Review: Christi Caldwell's HEIRESS AT SEA

 

HEIRESS AT SEA

Historical Romance

AUTHOR: Christi Caldwell

RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023

PUBLISHER: Montlake

ISBN NUMBER (OR ASIN IF NO ISBN): 9781662503818

RATING: 4.5

AUTHOR LINK: http://christicaldwell.com/

 

 

Captain Nathaniel Ellsby is the second son of a duke. He makes his income from the sea, mostly as a privateer to the Crown. Nathaniel finds himself saddled with his late sibling’s ducal responsibilities and fiancée. He intends to finish one last mission before obeying his father’s strict mandate. However, a chatter-box stowaway distracts Nathaniel from his official duties. Can Nathaniel protect Cassia from the hardships of the sea? Or will he willingly give up his seafaring ways for her?

Lady Cassia McQuoid comes from a large, boisterous family. With no marriage prospects, she wants to “see the world” before surrendering to her future as a spinster. Cassia plans to sneak onto her brother and his friend’s ship; however, she boards the wrong vessel. She finds herself surrounded by unfriendly strangers. Cassia’s presence causes havoc with the surly captain and his crew. Can Cassia survive her first sea voyage? Or will she lose far more than just her heart on this trip?

I could never resist the pessimistic and surly type heroes! They are another weakness of mine. Nathaniel’s gruff and stern exterior conceals a warm heart. He does not have the opportunity to demonstrate that side of himself, except around his mother and later Cassia. I admire how Nathaniel gave certain criminals a second chance at life. When others had written them off, he offered them a new way of life and a paying job, thus earning their loyalty. What I love the most about Nathaniel is his acceptance of Cassia’s eccentricities. She annoyed him at first, but he started to crave her sunny, talkative ways.

Generally, Cassia is not the type of heroine I enjoy reading about. However, I could not help but feel for the young woman. There were instances when Cassia or her antics annoyed me, but not enough to dislike her outright. I understand Cassia’s anxiousness about being invisible, ignored, and overlooked. Something that I understand achingly well, so I easily empathized with her. What I like the most about Cassia is her talkative ways. I found it oddly endearing.

THE HEIRESS AT SEA is the second book in Christi Caldwell’s historical romance series, MCQUOID FAMILY. I am so delighted the author decided to write more stories involving this rambunctious noble family. The McQuoids, especially their antics, entertained and charmed me in the first book, THE DUKE ALONE. I cannot wait for more McQuoid stories!

The story had a GENTLE ROGUE and THE MAGIC OF YOU (by Johanna Lindsey) feel to it. I forgot just how much I enjoyed the stowaway/masquerading as a boy at sea angle in stories.

Review: Donna Grant's DRAGON LOVER

 

Rating: 4.5

Kendrick is the Dragon King of the Siennas. He has come to Zora (from Earth) to help with the mysterious foe plaguing that world. While on patrol, Kendrick detects the invisible being and engages with it. He finds the unlikeliest allies coming to his aid – who are also hunting the malevolent being. Kendrick hopes to form a peaceful alliance with the elves; however not everyone wants such an alliance.

Esha is a Sun Elf. She is the leader of the Asavori Rangers – a grouping of elves that protects the elvish realm. While hunting the being responsible for so many elven casualties, Esha and her squadron encounter Kendrick. She rashly agrees to work with the handsome stranger to destroy their common enemy. However, not everyone is happy with Kendrick’s appearance on elven Lands. What choice will Esha choose? Her duty or her heart?

I adore how Kendrick did not want to force Esha to choose between her duty or him. He understood what her position meant to her. I admire Kendrick’s determination to keep Zora from repeating Earth’s catastrophic mistakes, especially for the dragons. He really does not want to upheaval anyone.

I admire Esha’s dedication to her people. She willingly faces danger to keep them protected, especially from a foe they cannot see or know anything about. I also like how Esha saw the benefits of working with Kendrick, especially on a common foe.

DRAGON LOVER is the fifth book in Donna Grant’s paranormal-slash-fantasy romance series, DRAGON KINGS. This series is a spinoff from the author’s popular DARK KING books. I want to say that I am happy that Donna has branched out to other humanoid beings. Honestly? I grew tired of the continuous Fae, Druid, human pairings for the Dragon Kings. It bordered on repetitious to me.

Secondly, I am obsessed with elves. My favorite class is drow – aka dark elves- with sylvan - aka wood elves- a close second. My friends and former role-playing partners can attest to this fact. When I saw that the author delved into elven culture, I got excited. I especially liked how Donna included dark elves. I have a feeling that Dain is going to be my favorite. I blame R.A. Salvatore and Dnd for my drow/dark elves obsession!