Review Tuesday: The Pirate Duchess by Rue Allyn -- #RegencyRomance #EnemiesToLovers #ReviewTuesday

 

The Pirate Duchess by Rue Allyn

Prowl Publishing, 2023

Enemies-to-lovers is a popular romance trope. It’s unusual, though, to encounter a hero and heroine fighting on different sides in an actual war.

Brandon Gilroy is a British naval officer, opposing United States’ interests in the War of 1812. Esmeralda Crobbin is a privateer on the American side. Captain of the Erie Mist, a swift and well-armed ship she has inherited from her foster father, she works to break the British blockade.

In their first encounter, they cooperate to fight off a group of thugs who have attacked Esme’s first mate. Unlike a typical Regency-era male, the gallant Brandon is deeply impressed by Esme’s fighting skill as well as by her distinctive beauty. Only later does he learn that she is essentially a pirate, preying on British ships on behalf of the US – a role that qualifies her for hanging, should the British catch her.

When the Erie Mist defeats his ship in battle, and Esme maroons Gilroy and his crew on a deserted (though well-provisioned) island, he swears he’ll see her dangling from the gallows.

As you might gather, there’s a good deal more than romance at stake in this enjoyable historical romance. Political intrigue and social conflicts entangle both Brandon and Esme. On land, Brandon is the son of a duke and must juggle his responsibilities to his family with his reluctant attraction to the daring lady pirate. Meanwhile, Esme keeps her own secrets, as she works to discover the truth about her origins.

The Pirate Duchess is original and surprising, with a heroine that I could not help but love. Not only is Esme intelligent and courageous, she also has a no-nonsense practicality that really appealed to me. Her disregard for her appearance, for instance, was deeply refreshing. The contrast between her priorities and those of the bevy of ladies assembled as candidates for Brandon’s duchess could hardly have been more stark.

My main criticism of the novel involves its lack of plausibility. The plot depends upon coincidental meetings that become less and less believable the more often they occur. What are the chances, for instance, that out of all the British ships patrolling the seas, the Erie Mist should encounter Brandon’s boat?

Of course, if you believe in soul mates and happily ever afters, you can simply shrug and call it fate. It’s clear from their earliest encounters that Esme and Brandon are both in some sense outlaws, and that they belong together. If the universe cooperates a bit too much with this, most readers probably will not complain.