4.75 Stars

A strong adventurous woman who doesn't let the conventions and opinions of others to get in her way of living the life SHE wants.
A man who allowed his family & the conventions of the times to destroy any hope he ever had for happiness & the life he wanted.
Then they meet.
Fireworks!
Supremely written.
But then, I would expect nothing less from
[a:Kresley Cole|4428|Kresley Cole|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1328377628p2/4428.jpg]. ( )

Any one ever have a problem where you are reading and you start getting frisky? I'm not sure how many times it happened, but it happened in this book for sure! Ladies, you have to read this. But I did almost cry too. Derek sounds so sexy. Glad he found his other half. ( )

Meh. What can I say? I got seduced by the title and the promise of a rollicking bodice-ripper. ( )

The first time Captain Derek Sutherland, Earl of Stanhope sees Nicole she is dressed like a boy in seedy tavern. He mistakes her for a prostitute but desires her anyway. When she leaves with his hated rival Jason Lassiter (a man at least twice her age) he can't believe she would prefer Lassiter over him. The next time he sees Nicole she is running for her life down the docks from two saboteurs/would-be-rapists. He saves her and brings her back to his ship. Only after Derek and Lassiter are arrested does Derek find out Christina is not a whore.. and also not Christina. She is Nicole Lassiter, daughter of his rival but he still wants her.
Nicole Lassiter has come home to her father's ship for the Great Circle Race from London to Sydney. She finds her father in a tavern where she is informed he is investigating ships being sabotaged. Later at her father's ship she wakes up during the night and find two villains sabotaging the ship. Of course they decide they should rape her but Nicole puts up a hell of a fight and gets away with them still in pursuit of her only to be rescued by Sutherland.
This is only the start for them because their journey will take them across the world from England, to Africa, to Brazil, and then to Sydney and back again. Lots and lots of misunderstandings adds even more danger to their journey and they don't need any more danger with saboteurs running amok and devastating storms and shipwrecks to contend with. A great romance with lots of adventure. ( )

The only reason I read this book is for my Book Bingo of debut novel for a favorite author. It was mediocre at best and I probably wouldn't like Kresley Cole if this was the only book I had read by her. She has definitely grown as an author with her writing style. I prefer her paranormal and contemporary fiction rather than her historical. Although this book was not my favorite, it's still better than the majority of stand-alone romance novels that I have read. ( )