The Iron Rose – female pirate ship captain Fabulous!

If you're looking for pure romance, look elsewhere because this book has a plot! Swashbuckling abounds, so the faint of heart should take warning, as there's a fair amount of violence. ( )

I like The Iron Rose better the second time around. I guess, when I first read it I was turned off by how downright abusive the heroine can be - because The Iron Rose is all about role reversals. The heroine, Juliet Dante, is the ruthless pirate, and the hero, Varian St. Clare, is the courtier who ends up her prisoner. It's a very provocative move on Canham's part, and mercilessly (i.e. spectacularly) upends the familiar gender stereotypes on their heads. On the plus side it provides ample opportunity for the swashbuckling adventures, sword fights, and sea battles that I love. Even better I get to see a woman stepping up and getting not only to share in the fun but steal the show as one of the best fighters around - an expert swordswoman and a captain of a ship in her own right. Juliet wears the mantel of authority well, even if it takes some adjustment to get used to the idea of a female pirate. I'll admit that I secretly was harder on her because she's a woman, a bit more skeptical of her authority and power. There are just so many opportunities for such a character to go wrong. But in the hands of this author, Juliet is an original and compelling character. Fortunately, she sidestepped most of the potholes I was fearing - even if the author seemed to overcompensate for Juliet’s gender by making her the best sword fighter, the toughest, smartest, fastest and all around best pirate ever. When the rest of her family is introduced – her parents Simon and Isabeau Dante, who had their own story in Across a Moonlit Sea, along with her two brothers Gabriel and Jonas, all of whom are also the best pirates ever, I begin to wonder if there's enough room on the stage for all these larger than life figures. (The parts of the book featuring all the Dante’s in full force read more like an epilogue to Across the Moonlit Sea – the only aspect of the book I really didn’t like. But eventually, even the Dante family grew on me. Especially Gabriel, v hot.)

That's my only complaint about Juliet. She's almost too perfect. I can't help wishing she were more human, and wondering does she have to be so overbearing and belligerent with Varian? In retrospect, she doesn't act much worse than many other romance heroes past and present - but I cringe at those heroes too, so I don't think I'm asserting a double standard here. Granted, her being so unapologetic and ballsy is part of her charm. Nor is she under any obligation to be nice to Varian, and, being a ruthless pirate and all, it wouldn't make much sense if she was. Also, being a woman, she's had to work doubly hard to prove herself as a ship's captain and so has to be doubly tough, doubly aggressive when the occasion calls for it. But at the same time, even after she and Varian get to know each other, I don't see her affording him that much respect. I can’t help but get annoyed with her hypocrisy when belittling who he is (envoy of the king, a soldier/landlubber, a duke), especially when, considering her father, she's also lived a pretty privileged life. Her dad doles out ships to his kids like they're Ferraris on their 16th birthday. However, I have to come back to the point that Juliet is strong, and I wouldn't want to see that strength undermined. Except for one notable exception later in the book, it never is. She beats Varian at almost everything. That never happens in romances, and it’s awesome here. So I'm a bit conflicted about Juliet, or more accurately, about the equality or lack thereof between her and Varian. Near the end things even out between them, though, without Juliet having to sacrifice her kick ass ways and with Varian rising to the occasion of the epic tale into which he stumbles.

As for Varian, I think he's great. I like the Iron Rose as much for the romance (even if I do have some reservations about their relationship) as I do for his own story of personal growth. And it takes quite a man to weather the kind of treatment Juliet metes out without being castrated in the process or rising to the bait and turning into a complete brute. He walks a fine line in the book, for throughout he’s completely out of his element, beat up, challenged, and repeatedly insulted. He’s a nobleman, a politician, a soldier not a seaman. But never can his inexperience or ignorance be mistaken for weakness. His courtliness and gentility does not preclude strength and intelligence. He never shies from the changes in his life and himself as he's swept up in an exhilarating adventure that takes him beyond the bounds of anything he's ever experienced. As the map says: “Here be dragons.” He embraces the unknown, Juliet, a new life, the scars he earns, and the dangers he risks along the way. Varian is a great hero whose character arc is a pleasure to follow. I can only wonder why I didn't like the book that much the first time around. Marsha Canham vividly invokes the violence, the thrill, the beauty and majesty of this epic-feeling high seas adventure. There’s romance and swashbuckling galore, and I love it all. If only there were more authors around like her. ( )