Pirate romances seem to be a love ’em or hate ’em type of book. I’ve enjoyed a number of the pirate books of recent years, and when I saw The Infamous Rogue on our review list, I eagerly snatched it up. However, the author takes a rather implausible situation and then compounds the problem by peopling her novel with lackluster characters who fail to make the reader want to believe in the unbelievable, something that is critical in this type of tale. The result is a book with a few good moments, but still rather lackluster overall.

Sophia Dawson, daughter of a pirate, arrives in England to seek a respectable match. Hiding her roots, she chooses to establish herself as an heiress from Jamaica and is casting about in society, looking for a good, aristocratic man. Back in Jamaica, she had engaged in a scandalous affair with a pirate captain that ended unhappily.

Though Sophia hoped never to see her former lover again, he coincidentally happens to be in England as well. But don’t roll your eyes just yet – if you start now, you’ll tire them out before you get to the end of the book. James Hawkins (once known as Black Hawk) finds himself reluctantly forced into society. He is now a somewhat respectable sea captain, but still not inclined to spend his life on the rituals of the ton. And though he is a duchess’ brother, his rough manners horrify more proper members of society, a problem that surfaces again and again throughout the book.

When James and Sophia find themselves thrown together, it’s obvious this won’t be a happy reunion. We learn that Sophia ended the affair and that James is bitter about this, as well as obviously still hung up on Sophia. However, instead of behaving like the 40-year-old adult he supposedly is, James takes a more childish tack. He does things designed to make Sophia feel uncomfortable and to upset her plans to marry an earl. The problem, however, is that, until near the end of the book, many of James’s actions don’t seem to come from any great affection for Sophia. Instead it all has a hint of, “I didn’t get what I wanted, so I’m going to keep you from getting what you want, too.” This makes him seem more like a spoiled brat than a fierce pirate captain or capable leader.Sophia is a more interesting character, and at times I sympathized with her. She got involved with Jack when she was quite young and the affair caused her to endure public ridicule in Jamaican society. That word of this public shaming never seemed to catch up with Sophia in London surprised me a bit given the size of society circles at the time, as a matter of fact. Still, she shows remarkable ingenuity in getting her affairs together, finding a proper chaperone, and launching herself into at least a small corner of the ton. Sometimes she tries too hard to show her free-spiritedness or gets snippy with James and falls a bit flat, but much of the time, I actually liked her. I just wish she had better taste in men. Even if the earl who courts her is rather uptight and a bit of a fop, though he actually seemed to have more potential for kindness in him than Jack did.

The first part of the book moved a little slowly, primarily because it focuses on Sophia and James and it’s really hard to care about their relationship. However, various subplots get cooking in the second half of the book and we also get to know James’s family better. James’s family and the various other secondary characters are actually somewhat interesting. Some of the pirate crew’s escapades are a bit much, but the people themselves were likable for the most part and worked well together. I suspect some of James’s brothers will make future heroes that I will enjoy reading about far more than I did James. Their interactions caught my attention much more than the primary romance – a significant weakness in a romance novel.

Though the heroine is basically likable and the book does have some nice moments, the hero just didn’t seem to work. He’s definitely not a beta, and he seems more jerk than alpha male. Had James and Sophia sorted through their feelings for one another sooner and spent less time on the silly games, the story may have worked a little better. However, as it is, I simply cannot recommend a romance in which the romantic plot is the part of the book that really didn’t work for me.