Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "queenmakers-saga"

The Lady and the Pirate by Bernadette Rowley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Lady Esta Aranati, also known as Lady Moonlight, is a masked smuggler who does so to provide for those who work on her estate. She and her crew are on their way home when they are boarded by pirates. The Singing Pirate, alias Samael Delacost, and his Lenweri elves, never leave a prize without plunder and since Lady Moonlight has none, he decides to take her. Lady Star, her younger sister, thwarts that plan with black magic much to Esta’s relief and Samael’s dismay.

Back on the estate, Esta focuses solely on the needs of her mother and those in her family’s care. Her sister thinks it’s high time Esta put herself first, but that goes against her grain unless and until she finds sufficient funds to return the estate into a prosperous venture. One item from a smuggling foray may provide her with that possibility. Inside a chest, she finds a map and an engraved metal rod. With her sister’s help, they decipher the clues and set sail to find the treasure.

But they are not the only ones privy to this secret. Samael overhears some men talking about the treasure, and he and his elves shadow the men’s ship as they shadow Lady Moonlight’s. Before Samael can catch up to them, the scoundrels attack her ship, leave her unconscious, and attempt to abscond with the map and rod. He arrives in time to take both from the pirates, and save her and her crew from their sinking ship. After some finagling, they come to an arrangement and set off together to find the treasure. The venture doesn’t quite work out as planned, and Esta returns home with nothing; her sister is harmed and seeks help from her mentor, also skilled in black magic; and Samael goes home to visit his parents.

Except the reunion is anything but joyous. Instead, he discovers that he is adopted, which explains why he’s always felt like an outcast. Compelled to seek out the woman who abandoned him, he attends the queen’s ball where he runs into the masked lady who has haunted his thoughts ever since he boarded her vessel.

Without a ship, Esta’s only path forward is to find a suitable and wealthy husband. That man cannot be Samael. After all, he is a pirate and the king’s admiral is determined to bring him to justice. Still, she helps him in his quest to find his mother. The truth proves more harmful than either expects for them both.

This sixth title in the Queenmakers Saga is a delightful fantasy romance laced with piracy. Some encounters are for adults only, and promised tension doesn’t always reach the level that readers expect. Still, the heart wants what it cannot have and secrets revealed sometimes open unexpected doors. The Lady and the Pirate is a fast read and a welcome diversion from everyday life.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates & Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/adult-fant...)



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