"Another winner for Lisa Cach"
Anne Hazlett is a lady's maid from England. All her life
she has dreamed of a distant tropical island, convinced
that is where she truly belongs. She and her employer are
on a ship bound for India. Her employer is on a trip to
find a husband; Anne is searching for her mysterious
island. She hides her dreams and intelligence behind a
façade of one who is extremely shy and not overly bright,
longing for the day she can truly be herself. Horatio Merivale considers himself a failure. He failed his
parents by refusing to settle down and marry a woman of his
station in England. He failed at being a soldier by getting
himself shot the very first time he goes off to battle,
never even making it there. The only thing he is good at is
flirting with all the pretty ladies, putting them at ease,
and keeping his eternal optimism shining bright. When
Horatio meets Anne on board the ship, he immediately senses
she is not like the other ladies and that there is more to
her than meets the eye. One evening on their journey, a severe storm comes up,
causing the ship to flounder and eventually sink. Anne's
employer abandons her to find her own way, after Anne helps
her to get out safely. She thinks all is lost until Horatio
happens upon her and rescues her. They escape the ship and
finally get to a makeshift raft, holding a few of the
others from the ship. While floating adrift, the castaways
become very close, telling all of their hopes and dreams.
Anne confides in them all telling them of her dreams of a
distant tropical island. Conversation about her island is what keeps all of them
going, even while floating aimlessly for many days, until
they are rescued...by a pirate's ship! This one belongs to
the infamous French privateer, Chartier, a scourge of the
seas. He immediately imprisons Horatio, keeping Anne for
his "queen," having been told about her island, with a few
minor exaggerations, and pressing the others into service
upon his ship. Eventually, with a lot of help from Anne,
they overturn Chartier, setting him adrift and taking over
the ship. Now the real journey begins as they go on a quest to find
this mysterious island of Anne's, convinced the "Hand of
Destiny" will guide them. Horatio finds himself falling
hopelessly in love with Anne, someone he never would have
looked twice at were they still in England. But Anne
resists his charm and allure, sure he will move on when he
finds the next lady who catches his fancy. Now Horatio is
on a quest of his own...to win Anne's love. How Ms. Cach
resolves all of this is a real treat. This is another winner for the rising star Lisa Cach. Her
popularity is ever on the rise and this book is an example
of why. It is better than her last one, as they all are.
The tension between Anne and Horatio is perfect and keeps
the pages turning. Horatio is the perennial optimist (and
romantic) which often grates on Anne's nerves, though she
secretly likes that about him. Anne is bound and determined
not to fall in love or get married until her dreams have
been realized. The secondary characters are a delight, right down to Mango
the monkey, who provides many comical moments to the story.
Cartier is suitably awful and Anne's and Horatio's friends
are a riot. Each one will endear themselves to the reader,
who will be hoping for additional stories about some of
them. Horatio, especially, is one to love, and this
reviewer does. Ms. Cach is on a roll with her writing, making her fans
impatient for each additional book. © Kelley A. Hartsell, 2001. All rights reserved.
Reviewed by Kelley Hartsell
Courtesy Love Romances
Posted October 30, 2001
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