Customer Reviews

Beloved Captive: Fairweather Keys Series #2 (Truly Yours Romance Club #28)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
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If it had, I would've rated it higher. It took me quite a while to finish this book. Unlike Beloved Castaway, this story had some slow spots and less action. It started out strong and even made me cringe in a few places, but I always like it when characters are stuck in situations they can't control. But I never got the same sense of peril in this story as I did in the first book. I enjoyed seeing some of the same characters from the previous book, but it did drag a bit and the ending seemed kind of choppy to me. There was also less romance than in the first book. I loved the part where they were both on that island and when the hero named her Miss Crusoe. I also loved how the author had a twist from what you'd expect every now and then. Overall, it was a decent read. I hate to compare books but it is part of a series, so it's hard not to do that. I look forward to the third book in the series.

I'd previously read Beloved Castaway before reading Beloved Captive -- and I didn't think too highly about the first one. I decided to give Captive a chance anyways since I still had the characters fresh in my mind.

And I still say this series is just OK. I've read better.

I personally favored this storyline more than the first, but I still had problems favoring the author's writing style and character development. It wasn't easy for me to truly "get into it" until the last few chapters.

Then again, if that's the kind of series you're after -- something that's hard to truly get into so that it doesn't keep you up at night turning page after page -- then this should work just fine.

Kathleen Y'Barbo has penned another entertaining seafaring adventure with her novel "Beloved Captive". In this sequel to "Beloved Castaway", and second in the Fairweather Key series, the story of Isabelle's sister, Emilie, is told. From her trip to visit their father in the hopes of procuring a donation to keep her school in Fairweather Key open, to her adventurous trip on the high seas including being captured by pirates and meeting her one true love, this lively tale in truly enjoyable. This novel can easily be read as a standalone story, but it would be more enjoyable if you've already read "Beloved Castaway" and are familiar with the characters.

"Beloved Captive" has moments where it is a bit far-fetched as well as other moments that are very predictable. But these elements do not detract from the enjoyability of the story if you are able to simply take the book as an entertaining read. I found myself glad that I was correct about my assumptions of where certain twists and turns were headed. I will recommend this book and look for future projects by this author - like the third in the series, "Beloved Counterfeit".

From the very first page of this book I was held captive by the story. In her sequel to the first book, Beloved Castaway, I believe Kathleen Y'Barbo created an even more compelling story. I had a hard time accomplishing any work because I wanted to find out what happened to Caleb and Emilie.

Emilie Gayarre has a new life in Fairweather Key teaching the children. She loves her life there but is called back to New Orleans to attend her dying father. While there she finds out her entire life was based upon a lie and the wounds it causes in her heart make it impossible for her to see any hope for her future. Caleb Spencer is trying to escape the truths of his heritage to build a career as the Attorney General. Caleb and Emilie meet in the most unusual of circumstances as she is captured by pirates and he is forced to rescue her. Falling in love with each other is far from either of their plans. But the course of true love is undaunted.

Kathleen has combined pirates, revenge, faith, love, forgiveness, and hope into the characters and the story. You will almost smell the sea air and feel the spray of the ocean as the story captures your heart and your time. Clear your calendar; there won't be much time for anything but reading once you begin this story. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves romantic adventures.

Emilie Gayarre's departure from a life of luxury led her to a life of service. Now she's returned home to ask her curmudgeon father for monetary help. She discovers a startling truth about herself, which will effect her future, and tries to return to the Florida Keys. A pirate ship intervenes and her life is threatened. Caleb Spencer rescues her. But is being rescued by another pirate any better than the one she left?

Once again Y'Barbo has crafted a magical tale of love and adventure on the sea. Romance readers, fasten your life jackets and be prepared to stay up all night.

I have not read the first book (Beloved Castaway) but I really enjoyed this book. I love the whole pirate on the high seas, lady in distress kind of books and this book is wonderful in that vein. Some of it is predictable but written so well that you don't care and you just kind of sigh and say, "Ahhhh, I knew it! Oh, good!" If you enjoy the pirate adventure romance books then this series is a must add to your library.

Beloved Captive by Kathleen Y'Barbo is the second book in the Fairweather Keys series. Emilie Gayerre was raised as the privileged daughter of a prominent New Orleans businessman, pampered and spoiled, even if she didn't have his love or attention. Caleb Spencer was the son of a lawyer and the daughter of a pirate giving him a thirst to serve the law while fighting the seawater in his veins. Emilie and Caleb both discover shocking secrets about their past that send them spinning into self-doubt, and when they meet, the collision and chemistry are electric. Emilie has settled into a good life on the Fairweather Keys as the schoolteacher, but after a trip to visit her ailing father, she is captured by first one pirate and then another. Caleb has also returned to his family home on the island of Santa Lucida in the Caribbean when he rescues Emilie from the vicious pirate Thomas Hawkins. This is a classic historical romance with sparks, romance, confused identities, secrets, and repressed emotions, but Y'Barbo makes it sparkle with great dialogue and strong faith. My only complaint was that the ending seemed to happen to quickly. Everything was over and tidied up so speedily, I felt a bit confused by the events. That said, I think this book was even better than it's predecessor, Beloved Castaway.

As my first book that I have read by Kathleen Y'Barbo I am quite the fan. From several author buddies, Kathleen's books have been recommended and she has been called a great friend so I was excited when I was given the chance to review "Beloved Captive," the second book in the Fairweather Keys series, even though I have not read the first. But after reading this one, I do believe I will go back to find the first as this was quite enjoyable.



The title is absolutely perfect and captures the entire story. Characters are individually fabulous and entertaining. At first what I deemed to be a predictable story was actually full of unforeseeable twists and turns. Action and adventure with romance and pirates! What could be better?!



A perfect vacation or weekend read that I would recommend to anyone who wants a little pirate romance adventure.

Set in 1836, this historical romance is the sequel to Beloved Castaway. Emilie returns to her father's sick bed and is shocked to learn that Elizabeth,the woman she always thought was her mother is not her parent. Rather, her father tells her that Sylvie, his concubine, a slave, is her mother. Emilie wrestles with this truth as she plans to return to her teaching. The author does a good job of portraying the feelings of a young lady receiving such a shock.

Meanwhile, Caleb Spencer, hates his mother's side of the family because they were pirates. He wants to forget that there's any part of him that is Benning. When challenged on the high seas, though, the Benning in him comes through. Once again, the author does a good job writing this character in a believable manner.

Romances are not my favorite genre, and the ending is predicable. However, if you like historical romance novels, this is one for you to enjoy.

Beloved Captive
Kathleen Y'Barro
Barbour, Nov 2008, $10.97
ISBN: 9781602602304

In 1836 wealthy Emilie Gayarre has finally learned the truth about her heritage that ironically even the family servants knew. She no longer believes the truth will set everyone free though she believes it helped her father whose deathbed confession cleared his conscience before he met the Lord. Still part of her remains in denial even as she knows it is true that dad told her the truth that her biological mother was a slave.

Although still in shock, Emilie leaves New Orleans by sea to return to teaching the kids of Fairweather Keys, Florida. On the Caribbean crossing, she meets Naval Commander Caleb Spencer. They are attracted to one another, but she conceals her mixed heritage while he struggles to overcome his family's dark past starting with his mother the pirate, his grandfather's illegal activity and worse his father the politician; their felonious escapades have stymied his military career. As they fall in love, she fears her students will be sent to other Keys for their education by an activist judge since there is no school-building on Fairweather. She also worries how her Caleb will react to a slave's blood flowing through her at a time he struggles to surmount his family obstacles while someone wants to cut him out permanently of his Caribbean inheritance.

The sequel to BELOVED CASTAWAY is a fabulous historical romantic action adventure thriller that holds the readers' captive from the moment Emilie and Caleb meet as each is attracted to the other, but hiding something from their beloved. The story line starts as a straightforward Americana romance but splits into two subplots following the separate escapades of each lead character learning to accept their ancestry before merging back together into a dynamic finish. As always Kathleen Y'Barbo provides an entertaining deep soul searching tale that in this case at times is more an action historical story than a romance.

Harriet Klausner