this book in a day, I was engrossed. The scene with the purple mask — when I found out who that was… I gasped!
For bodice ripper fans, I recommend this!
June 23, 2023
3.5 stars
here its me NOT the book.
it settings were almost ethereal and i just wanted to be there[in the modern times,ofcourse]
DID NOT like the MMC,he was the most unlikeable of the BR hero's out there.I guess I'm just out of m bodice ripper era,I know i won't be back any sooner that my 20's or 30's[i hope that's not the case as BR's are almost like this delicate pieces of lit]
i knew it was a wrong time to start this now,but anyways
BODICE RIPPERS WILL NEVER DIE,cause there are and will be always girls like me.lol
this is not a goodbye
love,
Fiona
here its me NOT the book.
it settings were almost ethereal and i just wanted to be there[in the modern times,ofcourse]
DID NOT like the MMC,he was the most unlikeable of the BR hero's out there.I guess I'm just out of m bodice ripper era,I know i won't be back any sooner that my 20's or 30's[i hope that's not the case as BR's are almost like this delicate pieces of lit]
i knew it was a wrong time to start this now,but anyways
BODICE RIPPERS WILL NEVER DIE,cause there are and will be always girls like me.lol
this is not a goodbye
love,
Fiona
May 6, 2023
The hero is a jerk. I love the name Adam. But this Adam is immoral and untrustworthy. DNF'ed it at 50%.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews