Best of 2014 - Historical Romance

Here are my favorite historicals I read in 2014 ...

Jane Ashford's THE BRIDE INSISTS (link)

Jayne Fresina's ONCE UPON A KISS (link)

Lillian Marek's LADY ELINOR'S WICKED ADVENTURES (link)

Mia Marlowe's A RAKE BY ANY OTHER NAME (link)

Darlene Marshall's THE PIRATE'S SECRET BABY (link)

Catherine Lloyd's DEATH COMES TO THE VILLAGE (link) and DEATH COME TO LONDON (link).  

Cathy Maxwell rings in three books on this year's list from the Brides of Wishmore Series:

THE BRIDE SAYS NO (link)

THE BRIDE SAYS MAYBE (link)

THE GROOM SAYS YES (link)

Can you recommend a favorite historical from 2014?  One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, January 3, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, January 4.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Aloha to Darlene Marshall and THE PIRATE'S SECRET BABY

Pirates play a role in New Orleans' history.   Sadly, I didn't see any pirates at the RT Booklovers' Convention in New Orleans ... a cold knocked me out of several night time events.   But the spirit of pirates was present in the Big Easy ... and the spirit of pirates lives in Darlene Marshall's books:

Darlene Marshall is an award-winning author of historical romance featuring pirates, privateers, smugglers and the occasional possum. She loves working at a job where business attire is shorts and a shirt festooned with pink flamingos and palm trees. Marshall lives in North Central Florida, a convenient location for researching sites of great historical significance, which also happen to also be at the beach and serve mojitos. Her books have been published in English, German and Estonian.

You can learn more about Darlene by visiting her website: darlenemarshall.com.

Pirate from RT/Chicago in 2012.

I reviewed Darlene's latest release, THE PIRATE'S SECRET BABY ...

The captain of the Prodigal Son has a deserved reputation as the deadliest (and best dressed) pirate in the Caribbean, but Robert St. Armand’s totally at sea when it comes to “Marauding Mattie,” the daughter he never knew he had. How in the world can he deal with the littlest pirate, one who prefers knife-throwing to arithmetic lessons, and who’d rather be keelhauled than eat her beets? He needs help!

Lydia Burke is living a safe, respectable life, separated from England by an entire ocean. It’s exactly what she needs and she’s not going to risk her boring, but secure, position as a governess to consort with pirates, especially one who’s too pretty for his own good or her peace of mind.

No self-respecting governess would be willing to come aboard the notorious Prodigal Son, but Robert didn’t fight his way to the top by letting small obstacles like scruples stop him. If he can’t hire Lydia Burke, he’ll steal her and take her to England with them, certain he can charm her into his bed along the way as an added bonus on the voyage.

It will be a true voyage of discovery for the pirate and the governess, as one learns to navigate the rocky shoals of parenthood while the other tries to keep deadly secrets hidden, and both will find that while it’s a child who initially brings them together, the growing passion between them offers the greatest temptation.

... giving it a five star rating (link). Darlene is offering a signed copies of THE PIRATE'S SECRET BABY.   To enter the giveaway,

1. Let's talk about period costumes ... would you dress as a pirate or wench?

2. Comments are open through Saturday, May 24, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, May 25.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City 

Check out my recaps of RT at this link and link.

Aloha to Darlene Marshall and THE PIRATE'S SECRET BABY

Aloha, thar, matey!  Today, Disney-MGM Studios is celebrating its 25th anniversary as one of four theme parks at Walt Disney World.    My favorite park remains the Magic Kingdom ... and my favorite ride is THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN ... which Disney-MGM studios successfully launched into a movie franchise.   

Pirates!   In college, I took part in the Gasparilla Invasion of Tampa Bay ... and I'll tangle with a few scalawags at the RT Booklovers' Convention in New Orleans.  Yet no one writes pirates like Florida's own Darlene Marshall:

Darlene Marshall is an award-winning author of historical romance featuring pirates, privateers, smugglers and the occasional possum. She loves working at a job where business attire is shorts and a shirt festooned with pink flamingos and palm trees. Marshall lives in North Central Florida, a convenient location for researching sites of great historical significance, which also happen to also be at the beach and serve mojitos. Her books have been published in English, German and Estonian.

You can learn more about Darlene by visiting her website: darlenemarshall.com.

Pirate Flag from Indonsia's Tall  Ship
during visit to Pearl Harbor (link)

I reviewed Darlene's latest release, THE PIRATE'S SECRET BABY ... 

The captain of the Prodigal Son has a deserved reputation as the deadliest (and best dressed) pirate in the Caribbean, but Robert St. Armand’s totally at sea when it comes to “Marauding Mattie,” the daughter he never knew he had. How in the world can he deal with the littlest pirate, one who prefers knife-throwing to arithmetic lessons, and who’d rather be keelhauled than eat her beets? He needs help!

Lydia Burke is living a safe, respectable life, separated from England by an entire ocean. It’s exactly what she needs and she’s not going to risk her boring, but secure, position as a governess to consort with pirates, especially one who’s too pretty for his own good or her peace of mind.

No self-respecting governess would be willing to come aboard the notorious Prodigal Son, but Robert didn’t fight his way to the top by letting small obstacles like scruples stop him. If he can’t hire Lydia Burke, he’ll steal her and take her to England with them, certain he can charm her into his bed along the way as an added bonus on the voyage.

It will be a true voyage of discovery for the pirate and the governess, as one learns to navigate the rocky shoals of parenthood while the other tries to keep deadly secrets hidden, and both will find that while it’s a child who initially brings them together, the growing passion between them offers the greatest temptation.

... giving it a five star rating (link).  Darlene is offering two signed copies of THE PIRATE'S SECRET BABY.  I am giving away one now, before RT, and I'll giveaway one later, after RT, assuming I survive the pirate invasion.  To enter the giveaway for the first copy,

1.  Let's talk about pirates!  What do you love about them?  Do you have a favorite pirate film?  Do you have a favorite Jack Sparrow quote?   

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, May 3, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, May 4.

Come back on May 21 for a recap of my encounter with RT pirates ... and the second book giveaway.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City 

Aloha to Darlene Marshall and THE PIRATE'S SECRET BABY - Book Review

Ahoy, thar mateys.  I have a special book review for you ...

The captain of the Prodigal Son has a deserved reputation as the deadliest (and best dressed) pirate in the Caribbean, but Robert St. Armand’s totally at sea when it comes to “Marauding Mattie,” the daughter he never knew he had. How in the world can he deal with the littlest pirate, one who prefers knife-throwing to arithmetic lessons, and who’d rather be keelhauled than eat her beets? He needs help!

Lydia Burke is living a safe, respectable life, separated from England by an entire ocean. It’s exactly what she needs and she’s not going to risk her boring, but secure, position as a governess to consort with pirates, especially one who’s too pretty for his own good or her peace of mind.

No self-respecting governess would be willing to come aboard the notorious Prodigal Son, but Robert didn’t fight his way to the top by letting small obstacles like scruples stop him. If he can’t hire Lydia Burke, he’ll steal her and take her to England with them, certain he can charm her into his bed along the way as an added bonus on the voyage.

It will be a true voyage of discovery for the pirate and the governess, as one learns to navigate the rocky shoals of parenthood while the other tries to keep deadly secrets hidden, and both will find that while it’s a child who initially brings them together, the growing passion between them offers the greatest temptation.

Indonesia's historic Tall Ship in Pearl Harbor

Will Turner: This is either madness... or brilliance.

Jack Sparrow: It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide. 

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, a 17th century tale, came to life on the big screen by Disney Studios, reigniting the public’s fascination with pirates. Then again, romance readers have always been fascinated with pirates. 

Darlene Marshall brings the 18th century raiders to life in her new release, THE PIRATE’S SECRET BABY. The hero, Captain Robert St. Armand, shares some traits with Jack Sparrow – notorious, sexy, and droll. Unlike Jack, Robert is honorable. In the span of several hours, he learns that he fathered a child; the mother has passed away; and he accepts his 7 year old daughter, Mathilde, on board his ship. The bearer of the news is an English nanny, Lydia Burke, who is offended by Robert’s repugnant manners but appreciative of his fine form. Still, she has completed her mission to reunite father with daughter and proceeds to her next position on St. Martin. No amount of gold offered by Robert to continue as Mathilde’s nanny could entice Lydia to sail with Robert to England.   She fears England more than Robert.

Marshall opens THE PIRATE’S SECRET BABY with authentic but salty details of Robert's less-than-savory shore leave. Yet she delivered the delicate balance of witty dialogue and sexual tension to lure me away with this fated pair. The secondary characters also entertain on this Trans Atlantic cruise. In fact, Mathilde transforms into Mattie the Marauder in between her deportment lessons. THE PIRATE’S SECRET BABY is a humorous adventure of Regency pirates on the high seas!

Recommended read for fans of Regency romance, pirate heroes, and lighthearted repartee. I received an eARC from the author for an honest review.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

To learn more about Darlene and her books, check out her website at darlenemarshall.com.

The Indonesian crew have some fun ....