Engaging but slow-paced historical novel
4 stars
Lord Constantine Wylde is the perfect gentleman - there's not a black mark to his name or character. When it comes times to find himself a wife - he needs to find someone as well-bred, well-behaved and proper as he is. But all his perfectly laid plans go awry when a fierce, aging pirate bursts into his home with some shocking news: Constantine is already engaged to the pirate's lovely granddaughter, Lisabeth.
Lisabeth has dreamed of pirates and wild romances since she was a child and this nobleman standing before her is far removed from every girlish dream she's ever had - she will not marry him. Yet as they spend more time together she realises he may have a wild side that he's yet to discover and Constantine soon finds himself acting like the lusty pirate he never thought he'd be.
I'll admit that I wavered between giving this book 3 stars and 4. It was a very character driven book with the plot focussing mainly on how both Constantine and Lisabeth coped on their journey towards true love.
Constantine was a very well written character - so much so that I genuinely didn't like him at the beginning when he was so stiff and formal. But he grew on me as the book went on. Lisabeth was a very genuine, down to earth kind of girl and not nearly so wild as I had imagined she would be. Together they worked well although I didn't feel the passion and chemistry was as electric as I would have hoped.
The writing itself was excellent and the book was engaging enough to hold my interest throughout. I think the main reasoning behind my indecision between 3 and 4 stars was due to the book's title. With a title like 'For the Love of a Pirate', I was expecting pirate ships, heroic buccaneers and lots of wild action-adventure. When it wasn't there - I guess I was slightly disappointed. But that doesn't mean to say that the book wasn't very good in its own way, which is why I opted for the 4 stars.
