What do you think?
Rate this book
Pirate Wolf #1
Across a Moonlit Sea
Rescuing a man whose ship had been floundering at sea, Isabeau Spense takes aboard ruthless privateer Simon Dante, who promptly seizes command of Beau's ship and sets out to win the lovely maiden's heart and mind.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
431 people are currently reading
2736 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 273 reviews
June 9, 2023
Across a Moonlit Sea by Marsha Canham is a 2011 publication- originally published in 1996.
Beau Spence is a woman ahead of her time!
Set in the Elizabethan era, this swashbuckling adventure has it all. Intrigue, suspense, pirates, action, adventure and steamy hot romance on the high seas!
I bought this book, according to Amazon, back in 2012. Yes, it has been gathering ‘virtual’ dust on my Kindle since then, but the main reason I bought the book back then was so that I’d have a digital copy of this older title as many books written in this time period are out of print or hard to find. It was not my intent to read it immediately, but to save it for a time when I found myself in the mood to revisit historical fiction/romance books I enjoyed back in the day.
Recently, I’ve been doing a little side project concerning older books that need to be digitized. This brought up many historical romance novels that are unavailable in e-book format- but my research also reminded me of how much I used to love those old books. So, I found myself craving a good pirate adventure- a type of HR that nobody ever writes anymore- and so here we are...
Once I settled in, adjusting to this writing style after many years removed from it- it all started to come back to me and it felt SO good. These older HR novels had a great deal of Historical Fiction added in, complementing the romantic elements, plus it feels a lot more authentic.
Beau is ‘one of the guys’ and even has her own invention, in a very, very, very male dominated environment. She’s no shrinking violet- she’s outspoken and tough and gives as good as she gets. I loved her!
The story, though, of course, is certainly a romance, but the Historical Fiction elements are more dominant- with gritty battles and plenty of intrigue. This is not a romance filled with overblown misunderstandings or filled with pretty words. The banter is off the charts, and often amusing- and the chemistry between Beau and Simon Dante remains in the physical realm for most of the book, with the future uncertain, but I would have liked more of an emotional connection. There are several very explicit sex scenes, and I admit I had forgotten how steamy these books were.
This is also the first book in a trilogy-and there will be some continuation. The series won a readers’ choice award, and I see why. It’s too bad that historical romance authors today are too scared to write books like this one. Regencies are fun, for sure, and I do love the older, pure light-hearted Regencies- but I also like to read about other time periods, too. Variety is the spice of life and all that- at least for me- I can burn out on a genre really fast if it's a trend or in this case when HR basically just means Regency Romance.
While older historical romances have a bad reputation sometimes, this one is pretty tame. There are some un-pc attitudes, but nothing you can’t look past. The prose, common for the time in which the book was written, was just a bit flowery, but nothing all that bad.
Overall, this is a fun swashbuckling pirate adventure written in a style we don't get to experience anymore. Thankfully, some of the authors who were prolific writers back in the day digitized their books- so at least there are a few I can still enjoy from time to time.
For those who have KU subscription, the entire trilogy is included- so maybe, instead of spending my summer at the beach, I'll spend it on the high seas!!
*Note: Any author who has not digitized their work, please consider doing so. You may not make tons of money from them- but you aren't making ANY money from eBay, or Half Priced Books, or garage sales either. But the most important thing is that your work will be preserved!!
*This is still a part of my personal project, supporting older titles that are available for sale in e-book format- hoping libraries will also purchase them, etc. If my romance novels make you uncomfortable, don't feel obligated to comment- Goodreads is also a way for me catalogue my reading experiences and hopefully get these books noticed so authors and publishers will consider preserving more of them.
Beau Spence is a woman ahead of her time!
Set in the Elizabethan era, this swashbuckling adventure has it all. Intrigue, suspense, pirates, action, adventure and steamy hot romance on the high seas!
I bought this book, according to Amazon, back in 2012. Yes, it has been gathering ‘virtual’ dust on my Kindle since then, but the main reason I bought the book back then was so that I’d have a digital copy of this older title as many books written in this time period are out of print or hard to find. It was not my intent to read it immediately, but to save it for a time when I found myself in the mood to revisit historical fiction/romance books I enjoyed back in the day.
Recently, I’ve been doing a little side project concerning older books that need to be digitized. This brought up many historical romance novels that are unavailable in e-book format- but my research also reminded me of how much I used to love those old books. So, I found myself craving a good pirate adventure- a type of HR that nobody ever writes anymore- and so here we are...
Once I settled in, adjusting to this writing style after many years removed from it- it all started to come back to me and it felt SO good. These older HR novels had a great deal of Historical Fiction added in, complementing the romantic elements, plus it feels a lot more authentic.
Beau is ‘one of the guys’ and even has her own invention, in a very, very, very male dominated environment. She’s no shrinking violet- she’s outspoken and tough and gives as good as she gets. I loved her!
The story, though, of course, is certainly a romance, but the Historical Fiction elements are more dominant- with gritty battles and plenty of intrigue. This is not a romance filled with overblown misunderstandings or filled with pretty words. The banter is off the charts, and often amusing- and the chemistry between Beau and Simon Dante remains in the physical realm for most of the book, with the future uncertain, but I would have liked more of an emotional connection. There are several very explicit sex scenes, and I admit I had forgotten how steamy these books were.
This is also the first book in a trilogy-and there will be some continuation. The series won a readers’ choice award, and I see why. It’s too bad that historical romance authors today are too scared to write books like this one. Regencies are fun, for sure, and I do love the older, pure light-hearted Regencies- but I also like to read about other time periods, too. Variety is the spice of life and all that- at least for me- I can burn out on a genre really fast if it's a trend or in this case when HR basically just means Regency Romance.
While older historical romances have a bad reputation sometimes, this one is pretty tame. There are some un-pc attitudes, but nothing you can’t look past. The prose, common for the time in which the book was written, was just a bit flowery, but nothing all that bad.
Overall, this is a fun swashbuckling pirate adventure written in a style we don't get to experience anymore. Thankfully, some of the authors who were prolific writers back in the day digitized their books- so at least there are a few I can still enjoy from time to time.
For those who have KU subscription, the entire trilogy is included- so maybe, instead of spending my summer at the beach, I'll spend it on the high seas!!
*Note: Any author who has not digitized their work, please consider doing so. You may not make tons of money from them- but you aren't making ANY money from eBay, or Half Priced Books, or garage sales either. But the most important thing is that your work will be preserved!!
*This is still a part of my personal project, supporting older titles that are available for sale in e-book format- hoping libraries will also purchase them, etc. If my romance novels make you uncomfortable, don't feel obligated to comment- Goodreads is also a way for me catalogue my reading experiences and hopefully get these books noticed so authors and publishers will consider preserving more of them.
September 4, 2025
EPIC.
So said my friend Izzah (check out her review). She was 100% correct.
When Beau and her merchant father, Captain Jonas Spence, come across a badly damaged ship slowly sinking into the ocean, they follow the code of the sea and approach to render aid. As they board, they are met by a wounded captain and a few dozen of his crew, the only survivors of an attack by six Spanish warships. They offer water and rescue; the captain identifies himself as the reknowned privateer Simon Dante, Comte de Tourville, and repays them by taking Beau hostage and forcing her father to load the guns from the sinking ship onto his own. Simon is full of anger and burns for revenge. Beau is full of anger and wishes Simon dead.
The adventure begins.
And the adventure is perfection. The action is perfection. The romance is perfection. The characters are perfection. Simon is a beast and Beau is a queen. They are perfect for each other.
“One of these days,” he gasped, “you are going to have to start doing as you’re told.”
Beau leaned into his chest and buried her face against his throat. “One of these days you are going to have to start trusting me.”
Dante pressed his lips into the soft silk of her hair. “Yes. I know.”
Hands down, the best high seas romance I’ve ever read or ever expect to. I never wanted this book to end.
So said my friend Izzah (check out her review). She was 100% correct.
When Beau and her merchant father, Captain Jonas Spence, come across a badly damaged ship slowly sinking into the ocean, they follow the code of the sea and approach to render aid. As they board, they are met by a wounded captain and a few dozen of his crew, the only survivors of an attack by six Spanish warships. They offer water and rescue; the captain identifies himself as the reknowned privateer Simon Dante, Comte de Tourville, and repays them by taking Beau hostage and forcing her father to load the guns from the sinking ship onto his own. Simon is full of anger and burns for revenge. Beau is full of anger and wishes Simon dead.
The adventure begins.
And the adventure is perfection. The action is perfection. The romance is perfection. The characters are perfection. Simon is a beast and Beau is a queen. They are perfect for each other.
“One of these days,” he gasped, “you are going to have to start doing as you’re told.”
Beau leaned into his chest and buried her face against his throat. “One of these days you are going to have to start trusting me.”
Dante pressed his lips into the soft silk of her hair. “Yes. I know.”
Hands down, the best high seas romance I’ve ever read or ever expect to. I never wanted this book to end.
June 25, 2024
The captain of the Virago was Simon Dante, Comte de Tourville. He stood half a head taller than the Englishman and although there were fourteen generations of French aristocracy flowing through his veins, he had the massive shoulders and dark determination of a man who cared less for titles and estates than he did the sound of heavy cannon and booming sail.
Daring, badass 16th century pirates and privateers, the Spanish Main, the threat of war between England and Spain, treasure beyond imagination, fierce sea battles, betrayal and vengeance… I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun learning about a new-to-me period of history. And I’m on a mission to find a bottle of rumbullion 😉
The relationship between the two main characters, Dante and Isabeau (Beau), was an integral part of the story but not as prominent as I would have liked. There was so much to love about the story, though, that I can’t really say I was disappointed. Well, maybe just a little bit.
The author’s vividly written sea battles were exhilarating, had me holding my breath and I swear I could hear the booming cannons, smell the gunpowder and feel the deck roll beneath my feet. Marsha Canham definitely knows her stuff and brought history to life in exquisite and fascinating detail. The history buff in me was enthralled.
Dante and Beau, as well as many of the side characters, were beautifully drawn and multi-layered. Beau was a true kick-ass heroine, not just on the surface but to her core. Whip smart, tough as nails, tart-tongued, brave, with a touch of vulnerability … I just loved her character.
Her gaze drifted upward to Dante de Tourville. He’d asked her what had brought her to this point in her life, if she had any regrets that she was not sitting by a hearth wearing silk frocks and sipping chocolate out of tiny porcelain cups. For the past eight years she had been sipping life and living adventures those safe at home could not even imagine. She’d had salt spray, not rice powder, dusted on her cheeks, and instead of sitting cozy by a fire, she had climbed to the top of the mainmast and gazed out across a moonlit sea, standing close enough to the heavens to reach out and snatch at a handful of stars. Was there anything anywhere half as beautiful as a molten sea at sunrise or half as intoxicating as the smell of a spice-laden breeze off a tropical island? She had swum in the crystal-blue waters off Tortuga, and she had chipped ice off a floe near Greenland. She had made friends with Indians in the New World and enemies with gunners on board Spanish galleons. She had shared the camaraderie and the danger, the excitement as well as the fear. And she had been kissed by a pirate wolf who would not have passed her a second look had she been sipping chocolate beside the Queen.
And Dante. Known as the Pirate Wolf. All I can say is hot damn! He was a cocky, arrogant jerk at first but he had his reasons. And oh did he grow on me. He was fire and cunning, swagger, strength and danger personified. So very delicious.
He had the demeanor of an aristocrat when he wanted to call on it, the character of a pirate when he needed to use it, and a body that emanated a dangerous combination of elegance and savagery—a combination that sent warning chills up and down her spine. […] A genuine titled nobleman, he was French by birth, half English by blood, and reputed to be all larceny by nature.
Nothing was insta in this story and the relationship unfolded organically. The MCs started out despising and disrespecting each other, trading insults and disdain. But after one particularly intense sea battle and rousing victory over a massive Spanish galleon laden with gold, each saw the other in a different light and the dislike became grudging respect and admiration, with the promise of so much more.
An ominous black shadow swept over their heads as the Egret passed so close to the Spaniard, they could feel the heat of her fires belching out the broken gallery windows, so close the end of an English yard snagged on the tangle of Spanish rigging overhead and was brought screaming around in its fittings, ripping cables and cleats free as it twisted around the mast. A massive, almost human groan rose from the Egret’s belly as she squeezed past the galleon, her planks and boards shuddering with the friction as she cut through the turbulence of the San Pedro’s wake. When she was clear, and bursting into sunlight again, the groaning was deafened by the cheers of the men as they threw their arms in the air and whooped in triumph. While Lucifer eased some slack into the cable, Beau collapsed in disbelief against the broken spar. “Did we do it?” she gasped. “Did we really do it?” Dante, grinning, did not answer her with words. Instead, he reached down and took her face between his hands, kissing her hard and full on the lips.
The powerful attraction between Beau and Dante grew with each shared experience aboard the ship, until finally they could no longer deny their desire for each other. Although no bodices were ripped (plenty of shirts were though, enthusiastically and with consent) their interactions had that bodice ripper vibe I like so much. Their physical chemistry was intense and explosive and incredibly hot.
”I don’t need you,” she insisted on a broken whisper. His hands descended. They shaped themselves to her buttocks and drew her against him, savagely enough that they both gave a little groan. “But you want me. Almost … and God damn my soul for admitting it… almost as much as I want you.”
In the end, they found a treasure much more valuable than jewels or Spanish doubloons.
Daring, badass 16th century pirates and privateers, the Spanish Main, the threat of war between England and Spain, treasure beyond imagination, fierce sea battles, betrayal and vengeance… I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun learning about a new-to-me period of history. And I’m on a mission to find a bottle of rumbullion 😉
The relationship between the two main characters, Dante and Isabeau (Beau), was an integral part of the story but not as prominent as I would have liked. There was so much to love about the story, though, that I can’t really say I was disappointed. Well, maybe just a little bit.
The author’s vividly written sea battles were exhilarating, had me holding my breath and I swear I could hear the booming cannons, smell the gunpowder and feel the deck roll beneath my feet. Marsha Canham definitely knows her stuff and brought history to life in exquisite and fascinating detail. The history buff in me was enthralled.
Dante and Beau, as well as many of the side characters, were beautifully drawn and multi-layered. Beau was a true kick-ass heroine, not just on the surface but to her core. Whip smart, tough as nails, tart-tongued, brave, with a touch of vulnerability … I just loved her character.
Her gaze drifted upward to Dante de Tourville. He’d asked her what had brought her to this point in her life, if she had any regrets that she was not sitting by a hearth wearing silk frocks and sipping chocolate out of tiny porcelain cups. For the past eight years she had been sipping life and living adventures those safe at home could not even imagine. She’d had salt spray, not rice powder, dusted on her cheeks, and instead of sitting cozy by a fire, she had climbed to the top of the mainmast and gazed out across a moonlit sea, standing close enough to the heavens to reach out and snatch at a handful of stars. Was there anything anywhere half as beautiful as a molten sea at sunrise or half as intoxicating as the smell of a spice-laden breeze off a tropical island? She had swum in the crystal-blue waters off Tortuga, and she had chipped ice off a floe near Greenland. She had made friends with Indians in the New World and enemies with gunners on board Spanish galleons. She had shared the camaraderie and the danger, the excitement as well as the fear. And she had been kissed by a pirate wolf who would not have passed her a second look had she been sipping chocolate beside the Queen.
And Dante. Known as the Pirate Wolf. All I can say is hot damn! He was a cocky, arrogant jerk at first but he had his reasons. And oh did he grow on me. He was fire and cunning, swagger, strength and danger personified. So very delicious.
He had the demeanor of an aristocrat when he wanted to call on it, the character of a pirate when he needed to use it, and a body that emanated a dangerous combination of elegance and savagery—a combination that sent warning chills up and down her spine. […] A genuine titled nobleman, he was French by birth, half English by blood, and reputed to be all larceny by nature.
Nothing was insta in this story and the relationship unfolded organically. The MCs started out despising and disrespecting each other, trading insults and disdain. But after one particularly intense sea battle and rousing victory over a massive Spanish galleon laden with gold, each saw the other in a different light and the dislike became grudging respect and admiration, with the promise of so much more.
An ominous black shadow swept over their heads as the Egret passed so close to the Spaniard, they could feel the heat of her fires belching out the broken gallery windows, so close the end of an English yard snagged on the tangle of Spanish rigging overhead and was brought screaming around in its fittings, ripping cables and cleats free as it twisted around the mast. A massive, almost human groan rose from the Egret’s belly as she squeezed past the galleon, her planks and boards shuddering with the friction as she cut through the turbulence of the San Pedro’s wake. When she was clear, and bursting into sunlight again, the groaning was deafened by the cheers of the men as they threw their arms in the air and whooped in triumph. While Lucifer eased some slack into the cable, Beau collapsed in disbelief against the broken spar. “Did we do it?” she gasped. “Did we really do it?” Dante, grinning, did not answer her with words. Instead, he reached down and took her face between his hands, kissing her hard and full on the lips.
The powerful attraction between Beau and Dante grew with each shared experience aboard the ship, until finally they could no longer deny their desire for each other. Although no bodices were ripped (plenty of shirts were though, enthusiastically and with consent) their interactions had that bodice ripper vibe I like so much. Their physical chemistry was intense and explosive and incredibly hot.
”I don’t need you,” she insisted on a broken whisper. His hands descended. They shaped themselves to her buttocks and drew her against him, savagely enough that they both gave a little groan. “But you want me. Almost … and God damn my soul for admitting it… almost as much as I want you.”
In the end, they found a treasure much more valuable than jewels or Spanish doubloons.
December 14, 2025
EPIC.
I'm a speechless.
This was fantastic.
Mind-blowing.
Unputdownable.
・
・
・
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I'm a speechless.
This was fantastic.
Mind-blowing.
Unputdownable.
・
・
・
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
July 2, 2024
Read: 6/24
4 stars!
I love MC books, but I just couldn't get into this one. I'm not big on pirate books, so that's probably why. The whole story takes place on ships.
Still, the story was unique, as was the characters. A great sea adventure! I wish I had enjoyed it more! I would still recommend it to other hr readers.
Sidenote: The h's father would not have had a wooden peg leg. Water and wood under pressure do not make a good combination. It would have been made from metal. I blame Treasure Island for this misconception!
4 stars!
I love MC books, but I just couldn't get into this one. I'm not big on pirate books, so that's probably why. The whole story takes place on ships.
Still, the story was unique, as was the characters. A great sea adventure! I wish I had enjoyed it more! I would still recommend it to other hr readers.
Sidenote: The h's father would not have had a wooden peg leg. Water and wood under pressure do not make a good combination. It would have been made from metal. I blame Treasure Island for this misconception!
April 4, 2011
The motha of all pirate romances @ her best, MC writes swashbuckling adventures & knee-buckling bangin’ like nobody's business. A shipload of adrenaline-pumping actions, epic boom-boom battles, political intrigue, backstabbing villain, 2ndary characters w/ memorable personalities, shexy, blue-eyed divorcee hero vs feisty, auburn-haired, ass-kicking heroine who’ll chop off vital parts if anyone dares to mess w/ her, crackalicious chemistry & great build-up to toe-curling luv scenes, be it in the cramped cabin or 30-feet above the gun deck, the perils of pleasure are tested to the limits. Simon Dante aka the Pirate Wolf is 1 hawt tamale, when he raises his flag to full mast, U might as well drop your weeping pants & let him have it. Isabeau is 1 of da best heroines evah penned, a talented helms(wo)man, stiletto thrower & cartographer (known as the Black Swan). I want wot she’s having ! My fav 2ndary character is Beau’s frank-talking dad, he’s friggin’ heelarious ! Every character & action-packed scene comes alive, U feel like U get thrown into the midst of battle & when the fog clears up, your mind will still be reeling w/ excitement. U can see how committed MC was to every distinctive character & her luv for the sea was apparent in her great visualizations. I may take up sailing after re-reading all her pirate books haha... Sometimes U read a book w/ imbalance of power between H/h, not so in this case. Both H/h go toe-to-toe in sparkly zingers & their athleticisms in the nookie dept are awesome. The only complaint if I were being nitpicky ? Well, I wanted the climax to be longer, I’m not talking ‘bout La petite mort, but the bloody showdown between Simon vs the villain, wish their final swordplay was a tad longer ‘cuz I luv parry & thrust a la “The count of Monte Cristo”. Simply unforgettable. What U see is what U get.
October 26, 2022
This was DELIGHTFUL! A fierce heroine, a swashbuckling hero, great banter and pirate adventure. Very fun!
Will be in my next vlog
Will be in my next vlog
September 6, 2025
I do like a good Pirate 🏴☠️ story.
This had plenty of action, but I would have liked to see a bit more interaction between Beau and Dante.
Not the sort, where they risked their lives making out up in the rigging.🫣😂
Good side character, liked Beau and her father relationship.
This had plenty of action, but I would have liked to see a bit more interaction between Beau and Dante.
Not the sort, where they risked their lives making out up in the rigging.🫣😂
Good side character, liked Beau and her father relationship.
December 10, 2022
I love pirate romances and really wanted to love this one, but unfortunately the plot was too boring for me to love. There were sooo many pirate battles and talk about the war with Spain (I think it was Spain?), so it was really hard for me to get through. I did really enjoy how the heroine grew up on a ship and was just as able, if not better, than the men with the ability to work on the ship. But there were just too many pirate attacks and I found myself not caring about anything that was happening. I did enjoy the romance, but the book as a whole was really hard for me to get through.
March 1, 2019
Re-read for challenge 2019. Keeper!
Wish I could add one more star..loved it better the second time!
There are a lot of really good pirate romances out there to read, and they usually start off with the hero-Captain/Pirate who is ruthless & cunning, saving, capturing, and kidnapping the Heroine.. be she "demure" or "spitfire hellion".
My favorite to read is when said "he" arrogant pirate meets his match with said "she" pirate.
The story opens with Captain Dante & his crew who have nearly lost their lives as well as the ship due to being betrayed by his partner.
When all seems lost Captain Spence, his crew & his daughter "Beau" come upon the badly damaged ship.
Dante trusting no one, now takes control of their ship so he can transfer his precious cargo before it sinks with his ship.
There is much sparring between the captains, and Beau they & their crew set out to help Dante to find his betrayer & reap the rewards.
This author sure knows how to tell about battles at sea, the way she describes them throughout the book was like being there.
You could feel the recoil of the cannons, and smell the gunpowder, the masts above as they splinter when fired upon.
What follows is lots of swashbuckling adventure!
Most of all, great chemistry between two fiery souls, the secondary characters were also fun,
The history was very informative and the story behind Queen Elizabeth & her "sea hawks" & the time period itself was very interesting.
I'm looking forward to reading the 2nd book in the series
Highly recommend for those who love a good swashbuckling pirate romance.
Wish I could add one more star..loved it better the second time!
There are a lot of really good pirate romances out there to read, and they usually start off with the hero-Captain/Pirate who is ruthless & cunning, saving, capturing, and kidnapping the Heroine.. be she "demure" or "spitfire hellion".
My favorite to read is when said "he" arrogant pirate meets his match with said "she" pirate.
The story opens with Captain Dante & his crew who have nearly lost their lives as well as the ship due to being betrayed by his partner.
When all seems lost Captain Spence, his crew & his daughter "Beau" come upon the badly damaged ship.
Dante trusting no one, now takes control of their ship so he can transfer his precious cargo before it sinks with his ship.
There is much sparring between the captains, and Beau they & their crew set out to help Dante to find his betrayer & reap the rewards.
This author sure knows how to tell about battles at sea, the way she describes them throughout the book was like being there.
You could feel the recoil of the cannons, and smell the gunpowder, the masts above as they splinter when fired upon.
What follows is lots of swashbuckling adventure!
Most of all, great chemistry between two fiery souls, the secondary characters were also fun,
The history was very informative and the story behind Queen Elizabeth & her "sea hawks" & the time period itself was very interesting.
I'm looking forward to reading the 2nd book in the series
Highly recommend for those who love a good swashbuckling pirate romance.
January 23, 2026
Note: Some of my goodreads shelves can be spoilers
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔 (I did feel like I knew the mains but I think I wanted them to share just a bit more of their past with each other – the book felt very focused in the present moment)
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 - I definitely wanted the scenes a bit more developed and more explicit details
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥 (I might have missed some!)
Humor: Yes, actually – I was delighted by some of the humor in this one.
Perspective: old school omniscient pov – mostly from the hero and heroine but there are plenty of scenes from side characters POV, the villain, etc without page breaks/distinction between one person’s thoughts and anothers
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast – it’s a fast paced exciting story for the most part but it doesn’t feel rushed
When mains are first on page together: not too far in, end of chapter 1 (of 28 - maybe like 6% in)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever for the mains
Epilogue: Yes
Format: listened to the audiobook from my library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: Canham won author of the month in our Vintage Romance group and I wanted to give her a try
Mains: Simon Dante and Isabeau Spense – This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine
(Descriptions found at end of my review)
Should I read in order?
This is the first in Canham’s Pirate Wolf series. Book 2 is about this couple’s daughter so it might be best to start here for the series.
Basic plot:
Beau regrets rescuing Dante when he takes control of her father’s ship and starts issuing commands...
Give this a try if you want:
- historical romance – Tudor (Elizabethan) – late 1500s I believe during tensions between Spain and England but no war declared yet
- celibate hero (it’s been a few….months )
- heroine mistaken for a lad (only a brief part)
- bad ass heroine
- some light he nurses her back to health
- some animosity to lovers
- sea captain hero
- navigator, cartographer, and artist heroine
- most of the book takes place on the sea!
- sea battles with lots of excitement and danger
- medium steam – there’s a few scenes (at least 3 full) but they are on the shorter side/less explicit with details
Ages:
- heroine is 20, didn’t catch hero but would guess late 20s/30s
First line:
There were six of them strung out along the horizon.
My thoughts:
Well, like the other Canham I tried I had my ups and downs with this book but mostly I was totally pleasantly surprised.
This one had a different feel than the other I read (The Pride of Lions). It felt faster paced, exciting….but I also found the romance lacking just a bit. There’s a lot of focus on other things, sea battles, and plenty of side character POV so I wasn’t as immersed in the mains specifically. But at the same time I found myself really captivated by the plotline of this book! It had me on the edge of my seat in some parts – Canham is a fantastic writer and I loved the stories, side characters, and tension of the sea battles and sailing scenes.
I found the humor sprinkled throughout this book delightful. There were a lot of just really adorable, funny scenes/interactions that had me smirking. I enjoyed all the characters, and really loved how bad ass the heroine was in this one.
I think I need more Canham in my life!
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 2
Average rating from me: 4 stars
Favorite book: Hard to pick...I think I liked the romance more from The Pride of Lions but I’d reread this novel first before that one...
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔 (I did feel like I knew the mains but I think I wanted them to share just a bit more of their past with each other – the book felt very focused in the present moment)
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 - I definitely wanted the scenes a bit more developed and more explicit details
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥 (I might have missed some!)
Humor: Yes, actually – I was delighted by some of the humor in this one.
Perspective: old school omniscient pov – mostly from the hero and heroine but there are plenty of scenes from side characters POV, the villain, etc without page breaks/distinction between one person’s thoughts and anothers
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast – it’s a fast paced exciting story for the most part but it doesn’t feel rushed
When mains are first on page together: not too far in, end of chapter 1 (of 28 - maybe like 6% in)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever for the mains
Epilogue: Yes
Format: listened to the audiobook from my library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: Canham won author of the month in our Vintage Romance group and I wanted to give her a try
Mains: Simon Dante and Isabeau Spense – This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine
(Descriptions found at end of my review)
Should I read in order?
This is the first in Canham’s Pirate Wolf series. Book 2 is about this couple’s daughter so it might be best to start here for the series.
Basic plot:
Beau regrets rescuing Dante when he takes control of her father’s ship and starts issuing commands...
Give this a try if you want:
- historical romance – Tudor (Elizabethan) – late 1500s I believe during tensions between Spain and England but no war declared yet
- celibate hero (it’s been a few….months )
- heroine mistaken for a lad (only a brief part)
- bad ass heroine
- some light he nurses her back to health
- some animosity to lovers
- sea captain hero
- navigator, cartographer, and artist heroine
- most of the book takes place on the sea!
- sea battles with lots of excitement and danger
- medium steam – there’s a few scenes (at least 3 full) but they are on the shorter side/less explicit with details
Ages:
- heroine is 20, didn’t catch hero but would guess late 20s/30s
First line:
There were six of them strung out along the horizon.
My thoughts:
Well, like the other Canham I tried I had my ups and downs with this book but mostly I was totally pleasantly surprised.
This one had a different feel than the other I read (The Pride of Lions). It felt faster paced, exciting….but I also found the romance lacking just a bit. There’s a lot of focus on other things, sea battles, and plenty of side character POV so I wasn’t as immersed in the mains specifically. But at the same time I found myself really captivated by the plotline of this book! It had me on the edge of my seat in some parts – Canham is a fantastic writer and I loved the stories, side characters, and tension of the sea battles and sailing scenes.
I found the humor sprinkled throughout this book delightful. There were a lot of just really adorable, funny scenes/interactions that had me smirking. I enjoyed all the characters, and really loved how bad ass the heroine was in this one.
I think I need more Canham in my life!
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 2
Average rating from me: 4 stars
Favorite book: Hard to pick...I think I liked the romance more from The Pride of Lions but I’d reread this novel first before that one...
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Extra stuff like what my review breakdown means, where to find me, and book clubs
March 12, 2025
I have read two perfect pirate historical romances in my life. One is The Windflower by Sharon and Tom Curtis aka Laura London, and the other is this one.
OK, "perfect" may not be strictly accurate given a handful of very 90s iffy moments (hello, Lucifer), but... it was kind of perfect anyway. Plot, historical detail, characters, action, humor, politics--I loved it all. SO MUCH.
Our FMC, Beau Spence, immediately joined my badass-heroines shelf, but if you're expecting some 90s #girlboss irritant like Jenny from A Kingdom of Dreams (hate u, Jenny!), rest assured that every bit of badassery Beau has is realistic and earned.
She is the navigator on her father's ship, which picks up a crew in distress. Captain of said crew is the brutally hot Simon Dante, and he and Beau have ALMOST the best relationship in the book. That honor goes to Beau and her dad, who I am obsessed with. They are unflinchingly honest with each other, down to when and with whom she lost her virginity (not Dante, thank goodness, so there was no cringey virginity-loss scene).
Canham clearly did some serious research for this book; I think I could probably sail one of these ships by now. Her dialogue is amazing and frequently hilarious, and the chemistry between Beau and Dante is sizzling. And it feels a little silly to say given that we should simply expect this, but everything felt... natural? Like, all the Romance Reasons were present and correct, but they never felt forced. They felt true to the characters and the plot.
Just a proper epic historical pirate romance, and you can bet I'll be rereading it.
OK, "perfect" may not be strictly accurate given a handful of very 90s iffy moments (hello, Lucifer), but... it was kind of perfect anyway. Plot, historical detail, characters, action, humor, politics--I loved it all. SO MUCH.
Our FMC, Beau Spence, immediately joined my badass-heroines shelf, but if you're expecting some 90s #girlboss irritant like Jenny from A Kingdom of Dreams (hate u, Jenny!), rest assured that every bit of badassery Beau has is realistic and earned.
She is the navigator on her father's ship, which picks up a crew in distress. Captain of said crew is the brutally hot Simon Dante, and he and Beau have ALMOST the best relationship in the book. That honor goes to Beau and her dad, who I am obsessed with. They are unflinchingly honest with each other, down to when and with whom she lost her virginity (not Dante, thank goodness, so there was no cringey virginity-loss scene).
Canham clearly did some serious research for this book; I think I could probably sail one of these ships by now. Her dialogue is amazing and frequently hilarious, and the chemistry between Beau and Dante is sizzling. And it feels a little silly to say given that we should simply expect this, but everything felt... natural? Like, all the Romance Reasons were present and correct, but they never felt forced. They felt true to the characters and the plot.
Just a proper epic historical pirate romance, and you can bet I'll be rereading it.
March 25, 2014
Sometimes even free is too expensive - DNF at 18%.
At this point the 'hero' has already threatened to rape and/or kill the heroine about three times. On top of this - as if I needed any more reason to hate him - they've also had a conversation in which he systematically refused to take her anger seriously and treat her as if she had any agency, which I've dealt with in real life enough to find it infuriating even in fiction. And he's threatened to cripple her already-injured father. Quite frankly, he's disgusting and I'm revolted at the high ratings this book has gotten from other GR-ers. The rape threat should really be a dealbreaker in a 'romance' novel, people!
Deleting this 'book' as fast as I can.
At this point the 'hero' has already threatened to rape and/or kill the heroine about three times. On top of this - as if I needed any more reason to hate him - they've also had a conversation in which he systematically refused to take her anger seriously and treat her as if she had any agency, which I've dealt with in real life enough to find it infuriating even in fiction. And he's threatened to cripple her already-injured father. Quite frankly, he's disgusting and I'm revolted at the high ratings this book has gotten from other GR-ers. The rape threat should really be a dealbreaker in a 'romance' novel, people!
Deleting this 'book' as fast as I can.
January 27, 2026
-Very enjoyable.
-I adore a badass heroine who can fight.
-Good sexual tension between the H/h.
-A minor secondary romance between Pitt and a Spanish captive/hostage that I thought was cute.
-The main romance was kind of secondary to the action and adventure though. 😔
-I adore a badass heroine who can fight.
-Good sexual tension between the H/h.
-A minor secondary romance between Pitt and a Spanish captive/hostage that I thought was cute.
-The main romance was kind of secondary to the action and adventure though. 😔
August 29, 2024
I read this story but with a different book cover. For some reason, my review only shows up with the other bookcover 🤪
September 24, 2025
“I am truly sorry, Beau, but when you love a man like Simon Dante, nothing is ever going to be simple again.”
And who would deny these words? Just imagine Dante, the Comte de Tourville, standing on the foredeck in skin-tight trousers and an open shirt, all muscles and tanned skin, raven hair whipping in the breeze like black silk, giving orders to his helmsman! Any more questions?
Dante and Beau aren’t off to a great start, though. After Beau’s father, a merchant, has rescued the privateer and his crew from their sinking ship, the Comte forces them to follow his wishes. The hatred between Dante and Beau is real and their banter is contemptuous; it takes some time to overcome their disdain. But little by little, their respect and trust grows, and then their chemistry explodes.
Before Beau gives in to the captain, it takes a very special sex education by Beau’s father about “scratching the itch if she’s got it” and a lot of compher oil.
Beau could not have moved if she’d wanted to. She watched him rub a gleaming film of oil into the powerful display of muscles along his arms, massaging it into the squared bulk of his shoulders, his neck, into his ribs and chest, and as far around on his back as he could reach. She watched him knead each muscle and work each sinew and by the time he was finished, standing in the light like a burnished war god, Beau’s limbs were weak. Her belly was a moving, liquid mass of heat. Her own skin, she could swear, had shrunk two sizes too small and threatened to burst at the slightest movement.
It also takes some… well… persuasion. Luckily, it’s still the Middle Ages, when “no,” “wait,” or “stop” mean nothing. The silver-eyed devil just knows exactly what she wants: “But you want me. Almost … and God damn my soul for admitting it… almost as much as I want you.” He’s right, and he delivers in the following sex scene, written in purple prose, but still sensual. Later, there’s an even more impressive acrobatic encounter, thirty feet below the deck, with the help of the rigging, a mast, and the raging sea itself:
“You don’t have to move, [Dante]. You don’t have to do anything at all.”
To prove it, she arched her back and let the ship’s motion press her hips forward, swallowing him to the hilt. They both groaned, then groaned again when the Egret rocked back and the pressure eased.
“Don’t … do that again,” he warned softly. “Or I will explode.”
“I … can’t help it,” she cried, half laughing, half sobbing, as the Egret plunged again. The rocking motion, less pronounced on deck, was magnified by the weight and pull of the sails, by the rush of the wind, and the vibrations that shook the stem of the mast. Each giddy swoop brought him deeper and deeper inside her until it seemed he might touch her heart.
Don’t get the wrong impression, though. The romance does not play such a significant role in this book. It’s more of a fantastic adventure novel about privateers, fighting on the high seas, and the historically important combat between the English fleet and the Spanish Armada. If you follow my reviews, you know that I’m not a fan of romances with an adventure setting or plots involving intrigue, revenge, or hatred. This one has it all and I enjoyed it very much. Marsha Canham seems to know a lot about ships and sailing and British history, and she brings her knowledge to the page in an exceptionally vivid way. This author is great with words and makes the scenes come alive in your mind. She makes you feel it. I actually cried when Dante left his sinking ship and watched it die:
It was Simon Dante, with his ship groaning and trembling beneath him, who climbed the shrouds to the top of the broken mainmast and removed her flags. Carrying them in his clenched fist, with his limp more pronounced and the pain graying his face, he was the last to make the crossing. Pitt ordered the cables cut, and under the faint stirrings of a breeze, he called for enough sail in the tops to ease the Egret slowly away.
The sun was setting behind the Virago, painting her ruined and battered hull in gold. The blaze spread across the surface of the ocean and fanned orange and red across the sky. One by one the eyes of the men turned away from the sea and focused on the solitary figure standing on the afterdeck, his hands gripping the rail, his profile etched against the crimson sky as he watched his ship die.
Even Spence, who had fed off his anger most of the afternoon, mellowed somewhat, respecting the pain of a fellow captain forced to watch the last bit of shadowy hull slide beneath the whispering sea.
Admittedly, the book often borders on being cheesy and clichéd with all the gleaming sunlight and cool moonlight, the whipping hair and piercing eyes, the oil and description of massive muscles (everywhere), and the fabulous sex scenes in purple prose. It’s also a bit bodice-ripper-esque, which isn't my preferred HR subgenre, so it's even more remarkable that I enjoyed this story so much. Everything just fits, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Canham's work.
And who would deny these words? Just imagine Dante, the Comte de Tourville, standing on the foredeck in skin-tight trousers and an open shirt, all muscles and tanned skin, raven hair whipping in the breeze like black silk, giving orders to his helmsman! Any more questions?
Dante and Beau aren’t off to a great start, though. After Beau’s father, a merchant, has rescued the privateer and his crew from their sinking ship, the Comte forces them to follow his wishes. The hatred between Dante and Beau is real and their banter is contemptuous; it takes some time to overcome their disdain. But little by little, their respect and trust grows, and then their chemistry explodes.
Before Beau gives in to the captain, it takes a very special sex education by Beau’s father about “scratching the itch if she’s got it” and a lot of compher oil.
Beau could not have moved if she’d wanted to. She watched him rub a gleaming film of oil into the powerful display of muscles along his arms, massaging it into the squared bulk of his shoulders, his neck, into his ribs and chest, and as far around on his back as he could reach. She watched him knead each muscle and work each sinew and by the time he was finished, standing in the light like a burnished war god, Beau’s limbs were weak. Her belly was a moving, liquid mass of heat. Her own skin, she could swear, had shrunk two sizes too small and threatened to burst at the slightest movement.
It also takes some… well… persuasion. Luckily, it’s still the Middle Ages, when “no,” “wait,” or “stop” mean nothing. The silver-eyed devil just knows exactly what she wants: “But you want me. Almost … and God damn my soul for admitting it… almost as much as I want you.” He’s right, and he delivers in the following sex scene, written in purple prose, but still sensual. Later, there’s an even more impressive acrobatic encounter, thirty feet below the deck, with the help of the rigging, a mast, and the raging sea itself:
“You don’t have to move, [Dante]. You don’t have to do anything at all.”
To prove it, she arched her back and let the ship’s motion press her hips forward, swallowing him to the hilt. They both groaned, then groaned again when the Egret rocked back and the pressure eased.
“Don’t … do that again,” he warned softly. “Or I will explode.”
“I … can’t help it,” she cried, half laughing, half sobbing, as the Egret plunged again. The rocking motion, less pronounced on deck, was magnified by the weight and pull of the sails, by the rush of the wind, and the vibrations that shook the stem of the mast. Each giddy swoop brought him deeper and deeper inside her until it seemed he might touch her heart.
Don’t get the wrong impression, though. The romance does not play such a significant role in this book. It’s more of a fantastic adventure novel about privateers, fighting on the high seas, and the historically important combat between the English fleet and the Spanish Armada. If you follow my reviews, you know that I’m not a fan of romances with an adventure setting or plots involving intrigue, revenge, or hatred. This one has it all and I enjoyed it very much. Marsha Canham seems to know a lot about ships and sailing and British history, and she brings her knowledge to the page in an exceptionally vivid way. This author is great with words and makes the scenes come alive in your mind. She makes you feel it. I actually cried when Dante left his sinking ship and watched it die:
It was Simon Dante, with his ship groaning and trembling beneath him, who climbed the shrouds to the top of the broken mainmast and removed her flags. Carrying them in his clenched fist, with his limp more pronounced and the pain graying his face, he was the last to make the crossing. Pitt ordered the cables cut, and under the faint stirrings of a breeze, he called for enough sail in the tops to ease the Egret slowly away.
The sun was setting behind the Virago, painting her ruined and battered hull in gold. The blaze spread across the surface of the ocean and fanned orange and red across the sky. One by one the eyes of the men turned away from the sea and focused on the solitary figure standing on the afterdeck, his hands gripping the rail, his profile etched against the crimson sky as he watched his ship die.
Even Spence, who had fed off his anger most of the afternoon, mellowed somewhat, respecting the pain of a fellow captain forced to watch the last bit of shadowy hull slide beneath the whispering sea.
Admittedly, the book often borders on being cheesy and clichéd with all the gleaming sunlight and cool moonlight, the whipping hair and piercing eyes, the oil and description of massive muscles (everywhere), and the fabulous sex scenes in purple prose. It’s also a bit bodice-ripper-esque, which isn't my preferred HR subgenre, so it's even more remarkable that I enjoyed this story so much. Everything just fits, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Canham's work.
October 7, 2025
“Bastard,” she gasped when she could. “You don’t play fair.”
“With you? God’s truth, I would not stand a chance. You would have me castrated, and without the use of a knife.”
Finally, a pirate book that lived up to my expectations! The plot was entertaining, the characters strong and well-developed, and the banter and chemistry kept me hooked. My only complaints are the casual use of a slur, which felt off-putting, and rushed ending with no epilogue. Overall, though, I had a blast reading it.
“With you? God’s truth, I would not stand a chance. You would have me castrated, and without the use of a knife.”
Finally, a pirate book that lived up to my expectations! The plot was entertaining, the characters strong and well-developed, and the banter and chemistry kept me hooked. My only complaints are the casual use of a slur, which felt off-putting, and rushed ending with no epilogue. Overall, though, I had a blast reading it.
July 4, 2017
Honestly, I don’t quite know how to begin this review, or what to rate it. First off, this was my first book by this author. It was suggested for a buddy read, and I love lots of action and adventure in my historical romances, and this had lots of promise. There were parts of this novel I adored! And then there were parts that held no interest to me whatsoever. Granted, I did not find it boring in the least. In my opinion, it seemed like two different books in a mash-up. Both good in their own rights, but maybe not quite working together, for me anyways.
Simon Dante is a ruthless privateer who has been betrayed and is left for dead after successfully raiding Spanish holdings. He and his crew are barely hanging on, when Captain Jonas Spence and his ship, Egret, come aboard to offer assistance. Dante forcefully takes control of Spence’s ship, but later explains his reasoning, desperate times for desperate measures, you understand, right? Shortly after everyone on board the Egret gets along, except for Simon and Spence’s headstrong and helmsman daughter, Isabeau, or Beau. In the process, they successfully raid a floating Spanish treasure trove, with royalty on board. They run into an English flotilla headed by none other than Sir Francis Drake, and the traitor Simon wants dead (by all rights). Simon, Beau, the Egret, and Drake’s bunch all decide to attack Spanish ports to hamper a war between the two countries, one that England is determined to avoid and the Spanish is gearing up for.
Let me start by saying this: I will try several more books by this author before giving up. I may never give up on this author, even if the plots or characters don’t work for me. Ms. Canham is a master of words. One thing I cannot stand is a boring book. What I mean by that is I don’t want just words on the page. If you’re a writer, you write books. If you’re a story-teller, I will not only see the story in my mind’s eye, I will find it the most beautiful, the most fascinating and the most detailed story and love every minute of it. I may not have loved everything about this book, but I can tell you this, the story-telling is excellent. It’s not overdone, it’s simple but effective, and leaves me wanting more. The pictures she paints with words is almost beyond comparison, in fact, I think it may be difficult to compare with anyone right now. One of my favorite passages was at the end:
“Beau watched the Scout make her stumbling turn and start a bow-on run towards the Talon. She was expecting Dante to veer off at the last moment, duplicating the feat he has executed against the San Pedro, but something went mortally wrong. Even from three hundred yards away she could hear the screaming of timbers and the smashing of planks as the two ships collided. The hull of the Talon was rammed inward. The privateer staggered and reeled over, pushing a wave of water off her starboard beam. When she righted herself, the Scout was wedged fast amidships and Dante’s men were scrambling over the side, cutlasses, pikes, and muskets in hand. Two of the four kegs of Greek fire found their marks, exploding on the Talon’s afterdeck in great sheets of liquid flame. The combustible ran along the rails and dripped down the sides of the hull. It fanned across the decks, rippling blue and gold and red in the darkness, running along planks and spilling hot blue fingers between the broken boards.”
Of course, I think the last battle scene is the best part of the book, it’s where all the action is! The scenes come alive, and I felt like I was right there, or at least maybe I was watching a movie. A really good, special effects-type movie!
The battle scenes were great, but this is supposed to be a romance book as well. While there is a hero/heroine in the book, two sets actually, I didn’t feel it was the focus. I didn’t love the main characters, ever. I began to like them about half way through, but nothing ever clicked between me and them. I tried for days to figure out why this book wasn’t grabbing me between the action scenes. Today, I finally figured it out: dialogue. It’s missing a lot of dialogue for my taste. I can understand animal attraction, and wanting to jump the sexy wolf pirate’s bones from the get-go, but there had better be substance to the relationship, or I get bored. There were not a lot of scenes where Simon and Beau were not going after each other in one way or another, either arguing or sexually, or both. There were no real revelations, although things were revealed, sort of cold heartedly or with no oomph behind it. No true anguish or emotions, or not very many from Beau, and hardly any from Simon. I want a little angst in my romances. It just felt a little flat to me, and I was sorely disappointed. My thinking is I just didn’t really like Simon or Beau together, apart, they were fairly interesting characters, Beau more so, but together something was amiss. Now, I have confidence in Ms. Canham for future books, because even though they didn’t have many pages, the scenes between Geoffrey Pitt and Dona Maria/Christiana were great. I wanted to read more about them!! I think this book would have been better suited to them being the main characters, and wish Ms. Canham could have made a whole book for them. The things between them that made them interesting, such as Christiana pretending to be Dona Maria, and not telling Geoffrey, Geoffrey feeling less than deserving because he was not noble blood and she supposedly was, differing religions, hell, warring countries, would have made a more interesting relationship to dig into. As it stands, the only thing going for Simon and Beau is that he’s arrogant and she’s stubborn, and after awhile, this gets annoying to me. I don’t really understand why Beau is so stubborn, because she’s been sailing with her father’s vessel for I think it said, 8 years, and no one challenges her on his ship anymore, not until Simon comes aboard. I can see being stubborn to him, but it still got a little old for me.
When it came to the actually plot, I think it was well thought out, but lacked a little in the personal details of the main characters. I read this on ebook, and it was 317 pages. I think 25-50 more pages, going into further details about the characters, just as much as she did with the battle scenes and describing the ships, and I would have still read it all, and probably found it more enjoyable, and given it a better rating.
All this being said, I will read more of Marsha Canham, I see she has a Robin Hood series, and that has me thrilled to my toes! Loved the story telling, but I needed a bit more soul to the characters, and this would have been a 5 star book instead of a 3 1/2 stars I am giving it.
Simon Dante is a ruthless privateer who has been betrayed and is left for dead after successfully raiding Spanish holdings. He and his crew are barely hanging on, when Captain Jonas Spence and his ship, Egret, come aboard to offer assistance. Dante forcefully takes control of Spence’s ship, but later explains his reasoning, desperate times for desperate measures, you understand, right? Shortly after everyone on board the Egret gets along, except for Simon and Spence’s headstrong and helmsman daughter, Isabeau, or Beau. In the process, they successfully raid a floating Spanish treasure trove, with royalty on board. They run into an English flotilla headed by none other than Sir Francis Drake, and the traitor Simon wants dead (by all rights). Simon, Beau, the Egret, and Drake’s bunch all decide to attack Spanish ports to hamper a war between the two countries, one that England is determined to avoid and the Spanish is gearing up for.
Let me start by saying this: I will try several more books by this author before giving up. I may never give up on this author, even if the plots or characters don’t work for me. Ms. Canham is a master of words. One thing I cannot stand is a boring book. What I mean by that is I don’t want just words on the page. If you’re a writer, you write books. If you’re a story-teller, I will not only see the story in my mind’s eye, I will find it the most beautiful, the most fascinating and the most detailed story and love every minute of it. I may not have loved everything about this book, but I can tell you this, the story-telling is excellent. It’s not overdone, it’s simple but effective, and leaves me wanting more. The pictures she paints with words is almost beyond comparison, in fact, I think it may be difficult to compare with anyone right now. One of my favorite passages was at the end:
“Beau watched the Scout make her stumbling turn and start a bow-on run towards the Talon. She was expecting Dante to veer off at the last moment, duplicating the feat he has executed against the San Pedro, but something went mortally wrong. Even from three hundred yards away she could hear the screaming of timbers and the smashing of planks as the two ships collided. The hull of the Talon was rammed inward. The privateer staggered and reeled over, pushing a wave of water off her starboard beam. When she righted herself, the Scout was wedged fast amidships and Dante’s men were scrambling over the side, cutlasses, pikes, and muskets in hand. Two of the four kegs of Greek fire found their marks, exploding on the Talon’s afterdeck in great sheets of liquid flame. The combustible ran along the rails and dripped down the sides of the hull. It fanned across the decks, rippling blue and gold and red in the darkness, running along planks and spilling hot blue fingers between the broken boards.”
Of course, I think the last battle scene is the best part of the book, it’s where all the action is! The scenes come alive, and I felt like I was right there, or at least maybe I was watching a movie. A really good, special effects-type movie!
The battle scenes were great, but this is supposed to be a romance book as well. While there is a hero/heroine in the book, two sets actually, I didn’t feel it was the focus. I didn’t love the main characters, ever. I began to like them about half way through, but nothing ever clicked between me and them. I tried for days to figure out why this book wasn’t grabbing me between the action scenes. Today, I finally figured it out: dialogue. It’s missing a lot of dialogue for my taste. I can understand animal attraction, and wanting to jump the sexy wolf pirate’s bones from the get-go, but there had better be substance to the relationship, or I get bored. There were not a lot of scenes where Simon and Beau were not going after each other in one way or another, either arguing or sexually, or both. There were no real revelations, although things were revealed, sort of cold heartedly or with no oomph behind it. No true anguish or emotions, or not very many from Beau, and hardly any from Simon. I want a little angst in my romances. It just felt a little flat to me, and I was sorely disappointed. My thinking is I just didn’t really like Simon or Beau together, apart, they were fairly interesting characters, Beau more so, but together something was amiss. Now, I have confidence in Ms. Canham for future books, because even though they didn’t have many pages, the scenes between Geoffrey Pitt and Dona Maria/Christiana were great. I wanted to read more about them!! I think this book would have been better suited to them being the main characters, and wish Ms. Canham could have made a whole book for them. The things between them that made them interesting, such as Christiana pretending to be Dona Maria, and not telling Geoffrey, Geoffrey feeling less than deserving because he was not noble blood and she supposedly was, differing religions, hell, warring countries, would have made a more interesting relationship to dig into. As it stands, the only thing going for Simon and Beau is that he’s arrogant and she’s stubborn, and after awhile, this gets annoying to me. I don’t really understand why Beau is so stubborn, because she’s been sailing with her father’s vessel for I think it said, 8 years, and no one challenges her on his ship anymore, not until Simon comes aboard. I can see being stubborn to him, but it still got a little old for me.
When it came to the actually plot, I think it was well thought out, but lacked a little in the personal details of the main characters. I read this on ebook, and it was 317 pages. I think 25-50 more pages, going into further details about the characters, just as much as she did with the battle scenes and describing the ships, and I would have still read it all, and probably found it more enjoyable, and given it a better rating.
All this being said, I will read more of Marsha Canham, I see she has a Robin Hood series, and that has me thrilled to my toes! Loved the story telling, but I needed a bit more soul to the characters, and this would have been a 5 star book instead of a 3 1/2 stars I am giving it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2022
Lady pirate, swashbuckling, wild sea battles and banging in the rigging! This is peak pirate romance.
July 17, 2019
I love me some pirates.
Our heroine doesn't hide, she's the helmsman of the privateer/merchant ship, and an expert in map making. Plus she once gelded an over-eager suitor. What's not to love?
The story is set in the Caribbean and off the coast of Spain during the tense times leading up to war between England and Spain over who would control the riches of the New World. There are double-crosses and clever strategies and heroic choices all around.
Of course, the repartee is first-rate, and everyone swears like a sailor. Secondary characters were fun, as were a couple of humorous moments in the middle of battle . Not as much wenching as I would have liked, given that it is a romance, but a few hot scenes were appreciated.
There are follow-on stories, which I will read.
Our heroine doesn't hide, she's the helmsman of the privateer/merchant ship, and an expert in map making. Plus she once gelded an over-eager suitor. What's not to love?
The story is set in the Caribbean and off the coast of Spain during the tense times leading up to war between England and Spain over who would control the riches of the New World. There are double-crosses and clever strategies and heroic choices all around.
Of course, the repartee is first-rate, and everyone swears like a sailor. Secondary characters were fun, as were a couple of humorous moments in the middle of battle . Not as much wenching as I would have liked, given that it is a romance, but a few hot scenes were appreciated.
There are follow-on stories, which I will read.
April 23, 2018
Simon Dante, a French count with a British mother, prefers to spend his time on the deck of his ship, Virago, battling the Spanish on the high seas, instead of being a man of leisure in the court of Queen Elizabeth. Then one day, he's betrayed by his fellow sea hawk and left to die in the circle of six Spanish zabras.
Dante and his crew put up a fight, remaining afloat long enough for a merchant ship, Egret, to sail by, captained by Jonas Spence and helmed by the man's daughter, Isabeau "Beau" Spence.
Sparks fly immediately between Dante and Beau, mostly thanks to the "unorthodox" way his crew come to stay on board the Egret, and later due to the palpable attraction between them. But they've both been burned before, so trust doesn't come easily...Even as they sail toward England and embark on a quest to help Sir Francis Drake in ruining King Philip's plans of war.
I love Marsha Canham's books. Simply love them. The narration is evocative, painting incredible vivid pictures of characters and their surroundings no matter which era the story is set in. This one was no different...The sea was brilliantly blue, the storms frighteningly loud, the battles at sea gripping (you could smell the gunpowder and hear the thunderous roar of cannons), and the battle of wits between the two sexes intriguing, engrossing and inspiring even though the outcome was predictable.
The set-up might sound formulaic—Marsha Canham always pits two headstrong leads against one another with the hero always towering over the heroine, at the peak of physical condition, dark, handsome and extremely arrogant and his heroine loving to antagonize him, matching him word for word as they both try to fight the passion and attraction blazing between them—but each story is an entity of its own (even if they're part of series or trilogies) with characters so distinctly different (albeit similar in physical descriptions), and romantic couples never encountering obstacles and woes similar to those before them (except for the fighting against the inevitable part), that the reader notices the initial formula or template, and then promptly forgets about it as they're swept along.
This story was no different. Both Simon and Beau were strong, self-sufficient characters, stubborn and afraid to trust the unknown, but they both became even stronger as a couple. Their verbal battles were amusing and rather arousing as they served as foreplay for what was to come. But even as they succumbed to the inevitable, they never lost those individual character traits that made them tick, keeping up with the battles of wits and words long after their fates were already set.
I loved them separately and I loved them together; the sparring and the loving equally wonderful to read.
Then there was the supporting cast (with an additional romance thrown into the mix) with two motley crews of seamen, friends and confidantes, a father talking to his daughter about itches that might need to be scratched, a hulking Cimaroon with his two gleaming scimitars, a gunman with unsteady sea legs constantly falling in love...And added to all that was Sir Francis freaking Drake.
The action sequences were breathtaking and intense, culminating in the singeing the King of Spain's beard in the port of Cadiz serving as backdrop to a much smaller battle brewing in the peripheral vision since the prologue.
This book offers a remarkable mix of a wonderful cast of characters, intense battle sequences, and a delightfully epic romance.
Dante and his crew put up a fight, remaining afloat long enough for a merchant ship, Egret, to sail by, captained by Jonas Spence and helmed by the man's daughter, Isabeau "Beau" Spence.
Sparks fly immediately between Dante and Beau, mostly thanks to the "unorthodox" way his crew come to stay on board the Egret, and later due to the palpable attraction between them. But they've both been burned before, so trust doesn't come easily...Even as they sail toward England and embark on a quest to help Sir Francis Drake in ruining King Philip's plans of war.
I love Marsha Canham's books. Simply love them. The narration is evocative, painting incredible vivid pictures of characters and their surroundings no matter which era the story is set in. This one was no different...The sea was brilliantly blue, the storms frighteningly loud, the battles at sea gripping (you could smell the gunpowder and hear the thunderous roar of cannons), and the battle of wits between the two sexes intriguing, engrossing and inspiring even though the outcome was predictable.
The set-up might sound formulaic—Marsha Canham always pits two headstrong leads against one another with the hero always towering over the heroine, at the peak of physical condition, dark, handsome and extremely arrogant and his heroine loving to antagonize him, matching him word for word as they both try to fight the passion and attraction blazing between them—but each story is an entity of its own (even if they're part of series or trilogies) with characters so distinctly different (albeit similar in physical descriptions), and romantic couples never encountering obstacles and woes similar to those before them (except for the fighting against the inevitable part), that the reader notices the initial formula or template, and then promptly forgets about it as they're swept along.
This story was no different. Both Simon and Beau were strong, self-sufficient characters, stubborn and afraid to trust the unknown, but they both became even stronger as a couple. Their verbal battles were amusing and rather arousing as they served as foreplay for what was to come. But even as they succumbed to the inevitable, they never lost those individual character traits that made them tick, keeping up with the battles of wits and words long after their fates were already set.
I loved them separately and I loved them together; the sparring and the loving equally wonderful to read.
Then there was the supporting cast (with an additional romance thrown into the mix) with two motley crews of seamen, friends and confidantes, a father talking to his daughter about itches that might need to be scratched, a hulking Cimaroon with his two gleaming scimitars, a gunman with unsteady sea legs constantly falling in love...And added to all that was Sir Francis freaking Drake.
The action sequences were breathtaking and intense, culminating in the singeing the King of Spain's beard in the port of Cadiz serving as backdrop to a much smaller battle brewing in the peripheral vision since the prologue.
This book offers a remarkable mix of a wonderful cast of characters, intense battle sequences, and a delightfully epic romance.
July 17, 2025
Probably the most pirate romance of all the pirate romances I’ve read. Lots of action, 99% set on the sea, well-researched.
June 27, 2015
Historic Romance/Adventure
I made it almost 30% through the book before giving up, even though this book would have earned me a whopping twenty points in the lovely scavenger hunt known as the Seasonal Reading Challenge Group.
But, alas, this book fails my number one test, likeable characters. I prefer my romance with an undercurrent of laughter, but this book takes itself seriously from the start, with two characters who exhibit nothing but anger.
I could not reconcile the inconsistencies in the book. Simon, an experienced sea captain, has pus leeching out of an injury two weeks old, yet he can't figure out he needs to attend to it? And he just threatened the lives of a fellow British sea captain and his crew because he only has a short time to transfer his cargo, yet he proceeds to sit idly in his cabin until the chore is done? Rubbish!
Beau irritated me as well, although I can't blame Ms. Canham for that fault, since this book was written twenty years ago. But I am overly tired of the thin little whisp of a girl who can best any muscle-bound man in a fight.
Is it clean? I'm sorry to say that the book grated on my nerves to the point where I honestly can't remember if there were any bad words or not, but, as best I recall, I don't think there were. It did seem evident that intimate scenes were upcoming.
I made it almost 30% through the book before giving up, even though this book would have earned me a whopping twenty points in the lovely scavenger hunt known as the Seasonal Reading Challenge Group.
But, alas, this book fails my number one test, likeable characters. I prefer my romance with an undercurrent of laughter, but this book takes itself seriously from the start, with two characters who exhibit nothing but anger.
I could not reconcile the inconsistencies in the book. Simon, an experienced sea captain, has pus leeching out of an injury two weeks old, yet he can't figure out he needs to attend to it? And he just threatened the lives of a fellow British sea captain and his crew because he only has a short time to transfer his cargo, yet he proceeds to sit idly in his cabin until the chore is done? Rubbish!
Beau irritated me as well, although I can't blame Ms. Canham for that fault, since this book was written twenty years ago. But I am overly tired of the thin little whisp of a girl who can best any muscle-bound man in a fight.
Is it clean? I'm sorry to say that the book grated on my nerves to the point where I honestly can't remember if there were any bad words or not, but, as best I recall, I don't think there were. It did seem evident that intimate scenes were upcoming.
November 29, 2022
I had high expectations for this one after hearing nothing but amazing things. But it sadly was kind of boring to me. This was my first time picking up a book by this author and I am still intrigued by some of the other Marsha Canham books I have. I did like that majority of this book takes place on the sea. All the high seas, pirate adventures and action was fun! The romance sadly was just okay. The hero and heroine had a very arguing/hateful banter, very much an enemies to lovers set up. I just wanted more though and never found myself pulled into the story like I was expecting.
July 1, 2013
This is the kind of novel where you're pretty sure you're learning lots of historical stuff, in this case lots and lots of nautical stuff, but all you care about is when the hero and heroine are going to get on with it. Which is a complete indictment of my current state of shallowness, and no criticism of the author. Marsha Canham delivers classic historical romance: wan accurate rendering of a different time frothed up by a completely over-the-top robust romance.
December 31, 2013
Full of action and adventure, as well as a few grammatical errors, but since it was entertaining, I chose to overlook them. I enjoyed the fact that the female was a strong woman for once, not some simpering doll in a lace doily. The lead is an alpha male, but he's not too overbearing, and the romance is fairly hot. If you like pirate tales, give this one a shot. It's a free download on Amazon right now.
Want to read
April 20, 2022(romance set on a pirate ship? say less)
September 16, 2025
they simply do not build romance authors like this any more. going from the most immersive historical fiction where you feel like you could figure your way around an elizabethan merchant ship to "his muscles rippled with desire looking into her tiger eyes" in the same chapter like oh i KNOW that's right
April 22, 2011
Both this book and the sequel - The Iron Rose - are on my top ten most highly recommended historical romances list. I was never much of a fan of pirate romances - especially lady pirate romances. Remember Fern Michaels "Captive" series? Ack!
Unfortunately, that series all too easily comes to mind when I think of any sort of pirate book. The mere mention of "lady pirate books" would have me diving for cover behind the potted palms. After a long hiatus from Historical romance of any sub-genre, I started reading them again just a few years ago, and on the basis of a great review from The Romance Reader, I decided to give Marsha Canham's pirate books a try. It's probably the understatement of the century to say that I'm glad I did.
Isabeau Spence is the daughter of privateer Captain Jonas Spence, and an amazingly gifted ship's pilot and cartographer. When they come across a disabled and sinking ship, they stop to help the injured crew, completely unaware that they, and their ship, have just fallen into the hands of one Simon Dante, the infamous Pirate Wolf. Dante informs Jonas and Isabeau that he means to commandeer their ship to seek revenge on the man who betrayed him to the Spanish.
This book is set during the Elizabethan period - not my favorite period for historical romance, but Ms. Canham handles it deftly, with great (and accurate) attention to historical detail, and that genuinely old-time swashbuckling feel, more than a little reminiscent of an old Errol Flynn film (take your pick). I think this is probably my favorite thing about Canham's writing in general: practically everything she writes has that highly visual cinematic feel to it.
The naval battles are so incredibly descriptive and well-written, you'd almost swear she has survived a few of them herself. And the developing romance between Simon and Isabeau is signature Marsha Canham engrossing and H-O-T.
The secondary characters are, as always, well-written, quirky, funny, very real, and serve to greatly enrich the story overall.
I highly recommend picking up this book (and the sequel), even - especially - if the pirate-themed romances of yesteryear have left you somewhat under-enthused with the prospect of trying more. This series is everything good pirate romances should be, but so frequently aren't; engrossing, evocative, & highly visual.
This woman should be writing screenplays!
Unfortunately, that series all too easily comes to mind when I think of any sort of pirate book. The mere mention of "lady pirate books" would have me diving for cover behind the potted palms. After a long hiatus from Historical romance of any sub-genre, I started reading them again just a few years ago, and on the basis of a great review from The Romance Reader, I decided to give Marsha Canham's pirate books a try. It's probably the understatement of the century to say that I'm glad I did.
Isabeau Spence is the daughter of privateer Captain Jonas Spence, and an amazingly gifted ship's pilot and cartographer. When they come across a disabled and sinking ship, they stop to help the injured crew, completely unaware that they, and their ship, have just fallen into the hands of one Simon Dante, the infamous Pirate Wolf. Dante informs Jonas and Isabeau that he means to commandeer their ship to seek revenge on the man who betrayed him to the Spanish.
This book is set during the Elizabethan period - not my favorite period for historical romance, but Ms. Canham handles it deftly, with great (and accurate) attention to historical detail, and that genuinely old-time swashbuckling feel, more than a little reminiscent of an old Errol Flynn film (take your pick). I think this is probably my favorite thing about Canham's writing in general: practically everything she writes has that highly visual cinematic feel to it.
The naval battles are so incredibly descriptive and well-written, you'd almost swear she has survived a few of them herself. And the developing romance between Simon and Isabeau is signature Marsha Canham engrossing and H-O-T.
The secondary characters are, as always, well-written, quirky, funny, very real, and serve to greatly enrich the story overall.
I highly recommend picking up this book (and the sequel), even - especially - if the pirate-themed romances of yesteryear have left you somewhat under-enthused with the prospect of trying more. This series is everything good pirate romances should be, but so frequently aren't; engrossing, evocative, & highly visual.
This woman should be writing screenplays!
January 20, 2014
Re-Read 1/20/14
After re-reading The Wind and The Sea, I needed more. This was the only other, high-seas, mental big screen I ever came across that would fit the bill. FREE on Amazon. Such a little known treasure. I saw a reviewer refer to it as a "bodice-ripper" and I have to say, I find that a little offensive. This is a wonderfully written tale, told with such imagery and emotion pouring from every page, reminiscent of an era when movies were epic and actors were movie stars. To throw it in with such a tawdry sub-genre is a disservice to all who have yet to discover such a gem. Those of us who love a great romantic adventure, faceted characters who are capable of intelligent dialogue and plots with direction and page turning surprise know better. Great read in my opinion. And one of my very favorites.
Original Review
Marsha Canham is fast becoming one of my very favorite authors. She can illustrated a story with an endless pallet of words. Her characters are rich and strong and stay absolutely true from start to finish. In the book, she brings the sea and salted air to life and you can actually feel the recoil of the cannons when the fire them as well as feel the masts splinter when the fire is returned. It is most definitely a romance but in the forefront is the adventure and both have you turning pages until wee hours of the night. Beau and Simon's witty verbal swordplay is matched with actual swordplay as he is compelled to try and tame her, fully knowing it's as futile as taming the sea. Great swashbuckling classic story painted in full color of a very talented author. Really enjoyed the book and will be moving on the second in the series.
After re-reading The Wind and The Sea, I needed more. This was the only other, high-seas, mental big screen I ever came across that would fit the bill. FREE on Amazon. Such a little known treasure. I saw a reviewer refer to it as a "bodice-ripper" and I have to say, I find that a little offensive. This is a wonderfully written tale, told with such imagery and emotion pouring from every page, reminiscent of an era when movies were epic and actors were movie stars. To throw it in with such a tawdry sub-genre is a disservice to all who have yet to discover such a gem. Those of us who love a great romantic adventure, faceted characters who are capable of intelligent dialogue and plots with direction and page turning surprise know better. Great read in my opinion. And one of my very favorites.
Original Review
Marsha Canham is fast becoming one of my very favorite authors. She can illustrated a story with an endless pallet of words. Her characters are rich and strong and stay absolutely true from start to finish. In the book, she brings the sea and salted air to life and you can actually feel the recoil of the cannons when the fire them as well as feel the masts splinter when the fire is returned. It is most definitely a romance but in the forefront is the adventure and both have you turning pages until wee hours of the night. Beau and Simon's witty verbal swordplay is matched with actual swordplay as he is compelled to try and tame her, fully knowing it's as futile as taming the sea. Great swashbuckling classic story painted in full color of a very talented author. Really enjoyed the book and will be moving on the second in the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 273 reviews