Stepping through a time portal into 1716, historian Penny Saunders didn’t expect to get stranded in the past. Five years later, now a pariah to the townsfolk of Three Star Island, she endures solitude and ridicule until a hurricane tosses a dangerous castaway onto her shores.William Payne’s history precedes him. Pirate, outlaw, and ruthless captain, he’s a monster among men . . . or so it seems. … it seems. Desperately seeking redemption for his blood-soaked past, he upends Penny’s world by showing her a passion she’s never experienced.
But time is closing in on them; the governor of the Carolinas has rescinded his pirates’ pardon, the locals are growing suspicious of Penny’s new houseguest, and she can’t keep her secrets from William forever. When everything falls apart, she must use both wits and weapons against lawmen and pirates alike to save the one man who would tear down the world for her.
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I don’t like time travel romance but this is the exception!
An enjoyable romp with a pirate lost to history, an historian marooned in time, and a strong cast of characters. The author has a beautifully lyrical way with words.
Penny is stuck in the past – and this is where the book differs from many time travel books – she has been there five years. In that time she has adapted to a world that is not kind to headstrong women, and forged a lonely life on the island. The author builds the world with skill, bringing in food and house problems, storms and society in a well balanced and interesting way. The research is never obvious, but draws in some fine details that help picture the life people lead.
A lonely woman and a gorgeous pirate seems like a match made in the movies. But Penny is no pushover, and Will has to earn her affection and trust. This relationship is intense and focused, and the author delves into many emotions on both sides, touching on anxiety and trust issues. The secondary characters are also all strong and play important parts in the plot.
All in all, a well-researched and highly enjoyable time travel novel, where the focus is on the intensity of the relationship that develops between Jenny and William. Full of action, romance, danger and with some lovely comedic moments, this book will have you gripped until the end.
If you’re a fan of Diana Gabaldon’s OUTLANDER, you will fall in love with Kat Caulberg’s THREE STAR ISLAND. Set on a small island off the coast of Carolina in the early 18th century, Penny is literally centuries ahead of her time. An historical researcher, she was understandably drawn to a time gate, having traveled too and from this time period before getting stuck in the past for nearly five years. While she waits for the gate to open once more, desperate to return home, she stumbles upon a victim of the recent hurricane and nurses him back to health. She finds him alluring, sexy even, before realizing he’s the subject of much of her research; a pirate with a wicked reputation. But his renown doesn’t fit with the man she’s getting to know and before long, the two are battling an attraction to one another that is ultimately an unwinnable fight for both of them. Always a bit of an oddity around town, Penny sticks to her island as much as possible, but now that Will is by her side, she ventures into town, unleashing a series of events that will seal both of their fates forever.
Plot
Penny is just biding her time until she can return to her own era. After rescuing a man on the beach, she finds herself drawn to him, until she discovers his true identity. With equal parts fear and attraction, Penny gets to know Will for who is beyond the history books. And the more she learns, the more she fears history has done him wrong. But the secrets she’s keeping are as dangerous to her as they are to any budding romance with the dashing pirate. The author tells a compelling tale of love set in Colonial America between a modern day time traveller and a man with attitudes well ahead of his time. There’s danger, steamy romance, and a hefty dose of historical reality that keeps things anything but easy.
Characters
Penny is fantastic as a woman out of time, trying to survive on her wits and anonymity. But a woman alone in the early eighteenth century makes keeping to herself nearly impossible. Will is swoony as they recovering pirate with a sordid past. The rest of the cast rounds out nicely, within the confines of the era they inhabit.
What I Loved About THREE STAR ISLAND
1. The Romance. It’s hot, steamy, burning, but oh so romantic.
2. Time Travel. It’s my favorite sub-genre of all. And while no actual time travel takes place during the book, the fact that she brought a bit of the future to the past with her, adds to the story as well as the world building.
3. History. I’m a fan of historicals, but what I love even more is one that places a modern day hero into a historical setting and watching them navigate this foreign world.
4.Will. He’s no Boy Scout, but he’s got a heart of gold and would do anything for Penny.
5. Penny. She’s fiery and passionate and is anything but a damsel in distress.
Bottom Line
A steamy time-traveling historical romance. Everything I love all bundled in one great story.
Penny travels back in time to study the past for professional research. Only on the third trip, the time gate vanishes and doesn’t come back, leaving her stranded for years. She lives in an isolated house outside of town, peopled by narrow-minded folk who consider her a harlot or worse. One night after a storm, she rescues an almost-drowned man on the beach. She’s shocked to discover he’s Captain William Payne, a famous pirate she’s spent her life researching. And he’s nothing like she’d assumed.
William isn’t sure what to make of his beautiful, odd rescuer. She wears her hair short, and cusses like a sailor, and is as forthright as a man, but is very much a desirable woman. One he quickly develops feelings for. But people in town are not about to let a notorious pirate live happily ever after…
This book is nothing like I expected. I was expecting a swashbuckling pirate romance, but this book is quiet–and sneaky. Because I absolutely could not put it down. These characters were flawed and wounded and so very real. The chemistry sizzled on slow burn, through glances and dialogue and finally a touch or two. When they finally get together, it was just so very right. So many secrets between them, and when Penny had to make the inevitable choice to stay or go, I actually found myself holding my breath. I loved how the author stayed true to the time period “warts and all” as it were. I devoured this in practically one setting–with a work shift inconveniently parked in the middle, LOL. Best surprise I’ve read in a while. SO good! I hope you’ll join me in embracing this story, and can’t wait to read more from this author!
I absolutely enjoyed this read and devoured it in a long afternoon. I got sucked into the wonderful dynamic between the two parties of the main love interest, Penny and Will. They play off each other so beautifully. He’s this gentleman pirate who isn’t used to having to ask for help and expects his orders followed, and she’s a modern female who is trapped in a situation in which she’s barely surviving on her own but deeply needs to retain her autonomy in the face of everything else she’s lost.
The time travel component is a bit more subdued because by the time we meet Penny (our time traveler from the modern day) she’s already had a lot of time to adapt to living in the past. It’s not that there isn’t some element of it, it’s just not as overwhelming of a shock for that character, as you read in some books. The shock and adjustment period is done through bits of information that sneak in and explain why the people who live on the little island with her, despise her so strongly.
There is also a TON of detail about pirates and ships, the author clearly knows her stuff on it. Back to her romance with Will, I was enchanted. I think the two of them have great bickering scenes and plenty of steamy ones. So much to love here, and I definitely want to read more from this author!
“You’re a good soul, Penelope. You forgave me my sins, though God knows why. You’ve no affection for pretenses, you’ve brooked none of my nonsense, you’ve a filthy mouth and a sharp mind. I don’t have to pretend when I’m with you. Do you understand what that’s worth?”
Ordinarily, a time traveling romance begins in the present, with the heroine stumbling back into time as either the Inciting or the Act I turning point, and one of the things I absolutely love, love, love about Kat Caulberg’s Three Star Island, is that it starts after the time travel. A long time after, in fact: Penelope is stuck on an island, in the early 18th century, among strangers who dislike her, and part of the story is filling in how she got there and what’s happened in the intervening years. So when the notorious pirate Captain William Payne washes up on the beach, his ship having sunk, his crew having mutinied against him, they’re both in a similar position of being stranded.
Having lived on her own without hope for so long, Penny finds it hard to open her heart, but she’s has intelligence, a fiery spirit, and—matched against Will—she rediscovers laughter, passion, and purpose. She needs every ounce of her indomitable will to face the dangers ahead of them.
What a fantastic debut novel! This is a well crafted time-travel romance, comparable to Gabaldon in the richness of the world building, and the emotional exploration of the isolation and conflict inherent in the premise of time travel. I fell in love with the characters, in all their flawed imperfect glory and cheered them every step of the way. Both tender and steamy the romance delivered–this is one for the keeper shelf.
*I received an ARC of the book to review*