The fun continues - Jacky escapes the noose once again to be transported to Australia. Many unlikely coincidences and adventures happen before she gets there... ( )

Lots of fun to read... ( )

Description: Jacky Faber, rich from her exploits diving for Spanish gold, has purchased the Lorelei Lee to carry passengers across the Atlantic. Believing she has been absolved of past sins against the Crown, Jacky docks in London to take on her crew, but is instead arrested and sentenced to life in the newly formed penal colony in Australia. To add insult to injury, the Lorelei Lee is confiscated to carry Jacky and more than 200 female convicts to populate New South Wales. Not one to give in to self pity, Jacky rallies her sisters to "better" their position resulting in wild escapades, brushes with danger, and much hilarity. Will Jacky find herself a founding mother of New South Wales, Australia? Not if she has anything to do about it!

Thoughts: I was worried that this installment of Jacky's exploits was going to be a bit boring, seeing as how the premise sounds an awful lot like In the Belly of the Bloodhound, but I was proved wrong. There are some quite fun shenanigans, an interesting plot for Jaimy, exotic locales and characters, and just enough evil-doers to give it weight. It could have been a bit more tight but I don't care.

Would have liked to see some of Australia, but it didn't detract from the story.

Rating: 3.92

Liked: 4
Plot: 3.5
Characterization: 4
Writing: 3.5
Audio: 4.5

http://www.librarything.com/topic/160137#4327623 ( )

Readers of the Bloody Jack series love it for its humor, its unflinching danger, and its (at times) over-the-top adventures. How many times have readers said it? When will Jacky Faber finally get to be with her beloved James Emerson Fletcher, after seven novels of thwarted love?

...Well it sure as hell isn't in this novel!

This, along with the almost too fantastical situations, is a great frustration to fans of Bloody Jack. Jacky Faber has been in one too many crazy adventures it seems, and her luck can certainly stretch your patience. Oh sure--she's been tarred and feathered, had a cigar burned into her thigh, had friends die and suffer...but has SHE died? Been raped? Lost an arm or suffered some other injury? Been cast into destitution? Not really. No, our Jacky is like a cat with nine lives, and at this point, readers are almost hoping that the series will end at book numero nine, just so that things aren't stretched to their breaking point. After all, there is only so much one can take!

But so far this review has been a bit...self-deprecating? Ironic? I say this because while I personally share in the frustrations faced by many long-time Bloody Jack readers, I have to say...I still love it!

The characters are fresh and strong, and though the plot can be a bit much to take, it's still great fun to read. Isn't that the point of a book? To entertain? L.A. Meyer's eighth addition to the series is filled with laughs and thrills and fun new characters for the loyal reader to enjoy. Its play on history is not the worst I've seen--Mississipi Jack asked for a lot more in the way of suspension of disbelief than the Lorelei Lee--and its very much forgivable. I blasted through this, and was left hungry for more.

So...Really, I don't see myself writing this rant for the sake of a new reader looking to get into Bloody Jack. In fact, I'd warn any new readers from starting here--that'd just be silly. Better to start at the beginning, to experience all the laughs, see where many of the characters come from, and share in us veteran readers everlasting lament! ( )

Once again not allowed to marry Jamie because of certain scoundrels. But Jacky is a slippery one, as we do know from countless examples. I love the writing style as well as the plot. Worth it. ( )