An exciting, rich, handsome hero who's the great-grandson of a pirate. Tropical island. Crumbling castle. Mystery. So why only two stars? The heroine, although feisty, was just so MEAN to everybody. This was the biggest 'Mary Sue' heroine I've read since my 9-year-old's third-grade writing assignment. The way they got together was just ... okay ... lets get together. There was no rhyme or reason for it. The hero was okay ... I think I would have liked him more if he hadn't let himself be such a doormat for the heroine and told her to take a hike. If there had been some wager to 'tame' the heroine as in the Taming of the Shrew and the story was laced with comedy, perhaps there would have been a point for it all, but the heroines meanness just never made sense and the heroes reason for still being attracted to her in spite of it also never made sense. And as for the mystery ... the heroine's reasons for suspecting something illegal (I won't spoil it) just don't make sense. The secondary characters were far more interesting than the couple itself.

The verdict ... pass this one by and look for more substantial fare. ( )

Unkind observers might call her a shrew, but romance author Katherine Inskip believes there's nothing wrong with a woman taking a stand and stating an opinion. Packed off for a stress-free vacation on a beautiful, tropical island, Kate meets her match in a pirate's descendent - but Jared Hawthorne is hiding something... ( )