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No pirate on the high seas is more bloodthirsty than the notorious Branded Ann, a woman with eyes like ice and a face marred by a mysterious cross-shaped scar. When she raids a merchant vessel bound for Jamaica, her only objective is to obtain the map that will lead her to a legendary treasure. But she hadn't bargained on taking Violet, the merchant's young widow, on board her ship as a prisoner. In spite of her childlike appearance, Violet has a dark side of her own that Ann finds both infuriating and endearing. As Branded Ann sails in search of treasure, her task is made more difficult by a stowaway child, an increasingly rebellious crew, and the treacherous seas of the Devil's Triangle; to make matters worse, she finds herself falling for her not-so-innocent but altogether charming captive. But will Violet be able to overcome the demons of her past and accept Ann's love? And will they survive the treasure hunt that has already claimed the lives of so many before them?… (more)
User reviews
Merry Shannon manages to create a romantic heroine who is a pirate captain who has justly earned her fearsome reputation -- but who believably finds her hard character slowly undone by the beautiful, willful, stubborn young woman she takes captive. To Shannon's credit, their relationship grows slowly, and the obstacles arise naturally out of Captain Ann's choices as a pirate captain as well as Violet's unique background and natural fortitude. (In contrast to the too-frequent romantic plot devices of misunderstandings, the lies of jealous friends, or etc.)
Outside the slow-blooming romance, there are sea battles, boarding actions, scenes of life on board a ship, a sneaky naval officer, a Spanish galleon, rum, bagpipes, murder, treachery, mutiny, a lost treasure -- and a voyage into the Devil's Triangle.
There are a few explicit erotic scenes between the leads, but this is not erotica: more like an R-rated swashbuckling adventure.