The Broken and the Bold
Leslie Voddard
Medieval Historical Romance
She’s the captain of her ship…and his heart.
Captain O’Bannon needs to rescue her twin brother, who is captive on a pirate ship, before he is worked to death. Little does anyone know that Captain O’Bannon’s true name is Fionola, and she is marauding the Atlantic disguised as a man. When she rescues a captive from a pirate ship who knows her brother, they team up to find him. But her inconvenient attraction to the man she rescued turns into something more after he saves her life and learns her secret.
Charles de Vere joins Captain O’Bannon’s crew to save the man who kept him alive for two years after being captured and enslaved on a pirate ship by a traitor to the crown. One night, he learns that the captain is a woman, and sparks fly—but their clandestine passion threatens everything they’ve worked to achieve. When circumstances put her secret identity at risk, they flee to his family in England, hoping to find her brother on the way.
But coming home with a pirate bride turns out to be more difficult than he imagined.
Uncaged Review: This is the third book of the de Veres series and in this story Fionola MacMurrough, better known as pirate Captain O’Bannon of the ship Draconis. Fionola’s main goal is to save her brother Liam, held captive by Black Stephen. When she comes upon the Midas and frees the prisoners, her brother isn’t on board, but Charles de Vere is. So Fionola asks Charles to come with them on an urgent mission to find Liam. Charles is happy not to be a slave any longer and goes along with them. As Charles slowly gets better, Fionola not only enjoys talking to him but is starting to feel a strong attraction to him too. Fionola must hide her identity and does a very good job of it because no one even suspects who she truly is. When Fionola spies the Gorgon, she orders her crew to attack. Fionola knows she is so close to finding her brother, but when she is badly injured, will Charles finally figure out who she really is or will her love for him be her undoing?
I usually avoid sea-faring historical romances because, for me, they just aren’t that interesting and imagining the visuals is a hard thing for me. This book, though, had everything! An engaging twisty plot, stunning imagery, and lovely characters from major to minor that were easy to see in your head. The tale is just beautifully written with non-stop action that never lets up until the very end! So, yes, this novel just grabbed me from the get-go. Fionola was just the perfect woman; strong, feisty and determined. Definitely a girl after my own heart that even I fell half in love with her just like Charles did. Sure, Charles did kind of pale in comparison to her, but after he got better and didn’t fade into the backdrop than, he was just as charming as Fionola. I really regret reading this book first when I should have read the other two in the series, and now I might just go ahead and do that. Luckily, this book stands wonderfully alone. Definitely, Ms. Leslie Vollard has my attention so that I can’t wait to read more! Reviewed by Roslynn Ernst
4.5 Stars
