Review: The Pirate's Duchess by Katherine Bone

DISCLAIMER #1: This story is part of a collection of stories from a number of best selling authors. I have decided instead of reviewing them all at once which may be confusing to some of my readers, I am dedicating eight days to these amazing authors and their stories. 

From Goodreads.com: Duty forces him to take on the pirate code, but honor brings him back. 

Prudence, Duchess of Blackmoor, has one desire—to be happy again. After struggling to overcome the horrifying death of her husband, she accepts an earl’s offer of marriage, confident she’s taking a step in the right direction. But demons, refuse to die, and Prudence finds herself caught in an intricate web of deceit that threatens the very foundations of all she holds dear. 

Tobias, the Duke of Blackmoor, crosses the line when an assassination attempt on him fails. To restore the reputations of friends under attack by the same villain, and ensure his wife’s safety, he stages his own death, becoming The Black Regent, a notorious pirate bent on brandishing justice, never thinking he’d survive. But to his amazement, he has, and now the darkest-kept secrets are not worth losing the duchess his wife has become. 

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My Rating: 5 stars out of 5
    
      I'm not even going to lie - this was the story I was most looking forward to. I knew it was going to be amazing (and it was), and I felt that if I found any other new authors during the course of reading the anthology that would just be the whipped cream on my sundae. 

      I LOVE Katherine Bone. In fact, her pirate stories are ranked among my top ten favorite series. She doesn't just tell a story - she is able to bring you into her world so that you become a part of it. The world around you ceases to exist, and instead of your couch, bed, whatever - you are transported to heaving ships surrounded by pirates. And somehow - she manages to make that sexy. 

      If you haven't already ready her Nelson's Tea series, I highly suggest you get on it immediately. While it isn't necessary that you read this in order to understand The Pirate's Duchess (in fact The Pirate's Duchess is an introduction to an entirely new series), it will allow you to experience firsthand the amazing amount of work (and historical details) that Ms.Bone puts into her work. 

     I suppose I should take a moment to talk about why I liked this book specifically instead of simply gushing about the author and her other books. To put it simply - its all in the writing. Her characters become real almost from page one. You experience their losses, their hopes, their fears. You cling to your kindle anxiously as the story unfolds desperate to find out what happens next. Does the Heroine arrive in time to save her husband? Does the Hero accomplish his mission or is he thwarted by the very people he calls friend? 

    When you are reading a book such as this (even if it is a short story and I would have loved for it to be full length simply because I'm selfish and I wanted more time with these characters and more time in their world), time ceases to exist. It it just you, and these wonderfully written characters trying to overcome extraordinary odds. 

DISCLAIMER #2: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own. 

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The Pirate's Duchess is available as part of the Once Upon a True Love's Kiss collection from Amazon.com