French Revolution

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Today is a review of a book that I just loved!  Shana Galen was here last week and answered a few of my questions.  Check out that post HERE.  When you are done with that post, you really must checkout Shana’s post on Heroes & Heartbreakers titled Pirates: The Ultimate Bad Boys.  Excellent post!

Oh yes, if you are interested in a copy of this book and have a mailing address in the US or Canada, fill out the form at the bottom of the post and you can be entered in the giveaway!

Enjoy!

The Rogue Pirate’s Bride by Shana Galen
ISBN: 1402265557
Release: Feb 1, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher to read and review

Revenge should be sweet, but it may cost him everything…
The Marquis de Valère escaped certain death in the French Revolution and is now an infamous privateer. Out to avenge the death of his mentor, Bastien discovers himself astonishingly out of his depth when confronted with a beautiful, daring young woman who is out for his blood…
Forgiveness is unthinkable, but it may be her only hope…
British Admiral’s daughter Raeven Russell believes Bastien responsible for her fiancé’s death. But once the fiery beauty crosses swords with Bastien, she’s not so sure she really wants him to change his wicked ways…

Welcome to Shana Galen’s world of characters that jump of the pages and drag you into the book to live in their world!  The Rogue Pirate’s Bride is a leap into the world of swashbuckling pirates and women that hold their own with a sword!  This is the first book that I have read of Ms. Galen’s Sons of the Revolution series.  What I didn’t realize when I asked to read this book is that it is the third book in this series.  I now have the other two books on order and look forward to reading them!

At the start of this book, we find the daughter of a British Navy Admiral, Raeven Russell confronting Captain Cutlass, in a bar on the coast of France.  Raeven is seeking retribution for what she sees as the murder of her fiance at the hands of the notorious Captain Cutlass.  She is disguised as a boy and goads him into a sword fight.  She’s good, but his bigger, stronger, and a bit better.  When she finds herself trussed up and carted off to Captain Cutlass’s ship, she also finds herself at the beginning of the most challenging relationship of her life.

It seems that Raeven, who grew up on a British Navy ship, is pretty slippery, and manages to escape the locked cabin and find her way back to her father’s ship.  Not, however before her absence is discovered and her punishment is swift and involves Percy, the purser for the HMS Regal, the man who helped her find Captain Cutlass in the first place.  Percy is in love with Raeven and can’t resist helping her in her schemes.  From the point of meeting Captain Cutlass, however, Raeven is destined to be with him and Percy seems to know that she will never love him.

I absolutely loved this book.  It has pirates, it has sword fights, it has a spirited heroine who is as comfortable in pants as she is in a dress.  It’s set in the Regency era and has bits and pieces of the French Revolution, and the conflict with France from the point of view of the sea battles.  It even has some titled gentlemen and ladies and even a ball!  What more could I ask for?  I loved the character of Sebastien or Captain Cutlass as he commonly referred to.  He escaped the burning of his house by a mob during the French Revolution with only an older servant as a guide.  He was just a child at the time.  He is still uncertain as to whether any other members of his family survived.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this book is the third book in the Sons of  the Revolution series that has been in the making since the first book was released in 2010.  Would I have requested this book had I understood that it was the third book in a trilogy, probably not as I prefer to read books in order.  That said, however, I didn’t seem to figure out that there was a trilogy until almost the end of the book (won’t tell you what gives away that fact!).  Obviously, no prior knowledge is required to enjoy this book!  I actually am happy that I’ve read this book first.  I certainly am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the first two books!  If you are a fan of reading books in order, start at the beginning, otherwise, start with this one – it’s a great swashbuckling pirate story that will have you wanting to join in with the action!

Related articles

• Behind the Scenes with Bastien and Raeven from Shana Galen’s ‘The Rogue Pirate’s Bride’ (bookworm2bookworm.wordpress.com)
• Review: The Rogue Pirate’s Bride by Shana Galen (readericreatedhim.wordpress.com)
• The real pirates of the Caribbean: Guest post & giveaway by Shana Galen (readericreatedhim.wordpress.com)