A Lady at Last

Author: Brenda Joyce
Published: December 2006 (Harlequin)
Category: Historical Fiction
Rating: 6/10

Oof, I'm seriously behind on my reviews again, and this time I don't have a vacation to use as an excuse.

Raised as a pirate's daughter, Amanda Carre has not been tutored in the finer social graces. Alone in the world, she has never depended on anyone, until fate intervenes when Cliff de Warenne rescues her from a mob at her father's hanging. Now she must set sail for England to find the mother she never knew, and her chaperone is an infamous ladies' man . . .

The greatest gentleman privateer of his era, Cliff knows honor demands that he see this beautiful wild child to London and into her socialite mother's arms. He's aware that Amanda is utterly unprepared for a debut in London's ton, so his only recourse is to becomes her guardian and champion her transformation into a lady—and find her a suitable match. But with every passing moment it becomes harder to deny his jealousy and ire—until Amanda makes her stunning debut, a lady at last. And when his passion in finally released, their love can no longer be denied.

Let's make it quick: I didn't like the way Amanda was throwing herself at Cliff. If she were doing that in our world, Cliff would be running away as fast as he could. And Cliff kept acting like he was in love with Amanda and kept denying his feelings to her and himself. In the usual "want what you don't have" way, Cliff leaves on a short mission and while he's away, he realizes that he really does need Amanda in his life. And when he comes back, he sleeps with her, but doesn't tell her that he loves her, and she idiotically runs away from him to become a businesswoman in the Caribbean. She just assumes that he doesn't care for her, even after the drastic change in Cliff's behavior.

The best part of the book is when Amanda dumbly leaves Cliff after he finally sleeps with her, steals his best ship, and he has to chase after her.