Years ago, Miss Esme Astell fell hopelessly in love with Charles Brittle, an unassuming and highly respectable London bookmaker.Then he disappeared without a word . . .The last thing Esme ever dreamed was to meet Charlie again—In a dark alleyway—In a drenching rain—In a chase with the police—In Scotland.Can she fall again, this time for the dangerous scoundrel he’s become?
The Pirate and I by Katharine Ashe was such a fun read. The story was humorous and cleverly written. It is a very engrossing read, I stayed up super late just to finish it. I loved Esme and Charles. Separate, they are wonderful, together they are amazing! I couldn’t get enough of them. I highly recommend this novella!
This novella set in the the Devil’s Duke world is a fun mixture of fairy-tale elements with a liberal sprinkling of The Princess Bride references. Esme is an independent young woman who moved to London from the country to pursue her dream of becoming one of the world’s best perfume makers. It’s taken a long time, but she’s finally got a chance to get noticed by the master perfumers of the world at their meeting in Edinburg. A chance encounter in a dark alley, however, could ruin all her plans.
Charlie Brittle is in big trouble. If he doesn’t pay off the pirate captain who holds him in bondage, he’ll have to remain a pirate. While sailing the seas has taught him many lessons, and improved his physique immensely, he’s never gotten used to the brutality of the pirate life. He wants his freedom, and he’s determined to get it. After seeing Esme, whom he had known in London, he realizes what he needs is her excellent nose to help him sniff out the prize he is after. Of course, he wouldn’t mind having the rest of her as well!
This novella has plenty of sizzling romance and adventure, although it’s on land not at sea. I liked that Esme contributes just as much to the story as Charlie does. They work together to save each other. I would have liked more background information on both of them, and maybe there is more about them in a previous novella mentioned by the author. There is also a brief meeting with the Devil’s Duke to tease us for the next novel in the series.
This novella is a great quick read for a hot summer day!
This historical romance novella just released today, and it’s another winner from Katharine Ashe. A sweet, romantic story of Charlie and Esme, who while initially attracted to each other, do not connect with the other until 2 years later after they’ve both been through some obstacles in finding themselves and going after what they truly want. Great banter here! Ashe is a go-to author for me!
I loved that Charlie was not the typical macho, take-charge hero to Esme’s heroine. Yes, he had her back, but he also allowed her to make her own decisions and wield her hard-fought independence in their adventures together. And Esme for her part was a feisty, spunky young woman who saw more for herself and her family and was ready to conquer the world to get it. She radiated a genuine sweet wonder about the world around her, but it wasn’t a naive innocence. In a modern setting, she would have been someone with a bucket list…a curious free spirit. And both characters, while initially running from something, end up re-making themselves and ultimately re-discovering each other through new eyes.
For a novella, it was satisfyingly complete and lovely.