“Have you no decency?” Straight-laced missionary Sarah Fisher has never met a man like Captain Martin Bouchard. He is the most beautiful person—male or female—she’s ever seen. Overwhelmingly masculine, elegantly attired despite months at sea, he is in complete command of everyone and everything around him: everyone, that is, except Sarah. But that’s about to change because Sarah has bought … because Sarah has bought Bouchard’s mercy with the only thing she has to sell: her body.
“None at all . . .”
In spite of her outrageous offer, Martin has no doubt Sarah is a virgin, and a most delectable one at that. But instead of bedding her, he finds himself staring down the muzzle of his own pistol. Clearly, the longer she stays on his ship, the greater the chances that she’ll end up its damned captain! Most infuriating of all, she looks past his perfect exterior to the wounded man inside. Can Martin outrun his scandalous past in time to have a future with the first woman to find and capture his heart?
Praise for The Outcasts series
“Fans of Amanda Quick’s early historicals will find much to savor.”
—Booklist (Starred Review)
“Wicked repartee, savvy wit, and energetic libidos.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A remarkably resourceful heroine who can more than hold her own against any character invented by bestselling Bertrice Small . . . deliciously fun retro flavor.”
—Booklist (Starred Review)
“Sexy and wildly entertaining.”
—Bookpage
“Spencer shines . . . an author to watch.”
—Kirkus Reviews
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I’ve loved all three books in this series so far, but this one is just outstanding – Minerva Spencer in top form. Smart, funny, perceptive, this story held me riveted to the page. Martin is a one-of-a-kind hero. I fell in love with him even as I wanted to smack him upside the head for letting his emotional scars warp his behavior. Spencer doesn’t back off on holding his feet to the fire, either. A wonderful, rich, and emotional book. Can’t recommend highly enough!
I have been following Martin from the beginning and knew he would make a fantastic hero. I was not wrong. This story, like the others in this series, takes me back to old-fashioned romances. Pirates, women who need their help, villains and lots of exotic locales. These stories are fun. There is a lot of angst which I totally love. Martin is amazing and Sarah is feisty and holds her own against Martin. Their journey starts and becomes more passionate and loving with each new thing they learn. Yes, they have to deal with a lot of differences and secrets but you can feel their bond growing. I know this is a full-length novel but I could have kept reading about them.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
Minerva Spencer’s Scandalous is a compelling sea tale about the explosive interactions between Captain Martin Ètienne Bouchard and Miss Sarah Fisher. He makes his debut in the previous book as a handsome, irresistible character, but in his story, he is haughty and arrogant, and sometime bad-tempered. He soon discovers after rescuing Sarah Fisher, a missionary woman from a slave vessel, she is not a damsel-in-distress but is a resourceful woman who takes matters into her hands like pointing the muzzle of his pistol at him. Sarah Fisher sees this beautiful man in need of rescuing. Martin attempts to keep his distance, but it is too late. She has captured his heart that make him hopeful of a future with her, but then his torturous past catches up with him. As the story’s climax reaches its heights, the outcome has taken this reader by surprise for her to exclaim, “I did not see that coming!”
As the upstanding, moral daughter of English missionaries to Africa, Sarah Fisher has never met anyone like the compellingly beautiful Captain Martín Bouchard. When the privateer captures the slave ship Sarah was captured on, she offers the only thing available to her to ensure the captain’s mercy on the Dutch crew: her body.
Martín knows women and recognizes Sarah for the innocent she is, but instead of an educational night in bed, he winds up at the wrong end of his own pistol and desirous only of removing the bothersome woman from his ship. Even worse, she sees parts of him he’s managed to keep well-hidden and the more time he’s forced to spend with the irritating woman, the more he finds himself looking for ways to keep her with him in spite of his scandalous past.
I have such mixed feelings about this book and I think it’s because I really didn’t like either the hero or the heroine, although they were indeed perfect for each other. The hero was just as arrogant and pig-headed as the heroine accused him of being, but for her part, she was quite judgmental and shrewish much of the time, and just as stubborn. This was a slow burn between these two because of their communication issues, and also due to how very damaged Martín was, but that did fit the characters to a tee. Even though I didn’t even really like them, I was still rooting for them to get it together and it was so satisfying when they finally did.
This book was exquisitely well-written and handled some very difficult topics beautifully and for that it’s getting five stars. I can’t wait for the next one.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Sarah Fisher, a missionary and the daughter of missionaries, had been kidnapped along with the people from her village in Africa, where she was born. Captain Martín Bouchard has dedicated his life to capturing slavers and made his fortune that way. He seizes the enemy vessel on which Sarah was held captive, but she begs for mercy on behalf of the slaver ship’s captain by offering herself to Captain Bouchard.
I had been eagerly awaiting Martín’s story, the enigmatic, seductive, dissolute rake with the fascinating past. He’s fastidious, exceedingly proud, vain, and he’s prone to violent outbursts. And he is irresistible to all women. SCANDALOUS seemed off to a great start with witty dialogues, a lively pace, and an atmosphere that reminded me of old Errol Flynn black and white movies. Minerva Spencer is an extremely talented storyteller, her exquisite prose vibrantly eloquent, and her characters staggeringly complex, even secondary ones such as Mies Graaf. I liked Mies, in spite of some prior distasteful actions, and herin lies the problem: my dislike for Martín, which grew as the story progressed.
SCANDALOUS is one of those books where I wondered if Martín had been merely very good-looking, not the absolute epitome of masculine beauty in the history of time, if the romance would have occurred at all. I did not understand the romance. He’s mean, treats women as disposable commodities, which I found a little strange considering his upbringing. At least, it’s logical that Sarah would want to “save” him, she’s a missionary after all and she was grateful that he’d rescued her, but I couldn’t understand why she “fell in love” with him merely because of his god-like appearance and the lure of sexual ecstasy. He treated her with contempt, he was dismissive, rude, insulting, condescending; the only reason I could see was that she was a glutton for punishment, and she came back for more because he was physically irresistible.
Sarah had seemed like an admirable character at the beginning until she made an utter fool of herself, drooling over this beautiful monster. Yes, he had a very painful past, but it was no excuse for the way he acted towards her, and worse for her to always forgive him because of his beauteous person. In a way, I came to hate her even more than him for her superficiality, for “loving” him while he was such an insufferable beast. I found Martín to be one of the most unpleasant heroes I have ever seen and she was no better than the countless other women who fell at his feet. And unfortunately, as the story unfolded, I hated him even more. I just had no idea where his supposed infatuation came from, why he wanted her – I can’t say love, because I never saw it – except that he enjoyed tormenting her because she put up with his boorish behaviour while she desperately lusted after him? Because his oversized ego thrived on taunting her? He wanted her for some obscure reason that eluded me until the very end. I don’t find this a solid basis for a happily ever after.
I found the sections of the book that revolved around slavery the most interesting. I was hoping for an ending that would make up for that non-romance, alas it was not to be. Martín experienced some sort of miraculous partial metamorphosis, two cumbersome characters were conveniently disposed of, and Sarah and Martín went on to fornicate happily ever after. Hopefully, the few mistakes in French will have been corrected in the final version. Needless to say, this was not a pleasant read for me.
Words cannot explain how much this story moved me and took a hold of my heart. It is so well written and deserving more than 5 stars, in my opinion.
Martin Bouchard is not only exceedingly handsome and rich, his past has made him who he is today and that past is rapidly catching up to him. Sarah Fisher, daughter of missionaries in Africa, finds herself on a ship with hundreds of slaves, set to be sold to the highest bidders. Martin succeeds in capturing the slave ship and giving the slaves their freedom….what follows is a story filled with drama, adventure, heated passions, heartache, friendships, and so much more.
I was given an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Can she accept him for whom he is while he forgives himself for his own past.
Martin Étienne Bouchard is a former slave who ran away from America and became a privateer.
He shaped himself in the man he is now along the encounters he had on the way to his now-self.
At first sight he could have passed as being the vilain as he appears vain and uncaring but by sharing his thoughts the author reveals the tortured and broken man he is.
He is easily angered, haughty and arrogant, it is his way of dealing with his freedom dearly won. He is prone to fit of temper now he is released from his shackles, and he has every right to hold his head high for his own achievement.
And there is one person who seems to combine everything to bring the worst out of him.
Sarah Fisher a missionary’s daughter finds herself in a dire predicament when kidnapped among her neighbors as a slave for trade. She is an incredible woman, never a damsel in distress, always taking matter in hands whatever the outcome could be. She is not perfect, she struggles with her feelings and her upbringing lessons but she is a good woman, aware of her faults and chastising herself when she is not enough christian for her own taste.
Her more philosophical than Christian view of life put her on the path of a well known corsair.
The one man whom stirs the worse and the better from her, too bad he sees her only as an annoyance.
But does he really?
It was nearly impossible to put this book down, I read while walking, even while showering!
I needed absolutely to know what came after.
Mrs Spencer conducted a sizzling tale of redeeming where blindness and mishaps from the main couple caused a lot of hurt from one to another due to their awkwardness to communicate properly. They were unable to convey their feelings without putting their feet in the cookie jar, ineptly bringing the worst of the other out.
Martin reacts badly to kindness, he is like a caged animal, he strikes and bites. More suspicious to nice words than insults.
Sure at time, he is quite the wicked wretch. Bringing pain in return for his own hurts. I would have slapped him more than one time on the head, but Sarah while not reacting as badly as him is equally guilty of miscommunications and misconceptions.
What stunned me the most is that Martin’s behavior should have rattled me but I was so engrossed in the story, something to add to my praise of the author’s talent, I accepted it as part of his journey towards his healing.
Martin, sure, reaches summits of arrogance and haughtiness. He is such an aggravating man, portrayed as unable to see past his nose. But it is all a masquerade, him parading as a civilized man when inside he is consumed by a fury that eats him alive. Sarah could be his anchor if he does not drown before he accepts his own feelings.
This was my first read by Mrs Minerva Spencer and it will not be the last. Her tale is vivid and colorful with fleshy flawed paper heroes honor bond to right the wrong done around them.
I just have one interrogation, with an acute accent on Martin?
Edited review : a friend of mine got an explanation from the author, Martín origin’s name is not from a French fellow but a Mexican, why an accent.
A fat 5 stars
I was granted by Netgalley and the publisher Kensington an advance copy. I purchased also my own. Here is my true and unbiased opinion.
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Scandalous (The Outcasts Book 3) by Minerva Spencer
A beautifully written and extraordinarily moving story. It’s everything I look for in a historical romance and more!
The character driven storyline weaves the tragic life of the hero born into slavery and sold into unspeakable depravity, until he was saved. He then devotes his life to finding and bringing slave traders and human cargo smugglers to justice which is where he meets the very sassy pistol borrowing and wielding Sarah. Sarah moved to Africa with her missionary parents who had recently died due to an illness that swept through the village. Slave traders came and captured everyone in the village to be sold including Sarah who was not of similar ethnicity as the villagers she lived with. The slave trade was not swayed by ethnicity, color, gender, nor age. This story is gripping, engaging, charming, and heartbreaking with an entangled and spicy romance. The creatively twisted plot and the great cast of witty characters will enrage you and touch your heart and warm your soul.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I was not disappointed! I’ve found another gifted A list author.
I recommend this book to everyone who loves a rich, gut wrenching, and emotional historical that takes you back to the time of slavery while you watch the characters relive their traumatic experiences, and witness their transformation to a happily ever after you won’t soon forget!
Happy Reading
Content Note: Adult Content
Genre: Historical
Content: Steamy romance with explicit open bedroom door scenes.
Dark subject matter of slavery, prostitution, etc.
Minerva Spencer has soared to the top of my favorite authors. Her writing style is awesome. This is the third installment of The Outcasts series. It is the story of Captain Bouchard, privateer, ex-slave, and Captain of the Golden Scythe, and Sarah Fisher, missionary’s daughter. Their story is full of surprises and witty banter. Misunderstandings, confusion, lust and desire make for a very enjoyable read. I had a hard time putting it down, saying…one more chapter. well into the wee hours. Pick it and let Martin and Sarah wriggle into your heart. I highly recommend this book and give it five stars.
I did enjoy it. It keeps your interest going.
I enjoyed the first two books in The Outcasts series by Minerva Spencer and was looking forward to reading Scandalous. This is Martin Bouchard’s book whom we’ve met previously. He was such a fascinating character in the earlier books, I was very much looking forward to his story, and I truly enjoyed it. Sparks fly when Martin meets Sarah, a missionary woman, on a board of a slaver ship where she makes a deal with him to save her people. They are total opposites, their chemistry is explosive, and they butt heads a lot but ultimately fall in love. I must say Martin came across as a jerk at times, but when his backstory is revealed, his behavior makes more sense.
The Outcasts is such a fun historical romance series; each time I finish a book, I look forward to the next one. The next book, Notorious, is Gabriel’s story, which I have been waiting for since book one, and it makes me very excited and impatient at the same time.
Scandalous by Minerva Spencer is book 3 in The Outcasts Series. This is the story of Sarah Fisher and Martin Bouchard. I have read the previous books but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so. Martin is a former slave who ran and now is a privateer. Martin comes off harsh but as we learn more about him we learn reason behind his attitude. Sarah is a missionary woman who is kidnapped along with the people from her village in Africa. Sarah tries to save herself and other but offering herself to Martin but of course this leads to more.
Different take on a historical romance but overall enjoyed their story.
Prepare for another fabulous adventure from Minerva Spencer, who has become one of my go to authors. She always captures my imagination quickly and with this story or a privateer and a missionary, the banter is endless and emotions over the top.
Martin Couchard was Captain of the Golden Scythe. He was a privateer, but he also sought justice for those enslaved on ships and helped them become free. He had honed his “reputation of a cold, hard killer who was more concerned with his cravat than his life.” But Martin had a hard past and had overcome a lot but knew he was still lacking.
Sara Fisher was a missionary who got caught up on a ship filled with human cargo and she only wanted to get them free. As Martin takes the ship with the same intent (although she does not know that) the journey begins!!
This was a fast paced engaging story as the handsome privateer and the strong, determined missionary come together as he ends up taking her back to England along with the weak Captain Mies.
If you have never read one of Minerva’s stories, you don’t know what you are missing! I read this through NetGallery and the Publisher.
This is an excellent story. Martin is a runaway slave and a privateer. He has demons that he is trying to overcome. Sarah is a preachers daughter who finds herself in the hold of a slave ship being taken over by Martin. From the moment they meet they are constantly in battle. Sarah believes in forgiveness and that everyone can have good in them. She finds it hard to read what Martin wants as he is constantly pushing her away. As they arrive in England they each have to make a decision about their future. This is a story about believing in the power of love and learning to trust people when they care for you. It is filled with witty and humorous conversations.
This is the third book in this series and after I had read Barbarous which I loved I had to read this one, it was about the sexy Martin, come on I know you all wanted to know about him since we kept hearing how gorgeous he was.. Any who I liked Martin and I wanted to know more about him, yes at times he was a jerk and you wanted to reach out and smack him but then you also read about his background and everything he went thru and how he survived so I gave him a break, then there was Sara whom I wasn’t crazy about at first she just was judgemental and wanted things her way however she grew on me and these two did not have it easy but they learned to build on the attraction and change their ways..I was happy to read about the previous characters.
rcvd an ARc at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions
Loved this book and all of the ones before…I follow Minerva Spencer’s books with a passion, knowing I will be enthralled with her wonderful story telling. May God richly bless you as you have me. Voracious reader and avid fan.
I love reading books by this author! I haven’t read the first or second book in this series (now sure why) but I will be reading them now and this one over again! The author always develops her characters and the stories are full of emotions. I love the history and witty characters in her books.
This book is wonderful and I’m trying not to spoil anything in this review.
Captain Martin Bouchard, former American slave, escaped and eventually met Hugh Redvers who hired and taught him about ships. Martin now uses his ship to rescue Africans on the way to Europe or the United States to be slaves.
Sarah Fisher’s parents were English missionaries and she was born in Africa. Due to her parents and many villagers’ deaths, she and the remaining villagers left to find a new home. They were taken and forced on a slave ship. Martin rescued them.
Eventually they return to England where Sarah discovers she has relatives and money. Martin doesn’t think he’s good enough for her. It’s a truly wonderful read through the conflicts, love, uncertainty and eventually a HEA! Minerva Spencer is an automatic buy for me. If you haven’t read her books you’re missing wonderful stories.
Martin Bouchard, Captain of the Golden Scythe, privateer for England has captured a Dutch ship that is most certainly a slaver. As a former slave, Martin lives to capture and punish slavers and in the process has become a very rich man. When he enters the room to parlay with the captain of the Blue Bird, he is shocked to see one of the people waiting is a woman. Sarah Fisher was taken along with all the people in her village during a slaver raid – she is the daughter of missionaries and is trying to convince Martin to forgo the prize and let everyone go. She even goes as far as to hold him at gunpoint and to offer herself in exchange.
Martin just wants to get rid of Sarah and the annoying captain Mies Graaf, but soon finds out that he will not be getting his prize and must transport Mies and Sarah back to England. Along the way he gets to know Sarah and she teaches him to read and write. She is falling hard for him – just like every woman with eyes does – but he keeps pushing her away.
As the story progresses the reader learns much more about Martin and his past, which explains a lot of his behavior, but failed to make me like him – he is just such a jerk – he is arrogant, vain and cruel. Why Sarah loved him is beyond me. I mean what’s not to love about a hero that is snide, rude, hurtful and runs off to brothels every chance he gets? Or one that sends a letter explaining everything and then leaves England without the heroine? I really tried to forgive him, but every time he had a chance to win me over, he blew it. I remember him being a bit cocky in the previous book, but not like this. Upside, we got to reunite with Hugh, Daphne, Mia, Adam and Jabril (Gabriel) from the previous books and that was wonderful. I struggled to rate this story, it was well written, flowed nicely, has steamy love scenes, interesting historical details about the slave trade, great secondary characters and a sweet epilogue. But Martin and Sarah were not my favorite couple and their “romance” just fell flat for me. This is the third book in the series, and I HIGHLY recommend the previous books, but neither are necessary to read to enjoy this book.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by Netgalley and the publisher.*
Just finished reading all three books in the series. Complex characters, swoon-worthy love scenes, fabulous location settings, and action-packed adventures await you! I devour this author’s books!