July 2021 Book of the Month Giveaway
August 21, 2021 03:39 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
My new job has been keeping me very busy lately, so in the interest of saving time, I’ll be shortening my Book of the Month blog posts moving forward. If you’d like additional info or analysis on the book I’m offering each month, you can scroll down and click on the “Read My Complete Review” link. With that small order of business out of the way, let’s move on to the naming of my Book of the Month for July.
I completed a fair bit of reading during the month, but only one romance hit the five-star mark for me. It’s a historical by a new-to-me author that I’d heard good things about but had never read or featured before. It’s a fun, witty, pirate-y story about Sara, who is the stepdaughter of an earl and a passionate reformer. As such, she goes undercover on a ship that’s transporting convict women to Australia, hoping to document the deplorable conditions these women face, both on the ship and upon arriving in New South Wales, so that she and her Ladies Committee can perhaps enact reform. About two weeks into their journey, the ship is accosted by pirates led by none other than Captain Gideon Horn aka The Pirate Lord. He and his men have decided to retire from the pirate life and have found a lovely deserted island where he wants to build a utopia, and the only thing they lack to make it perfect are wives. He figures a ship full of convict women would be happy to be “rescued” from their fate, but he didn’t count on a stubborn bluestocking who plagues him with her demands. Gradually they come to a compromise on rules and length of time for courting. Although Gideon insists that Sara also choose a husband once their allotted time is up, she still hopes for eventual rescue, but she didn’t expect to be seduced and actually fall for The Pirate Lord himself. For his part, Gideon has no desire to tie himself to an exasperating woman like Sara, but at the same time, she stirs his protective and possessive instincts and he can’t bear the thought of anyone else touching her. But when Sara’s expected rescue party finally shows up, it could spell the end of their budding romance.
I loved Sara from the opening pages where she stands up to her brother in her quest to accompany the convict women and how she never gives up her fight for the women’s rights, no matter who she has to convince. She fearlessly goes toe-to-toe with Gideon when he captures them and eventually reasons with him. Even though she can be quite stubborn when it comes to her causes, she also has a gentler side that recognizes the hurt in Gideon’s past and wants to comfort him when things don’t entirely go as planned. Gideon can be a pretty stubborn alpha male, but luckily he never pushed my buttons. He proves to be fairly reasonable and can be persuaded to a different way of thinking. I sympathized with his past and his reasons for loathing the English aristocracy, but his love for Sara overcomes his hatred. He shows a kinder, gentler side when dealing with her without ever losing his pirate-y edginess. I enjoyed the feminist theme and how the author demonstrated that women in that era didn’t have a lot of choices and that they often had to forge their own path. I also loved that the book doesn’t take itself too seriously. At times, it can be dramatic and has some tension, but at the same time, it’s lighthearted and fun. Gideon and Sara may be opposites in many ways, but they gradually come together and prove to be perfect for one another and I also loved the twist that gives Gideon resolution for his past hurts. The entire story as a whole was a pleasure to read. That’s why I’m naming Sabrina Jeffries’s The Pirate Lord as my July Book of the Month. If you enjoy a slightly tortured alpha hero paired with a bluestocking heroine in an emotional, witty, and adventurous story, then you should definitely give this book a try. Keep reading to learn how you can win a copy for your own library.
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Cover Blurb- A Splendid Opportunity A shipload of women - theirs for the taking! Pirate captain Gideon Horn couldn't be more delighted. His men are tired of wandering the high seas and want to settle down with wives on the uncharted island paradise they've discovered. And the women are bound to be grateful to be rescued from the life of drudgery awaiting them in New South Wales . . . Lord, he's so clever! A Splendid Passion Married? To pirates? Sara Willis couldn't be more appalled. First she demands proper courting—at least a month. The darkly handsome pirate lord gives them two weeks. |
Then Sara insists the men vacate their huts for the women—Gideon demands her kisses in return. As the demands heat up, so do their passions—and soon Sara can't remember just why she's fighting the devilishly seductive captain so hard. . .
Read my complete review of The Pirate Lord.
Giveaway
If you would like to win a copy of The Pirate Lord to see how wonderful it is for yourself, just enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below. One lucky winner will receive their choice of an eBook or print copy of the book. If the winner chooses an eBook, I will gift it to them via the eBook retailer of their choice (Amazon or B & N). If the winner chooses a print copy, I will have it mailed directly to them via Amazon. Good luck!
International Entrants: You are welcome to enter my contest, but please note that not all eBooks are available in all countries due to copyright restrictions. If this is the case, Amazon offers an option to trade for a gift card (I'm not sure about B & N). If you choose print, I can mail it to you via the Amazon website that services your country, pending availability and cost. Otherwise I will mail it to you via U. S. Amazon's standard international shipping, but it may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive, and I may not have the capability of tracking the package.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Sabrina Jeffries
