But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

Justin is in Florida to marry -- against his will really.  His company needs the money the merging of his family with the Sanders family will provide, so he's about to meet his intended, Christine Sanders.  Christine isn't exactly thrilled about the merger either, being one to love the freedom to sail and be her own person, but to refuse would mean suffering the wrath of her Uncle Cliburn Beachum, who would see her put into an asylum if she didn't follow through.  So after the wedding she runs away, leaving her new husband to wonder if she's dead or alive, and stays with her Uncle Julius, a man of questionable reputation.

While with Julius, Christine comes up with a plan to get her money back from Justin so she can live her own life.  While helping Julius rebuild his old ship, she comes up with the idea of Julius teach her the ways of the pirate so she can attack Justin's shipping company ships at sail.  She doesn't plan to hurt anyone, she just wants enough booty to make her money back.  So she learns all she can, dresses like a man and takes sail. Before she knows it, Captain Christopher Daniels is the terror of the seas.

But she still has that pesky husband to deal with.

PIRATE'S PRICE may be asking readers to stretch their imaginations a bit, but I rather enjoyed the stretch myself.  I love a good pirate story, and this one was fun, adventurous and made me laugh out loud. 

Christine is everything I love in a heroine -- strong, self-aware and not afraid to go after what she wants.  She was so much more than Justin gave her credit for, and this assumption on his part was the catalyst for her to take the daring step towards her future.

Justin amused me.  He was an honorable man facing a situation that he'd never really considered.  He'd managed to run his business and his life as was expected of him, living in a time when appearances and social status were everything.  Throw him onto a pirate ship and he still held his own, despite the fact that the pirate was his wife. Justin made me laugh, and thanks to the authors talent, I could see the exact expression on his face in his verbal sparing with Christine.

PIRATE'S PRICE gets high recommendations from me.  It may or may not be historically or technically accurate, but it doesn't really matter.  The story easily put the visual in my head, the fight scenes were exciting and fast paced and I looked forward to each chance I had to continue reading.  It took me from the computer screen to the high seas and made me want to stay there.

Reviewed by Sue Waldeck for The Road to Romance

July 14, 2005