lacking sand's usual humor
I was a bit disappointed in this book. I love Sands' novels. I love her humor. While I am certain some of her humor shows in this book, not really enough to enhance the scenes as one may be accustomed to having read several Sands books. The story is a fair one - a gal brought up on the sea by her brother until his death. Then she takes over as captain - disguised as a boy/man. After years of this lifestyle, she is forced to become the woman of nobility that she is in order to claim her rightful inheritance. An inheritance her brother was to claim right after the last run that saw him killed. With her brother's death she inherited the ship, his legacy of privateering (polite way to say pirating) and his men whom he promised a future to on his property once gained. He had only continued to pirate long enough to gain the funds to restore his keep and lands for his family and crew. It was all lost in that last raid that saw him dead. Well, he had some unusual contracts with his crew that allowed for them to vote on everything. Many years at sea with fatal consequences and well as facing death each time they went out, led the crew to vote that she would honor the will of her inheritance and marry a nobleman and get with child to gain her keep and the promised retirement for the whole crew. Against it from the beginning (she has only known this pirate life mostly) she is not pleased to do so and is a bit of a shrew to keep things at bay. They set up and set out to find the husband - she fighting all the way, the men making the plans. Finally, she decides to go with the plan. During the times she is alternately fighting and going along, she falls for the hero. He is determined to have her even after a couple of gaffes at the ton by her and her men that see him hoisting her over a wall to escape the parties. Sending out a rumor to gain a husband she finds herself entertained by over a dozen men who wish to wed and bed her for her money. All along the hero is plotting with one of her crew to maintain his presence. Attempts are made on her life (it seems) and the urgency to select a husband becomes most relevant. She finally is determined to select one - however her crew has voted again on someone else. Someone entirely not to her liking (well she does like him surely enough and wants him badly) as he is too strong of mind to let her walk over him (which is not to her liking). The crew sets up a kidnapping of her and the gent without knowing the secret of the man. Forced to hang him as he can have them all in prison or worse, she finally relents and sees him saved from death and determines time must require her to marry him. He is not for it any longer. She forces the wedding and the bedding. Then they sail to his property where he promplty sets out to make her the "lady" she is supposed to be and takes over her crew (unwittingly). All while trying to fix the history of the pirating as he has fallen for her. She just wants to get home, give the crew the land they were promised and run her own keep - her plans for avenging her brothers death are there - but not to the fore. She gets pregnant and they fix (very quickly and tidely) the issues - there is another death attempt wherein they find she is not really the target and the reasons and set sail for her propery only to be set upon by the very murderer of her brother. It all ends there - fair to middlin read. Not usual par of Sands' normal writings.
