Series: The Rokesbys, #3
Traits & Tropes: kidnapped; shipboard; privateer; forced proximity; banter; slow burn
Publication Date: 11.20.18
Genre/Setting: Historical; Georgian; Dorset/Kent, England; Atlantic Ocean; Lisbon, Portugal, 1786
Heat Level: 1.5
Rating: 3.5/5
Narration Rating: 4/5
Poppy Bridgerton is curious about everything and refuses to settle for a suitor who doesn’t have a similar wit or interest in the world around him. None of the men she’s met during her two London seasons have made the cut. During an extended visit to a friend on the Dorset coast, Poppy’s curiosity leads her to explore a remote cave which turns out to be a smugglers’ hiding place. This of course means that when two pirates return for their hidden supplies and discover her there, Poppy is kidnapped, brought aboard their ship, and left for the captain to deal with.
Captain Andrew James Rokesby has a reputation as a careless privateer but that façade has been cultivated to hide his efforts as a courier of sensitive documents for the British government. Now he’s in route to Portugal to deliver an awaited packet and the last thing he expects is to find a woman in his cabin. He’s at a loss but given the sensitive nature of his duty to the Crown, he has no choice but to take her with him.
When Andrew learns his captive is a Bridgerton, the niece of his mother’s best friend no less, he knows he’ll probably wind up having to marry her to prevent a scandal, but Poppy still doesn’t know he’s the son of an earl and neighbor to her cousins. The close quarters of the ship give Poppy and Andrew plenty of time for caustic repartee but as they come to know each other better, neither wants to do without the other, though Andrew’s secret-keeping could drive a wedge between them.
I loved this premise and I loved Poppy and Andrew as a couple, but man this was a slow burn. I was a little surprised by how things worked out in the final third of the book and, though it was satisfying, it was somehow still not quite all that I wanted. I enjoyed the meaningful conversations between Andrew and Poppy aboard ship, and I wanted a bit more of that once they were back in England than what we got on the page. I was glad there was minimal angst here and I adored the humor and banter between these two. They came to know each other on a deep level without knowing some of the basic details of each other’s lives and that made this story unique. I was surprised at how much I wound up enjoying the slow burn between these two and how they both knew they wished to be together without any gameplaying. I wanted more from the ending, but the humor and charm of the characters did make up for that for the most part.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2101882845
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3899301474
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