10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worthy Sequel to "Across a Moonlit Sea", November 2, 2003
For those of us who loved "Across a Moonlit Sea," "The Iron Rose" is indeed a worthy sequel. Simon and Beau's daughter Juliet has taken up the pirate's trade in the tradition of her parents. She is the equal of any man sailing the Spanish Main in 1614 -- she loves her life and is not bothered by the absence of a permanent man in it, until she meets Varian St Clare, an envoy of King James VI of England. Varian is on a mission to convince Juliet's father and his fellow pirates to honor a peace treaty with Spain when he is rescued from almost certain death by Juliet. As with Ms Canham's previous novels, this one contains accurate details of life aboard ship in the 17th century, and "gentle readers" may be off-put by some of the graphic battle scenes. Also, Ms Canham has created "bad guys" with few redeeming qualities, and several plot twists that kept this reader's interest from beginning to end. Juliet is not a typical romantic heroine -- she can go for days without a bath, has had several casual lovers, and has no interest in marriage. Varian is more in the typical romantic hero mold, although more witty than most, and he does have a trick or two up his sleeve that keeps Juliet off balance. For those who hoped for more about Simon and Beau, they play fairly minor roles in this book, although there is a surprise involving the still-lovely Beau. I thoroughly enjoyed "The Iron Rose," as I love pirate stories, and enjoy romance novels that are not typical of the genre. If you have similar tastes, I think you will give this highly entertaining book a place on your keeper shelf.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Swashbuckling romance at its best!, September 4, 2003
After hearing about the role reversal in this book (the heroine is a pirate and the hero is a aristocrat) and reading some comments about the hero isn't "tough enough", I put off reading this book for a while. The reason was, no matter how much I love its prequel; ACROSS A MOONLIT SEA, and how much I adore a strong heroine, the idea of the hero being overpowered by the heroine didn't appeal to me a bit. I'd thought the role reversal meant a beta hero with a heart of gold versus a tough and ruthless heroine who needs to be reformed. But after I eventually read this book, I knew how wrong I was.
The heroine, Juliet Dante, the daughter of the legendary Pirate Wolf (the irresistible Simon Dante- read ACROSS A MOONLIT SEA for his full story, you'll love him!!!) is as strong and ruthless as I'd expected and more! She has more brain cells than every other heroine's in the same genre put together. If only those heroines I just mentioned had borrowed her spine...
Although the original heroine made a delightful read, what made this book a GRAND KEEPER for me was the hero. Varian St. Clare, the Duke of Harrow, is neither helpless nor a beta nice guy as I was afraid to read about. He's strong, smart and, despite being out of place as he was, wasn't intimidated by The Dante clan and the rough life. He could have been a credible alpha hero should he have a role in another book with a different setting. His character might not as heroic and larger than life as those typical Canham's heroes like Alexander Cameron in THE PRIDE OF LIONS&THE BLOOD OF ROSES, Tyrone Hart in PALE MOON RIDER, and Simon Dante in ACROSS A MOONLIT SEA, he's just as compelling and charming enough to become a new member of my all time favourite heroes.
Needless to say that the relationship between the hero and heroine is very well develop and the sexual tension and love scenes between those two are so hot they made me sweat more than once.
This book is a page-turner, full of breathtaking actions and rip-roaring adventures. The historical background's very interesting and the writing style's so compelling I could see the scenes and feel true atmosphere as if I was THERE. In the world of swashbuckling tales, Marsha Canham isn't one of the best authors. She IS the best.
I can hardly wait to read the stories of Juliet's two elder brothers. Hopefully Marsha would write a sequel soon because if she didn't do so, this book would more likely be the last pirate tale in my keeper shelf. There're TOO many bad pirate romances out there, you know.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Rollicking Good Time!, January 14, 2004
This book proves my assertion that Marsha Canham is without equal when it comes to writing adventure filled romances.
This is the swashbuckling tale of Juliet Dante, the fiercely independent daughter of Simon and Beau Dante who starred in another marvelous Canham book called Across a Moonlit Sea (this book stands on its own, however). Juliet is captain of her own ship The Iron Rose and one day while taking her ship out for a test run she runs across a Spanish galleon kicking the tar out of an English ship. She gallantly runs to the English ships rescue and jumps right into the fray. By the time the cannons are silenced Juliet and her crew have captured a huge Spanish treasure ship and rescued most of the crew of the English ship. However, Juliet's joy is short lived when she discovers the English ship she just saved was carrying an emmissary from King James. Varian St Clare, the duke of Harrow, was sent on a mission of utmost importance to King James. He is to persuade the privateers, including the Dantes, to honor a peace treaty with Spain which means they must immediately cease the attacks on the Spanish ships sailing to Spain from the New World chock full of treasure. Juliet is outraged that this fop dressed in velvet and feathers would dare to even suggest such a thing especially when Spain violated the last treaty by murdering the surrendering privateers. Regardless of how she feels Juliet is stuck with the disturbingly handsome nobleman. She agrees to take him to meet her father as her hostage.On the other hand, Varian's manly pride takes a blow when he realizes he is being taken hostage by a female and things only get worse when he realizes he is disturbingly aroused by said female. Never in his wildest dreams could he have thought that he'd be attracted to a fierce, strong, foul-mouthed woman who disdains his title and everything he stands for but also dares to manhandle him. Soon, Varian realizes that he loves Juliet and not in spite of her unusual qualities but because of them.
I absolutely loved the way the author turned the romance formula
upside down with Juliet's character. I am sure that Juliet
is one of the most amazing heroines I've ever come across. She is a fierce warrior but make no mistake she is also a woman who is fully aware of herself and completely in touch with her sensuality. She is the one who seduces Varian which I found incredibly refreshing. Varian is no mincing fop either, his quiet strength is the perfect foil for Juliet's strong personality. I also found that the vivid descriptions of battle and the pirate's way of life make for a heart pounding read. While I was reading this book all I kept thinking was what a great movie this would make. All in all The Iron Rose makes for a very satisfying read. Highly recommended :0)
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