Reviewed by Desere
When I say the words pirates, Caribbean, legends and Tortuga I am willing to bet there is no one out there that will not immediately think Pirates of the Caribbean and the delicious always entertaining Captain Jack Sparrow!
But in the movies as we all know the romance does not work out as it should and for me I have always wished it ended a little more romantically then it did. Lucky for me there is the new magical and brilliant read from the very talented Romy Sommer.
The read starts off with the telling of how a pirate kidnapped a princess on the day of her arrival to marry a governor and how the governor made it is life's mission to hunt them down and reclaim his bride.
I am sure you will agree that this is a truly fascinating and very captivating opening scene, it gets even better, for years later this mystery continues when Prince Fredrick aka Rik is living in exile in the Caribbean drinking the days away to fill the emptiness his life has become, he is as good as a pirate hiding from the world, a world he once ruled.
It all changes when a breath of fresh air and shimmering sunshine walks into his life, her name, Kenzie. There to scout land for a pirate movie being filmed she hits dead end after dead end, she want to scout the Island of Tortuga but no one dares to go there, legend has it a governor once cursed the island after losing his bride to a pirate and no one wants to end up having to face the wrath of the Caribbean's most famous curse.
Rik is ready for some adventure and decides to help Kenzie, he agrees to take her to the forbidden island, it is here he discovers there is only one curse and it has nothing to do with losing his life but everything to do with losing his heart to a beautiful princess and suddenly all he needs is Kenzie, only Kenzie does not do royal bad boys , not for longer than one night that is.
The characters of Rik and Kenzie were both very well written and the author let their emotions flow so strongly it was if I could actually touch the heat simmering between then and feel the heartache bouncing from their past wounds.
I loved, loved, loved that the author let Kenzie be all about spunk and go get 'em and never be talked into doing anything you know you will not love! It showed that when we have a dream we need to go after it, if we follow someone else's dream we will never feel that we have reached our own and the wonder of what if will always linger.
I adored Rik from the start, yes in the start he is nothing but a ex prince and drunk as a skunk but even when drunk he had this certain mystery to him that immediately let me as reader know this is one hero that is going to go from bad to absolutely amazing in a very short time, I was not disappointed! I was also reminded how some things in life can seem like the end but in fact it is the start of a new and improved journey on the road to success.
The read also featured some very interesting secondary characters such as Rik's mother who is simply a woman that will do what every mother will do for her children, protect them against any and all harm, there was also the very comical and interesting room-mate to Kenzie, Lee who had me laughing out load as some of the most hilarious tweets, outrageous ideas and sayings.
The backdrop settings were absolutely exquisite! Crystal clear ocean, white sandy beaches, tropical flowers pure island magic and perfect setting for romance and good old fashioned legend! The author's dialogue use was a mixture of deep untouched emotion and heartache and crazy wild island fling romance, but she incorporated so many words of mystery with regards to the legend and the past of both main characters that it truly felt as if I was living the secrets.
It kept me captivated and wanting to learn more, with each page turned the mystery deepend and in the end it came to such a awesome ending it left me almost in tears that the read had indeed ended, I wanted it to go on and to learn more ! It was all just simply brilliant! Excellent work Romy!
The perfect telling of a legend blending with a real life romance, yes I realise the characters are not truly real life and the romance merely words on a page, but the author letting legend blend with a story that is definitely entirely possible and not just the stuff legends are made of made this read truly realistic, and I most definitely cannot wait for the author do it again and again and again !
I am taking away a message of those of us that keep secrets sometimes do so to protect the ones we love and we are not to judge the person for keeping the secret, we rather need to seek the beauty and true protection in the name of love of the secrets, it will show the person to you in whole new light. And never let the past hold you back, you never know you link to the past may be exactly what you need to steer you to a future of endless happiness.
I highly recommend this read for all fans of romance, it is was not simply a fairytale legend finding it's way into the world of romance but a truly wonderful new, fun and fresh look at just how fairy-tales can come true. Passionate, fun, exciting, exhilarating and fabulously SEXY!
5/5 * review
"He is the Prince every woman wants to be seen with but the bad boy pirate every woman needs"
