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Ireland
Afraid for her life, Brenna fled the lush emerald hills of Ireland to seek the safety of the New World.
The Caribbean
Ahead lay torment and untold adventure-among rogues and pirates, and on a slaveship bound for danger.
New Orleans
From rooms of gilt and satin to duelling fields stained with blood, her body would not always be her own. Yet only Kane Fairfield, so bold and so handsome, could ever possess her spirit - with a love that only ecstasy could tame!
Afraid for her life, Brenna fled the lush emerald hills of Ireland to seek the safety of the New World.
The Caribbean
Ahead lay torment and untold adventure-among rogues and pirates, and on a slaveship bound for danger.
New Orleans
From rooms of gilt and satin to duelling fields stained with blood, her body would not always be her own. Yet only Kane Fairfield, so bold and so handsome, could ever possess her spirit - with a love that only ecstasy could tame!
373 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
76 people want to read
About the author
Julia Grice
20 books12 followersJulia Grice grew up in Michigan and has lived in Florida and Hawaii. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, social worker, librarian, and cookie packer, but for the past eight years, she has devoted all her energy to writing. The mother of two teenage sons, Julia Grice now lives in Michigan, where she loves to swim, paint, play racquetball. and do original needlepoint.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 27, 2025
1.5✨✨
Meh, this is what I’d call a bodice ripper but the hero is just annoyed with the heroine the whole time. At no point did I ever see why these two liked each other, other than sex. CW for rape, from the hero (or maybe more “forceful seduction” as they say) and from others. As always, if you don’t like bodice rippers, don’t read them😘
It’s completely without the obsession and yearning that make bodice rippers fun to read (fun is probably not the right word to use). Watching a brutal hero suddenly realize “oh I actually like this woman and want her consent” is part of the journey, but we never really get that here. Kane is also just really boring, all the cool stuff he does is off page.
There is an on going theme here, as with many bodice rippers, of the heroine fighting constantly for her own autonomy over her body, which I appreciate, but we never really see her achieve this, or learn how to get her way with the men constantly trying to own her? It made me think of that line in “Blue-eyed Samurai” - “stop running to and from men, and decide what you want for your fucking self…nurture his weakness,be his strength and he’ll worship you” (the madame character says this to princess akemi). Brenna, stop purposely fighting and antagonizing these dumbass men, and learn how to manipulate that to survive. Which of course is incredibly fucked up, but in this time period and place, is essential to a woman’s survival. I kept waiting for her to figure that out, to use her womanly wiles to get her way, and she kind of does for a little bit, but then it’s lost and she goes back to who she was at the start of the book.
This reminded me a lot of Jennifer Wilde’s “Marietta” trilogy, and while there are definitely the same issues with the heroes in those books, at least they are extremely entertaining to read and action packed. This book seems to want to be that, it has the elements (NOLA/Havana setting, pirates,etc.), but really Brenna, our FMC, spends a lot of time in the book waiting around in rooms and dealing with creeps and that’s kind of it.
Which is probably the main issue I have here, she’s usually sitting around waiting for Kane to do something or come back, and not like with him doing stuff, so when they are together it’s usually sex or fighting with each other, and not in a fun way, in a way where I was at many points like “why did Kane decide to take her with him again?” We never really see their romance developing or the “why” behind their love, which is like the whole point of a romance lol.
Kane also partakes in slave trading (human trafficking) so that’s gross. Though I do appreciate that the author doesn’t avoid the subject of slavery, and Brenna frequently points out how fucked up owning a human is, thought the way enslaved people are written in this feels weird and almost fetish-y at times, I’d say it’s of the era this book was written.
I’d skip this, I got it from my local library book sale because the cover is very beautiful which is mainly why I read it.
.
.
.
Spoilers!
.
This book tells the same story twice - she’s in NOLA, is being forced into marriage, and then she runs away. Comes back to NOLA, is forced into a marriage, and runs away. And is raped a lot in the process. That’s it that’s the book lol!
I found myself very annoyed by Brenna. She’s just kind of pulled around throughout the story, despite acting more active than she actually is. The ending pissed me off- wdy mean you just went back to your uncles place not expecting to be kept prisoner? Why would you purposely rile up the bad guy so he kidnaps you? Pretend to be sick or something! Idk! She’s written with this idea of her character being a tough wild cat, but she rarely actually makes choices for herself to get herself out of situations or try to be sneaky and manipulative?
Kane also sucks - wtf was that part with the bad guys sister, was he going to marry her? The ending the book was so rushed i felt there were so many things left open ended. Did he cheat on her with Colleen? wtf happened there!
Meh, this is what I’d call a bodice ripper but the hero is just annoyed with the heroine the whole time. At no point did I ever see why these two liked each other, other than sex. CW for rape, from the hero (or maybe more “forceful seduction” as they say) and from others. As always, if you don’t like bodice rippers, don’t read them😘
It’s completely without the obsession and yearning that make bodice rippers fun to read (fun is probably not the right word to use). Watching a brutal hero suddenly realize “oh I actually like this woman and want her consent” is part of the journey, but we never really get that here. Kane is also just really boring, all the cool stuff he does is off page.
There is an on going theme here, as with many bodice rippers, of the heroine fighting constantly for her own autonomy over her body, which I appreciate, but we never really see her achieve this, or learn how to get her way with the men constantly trying to own her? It made me think of that line in “Blue-eyed Samurai” - “stop running to and from men, and decide what you want for your fucking self…nurture his weakness,be his strength and he’ll worship you” (the madame character says this to princess akemi). Brenna, stop purposely fighting and antagonizing these dumbass men, and learn how to manipulate that to survive. Which of course is incredibly fucked up, but in this time period and place, is essential to a woman’s survival. I kept waiting for her to figure that out, to use her womanly wiles to get her way, and she kind of does for a little bit, but then it’s lost and she goes back to who she was at the start of the book.
This reminded me a lot of Jennifer Wilde’s “Marietta” trilogy, and while there are definitely the same issues with the heroes in those books, at least they are extremely entertaining to read and action packed. This book seems to want to be that, it has the elements (NOLA/Havana setting, pirates,etc.), but really Brenna, our FMC, spends a lot of time in the book waiting around in rooms and dealing with creeps and that’s kind of it.
Which is probably the main issue I have here, she’s usually sitting around waiting for Kane to do something or come back, and not like with him doing stuff, so when they are together it’s usually sex or fighting with each other, and not in a fun way, in a way where I was at many points like “why did Kane decide to take her with him again?” We never really see their romance developing or the “why” behind their love, which is like the whole point of a romance lol.
Kane also partakes in slave trading (human trafficking) so that’s gross. Though I do appreciate that the author doesn’t avoid the subject of slavery, and Brenna frequently points out how fucked up owning a human is, thought the way enslaved people are written in this feels weird and almost fetish-y at times, I’d say it’s of the era this book was written.
I’d skip this, I got it from my local library book sale because the cover is very beautiful which is mainly why I read it.
.
.
.
Spoilers!
.
This book tells the same story twice - she’s in NOLA, is being forced into marriage, and then she runs away. Comes back to NOLA, is forced into a marriage, and runs away. And is raped a lot in the process. That’s it that’s the book lol!
I found myself very annoyed by Brenna. She’s just kind of pulled around throughout the story, despite acting more active than she actually is. The ending pissed me off- wdy mean you just went back to your uncles place not expecting to be kept prisoner? Why would you purposely rile up the bad guy so he kidnaps you? Pretend to be sick or something! Idk! She’s written with this idea of her character being a tough wild cat, but she rarely actually makes choices for herself to get herself out of situations or try to be sneaky and manipulative?
Kane also sucks - wtf was that part with the bad guys sister, was he going to marry her? The ending the book was so rushed i felt there were so many things left open ended. Did he cheat on her with Colleen? wtf happened there!
February 13, 2022
This was an entertaining story, one that captures your attention and doesn't let go. It had some flaws, however, that kept me from giving it another star. For one thing, the h's brother had a bit of a story of his own that should have gotten more attention, as his character improves but the reader doesn't get to see that happen. For another, the H does too quick a turn from being determined to keep his emotional distance and freedom to being ready for a commitment. Just like with the brother, you're denied scenes that would show this change coming about. Also, there are hints about his past with two young women in the story that are never really gone into in enough detail.
But most of all, there was a totally unnecessary episode where the H and h (as well as others) are taken captive by pirates, and the h has to submit to the pirate king and has quite her share of orgasms (that can't all be blamed on the rum he made her drink). This was not only unrealistic (even for a HR novel) but also served no purpose. If she had to go away with the pirate to save the H's life it would have made more sense, but shortly afterward they all escape so the whole scene needn't have happened. And it would also have made more sense for her to either feel nothing (despite the guy being good looking) or else a hint of response that she could fight and not give in to, but to have her lose control in a night of passion was way over the top. It was as if the author wanted to deliberately degrade the h, who goes through enough trauma in this book.
With these faults, it loses a star. But it's still worth reading and is never boring. (And the side story of the slave girl that the h takes under her wing is a nice touch.)
But most of all, there was a totally unnecessary episode where the H and h (as well as others) are taken captive by pirates, and the h has to submit to the pirate king and has quite her share of orgasms (that can't all be blamed on the rum he made her drink). This was not only unrealistic (even for a HR novel) but also served no purpose. If she had to go away with the pirate to save the H's life it would have made more sense, but shortly afterward they all escape so the whole scene needn't have happened. And it would also have made more sense for her to either feel nothing (despite the guy being good looking) or else a hint of response that she could fight and not give in to, but to have her lose control in a night of passion was way over the top. It was as if the author wanted to deliberately degrade the h, who goes through enough trauma in this book.
With these faults, it loses a star. But it's still worth reading and is never boring. (And the side story of the slave girl that the h takes under her wing is a nice touch.)
September 23, 2020
best novel ever
Read
June 12, 2011good
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews