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My Lady Vixen
Possessed of an innocent ethereal beauty, Alexa Ashley knew nothing of the burning hatred Adam Foxworth felt for her family. Abducted by his men, held prisoner aboard a notorious privateering ship, she succumbed to Adam's masterful seduction--only to learn she had been nothing but a pawn in his game of revenge.
Driven by despair, Alexa made a new name for herself as the boldly seductive mistress of a rival ship, and dared to challenge her lover at his own game...Stroke by stroke, kiss by kiss, she would teach Adam just how sweet revenge could be!
Driven by despair, Alexa made a new name for herself as the boldly seductive mistress of a rival ship, and dared to challenge her lover at his own game...Stroke by stroke, kiss by kiss, she would teach Adam just how sweet revenge could be!
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
30 people are currently reading
659 people want to read
About the author
Connie Mason
140 books534 followersConnie Mason or Cara Miles is the best-selling author of more than fifty historical romances and novellas. Her tales of passion and adventure are set in exotic as well as American locales. Connie was named Story Teller of the Year in 1990 by Romantic Times and was awarded Career Achievement award in the Western category by Romantic Times in 1994. Connie makes her home in Tarpon Springs, Florida with her husband Jerry.
Prior to her first published work in 1984, Connie was a full time homemaker. Always an avid reader, writing was one of Connie's dreams.
In 1995 Connie was featured on a segment of the CBS news show 48 Hours, a television production that devoted an entire program to the romance novel industry. Connie was also featured in an article published by National Inquirer.
In addition to writing and traveling, Connie enjoys telling anyone who will listen about her three children and nine grandchildren, and sharing memories of her years living abroad in Europe and Asia as the wife of a career serviceman. In her spare time Connie enjoys reading, dancing, playing bridge and freshwater fishing with her husband.
Prior to her first published work in 1984, Connie was a full time homemaker. Always an avid reader, writing was one of Connie's dreams.
In 1995 Connie was featured on a segment of the CBS news show 48 Hours, a television production that devoted an entire program to the romance novel industry. Connie was also featured in an article published by National Inquirer.
In addition to writing and traveling, Connie enjoys telling anyone who will listen about her three children and nine grandchildren, and sharing memories of her years living abroad in Europe and Asia as the wife of a career serviceman. In her spare time Connie enjoys reading, dancing, playing bridge and freshwater fishing with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
July 9, 2018
Ridiculous but bizarrely readable
Ok, at 100 pages in, and it is self evident that the heroine is: TSTL
The book opens with Lady Alexa celebrating her engagement to the drunken Charles, who tries to force himself on her in the summer house.
This doesn't seem to upset her too much, although she is rather grateful when Adam Foxworth, Earl of Penwell, interrupts and apparently saves the day. Adam however has an ulterior motive, and kidnaps the h and brings her on board a ship, captained by the famous privateer aka The Fox, who is mysteriously never present with Adam. Do you see a possible connection??
Anyway Alexa is told that she will be taken as Adam's mistress and then returned to her father as used goods, all for the purposes of Revenge.
It turns out that Alexa's father had killed Adam's father as the latter had been sleeping with Alexa's mother, who then kills her self in grief. Pet gripe: Alexa's father is called Sir John, which means he is a knight and so she would not be titled as Lady Alexa which is a pretty basic editing mistake.
Adam's grand plan doesn't seem to cause Alexa too many qualms as it is obviously not her fault and when ever she returns to London, her fiancé will marry her and there will be no consequences for her in society??? So she might as well have a good time in the interim? I don't know whether this is supposed to be stunning naivety on the part of the heroine or sheer ignorance on the part of the author.
Also Within minutes of introductions, the heroine is addressing everyone by their first names and again this really bugs me as it is just wrong for the time period.
Anyway the masked Fox approaches her in her cabin and tells her it will be either Penwell or him who will have her first. She puts him off for all of one night before he beds her. She doesn't exactly put up any struggle and in fact has a rather good time and nor does it particularly upset her afterwards. The whole thing was extraordinary. Alexa has warm fuzzy feelings about the Fox from then on.
Thereafter Adam takes her to his castle in Cornwall where he makes it clear he hates her, but beds her solidly for 3 months. The first scene there is feeble struggle but generally thereafter the h just comes across as a bit of a slut.
Generally he makes sure she enjoys it because he doesn't want to hurt her, but on the last night he simply takes her without further ado and then abandons her the next morning. Despite the fact that he hates her and treats her like dirt, she is of course, In Love.
Of course by this stage she is pregnant and when she is returned home, she doesn't exactly receive a warm welcome. Her father is furious and the fact that her fiancé has broken the engagement and that she is an outcast from society seems to come a genuine shock to her. This is despite the fact that she has been shagging Adam for the last 3 months outside of marriage and is pregnant to him and believes she has fallen in love with him. Why on earth would Charles not have waited ?!?
Her father tries to marry her off to a man old enough to be her grandfather, who also tries to rape her, but instead she runs away ( at 18 years of age with some jewellery and a bag of coins) to find Adan's associate Mac, who had actually participated in her kidnapping and known that Adam intended to rape her but had made it clear he would not help her - but somehow has become her best friend. I mean Seriously??
They set sail for America and during the journey Mac pines with love for Alexa ( no one can resist her ?) until he discovers her pregnancy. He then decides to take her to Adam and hope that he will do the right thing. Of course they arrive at Adam's engagement ball to Lady Gwendoline and there is a big scene.
Eventually Adam agrees to do the honourable thing and they marry. Alexa is embarrassed by her obvious pregnancy and Lady Gwendoline makes a point of being a first class b, and continues to try and seduce Adam. During this period, the heroine also starts to espouse pro patriot feeling , which is fairly incredible given that her father was allegedly one of the King's main advisors and she is a British aristocrat married to an English Earl. Adam is also associating with the Tories and apparently acting as a courier for them, or so he tells Alexa ( it doesn't exactly take rocket science to identify his actual loyalties). At the governor's ball, Alexa makes an indiscreet comment and Has to leave. Adam is feeling very randy ( because he'd been admiring his wife's breasts earlier) and when Gwen approaches him, he kisses her and lifts her up with a view to having sex with her. Alexa who had returned for her reticule, sees them and cries out in distress. She runs away and trips, leading to a miscarriage/ still birth.
Adam is guilt stricken ( as only he could be) but makes the point he was only going to shag another woman in order to 'spare' her due to her pregnancy. He's a real prince amongst men!
He declares his love for her but she remains very depressed and so he arranges for an intervention by - ta da - The Fox. Somehow Alexa has herself half in love with Fox and yet doesn't suspect a thing. She then makes a dramatic recovery and Adam disappears on more mysterious business.
Mac turns up at her door wounded and she takes him in. The next thing the militia are at the door and both she and Mac are apprehended and charged with treason.
(I should point out that I do not think that a noble woman helping a wounded man would have resulted in a treason charge and the whole scenario of putting a countess in a filthy cell and treating her like scum, was not overly realistic).
Alexa stands trial for treason and lo and behold Adam appears and gives evidence against her - as one would expect of one's husband, (even though spouses were not compellable witnesses against each other at this time). She is, of course, sentenced to death - after all it is BR land....
Adam interrupts one of the jailers trying to rape Alexa but because he has brought the oh so charming Gwen with him, he just pretty much kisses Alexa and says good bye.
A rescue then takes place , organised by the Fox and the fox and Alexa make love. Only afterwards does she actually finally work out that he is actually Adam and then she decides to have her revenge with Adam by enthusiastically declaring her love for foxy.
He takes her to Nassau and then sails off back to his double life none the wiser.
Alexa decides that it is time to take matters into her own hands and that she will become a privateer. As so common of women of the time, she then bleaches her hair, dons revealing manly clothes and become the Lady Vixen, scourge of the British navy. Seriously...
When her ship is damaged she puts in to a safe harbour on a near by island. The fox is also there and he tries to get it on with her. They have a duel, where the prize is her virtue and of course she looses so that Fox/ Adam gets to shag her and she is outraged because she thinks he doesn't know her identity ( he does) and that this means he's an unfaithful lout. The English attack her ship and she is captured and thrown overboard. Adam rescues her and their secret identities are revealed to each other. The vixen is left to a watery grave, so as to protect Alexa's identity.
They decide that she will return to his savannah plantation under a hidden identity of his mistress Katy but that he must continue to court ( and possibly have sex with) the not so charming Gwen. In fact Gwen catches on and reveals all to the powers that be and the militia capture Adam but creepy Charles ( who's now obsessed with the Vixen) kidnaps the now pregnant Alexa and blackmails her into staying with him on the basis that he will save Adam's life as well as her unborn baby's life. It appears that the author is unaware that they do not execute pregnant women.
Anyway for the book to go on for another 100 pages, it is time for the Big Misunderstanding.
Accordingly, Charles has Adam brought to Alexa on the basis that Alexa must not disclose that she is pregnant and must make Adam believe that she is Charles willing mistress. He promises that he will let Adam go free afterward but actually plots to have him killed. Alexa goes through with the whole thing ( she is -after all -TSTL) declaring that she is Charles' mistress ( not true and Charles has promised not to touch her whilst she's pregnant) and Charles had a good grope in front of Adam just to prove the point.
Of course Adam is rescued by his men but he now hates Alexa and swears revenge.
Alexa manages to escape Charles' house one day and discovers that her father is dead and she is his sole heir. Soon after the war with America comes to an end and so Charles is no longer able to blackmail her with disclosure that she was the Vixen. She leaves him but is distraught when he tells her Adam is dead.
She has a baby boy called David ( who she referred to throughout as Davie - I mean really - she's supposed to be an English aristocrat!!)
Adam turns up and after 3 days in London decides that now is the time to break his marriage vows and has sex with a prostitute.
He then finds his wife and there is a further forced seduction scene. He doesn't believe her and because she has hidden Davie in the country ( for some unfathomable reason) and refuses to disclose his existence ( further stupid reasoning which in reality is only there so as to create further grounds for misunderstanding), he treats her like dirt.
He brings the two prostitutes into her house for dinner and then after leaving one of the women back ( apparently without sex) , he then breaks Alexa's door down and violently rapes her, hurting her. Two minutes later he gives a brief apology and then he makes wild passionate consensual love with her. SERIOUSLY!!!
Alexa goes off on visits to the country to see David but doesn't disclose her purpose to Adam and he becomes jealous so he takes up with the prostitute again( still no sex).
Eventually he realises he loves his wife and chases after her with a view to killing her lover, David, only to find it is his son, that they all love each other and go merrily off to bed together. The end.
Absurdly crazy Plot and I can't honestly say that I actually liked any of them by the end but I couldn't put it down.
Ok, at 100 pages in, and it is self evident that the heroine is: TSTL
The book opens with Lady Alexa celebrating her engagement to the drunken Charles, who tries to force himself on her in the summer house.
This doesn't seem to upset her too much, although she is rather grateful when Adam Foxworth, Earl of Penwell, interrupts and apparently saves the day. Adam however has an ulterior motive, and kidnaps the h and brings her on board a ship, captained by the famous privateer aka The Fox, who is mysteriously never present with Adam. Do you see a possible connection??
Anyway Alexa is told that she will be taken as Adam's mistress and then returned to her father as used goods, all for the purposes of Revenge.
It turns out that Alexa's father had killed Adam's father as the latter had been sleeping with Alexa's mother, who then kills her self in grief. Pet gripe: Alexa's father is called Sir John, which means he is a knight and so she would not be titled as Lady Alexa which is a pretty basic editing mistake.
Adam's grand plan doesn't seem to cause Alexa too many qualms as it is obviously not her fault and when ever she returns to London, her fiancé will marry her and there will be no consequences for her in society??? So she might as well have a good time in the interim? I don't know whether this is supposed to be stunning naivety on the part of the heroine or sheer ignorance on the part of the author.
Also Within minutes of introductions, the heroine is addressing everyone by their first names and again this really bugs me as it is just wrong for the time period.
Anyway the masked Fox approaches her in her cabin and tells her it will be either Penwell or him who will have her first. She puts him off for all of one night before he beds her. She doesn't exactly put up any struggle and in fact has a rather good time and nor does it particularly upset her afterwards. The whole thing was extraordinary. Alexa has warm fuzzy feelings about the Fox from then on.
Thereafter Adam takes her to his castle in Cornwall where he makes it clear he hates her, but beds her solidly for 3 months. The first scene there is feeble struggle but generally thereafter the h just comes across as a bit of a slut.
Generally he makes sure she enjoys it because he doesn't want to hurt her, but on the last night he simply takes her without further ado and then abandons her the next morning. Despite the fact that he hates her and treats her like dirt, she is of course, In Love.
Of course by this stage she is pregnant and when she is returned home, she doesn't exactly receive a warm welcome. Her father is furious and the fact that her fiancé has broken the engagement and that she is an outcast from society seems to come a genuine shock to her. This is despite the fact that she has been shagging Adam for the last 3 months outside of marriage and is pregnant to him and believes she has fallen in love with him. Why on earth would Charles not have waited ?!?
Her father tries to marry her off to a man old enough to be her grandfather, who also tries to rape her, but instead she runs away ( at 18 years of age with some jewellery and a bag of coins) to find Adan's associate Mac, who had actually participated in her kidnapping and known that Adam intended to rape her but had made it clear he would not help her - but somehow has become her best friend. I mean Seriously??
They set sail for America and during the journey Mac pines with love for Alexa ( no one can resist her ?) until he discovers her pregnancy. He then decides to take her to Adam and hope that he will do the right thing. Of course they arrive at Adam's engagement ball to Lady Gwendoline and there is a big scene.
Eventually Adam agrees to do the honourable thing and they marry. Alexa is embarrassed by her obvious pregnancy and Lady Gwendoline makes a point of being a first class b, and continues to try and seduce Adam. During this period, the heroine also starts to espouse pro patriot feeling , which is fairly incredible given that her father was allegedly one of the King's main advisors and she is a British aristocrat married to an English Earl. Adam is also associating with the Tories and apparently acting as a courier for them, or so he tells Alexa ( it doesn't exactly take rocket science to identify his actual loyalties). At the governor's ball, Alexa makes an indiscreet comment and Has to leave. Adam is feeling very randy ( because he'd been admiring his wife's breasts earlier) and when Gwen approaches him, he kisses her and lifts her up with a view to having sex with her. Alexa who had returned for her reticule, sees them and cries out in distress. She runs away and trips, leading to a miscarriage/ still birth.
Adam is guilt stricken ( as only he could be) but makes the point he was only going to shag another woman in order to 'spare' her due to her pregnancy. He's a real prince amongst men!
He declares his love for her but she remains very depressed and so he arranges for an intervention by - ta da - The Fox. Somehow Alexa has herself half in love with Fox and yet doesn't suspect a thing. She then makes a dramatic recovery and Adam disappears on more mysterious business.
Mac turns up at her door wounded and she takes him in. The next thing the militia are at the door and both she and Mac are apprehended and charged with treason.
(I should point out that I do not think that a noble woman helping a wounded man would have resulted in a treason charge and the whole scenario of putting a countess in a filthy cell and treating her like scum, was not overly realistic).
Alexa stands trial for treason and lo and behold Adam appears and gives evidence against her - as one would expect of one's husband, (even though spouses were not compellable witnesses against each other at this time). She is, of course, sentenced to death - after all it is BR land....
Adam interrupts one of the jailers trying to rape Alexa but because he has brought the oh so charming Gwen with him, he just pretty much kisses Alexa and says good bye.
A rescue then takes place , organised by the Fox and the fox and Alexa make love. Only afterwards does she actually finally work out that he is actually Adam and then she decides to have her revenge with Adam by enthusiastically declaring her love for foxy.
He takes her to Nassau and then sails off back to his double life none the wiser.
Alexa decides that it is time to take matters into her own hands and that she will become a privateer. As so common of women of the time, she then bleaches her hair, dons revealing manly clothes and become the Lady Vixen, scourge of the British navy. Seriously...
When her ship is damaged she puts in to a safe harbour on a near by island. The fox is also there and he tries to get it on with her. They have a duel, where the prize is her virtue and of course she looses so that Fox/ Adam gets to shag her and she is outraged because she thinks he doesn't know her identity ( he does) and that this means he's an unfaithful lout. The English attack her ship and she is captured and thrown overboard. Adam rescues her and their secret identities are revealed to each other. The vixen is left to a watery grave, so as to protect Alexa's identity.
They decide that she will return to his savannah plantation under a hidden identity of his mistress Katy but that he must continue to court ( and possibly have sex with) the not so charming Gwen. In fact Gwen catches on and reveals all to the powers that be and the militia capture Adam but creepy Charles ( who's now obsessed with the Vixen) kidnaps the now pregnant Alexa and blackmails her into staying with him on the basis that he will save Adam's life as well as her unborn baby's life. It appears that the author is unaware that they do not execute pregnant women.
Anyway for the book to go on for another 100 pages, it is time for the Big Misunderstanding.
Accordingly, Charles has Adam brought to Alexa on the basis that Alexa must not disclose that she is pregnant and must make Adam believe that she is Charles willing mistress. He promises that he will let Adam go free afterward but actually plots to have him killed. Alexa goes through with the whole thing ( she is -after all -TSTL) declaring that she is Charles' mistress ( not true and Charles has promised not to touch her whilst she's pregnant) and Charles had a good grope in front of Adam just to prove the point.
Of course Adam is rescued by his men but he now hates Alexa and swears revenge.
Alexa manages to escape Charles' house one day and discovers that her father is dead and she is his sole heir. Soon after the war with America comes to an end and so Charles is no longer able to blackmail her with disclosure that she was the Vixen. She leaves him but is distraught when he tells her Adam is dead.
She has a baby boy called David ( who she referred to throughout as Davie - I mean really - she's supposed to be an English aristocrat!!)
Adam turns up and after 3 days in London decides that now is the time to break his marriage vows and has sex with a prostitute.
He then finds his wife and there is a further forced seduction scene. He doesn't believe her and because she has hidden Davie in the country ( for some unfathomable reason) and refuses to disclose his existence ( further stupid reasoning which in reality is only there so as to create further grounds for misunderstanding), he treats her like dirt.
He brings the two prostitutes into her house for dinner and then after leaving one of the women back ( apparently without sex) , he then breaks Alexa's door down and violently rapes her, hurting her. Two minutes later he gives a brief apology and then he makes wild passionate consensual love with her. SERIOUSLY!!!
Alexa goes off on visits to the country to see David but doesn't disclose her purpose to Adam and he becomes jealous so he takes up with the prostitute again( still no sex).
Eventually he realises he loves his wife and chases after her with a view to killing her lover, David, only to find it is his son, that they all love each other and go merrily off to bed together. The end.
Absurdly crazy Plot and I can't honestly say that I actually liked any of them by the end but I couldn't put it down.
March 6, 2019
I have to mention this because it drives me crazy. Why can’t the Kindle covers simply be the gorgeous, over-the-top covers from the first printing? Those mass paperback covers are amazing. The Photoshop covers for Kindle are really, really bad :(
The plot of My Lady Vixen has a few tropes I’m not the biggest fan of. My interest isn’t instantly piqued about sea heroes like pirates or captains and I don't like heroes who have double identities either, but My Lady Vixen is a great read. I enjoyed it as much as I did because Mason did fun and new things with the revenge abduction story and the double identity story that I haven't read before.
Revenge is more of a meet-cute than the actual story of the plot.
Adam Foxworth is out to avenge the death of his father by kidnapping the daughter of his nemesis, Alexa Ashley, and hightailing them both to his castle for you know what. I expected the vengeance theme to carry the action of the narrative through but we quickly move on from this with Adam and Alexa's marriage. In fact, Adam barely remembers he had a lifelong vendetta against Alexa’s father for the majority of the story hereinafter, and even during the abduction, Mason makes it clear that both are falling in love with each other. It resurfaces as part of the Big Misunderstanding at the end of the story. I'm so impressed by that move. I love that! I've read a few revenge stories where the plot revolves around this, and this runs out of steam far sooner than you might think.
Alexa beats Adam at his own game by taking on a superhero disguise of her own, the American rebel and female match to the Fox, as the Vixen.
“The Vixen has taught me a lot of things, one of which is to fight for the right to live as I see fit. Never again will I become a victim. If I must die for my convictions then so be it.”
Alexa gets the short end of the stick for the first part of the book, and this makes her transformation and independence so much more of a win. She is the first heroine I’ve read that commands her own ship! That’s awesome, even as I’m still lol-ing at her montage to get to that level: “At long last everything she had toiled so tirelessly toward for these past three months was about to be fulfilled.”
Aside from Jennifer Blake’s Embrace and Conquer with an absolutely captivating and action-packed female duel scene, I have not read anything as original and well executed as that of the Vixen. We need more HRs like this.
The plot of My Lady Vixen has a few tropes I’m not the biggest fan of. My interest isn’t instantly piqued about sea heroes like pirates or captains and I don't like heroes who have double identities either, but My Lady Vixen is a great read. I enjoyed it as much as I did because Mason did fun and new things with the revenge abduction story and the double identity story that I haven't read before.
Revenge is more of a meet-cute than the actual story of the plot.
Adam Foxworth is out to avenge the death of his father by kidnapping the daughter of his nemesis, Alexa Ashley, and hightailing them both to his castle for you know what. I expected the vengeance theme to carry the action of the narrative through but we quickly move on from this with Adam and Alexa's marriage. In fact, Adam barely remembers he had a lifelong vendetta against Alexa’s father for the majority of the story hereinafter, and even during the abduction, Mason makes it clear that both are falling in love with each other. It resurfaces as part of the Big Misunderstanding at the end of the story. I'm so impressed by that move. I love that! I've read a few revenge stories where the plot revolves around this, and this runs out of steam far sooner than you might think.
Alexa beats Adam at his own game by taking on a superhero disguise of her own, the American rebel and female match to the Fox, as the Vixen.
“The Vixen has taught me a lot of things, one of which is to fight for the right to live as I see fit. Never again will I become a victim. If I must die for my convictions then so be it.”
Alexa gets the short end of the stick for the first part of the book, and this makes her transformation and independence so much more of a win. She is the first heroine I’ve read that commands her own ship! That’s awesome, even as I’m still lol-ing at her montage to get to that level: “At long last everything she had toiled so tirelessly toward for these past three months was about to be fulfilled.”
Aside from Jennifer Blake’s Embrace and Conquer with an absolutely captivating and action-packed female duel scene, I have not read anything as original and well executed as that of the Vixen. We need more HRs like this.
June 10, 2015
Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
So the basic premise is this: Adam Foxworth’s father died in a duel with Alexa Ashley’s father, because Adam’s father was banging Alexa’s mother, and Adam swore revenge upon Alexa’s father. 15 years later, Adam has some how become the Earl of Penwell, and kidnaps Alexa from her own engagement ball (after her fiancé tries to claim his husbandly rights by force) and spirits her away to his remote castle in Cornwall. His intention is to ruin her by banging her senseless for a week or so before delivering her back to her father, ruined in reputation, blah blah blah.
There are a lot of words in this book to describe not a lot happening. I mean, a lot happens, but I distilled it down into a two page summary.
Look, it’s ridic.
As far as consent issues go, on a scale of Courtney Milan to Bertrice Small, it’s just to the left of Joanna Lindsay. While Alexa is a prisoner in Adam’s castle, and they have a LOT of sex (look, just assume that in between all of the events, there’s a lot of nipple teasing), she’s into it. At first she is coerced but then she’s super into it (he’s REALLY good at the sexing). And while she’s threatened with rape a lot, she isn’t actually raped.
I’m a sucker for a good pirate story. They tend to have the best vintage of crazysauce. This was…not great? Alexa becomes the greatest pirate queen evar with three months of training. It’s ridiculous. Did I mention she had purple eyes? Cuz she did.
I don’t know, I found myself rolling my eyes and making sounds of “pffffffft” disgust through the whole book, and now that I’m done with it, I give no fucks about it. That’s the biggest crime, is that this crazysauce is bland and lacks staying power. I’m giving it a D for effort.
- Redheadedgirl
So the basic premise is this: Adam Foxworth’s father died in a duel with Alexa Ashley’s father, because Adam’s father was banging Alexa’s mother, and Adam swore revenge upon Alexa’s father. 15 years later, Adam has some how become the Earl of Penwell, and kidnaps Alexa from her own engagement ball (after her fiancé tries to claim his husbandly rights by force) and spirits her away to his remote castle in Cornwall. His intention is to ruin her by banging her senseless for a week or so before delivering her back to her father, ruined in reputation, blah blah blah.
There are a lot of words in this book to describe not a lot happening. I mean, a lot happens, but I distilled it down into a two page summary.
Look, it’s ridic.
As far as consent issues go, on a scale of Courtney Milan to Bertrice Small, it’s just to the left of Joanna Lindsay. While Alexa is a prisoner in Adam’s castle, and they have a LOT of sex (look, just assume that in between all of the events, there’s a lot of nipple teasing), she’s into it. At first she is coerced but then she’s super into it (he’s REALLY good at the sexing). And while she’s threatened with rape a lot, she isn’t actually raped.
I’m a sucker for a good pirate story. They tend to have the best vintage of crazysauce. This was…not great? Alexa becomes the greatest pirate queen evar with three months of training. It’s ridiculous. Did I mention she had purple eyes? Cuz she did.
I don’t know, I found myself rolling my eyes and making sounds of “pffffffft” disgust through the whole book, and now that I’m done with it, I give no fucks about it. That’s the biggest crime, is that this crazysauce is bland and lacks staying power. I’m giving it a D for effort.
- Redheadedgirl
December 24, 2007
Set in 1763, mostly in England this book was one of the worst historical romance books I have ever had the misfortune to read. In hindsight, I should have thrown it in the trash long before finishing it, but being a fan of this author I could not believe the premise this one took and thought it would turn around. It didn't.
The main male character (Adam) was a complete asshole that never redeemed himself. His character started out with him on a
mission of revenge for something Alexa's family did and she knew nothing about. He kidnapped and raped her over a period of a month or two with the sole intention of getting her pregnant and dropping her back on her father's doorstep. Alex abused her!
To make matters worse, Alexa's father--who adored her--kicked her to the street. So much for unconditional parental love. She ended up going to America to seek out the...jerk (#$%#*#**) AKA father of her child. All the while, Alex has been having sex with another woman.
It just got worse. Adam had sex with different females including a prostitute. Treated Alexa like dirt and she LOVED him.
This one sent my tolerance meter through the roof! Alex should have been taken out and shot--along with dear old dad.
And what the heck is up with using h/h that have names so much alike? Blah!
The main male character (Adam) was a complete asshole that never redeemed himself. His character started out with him on a
mission of revenge for something Alexa's family did and she knew nothing about. He kidnapped and raped her over a period of a month or two with the sole intention of getting her pregnant and dropping her back on her father's doorstep. Alex abused her!
To make matters worse, Alexa's father--who adored her--kicked her to the street. So much for unconditional parental love. She ended up going to America to seek out the...jerk (#$%#*#**) AKA father of her child. All the while, Alex has been having sex with another woman.
It just got worse. Adam had sex with different females including a prostitute. Treated Alexa like dirt and she LOVED him.
This one sent my tolerance meter through the roof! Alex should have been taken out and shot--along with dear old dad.
And what the heck is up with using h/h that have names so much alike? Blah!
August 24, 2016
No, no, no. What kind of a hero is this?
February 28, 2020
I'm a huge Connie Mason fan, but this cheating hero was just too disgusting at times! Heroine deserved better!
March 14, 2019
DNF on page 314. Just can't get into this book. The story is too ridiculous without being fun.
Read
October 21, 2020I tried so hard to get through this book, but pleasure reading shouldn't be work, ya know? So couldn't do it - DNF'ed at about 50-60% when the heroine brandishes a blonde wig to take on an alter-ego pirate as a parallel to the hero's alter-ego pirate. I am not kidding. I will say that the first half was enthralling until it took that real left turn. I will also say that I have liked other books by this author, so wouldn't judge her works based on this one.
October 19, 2011
I was torn throughout on this one. The author successfully engaged my emotions and enlisted my empathy for the heroine, so I have to say I liked it on the whole. But that's also why I was so frustrated through the story, and why I really needed to see the alpha-jerk "hero" show real, honest remorse, not just "gee, sweetie, I'm sorry I hurt your little feelings," but a real gut check that shows he's a better man.
The "hero" initially abducts the heroine as part of a scheme to avenge his father, who was killed by her father in a duel when they both were very young. He reckons it would be payment in kind if he took from her father someone he loved. He plans to take the heroine, rape her awhile (and yes, honey, it's rape if she says no, even if you manage to force her to eventually start responding), then return her, shamed and ruined, to her father. His best friend, a decent enough guy, knows and disapproves of the plan but he won't help her even when she begs. Later this guy has the hypocrisy to be angry with the hero when her father casts her out and she's left pregnant. Never is he angry with himself for not doing the right thing, and that's the problem all through the story.
Again and again the hero does things intentionally to hurt her. He says he's sorry when he realizes he misunderstood the situation, but you can only say you're sorry so many times before anyone with a brain realizes that you're really not. That's not love and it's not a HEA. This one gets three stars because I cared enough to get angry, but it loses two because the hero really didn't deserve to get the girl.
The "hero" initially abducts the heroine as part of a scheme to avenge his father, who was killed by her father in a duel when they both were very young. He reckons it would be payment in kind if he took from her father someone he loved. He plans to take the heroine, rape her awhile (and yes, honey, it's rape if she says no, even if you manage to force her to eventually start responding), then return her, shamed and ruined, to her father. His best friend, a decent enough guy, knows and disapproves of the plan but he won't help her even when she begs. Later this guy has the hypocrisy to be angry with the hero when her father casts her out and she's left pregnant. Never is he angry with himself for not doing the right thing, and that's the problem all through the story.
Again and again the hero does things intentionally to hurt her. He says he's sorry when he realizes he misunderstood the situation, but you can only say you're sorry so many times before anyone with a brain realizes that you're really not. That's not love and it's not a HEA. This one gets three stars because I cared enough to get angry, but it loses two because the hero really didn't deserve to get the girl.
December 30, 2013
This book came out in the 'Bodice Ripper' era of books. And none of these books have aged well. What was acceptable in the 80's and 90's is just not considered romantic now. This one is not one of Connie Mason's that aged well. I suggest Black Knight if you are looking for a good read from this author.
May 14, 2020
A SOLID 3.5 STARS!
IS IT CRAZY TO LOVE AND HATE A STORY AT THE SAME TIME?
This held a Connie Mason classic storytelling, but sometimes I just don't like the way she introduces conflict between her characters or how stupid she makes the hero looks. Is this a mandatory in bodice rippers' story?
ADAM witnessed his father getting killed in a duel vowed to take his revenge on the man responsible. Years later when he's all grown, Adam holds a dual identity that you will discover right from the start...I mean it's quite obvious when you think about it. But I'm just going to talk about Adam and not his other persona if not I'll be spoiling all the fun. So Adam kidnaps the beautiful Alexa from her own house party and thought to ruin her for Daddy dearest, then send her back. But, he's pretty much captivated by her and 1-2 weeks turns to 3 months where he also gets her pregnant. Adam having his own set of plans, sends Alexa back to a family who doesn't want her and when she's in the family way, it's even harder to fit back in.
Personally, I thought he acted dishonorably and was a first class asshole.
Why? Because.....
ONE he got the heroine pregnant without regards to her but his lust. Okay, in his defense he hadn't a clue, but GOSH, one would think having sex without protection for 3 months would result in something!
TWO He thought of himself, getting rid of her the moment his feelings complicated things and he got confused. It's a CLASSIC angst instigator for any romance novel.
THREE The classic C.M scene where the hero always believes that the heroine is leaving him for the antagonist just pisses me off. Because it shows how weak his love and trust in her is. After all they've been through, how could he just give up? This was the part I absolutely hated because it just seemed so stupid. Imagine it's a scenario where if someone willingly takes a bullet for you, but then tells you they don't love you and he/she is leaving with someone else. DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE?!
FOUR Despite his agreeing to marry Alexa, I can't shake the feeling that he did it under duress. Come on, the man was going to propose to another woman that night when his friend dragged a pregnant Alexa to his estate in Savannah.
FIVE LUST is the devil in disguise. Adam causes his wife to miscarriage when she fell because she caught him almost doing the DEED with his ex-lover. Why? Because Adam lusted for his pregnant wife and needed an outlet. He's also intoxicated, so when a woman jumps at him..he's like Why Not? I need a good fuck anyway, and any hole is as good as one.
This was me :
Well this pretty much describes Adam in the RELATIONSHIP sense. He may be a good lover but he seriously sucks in handling his emotions. When part 2 of the story began where Alexa runs away and becomes THE VIXEN, I'm only glad that Adam recognised his own wife before he started seducing her because it would seriously look bad for him to fuck someone else while his wife was supposed to be waiting for him back in their home.
On the other hand, Adam's fighting for a cause in the war between the Brits and the Americans. So in that sense at least he's capable of DOING Something good for the people. Although, it's a life that certainly endangers those around him, especially the poor Alexa who got arrested by association.
ALEXA is a brave and strong heroine for her time. She started off as a gullible and all rainbows & roses kind of lady but when she's kidnapped by Adam and tossed into a world so different from all the glitz, I guess she kind of grew up quickly. I won't say she was mistreated, but it still wasn't fair treatment to her. She got seduced by Adam/Captain Fox and then he abandoned her while she's pregnant. Sent back home, she's no longer welcomed with open arms and soon finds Mac, Adam's friend who brings her back to Savannah, to confront Adam on his engagement night. Turns out, Adam decided to BE HONORABLE and RESPONSIBLE and married her. Alexa only wedded for the sake of her baby, the one she loves whole-heartedly but like I mentioned, she had a miscarriage that nearly broke her. Okay, at least when she's going through depression, Adam was desperate to bring her back and help her heal because he admitted IT WAS HIS FAULT. Alexa's pretty much dragged through the mud due to her associated with Adam...I'm not sure if it was a good or bad thing for her. She got arrested and kept in a filthy prison, harassed by the guards and almost executed by hanging just because people thought she's a patriot supporter. The reason she got caught in the first place was because she's married to the Fox. LOL.
PART 2, when Alexa discovers her husband's secret identity, she plots a silly revenge to be her own woman and becomes THE VIXEN after learning the tricks of captaining a ship from Mac. Husband and wife play their own little game of NOT giving in to the other and pretending to be different people. But, when Alexa is almost killed, Adam once again rescues his wife and finally forbids her to put her life in anymore danger.
OVERALL this was a very dramatic story. No Lie. One moment I wanted to hit Adam in the face for his stupid decisions and mistakes, then another you want to congratulate him for being human and having a heart. I can't give this a full 4 stars or more because seriously, the hero was stupid. And the heroine...well...she got the short end of the stick.
IS IT CRAZY TO LOVE AND HATE A STORY AT THE SAME TIME?
This held a Connie Mason classic storytelling, but sometimes I just don't like the way she introduces conflict between her characters or how stupid she makes the hero looks. Is this a mandatory in bodice rippers' story?
ADAM witnessed his father getting killed in a duel vowed to take his revenge on the man responsible. Years later when he's all grown, Adam holds a dual identity that you will discover right from the start...I mean it's quite obvious when you think about it. But I'm just going to talk about Adam and not his other persona if not I'll be spoiling all the fun. So Adam kidnaps the beautiful Alexa from her own house party and thought to ruin her for Daddy dearest, then send her back. But, he's pretty much captivated by her and 1-2 weeks turns to 3 months where he also gets her pregnant. Adam having his own set of plans, sends Alexa back to a family who doesn't want her and when she's in the family way, it's even harder to fit back in.
Personally, I thought he acted dishonorably and was a first class asshole.
Why? Because.....
ONE he got the heroine pregnant without regards to her but his lust. Okay, in his defense he hadn't a clue, but GOSH, one would think having sex without protection for 3 months would result in something!
TWO He thought of himself, getting rid of her the moment his feelings complicated things and he got confused. It's a CLASSIC angst instigator for any romance novel.
THREE The classic C.M scene where the hero always believes that the heroine is leaving him for the antagonist just pisses me off. Because it shows how weak his love and trust in her is. After all they've been through, how could he just give up? This was the part I absolutely hated because it just seemed so stupid. Imagine it's a scenario where if someone willingly takes a bullet for you, but then tells you they don't love you and he/she is leaving with someone else. DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE?!
FOUR Despite his agreeing to marry Alexa, I can't shake the feeling that he did it under duress. Come on, the man was going to propose to another woman that night when his friend dragged a pregnant Alexa to his estate in Savannah.
FIVE LUST is the devil in disguise. Adam causes his wife to miscarriage when she fell because she caught him almost doing the DEED with his ex-lover. Why? Because Adam lusted for his pregnant wife and needed an outlet. He's also intoxicated, so when a woman jumps at him..he's like Why Not? I need a good fuck anyway, and any hole is as good as one.
This was me :
Well this pretty much describes Adam in the RELATIONSHIP sense. He may be a good lover but he seriously sucks in handling his emotions. When part 2 of the story began where Alexa runs away and becomes THE VIXEN, I'm only glad that Adam recognised his own wife before he started seducing her because it would seriously look bad for him to fuck someone else while his wife was supposed to be waiting for him back in their home.
On the other hand, Adam's fighting for a cause in the war between the Brits and the Americans. So in that sense at least he's capable of DOING Something good for the people. Although, it's a life that certainly endangers those around him, especially the poor Alexa who got arrested by association.
ALEXA is a brave and strong heroine for her time. She started off as a gullible and all rainbows & roses kind of lady but when she's kidnapped by Adam and tossed into a world so different from all the glitz, I guess she kind of grew up quickly. I won't say she was mistreated, but it still wasn't fair treatment to her. She got seduced by Adam/Captain Fox and then he abandoned her while she's pregnant. Sent back home, she's no longer welcomed with open arms and soon finds Mac, Adam's friend who brings her back to Savannah, to confront Adam on his engagement night. Turns out, Adam decided to BE HONORABLE and RESPONSIBLE and married her. Alexa only wedded for the sake of her baby, the one she loves whole-heartedly but like I mentioned, she had a miscarriage that nearly broke her. Okay, at least when she's going through depression, Adam was desperate to bring her back and help her heal because he admitted IT WAS HIS FAULT. Alexa's pretty much dragged through the mud due to her associated with Adam...I'm not sure if it was a good or bad thing for her. She got arrested and kept in a filthy prison, harassed by the guards and almost executed by hanging just because people thought she's a patriot supporter. The reason she got caught in the first place was because she's married to the Fox. LOL.
PART 2, when Alexa discovers her husband's secret identity, she plots a silly revenge to be her own woman and becomes THE VIXEN after learning the tricks of captaining a ship from Mac. Husband and wife play their own little game of NOT giving in to the other and pretending to be different people. But, when Alexa is almost killed, Adam once again rescues his wife and finally forbids her to put her life in anymore danger.
OVERALL this was a very dramatic story. No Lie. One moment I wanted to hit Adam in the face for his stupid decisions and mistakes, then another you want to congratulate him for being human and having a heart. I can't give this a full 4 stars or more because seriously, the hero was stupid. And the heroine...well...she got the short end of the stick.
April 25, 2019
In italiano è uscito con il titolo rapita ,un libro magnifico sui pirati con tanta passione amore e vendetta.
May 7, 2020
It is a very good story and the writing was beautiful but all the men are trash
July 29, 2022
It started off good, but ended up crummy, with a lot of mess thrown in. I read this (or part of it, as I skimmed through quite a lot) partly because I liked several of Ms. Mason's novels (though a couple should never have been published) but also because of the time period it's set in, as I have a weakness for anything from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 (must be past life flashes). However, just like you shouldn't judge a book by its cover (and I've made that mistake more than once), you shouldn't judge a novel by its time period. Just because it's set in the 1770's, doesn't mean it's worth reading.
It starts out intriguing, with a duel to the death witnessed by a woman and a boy of about 12 or 13. It picks up 15 years later, and you find out that the woman was the mother of the , (Alexa), and the man killed in the duel was the father of the boy, the H of the novel (Adam). He's determined to get revenge on the father through the daughter, and kidnaps her from her engagement party (but first he rescues her from being raped by her drunk fiance, Charles), and forces her to be his mistress (though it goes without saying the sex is great for them both), then has her returned to her father after three months, hoping the disgrace and scandal will kill ruin him, not seeming to care what it did to her. He was reluctantly aided by his friend/shipmate, Mac, who falls for Alexa. (Of course, Adam's conscience acts up a bit, but he ignores it.) Alexa, meanwhile, has kept quiet about being pregnant.
After the kidnapping, she was taken aboard ship, and meets the infamous, mysterious, masked privateer/pirate known as "The Fox", apparently also helping Adam, who then seduces Alexa. Consequently, she can't be sure who her baby daddy is. (BTW: Adam's last name if Foxworth, and if that doesn't give you a clue, you're not thinking too well.)
Not surprisingly, she's ostracized by former friends and the rest of the aristocracy, and Charles has moved on with another engagement, but here's where the book begins to falter. No matter how cold and hardhearted a man her father was (his wife's betrayal made him worse, but he was never any bargain and the marriage was a loveless arranged one), I still find it difficult to believe he would blame her, call her nasty names, and want nothing to do with her, beyond arranging a marriage to a lecherous elderly man, who desperately wants an heir before he croaks, figuring Alexa could pass the baby off as his. When this "charming" man pays a visit, he tries to prove he can still stand erect by attempting to rape Alexa. (GROSS!!) She manages to escape, with the help of Mac, who (unbeknownst to Alexa) takes her to Adam's home in Savannah, GA, where he was about to announce his engagement to the governor's niece, Gwen. One look at Alexa's baby bump changes those plans. He decides to do his duty, Mac (who had fallen for Alexa) offers her marriage and a name for her child if Alex won't go through with it, Gwen barges in and adds fuel to the fire, and Alexa explodes that she doesn't want either of them.
TALK ABOUT CONVOLUTED!!!
And it gets worse!
(I want to add that, while I can't blame Alexa for not being overcome with gratitude where Adam was concerned, there was no excuse for her rudeness to Mac, who had her welfare at heat, was a good friend, and wanted to marry her because he really cared. She could have been a little grateful.
Adam and Alexa get married, but they're still more like strangers, and aside from their wedding night, they don't have sex, because Adam's afraid he'll hurt the baby as her pregnancy advances, while she thinks it's because she's fat and unattractive. Adam is frequently away on secret missions for the governor, apparently a proper Tory, despite his association with patriots Mac and The Fox. Alexa, meanwhile, sympathizes with the colonists. By coincidence (yeah, right), every time Adam's away, The Fox gets involved in another exploit at sea, capturing British ships. Completely clueless, Alexa never makes a connection.
After a disastrous time at the governor's mansion, where Alexa makes the mistake of voicing her political views, Alexa catches Adam and Gwen making out (despite moving on with another man, she still wants Adam's body), as he'd been feeling very horny and Gwen would save him a trip to the brothel.
Now, I saw this coming: Alexa runs off in anger, falls down, and ends up losing the baby. Apparently, the impact of the fall on her stomach crushed the baby's head!! talk about nonsense, as well as unnecessary! Too many HR writers seem to get a kick out of making the h lose a baby while she's advanced in pregnancy; personally, I think that SUCKS!! Alexa's depressed, no longer sure she wants her marriage to continue, and needs something to snap her out of it, and what do you know??? The Fox returns!! Another amazing coincidence!!! And she still hasn't got a clue!! She thinks she has feelings for two men, and feels guilty about it. (Funny how she didn't feel guilty about not telling Adam the baby might not have been his, or so she thought.)
More convoluted nonsense follows, as Adam does disappearing acts simultaneous to The Fox striking again, Mac is wounded, turns t Alexa for help, and is accused of being The Fox and arrested, along with Alexa, for harboring an enemy of the Crown (The Fox's mask was found in the house, as further evidence) and there's no word from Adam, and weeks go by. Finally, after enduring filthy prison conditions, guards who grope and nearly rape her, a trial where she's sentenced to death, Adam in the courtroom with Gwen by this side, and a visit from him in her cell, on the day she's to be hung, with Gwen in to, while he gives a rather weak apology for not being able to be at her side (he's apparently been spying for the Governor, against the Patriots) she's rescued by none other than The Fox, and taken aboard his ship, where he makes passionate love to her, and when his mask slips off during the night.....
Here's where the stupidity factor kicks in! It seems Adam/Fox wanted to tell her everything while he visited her in jail, (he had been wounded while on Fox business, which explained his absence as well as the mask being discovered, when he managed to get home; pretty careless, don't you think?) but was prevented by Gwen, who wouldn't leave his side. WTF!!! Why did she have to accompany him in the first place, and why couldn't he have asked for a moment alone with Alexa? Is he so afraid of getting Gwen angry? Was he wounded in his balls?
So now, Alexa's so enraged that he's been making a fool out of her that she decides to turn the tables and make a fool out of him, by becoming a masked lady pirate and having two identities as well. More WTF!!! And it all comes about with blonde hair dye and pirate training in just three months, then she's ready to take on The Fox and beast him at his own game! Oh, really???? It's one thing for a HR writer to tell a great story, it's another to insult her reader's intelligence, and I take umbrage with that! Are we really supposed to believe that a young woman from the aristocracy who was brought up as a lady is going to become a nautical force to be reckoned with, capturing ships left and right??? Give me a break!!! I've read books where there were female pirates, but they were either brought up among pirates or else they'd had tough lives from the start, they didn't go from holding a flirting fan t wielding a cutlass! Only three months, and she's the equal of men who've been at sea for years??? Please, Ms. Mason, get real, at least a little! How many crews are going to take orders from 19 year old girl (or a 19 year old guy, for that matter.) It takes a certain type of woman to be a pirate, and Alexa's not it!
If Ms. Mason had been smart, (or if I had written this book), I would have had Alexa team up with a rival of Adam's, become his mistress and help him in his exploits, that would have been a great revenge, not this ridiculousness where she wears a mask and seduces Adam, then gets jealous because he likes "Lady Vixen" better than Alexa! Is she forgetting that she couldn't make up her mind between Adam and The Fox, slept with them both, and married Adam while not being sure if she was really carrying The Fox's child? So why be angry with Adam for supposedly being torn between Alexa and Lady Vixen? All this foolishness, and a double standard, too!
I just skimmed the rest of the book, because I had a feeling it would get even more ridiculous, and I wasn't wrong. Soon, Charles returns to the story, discovers The Vixen's true identity, saves her from hanging (she makes a habit of this fate), but only so he can force her to become his mistress, by threatening Adam's life. Adam knows of her dual identity, but doesn't know she's only pretending to be Charles's mistress. and won't believe she's pregnant with his baby, not Charles's. Apparently, when their son is born, Alexa keeps him hidden and Adam thinks she has a secret lover. (ANOTHER WFT!!!)
And as if it couldn't get any worse, Ms. Mason decides to follow that rule of early HR books, where the h just has to get raped, because after all, readers expect it, don't they? Whether it's the H, the villain, or just some horny guy in the neighborhood, it has to happen, because everyone will be disappointed if it doesn't, right?
HELL NO!!!
And So I bid this foolishness Adieu, as I couldn't stand to read anymore. If I were Connie Mason, I'd forget I ever wrote this nonsense, or say someone else did, and used my name. Or I'd die of embarrassment.
It starts out intriguing, with a duel to the death witnessed by a woman and a boy of about 12 or 13. It picks up 15 years later, and you find out that the woman was the mother of the , (Alexa), and the man killed in the duel was the father of the boy, the H of the novel (Adam). He's determined to get revenge on the father through the daughter, and kidnaps her from her engagement party (but first he rescues her from being raped by her drunk fiance, Charles), and forces her to be his mistress (though it goes without saying the sex is great for them both), then has her returned to her father after three months, hoping the disgrace and scandal will kill ruin him, not seeming to care what it did to her. He was reluctantly aided by his friend/shipmate, Mac, who falls for Alexa. (Of course, Adam's conscience acts up a bit, but he ignores it.) Alexa, meanwhile, has kept quiet about being pregnant.
After the kidnapping, she was taken aboard ship, and meets the infamous, mysterious, masked privateer/pirate known as "The Fox", apparently also helping Adam, who then seduces Alexa. Consequently, she can't be sure who her baby daddy is. (BTW: Adam's last name if Foxworth, and if that doesn't give you a clue, you're not thinking too well.)
Not surprisingly, she's ostracized by former friends and the rest of the aristocracy, and Charles has moved on with another engagement, but here's where the book begins to falter. No matter how cold and hardhearted a man her father was (his wife's betrayal made him worse, but he was never any bargain and the marriage was a loveless arranged one), I still find it difficult to believe he would blame her, call her nasty names, and want nothing to do with her, beyond arranging a marriage to a lecherous elderly man, who desperately wants an heir before he croaks, figuring Alexa could pass the baby off as his. When this "charming" man pays a visit, he tries to prove he can still stand erect by attempting to rape Alexa. (GROSS!!) She manages to escape, with the help of Mac, who (unbeknownst to Alexa) takes her to Adam's home in Savannah, GA, where he was about to announce his engagement to the governor's niece, Gwen. One look at Alexa's baby bump changes those plans. He decides to do his duty, Mac (who had fallen for Alexa) offers her marriage and a name for her child if Alex won't go through with it, Gwen barges in and adds fuel to the fire, and Alexa explodes that she doesn't want either of them.
TALK ABOUT CONVOLUTED!!!
And it gets worse!
(I want to add that, while I can't blame Alexa for not being overcome with gratitude where Adam was concerned, there was no excuse for her rudeness to Mac, who had her welfare at heat, was a good friend, and wanted to marry her because he really cared. She could have been a little grateful.
Adam and Alexa get married, but they're still more like strangers, and aside from their wedding night, they don't have sex, because Adam's afraid he'll hurt the baby as her pregnancy advances, while she thinks it's because she's fat and unattractive. Adam is frequently away on secret missions for the governor, apparently a proper Tory, despite his association with patriots Mac and The Fox. Alexa, meanwhile, sympathizes with the colonists. By coincidence (yeah, right), every time Adam's away, The Fox gets involved in another exploit at sea, capturing British ships. Completely clueless, Alexa never makes a connection.
After a disastrous time at the governor's mansion, where Alexa makes the mistake of voicing her political views, Alexa catches Adam and Gwen making out (despite moving on with another man, she still wants Adam's body), as he'd been feeling very horny and Gwen would save him a trip to the brothel.
Now, I saw this coming: Alexa runs off in anger, falls down, and ends up losing the baby. Apparently, the impact of the fall on her stomach crushed the baby's head!! talk about nonsense, as well as unnecessary! Too many HR writers seem to get a kick out of making the h lose a baby while she's advanced in pregnancy; personally, I think that SUCKS!! Alexa's depressed, no longer sure she wants her marriage to continue, and needs something to snap her out of it, and what do you know??? The Fox returns!! Another amazing coincidence!!! And she still hasn't got a clue!! She thinks she has feelings for two men, and feels guilty about it. (Funny how she didn't feel guilty about not telling Adam the baby might not have been his, or so she thought.)
More convoluted nonsense follows, as Adam does disappearing acts simultaneous to The Fox striking again, Mac is wounded, turns t Alexa for help, and is accused of being The Fox and arrested, along with Alexa, for harboring an enemy of the Crown (The Fox's mask was found in the house, as further evidence) and there's no word from Adam, and weeks go by. Finally, after enduring filthy prison conditions, guards who grope and nearly rape her, a trial where she's sentenced to death, Adam in the courtroom with Gwen by this side, and a visit from him in her cell, on the day she's to be hung, with Gwen in to, while he gives a rather weak apology for not being able to be at her side (he's apparently been spying for the Governor, against the Patriots) she's rescued by none other than The Fox, and taken aboard his ship, where he makes passionate love to her, and when his mask slips off during the night.....
Here's where the stupidity factor kicks in! It seems Adam/Fox wanted to tell her everything while he visited her in jail, (he had been wounded while on Fox business, which explained his absence as well as the mask being discovered, when he managed to get home; pretty careless, don't you think?) but was prevented by Gwen, who wouldn't leave his side. WTF!!! Why did she have to accompany him in the first place, and why couldn't he have asked for a moment alone with Alexa? Is he so afraid of getting Gwen angry? Was he wounded in his balls?
So now, Alexa's so enraged that he's been making a fool out of her that she decides to turn the tables and make a fool out of him, by becoming a masked lady pirate and having two identities as well. More WTF!!! And it all comes about with blonde hair dye and pirate training in just three months, then she's ready to take on The Fox and beast him at his own game! Oh, really???? It's one thing for a HR writer to tell a great story, it's another to insult her reader's intelligence, and I take umbrage with that! Are we really supposed to believe that a young woman from the aristocracy who was brought up as a lady is going to become a nautical force to be reckoned with, capturing ships left and right??? Give me a break!!! I've read books where there were female pirates, but they were either brought up among pirates or else they'd had tough lives from the start, they didn't go from holding a flirting fan t wielding a cutlass! Only three months, and she's the equal of men who've been at sea for years??? Please, Ms. Mason, get real, at least a little! How many crews are going to take orders from 19 year old girl (or a 19 year old guy, for that matter.) It takes a certain type of woman to be a pirate, and Alexa's not it!
If Ms. Mason had been smart, (or if I had written this book), I would have had Alexa team up with a rival of Adam's, become his mistress and help him in his exploits, that would have been a great revenge, not this ridiculousness where she wears a mask and seduces Adam, then gets jealous because he likes "Lady Vixen" better than Alexa! Is she forgetting that she couldn't make up her mind between Adam and The Fox, slept with them both, and married Adam while not being sure if she was really carrying The Fox's child? So why be angry with Adam for supposedly being torn between Alexa and Lady Vixen? All this foolishness, and a double standard, too!
I just skimmed the rest of the book, because I had a feeling it would get even more ridiculous, and I wasn't wrong. Soon, Charles returns to the story, discovers The Vixen's true identity, saves her from hanging (she makes a habit of this fate), but only so he can force her to become his mistress, by threatening Adam's life. Adam knows of her dual identity, but doesn't know she's only pretending to be Charles's mistress. and won't believe she's pregnant with his baby, not Charles's. Apparently, when their son is born, Alexa keeps him hidden and Adam thinks she has a secret lover. (ANOTHER WFT!!!)
And as if it couldn't get any worse, Ms. Mason decides to follow that rule of early HR books, where the h just has to get raped, because after all, readers expect it, don't they? Whether it's the H, the villain, or just some horny guy in the neighborhood, it has to happen, because everyone will be disappointed if it doesn't, right?
HELL NO!!!
And So I bid this foolishness Adieu, as I couldn't stand to read anymore. If I were Connie Mason, I'd forget I ever wrote this nonsense, or say someone else did, and used my name. Or I'd die of embarrassment.
June 21, 2019
That was so good!! Even though, I must admit, the plot was wildly unrealistic. The characters were so driven by revenge. Alexa's scheme to be Lady Vixen was pretty over the top. I knew from the very beginning that Fox was Adam. It was kinda crazy how Alexa didn't realize. Fox was so sweet and swoon-worthy. I'm glad that they had another kid at the end to make up for the one that was miscarried. That was really sad how that son died because his father was thinking of bedding another woman.
The book was very exciting all the way through.
Also, how did Mac become her best friend? He refused to help her (in the beginning).
Alexa's breasts seemed to always be on display too, lol. Oh, and she was so beautiful that every man wanted her.
The book was very exciting all the way through.
Also, how did Mac become her best friend? He refused to help her (in the beginning).
Alexa's breasts seemed to always be on display too, lol. Oh, and she was so beautiful that every man wanted her.
March 15, 2015
Hmm... This book was cheesy, unrealistic, weird, boring at times, exciting at some point, ridiculous, laughable, silly... but entertaining.
(spoiler alert)
What bugged me the most was the fact that after sleeping with Adam as both him and the Fox MANY TIMES she couldn't tell he was the same man. This was just ridiculous!
You don't need to see a person's face to recognize them if you're having sex with them, fgs! People have scars, beauty spots, a personal scent & taste.
But what's worse, Adam could tell the Vixen was his wife just by looking at her naked body... talk about making a heroine TSTL.
(spoiler alert)
What bugged me the most was the fact that after sleeping with Adam as both him and the Fox MANY TIMES she couldn't tell he was the same man. This was just ridiculous!
You don't need to see a person's face to recognize them if you're having sex with them, fgs! People have scars, beauty spots, a personal scent & taste.
But what's worse, Adam could tell the Vixen was his wife just by looking at her naked body... talk about making a heroine TSTL.
October 28, 2011
Typical bodice ripper with forced seduction, adultery, revenge, jealousy, love triangles, lots of adventure. Characterizations were not overly connecting with me, but there was lots of excitement with the plot. It seemed very Beatrice Small to me with the characters really hating each other until they were madly in love in the last 20 pages also some harshness and cruelty from H to h. I do usually like this author's style and I have read some better books by her, but I did like this one.
February 4, 2019
I don’t know why but I really finished reading this book! I did not like the hero, he was too strange in his behavior, everything he did or said was too pathetic ( his revenge, his love, his whoring, his jealousy, his pettiness, well everything!!!) The heroine was even less likable (no sel-respect, no real pride, no spine). I actually like kick-ass heroines but this heroine was not credible at all. And: my copy of this book was full of misspellings, which was very irksome, grrrr
February 8, 2017
This is an all-time favorite of mine. I loved it so much I sought it out again four years later, then read it again and again as an adult. It may not be the best, but I can't give it any less than four stars for nostalgia purposes!
March 11, 2020
3.5 Stars. Preferably to Part II.
April 6, 2021
I first read this book in 2006 after I found it while rummaging round charity shops.
Finding books like these have become harder over the years and are like gold dust!
This one is one of my favourites out of my huge collection of corny covered historical paperbacks!
Its a book I go back to again and again and have lost count of how many times I have actually read it!
I love a good pirate book and this one was fantastic!
I loved Fox from the start and yes while you can blatantly tell Fox and Adam are the same person, it did not ruin the book for me!
As Alexa did, I loved Fox before I did Adam, you can't help it.
Eventually Alexa realises and Vixen is born and she's magnificent!
Fox and Vixen will forever be some of my favourite characters ❤
Finding books like these have become harder over the years and are like gold dust!
This one is one of my favourites out of my huge collection of corny covered historical paperbacks!
Its a book I go back to again and again and have lost count of how many times I have actually read it!
I love a good pirate book and this one was fantastic!
I loved Fox from the start and yes while you can blatantly tell Fox and Adam are the same person, it did not ruin the book for me!
As Alexa did, I loved Fox before I did Adam, you can't help it.
Eventually Alexa realises and Vixen is born and she's magnificent!
Fox and Vixen will forever be some of my favourite characters ❤
May 1, 2020
Gli avrei dato di più a questa storia, all'inizio, ma poi mi è sembrata troppo intrigata...succedono TROPPE cose ai personaggi, così tante, che passa per l'inverosimile...anche se ho apprezzato molto la fase di cambiamento di Alexa in Vixen, però per quanto riguarda 'Fox' avevo già capito che era Adam, quindi non ne sono rimasta stupita più di tanto (anzi, per niente). Mi ha dato leggermente fastidio che tutti volessero farsi Alexa, e passano l'esigenze di un'uomo, ma non ce n'era nemmeno uno che si scopava sua moglie quando ritornava a casa, o cosa?!
opinione scritta il 05\07\11
opinione scritta il 05\07\11
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2025
Clark Kent’s glasses have nothing on Adam’s mask. He wears a tiny piece of fabric over his eyes and Alexa is like, "Who is this mysterious pirate 'The Fox'? He smells exactly like my husband and has the same voice, but I just can't place him!" GIRL. OPTOMETRY IS YOUR FRIEND.
Also, the ex-fiance?? Why is he like a cockroach? You stomp on him, you think he’s gone, and then BOOM...he’s back trying to blackmail you into marriage. Go away!
Also, the ex-fiance?? Why is he like a cockroach? You stomp on him, you think he’s gone, and then BOOM...he’s back trying to blackmail you into marriage. Go away!
July 4, 2017
Where do begin? I feel like this book way even better than Ice & Rapture and that's with me having read, and re-read it 20 times over (Lol). I loved every bit of this book, from their forced situation, their adventure, their passion for one another. I don't want to ruin it with giving away to the plot too much. A must read for those heart stopping moments, and for the hopeless romantic <3
September 17, 2024
A real page turner!
This story had it all! Adventure, history and romance. You can't help but to fall in love with the characters , their turmoil and how they constantly adjust to their predicaments and battle for their lives as well as a lasting love.
This story had it all! Adventure, history and romance. You can't help but to fall in love with the characters , their turmoil and how they constantly adjust to their predicaments and battle for their lives as well as a lasting love.
November 26, 2024
Please don’t waste your time. The guys is a rapist and the author tries to justify it by making the female attracted to him. Does not change the fact that he took advantage of her. Poor women, I am so shocked that this is a romance when the hero is this cruel
February 17, 2018
great book, full of sex, love, betrayal, high class and dancing gypsies.
if you are into this type of books, this is a recommended read.
if you are into this type of books, this is a recommended read.
Read
September 2, 2020Note to self.
Dnf.
Writing and flow didn’t move me.
Dnf.
Writing and flow didn’t move me.
September 21, 2021
Unrealistic but a fun read
December 16, 2021
Din't like the hero,what a scoundrel he was eww.
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