When Summer and her younger brother are found drifting in the sea, survivors of a shipwreck, they are "saved" by Captain Morgan Wade, a known pirate. Summer is terrified by the dangerous (not to mention handsome) young captain, but her brother is captivated by him and enjoys life on the high seas. Although she worries about getting back to her father and influential fiancee, she can't help falling for the ruggedly handsome Wade. After a romantic tryst on a beautiful island, Wade returns her and her brother to her father...and her fiancee. Summer marries her stoic fiancee, but she cannot get Wade out of her mind. When she finds she is pregnant, she knows Wade is the father. Summer has decided to try to be content with her lot in life until Wade shows up at her home, kidnapping both mother and child, changing her plans forever.

Yes, this is a swashbuckling romance, with all the elements you'd expect: a group of rough and rowdy sailors, a ruggedly handsome and fierce captain, and steamy love scenes. Wade is fiercely protective of Summer, and when he realizes she's had his child, he is determined to unite the family at any cost. He is a take-charge hero, and although Summer is reluctant to go away with him, her actions are expected for a wife of the time period. The only thing that takes away from this story is the fact that so much of it (the middle part) deals with her life away from him. Readers of romance generally enjoy watching exchanges between the hero and heroine, and it's hard to get through a substantial portion of the book without their sexual tension. All is resolved in the end, however, along with a secondary story line which adds a bit of intrigue. ( )

Read this one as my first book on my brand new (and oh-so shiny) iPad to test out the eReaders. I do have to say that using an eReader was a lot easier than I thought it would be - so much so, that I find myself reaching up to the top right corner to try and turn the page as one would with a dead tree edition. Prices of eBooks are still not cheap enough (c'mon, I can buy a second hand book for that price, AND pass it onto a friend afterwards), but I'm definitely not afraid of the technology any more.

But this was not a good read. Dodgy sexual politics (our "hero" treats our heroine very very badly, and she just lines up for more), cliche city, bodice ripping. (I know, I know, look at the title, I wasn't expecting high art either.) There was a plot line I wasn't expecting, but while it did make me surprised (our heroine marries her cad fiance instead of ditching him for the swashbuckling pirate), it doesn't actually help the plot along much.

The action scenes were rather fun though, that's where most of its stars come from. ( )