Keeping company with a pirate is one thing. Falling in love with him could ruin Sophie and her eccentric family for good… Sophie Crestwood is never going to catch a husband. Her father is a gossip, her mother has her nose in a book, and little Jack has shamefully been dismissed from boarding school. Worst of all, a pirate moves next door into Pembroke Hall.When Sophie’s sent to a matchmaking … Hall.
When Sophie’s sent to a matchmaking party at a neighboring estate, the pirate from Pembroke arrives and distracts everyone from the summer festivities. Unguarded, her feelings about the mysterious Captain Murdock bloom into a trusted friendship that Sophie fears may come to mean more than anyone could ever suspect.
A Jane Austen-inspired romance! Buy now to enjoy this classic romance novel from the author of West Indies romance, Proper Attire.
More romances from Danielle Thorne:
Josette
Proper Attire
The Privateer of San Madrid
Gentlemen of the Coast Book 1: A Smuggler’s Heart
Gentlemen of the Coast Book 2: A Captain’s Bride
By Heart and Compass
Turtle Soup
Valentine Gold
Brushstrokes and Blessings
Henry’s Holiday Charade
Garland’s Christmas Romance
Death Cheater
Cheated
more
A Pirate at Pembroke (2018) is an excellent standalone novel by Danielle Thorne. This book comes in all forms including eBook, and is 433 pages in length. With a full-time job and a busy six-year old, this book took me two days to read. I received a copy of this novel in eBook form from the author via Kathy at I Am a Reader. In no way has this influenced my opinion of the story. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. I give A Pirate at Pembroke 5 STARS. This book is a Clean Historical Romance.
A Pirate at Pembroke is a FANTASTIC story. It is very much in the style of Jane Austen with its wonderfully detailed descriptions, poignant inner monologues, and a palpable tension between the hero and heroine that lasts until the final chapter. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book, and I am very sorry my time with Sophie and Captain Murdock is over. This is a novel that will stick with me long after finishing the last page.
Told from a first-person perspective, the reader follows Sophie as she encounters her new, mysterious neighbor, the dashing Captain Murdock of Pembroke. Intrigue and rumor surrounds Murdock — some say he is nothing but a villainous pirate while others say he is a first-rate Navy man who protected British interests against pirates and the French. Regardless, when the reader first meets Murdock he is a surly, brooding, and injured man who makes sure to keep all — even the reader — at arms length. Of course, this just makes Sophie, and the reader, more and more curious about the handsome and captivating neighbor.
Sophie is an excellently written character. She is kind, generous, and compassionate. She is beautiful, but doesn’t seem to know it because of her humble nature. She always attempts to stand a minute in someone else’s shoes before coming to any sort of judgement or conclusion, which is a fantastic reminder for all of us today where conclusions about someone or something are drawn based on emotion in the moment rather than on actual fact. While others sit in gossip groups talking about someone they don’t really know, Sophie is the first to stand up against the meanness and hatred in defense of the one being spoken against. Reading about a character willing to stand up for what is right was, to me, a breath of fresh air!
Because of parental machinations and the considerate meddling of one very wealthy aunt, it is desired and expected that Sophie will marry a character named Henry. But neither Henry nor Sophie feel anything more than friendship towards one another. There is a fabulous discussion about practicality versus love. Henry wants to do what will make his family happy, but his heart belongs elsewhere. Sophie, too, wants to please her family, but she is holding out for true love. She makes the best comment when she says to Henry, “It is better to sacrifice a little for true love than to settle only for sensibility.” I adore this line of thinking, and can 100% relate. My family was not on board when my husband and I married. I hate to say it but my happiness was not important enough to my family. What was important was my bottom line, and my future husband didn’t look like he could help improve my financial life in any real way. BUT, I married him anyway because I am in love with my husband. And guess what?! God takes care of us just fine! My parents didn’t understand that I don’t put my trust in a human to take care of my daily/personal/financial needs. My trust resides in God. And, like Sophie, I held out for true love not for practicality, which has made all the difference in my life. God blessed me with my husband — a blessing I wouldn’t have if I had chosen to be practical and worldly focused.
Coming in at just over 400 pages, there is clearly a billion more things I could talk about with this story. There is Sophie’s little brother, Jack, who is quite the rapscallion. There is an interesting love/like square (there are three men vying for Sophie!) that creates some serious mishaps and tension. And, there is the mystery surrounding the handsome hero, Captain Murdock, that makes the reader turn page after page in want of answers. Plus, so much more! If you are looking for an excellent Regency novel to sink your reading teeth into, then I cannot recommend A Pirate at Pembroke enough. Get a copy of this awesome book! You will not be disappointed.
My thoughts about this story:
• The descriptions of places and the emotions of the characters were so vividly described, that I felt I was viewing their Regency world through the eyes of the characters.
• The beginning of this story drew me into the story instantly. The strong sibling connection between Sophie and Jack was a great start for this book. My interest in this wonderful book never waned.
• The romance between Sophie and Murdock was sweet. I liked Sophie’s upbeat personality and Murdock’s mysteriousness.
• There were many secondary players in this novel. They were varied, well developed, interesting, and added depth to the storyline. I especially liked Sophie’s brother Jack and the drama he added to the storyline.
• The story flowed smoothly and progressed at a perfect rate.
• The storyline had some twists and turns that made it not predictable.
• The narrator, Jacq, did an excellent job with her narration. Their were many distinct and believable men’s and women’s voices and the narration isn’t overly dramatic. The transitions between characters were smooth and seamless making for an excellent audiobook. I also had the ebook, too, so I could listen or read.
A Pirate at Pembroke by Danielle Thorne
Sophie is wonderfully untalented and is not especially attractive, at least according to her standards. She is not an exceptional musician, she isn’t especially smart and she has a terrible sense of direction. She even got lost on her own property! Granted, she was disoriented after having been tied to a tree by Jack, her younger brother and left in the rain. . .
As you may have guessed, A Pirate at Pembroke is written in a fun tongue-in-cheek style. Sophie’s parents are the inverse of Elizabeth’s parents in Pride and Prejudice. Her papa was a gossip and her mother buried herself in her romance novels. Her younger brother, Jack, is determined to go to sea instead of taking the Living at Oak Grove that had been offered to him.
Captain Murdock is the subject of much gossip after inheriting the decaying neighboring estate. Because he was born in St. Kitts and had been a sea captain, speculation about him ran rampant. He was a wonderful character. I loved the way he was imperfect as well. The ghosts of his past caused him to question his suitability as a husband to anyone, and yet he had such a protective streak and wanted to do all he could to help Sophie, especially when the tragedy that crushed her world hit.
The author’s choice of telling the story only from Sophie’s perspective was perfect. Hearing what others thought would have spoiled the surprises later on in the story!
Be sure to visit the book preview post for this book, and if you are reading this before June 30, 2018, enter the giveaway there.
This review was originally posted on AmongTheReads.net.
Get a preview of A Pirate at Pembroke at amongTheReads.net
I would like to thank IAmAReader.com for giving me this copy of the book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.