After reading the first few pages of this book, I found myself rolling my eyes. The author seemed to be going for over-the-top humor with the heroine and it didn’t work for me. But a few pages later when I met the hero, the book completely changed for me. Sure, a lot of this modern-day pirate story is silly, and I had a few problems with the plot. But once I got going, I didn’t put this down, and found myself smiling at the end.
Juli Flynn is unhappy to learn that her Uncle Frank made a deathbed request that she take his ashes to the Virgin Islands and dump them in the ocean from a boat. Big problem: Not only is Juli afraid of the ocean, she suffers from motion sickness. But despite a lot of complaining, Juli heads to the Virgin Islands with her Uncle’s ashes and books a spot on a charter boat.
Alex Bradshaw is also in the Virgin Islands on a mission - a pirate mission. He and three of his co-workers were just pink-slipped from their jobs at a major shipping company, two months before they became fully vested in the company’s pension fund. One of Alex’s colleagues learned that the owner of the company is involved in illegal side-activities. Alex and his friends intend to steal millions of dollars of contraband diamonds from one of the owner’s illegal shipping boats.
Juli and Alex meet in an island bar the night before they’re each going to leave the island. The sparks fly between the two, and they end up pretending to be married to win a mock Newlywed Game. In a series of strange coincidences, Juli ends up on Alex’s boat rather than on the charter boat.
Alex doesn’t trust Juli, is sure she’s hiding something from him, and wants her off his boat immediately. Juli figures out pretty quickly that Alex is hiding some major things from her, but still wants to stay on the boat.
We’re told that because of her secret trait, Juli is socially inept and has problems fitting in anywhere. We learn pretty quickly just what that secret is, and it didn’t seem too awful to me. To my mind, Juli seemed to fit in very quickly with the pirate gang. I found Jake’s co-conspirators fun characters that are all rather socially inept in their own ways. There’s also more to all of the conspirators than what appears on the surface.
Things go completely awry with the actual pirate mission, and the whole thing is definitely played for laughs. There are some improbable coincidences toward the end that help wrap things up, and a few too many raunchy jokes for my taste. I also had problems with how sexually inexperienced and completely clueless Alex’s one female co-worker seemed to be. She’s in her early 50s, but seems to know nothing – absolutely nothing – about sex.
If you like meaty romances, filled with lots of angst and depth, this isn’t the book for you.. If you’d like a light summer romance, this modern pirate romance might just work for you. I found it a light, enjoyable read.
Sensuality: Hot
Publication Date: 2011/08
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