To Catch a Pirate

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To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker
Once caught, its harder still to let a pirate go
When Annalisa Townsends ship is set upon by pirates in search of her fathers treasure, one of the crew, James Sterling, discovers her in the hold. When he moves to take her necklace, she begs him not to, as it is all she has left of her mother. He accepts a kiss in exchange for the necklace. A fair trade, mlady, he tells her afterward, before disappearing.
A year later, with a forged letter of marque, Annalisa is intent on hunting down the wretched James Sterling and reclaiming her fathers treasure from him. But now shes in danger of him stealing something far more vulnerable this time: her heart.
***
I really did enjoy this short read, the character of Annalisa is strong, though very common-place. The real interest is Sterling, the dashing rouge pirate! Sterling will have you conjuring images of Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean. The conclusion was agreeable, though the romance was so rushed, youre not quite sure how Annalisa got from loathing her pirate love to adoring him. I would like to see a well thought out sequel of this book, I think it has potential and a wider scope for conflict.
Notes on the cover: I was really hoping the locket would be of a more feminine quality as it was a gift from Annalisas deceased mother, who was not a pirate.
Notable names: Sterling was a great choice! Without returning to the worn thin choices of the day, read Henry, James, William ect. Jade Parker chose a strong, color name that does reflect many pirate themes, such as sterling silver in the blade of a sword or a Pirates booty!
So did it make it onto the mod-podge bookshelf? No, it did not, though I recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, themed read.

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Reader reviewed by Lexie

To my bemusement I often found myself forgetting that this book was a)
aimed at young adults and b) about a seventeen year old girl. Its easy
to forget such when the girl in question is the Captain of (what
amounts to) a Pirate-Hunter's ship. I could almost believe that at each
next kiss they would succumb to passion.

I was also a little bit
taken aback at how fast Annalisa went from a pampered London debutante
to this fearsome Lady-Captain hunting down pirates and ruling over a
crew of men. Motivation to save her father certainly hastened her need
to become fierce, but it fell flat for me. Nor is it mentioned, that I
remember at least, that sailors often feared having a lady on board
because it was considered ill-luck. Lady Pirates--er Privateers weren't
unheard of in the good ol' days, but Lady Pirate Hunters?

The
chemistry between Annalisa and James kept me riveted however. It was
amusing to read as James would just keep pushing with his cocky answers
and arrogant nonchalance while Annalisa struggled to remember that
flogging him till he screamed served no purpose. The ending was...a
stretch of imagination, but at least sweet. Realism has no place in
romance after all.

((reprinted with author's permission))