No Rest for The Wicked by Lauren Smith – a Review

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Description:
A wicked pirate, a lady-turned cabin boy and a love reaching the distant horizon.

Your next Pirate Adventure awaits You!

A lady’s guide to surviving aboard a pirate ship:
1)Dress as a cabin boy.
2)Avoid drinking too much rum when the handsome captain is around.
3)Do not let the captain kiss you…again.

The last thing Roberta Harcourt needs is to be trapped on a ship with pirates. After she is separated from her father when their ship is attacked, Roberta finds herself the unwilling guest of sinfully handsome Captain Dominic Grey. He gives her two choices: to share his bed and maintain her life as a lady, or she can sleep on the floor of his cabin and live the life of a cabin boy until he decides to set her free. Refusing to be seduced by a pirate, she dresses in breeches and assumes duties on board his ship among the men, but each night, sharing a cabin with the brooding, seductively intense captain, she begins to wonder if letting him kiss her again might be a rule worth breaking…

Dominic lost his innocence long ago when he was kidnapped and sold into indentured servitude in the West Indies. Determined to leave the painful memories of his past behind, he looks only to the future and the next prize he and his crew can capture on the high seas…until he discovers and captures the feisty daughter of a naval admiral. Protecting her from other pirates and preventing her marriage to an English officer is all in a day’s work for a pirate. But Dominic is determined to play the gentleman he once was born to be. He tries to resist the siren’s call of her sweet lips, especially when she’s arguing with him.

But damned if the woman wasn’t meant to be a pirate because she’s stealing his heart…

Review:

Hold on to your hats my mates’, Lauren Smith has a swashbuckler of a tale for ya!

In all seriousness, you don’t want to miss this one. It has it all, adventure, danger, heartbreak, romance and love! What more could a reader ask?

Okay, I don’t do spoilers, but let me just set up the story for you and then let you know what I found so compelling and wonderful.

The story begins in Cornwell England 1727. A fourteen-year-old Dominic Greyville (son of the Earl of Camden) is in a fistfight with a bully, two years older, who has embarrassed a young girl. His best friend Nicholas Frey is cheering him on and trying to help with warnings. The fight is broken up and the boys head home. They make a promise they will follow each other to the ends of the earth, always. However, his father is not as pleased and sends Dominic to bed without supper. Being Dominic, he soon climbs out a window and heads for the docks, alone. He’s spotted by some bad men and kidnapped to be sold into indenture in the West Indies, along with several other boys about his age.

The story then picks up in the Port of Cadiz 1741. Dominic is now a sea captain, forced to survive as a pirate. He learns that an English ship containing a “treasure” will be coming their way soon and he and his men set out to retrieve it.

Roberta Harcourt is sailing on the ship Fortune with her father Rear Admiral Charles Harcourt to his new assignment in Port Royal in the West Indies. The only treasure aboard are some bolts of silk and the Admiral’s daughter.

Okay, that’s the setup. I won’t spoil anymore of this magnificent tale. Lauren Smith is a very talented author and I’ve enjoyed her books greatly. Her League of Rogues and Wicked Earls are all well done than thrilling. That said, I believe this is the best book I’ve read in quite some time. It opens with action and the action doesn’t quit. The pace is well kept. The characters are fascinating, even most of the secondary ones too. The dialog is witty and well done. I laughed, squirmed, sobbed, and swooned all in the same book! Please do yourself a favor and don’t miss this one! Kudos to Lauren Smith!

Reviewed by Georgianna

Copy supplied for review