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Ivan Rasmussen, captain of a schooner, is nonplussed to find Stephanie Lowe, the woman who’d just bought his ancestral home, stepping up to take her eloping cousin’s place as cook for the duration of the voyage. It’s a memorable trip alternately broken by laughter and terror, due to Stephanie’s non-existent kitchen skills and a ghostly apparition that pops up at odd moments to scare the passengers.
Stephanie can’t help but be intrigued by this rakish descendant of pirates while Ivan in turn is entertained and charmed by her unending klutziness. But something or someone is haunting Haben and before long things go from harmless to scary. Can Ivan help Stephanie get rid of her unwanted guest(s)? And will the love slowly blossoming between them, survive all the secrecy and insecurities?
Originally published as “Ivan takes a Wife”, this romance novel was written by Janet Evanovich much before her acclaimed Stephanie Plum series. The story is a bit simple, the characters aren’t that complicated and the relationship between the protagonists jumps abruptly from strangers to lovers. But the zany plot which has ghosts, punks, pirates, dead bodies and what not, shows every sign of evolving into the humorous mischief that today characterizes the Plum books. Inciting smiles but not outright laughter, this mainly short and sweet romantic story is generally entertaining.
Reviewed by Rashmi Srinivas
for The Road to Romance
July 29, 2005
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