Let me begin this review by saying that pirates are not my thing. I seem to say that a lot, about a variety of things, but it's all too true. I remember being forced to endure my father's poor pirate impersonations whenever we went to Long John Silver's, and the Pirates of the Caribbean terrified me on my first visit to Disneyland.

Let me also state that I could be accused of favoritism in reviewing this book. Susan Grant is a member of my local RWA chapter. As a matter of fact, she's last year's president. She has been friendly, and outgoing, and helpful, and I think she's a fantastic person all-round.

But there's that whole pirate thing.

In Susan's first book, Once a Pirate, Pilot Carly Callahan's plane crashes into the ocean as the result of the engines being flooded by a storm. She ejects, and splashes down safely, only to be hauled aboard a boat that, by all accounts, is a pirate vessel.

It becomes clear over time that the boat really is a pirate ship, and it is captained by one Richard Spencer, once a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and now a wanted man. He has wicked blue eyes, dimples to die for, and seems to play a part in the nightmares that haunt Carly. He's mistaken her for the half-witted daughter of his enemy, and he takes her hostage, more or less, to be ransomed to her waiting husband-to-be.

The story doesn't, of course, end up that way. All ends well; it's a romance novel, so we expect these things. There are some tricks to pull in order to get to that happy end, and more than a few hitches along the way.

Richard and Carly make a fantastic couple in the past. I found the resolution and the way they were kept together a little ... too much. A little too convenient. There is also a "false conclusion", meaning that there is a point in the book where it could have ended, and a hundred pages or so stripped out of the book. It's not flawless, but very few books are, and for a first book, this one stands out above many others I've read.

So give it a try. Pirate fan or not, it's an enjoyable read.



Recommended: Yes