Monday, January 25, 2010

Review: The Red Siren

My Synopsis:

The Red Siren is the first book in the Charles Towne Belle Series by Marylu Tyndall

(E-book Galley provided by Barbour Publishing for review)

The Red Siren is a historical romance with a pirate twist. Captain Dajon Waite has been requested by Admiral Westcott to oversee the care of his three daughters while he is called away on a lengthy journey.

Little does he know that Faith Westcott, the eldest daughter is the infamous lady pirate, and captain of The Red Siren, a ship she stole from Dajon himself. The attraction that Dajon and Faith feel for each other begins to deepen right along with Dajon's suspicions about Faith.

Faith tries desperately to hide the fact that she is a pirate by night and must accumulate a certain amount of wealth if she is protect herself and her sisters from a life she will not allow. Her faith has been tested by the death of her mother and the cruelty her sisters have been subjected to.

Will she find peace? Will Dajon make the right choice when he is faced with choosing to follow the rules or follow his heart? Read and find out...

My Thoughts:

Tyndall's choice of a lady pirate for the heroine of this book was genius. I have read several novels with a pirate as the lead character but very few of them were women. She develops the character of Faith Westcott with finesse.

She is pirate, but not a bad pirate. She is only doing this to protect herself and her sisters from arranged marriages that lack love and often involve cruelty. It allows the reader to see her as a strong woman, but also one with a sense of honor, albeit one that is a little askew. Her struggle with her faith only deepens the idea that though she is flawed she can find redemption.

The character of Dajon Waite represents safety and security. He is a rule follower. The reader will identify with the fact that he is trying to right past wrongs by doing what he feels is right. It is interesting to see how his character comes to realize that following the rules may not always mean doing what others expect or think is correct.

I liked this book a lot. I loved the way that the writer developed all the characters including Molly and Lucas, servants in the Westcott home. Mr. Borland the jealous commander and Lord Falkland the errant suitor. The sisters, Hope and Faith also add a great deal to the story as Tyndall sets up the Charles Towne Belle series.

I give this one 4 out of 5 apples from book bag! Excellent!

4 comments:

Tales of Whimsy said...

Fun! Thanks for the review. I hadn't seen this one :)

Monster of Books said...

This so interesting, Nice to see a women pirate for once :) Great review!!

EVA SB said...

A lady pirate definitely sound like fun!

Shy said...

Different! I certainly never read of any woman pirate before, so perhaps this is a great change! =)