Diane H. (njoybeing) - reviewed on 7/24/2009 + 24 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 4

This book is m/f erotica comprised of 2 short stories: "Torrid Tarot: Crossed Swords" and "Sea Hawk's Mistress". Early in the first story there is "reluctant consent" (not quite dubious!) the rest has some very light bdsm overtones. The stories do NOT connect to each other.

Plot Summaries: Crossed Swords features a pirate, Frederick Thorne, who takes the virginal daughter of an English Governor hostage, this is Arabella. He is a bad boy longing to be good and she gives him the motivation to do so.
Sea Hawk's Mistress features a pirate, Jason Flint, who after sinking a Spanish Galleon comes across Shelley, who has traveled back in time via a magical slave bracelet. Thinking she is a sex slave he uses her as such (she is more than willing) and then loses her to a rival pirate captain and seeks to get her back.

Main Characters: Both heroes, Frederick and Jason are alpha bad boys (pirates) who WANT to be good guys. Maybe it's just me, but I wanted them to stay bad boys!!! Bad boys becoming respectable didn't do it for me. Still, they are both sexy and very possessive and protective. The heroines were quite different: Arabella was raised a lady and had the concerns about her loss of "purity" that would have been natural in her time. Shelley, who was from our time and already sexually active was a bit more easy to identify with. Both heroines were fairly wimpy: fiery in spirit, pathetic in carry through.

Best About This Book: Love pirates! The premise of both stories was good, the sex was hot, the characters were generally likable for the most part, but certainly not among my favorites. I wanted to keep reading, even through my eye rolling at times. I did like the fact that both heroines were (or became) very sexual... they didn't deny their feelings through the entire book which I find irritating.

Worst About This Book: Some of the euphemisms were a bit painful. The words "nubbin" and "cream" were used liberally and made me cringe. The "redemption" of the pirates was not something I liked, but others might enjoy. Quite a few eye rolling moments (many of the pirates in these two stories were as wise as therapists and more like a stereotype of gentlemen than pirates). Convenient plot devices abound.

Summary: Worth a credit if you like pirates and like erotica. Sex was steamy at times (despite bad euphemisms at times) and the plots were fun, despite the obvious flaws.

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