Bad Boys Ahoy!by Sylvia Dayreviewed by Cybil SolynFebruary 2006, 351 pages, Publisher: Brava, ISBN: 0758212518 Back Cover Blurb: Stolen Pleasures
Sebastian Blake, Earl of Merrick, long ago fled the responsibilities of his title to become the infamous pirate, Captain Phoenix. But the booty he's just captured on a merchant ship is a fierce tempered minx who claims to be a bride…his bride, married to him by proxy on behest of their fathers. He could shame his hated family and return his beautiful wife untouched, but no treasure has ever proved more tempting to Sebastian, and making their marriage a true one "in every sense" is his one urgent desire …
Lucien's Gamble
Lucien Remington's reputation as a debauched libertine who plays by no one's rules "in business or the bedroom" is well deserved. He gets what he wants, social repudiation be damned. But society can keep from him the one thing he truly desires, the untouchable Lady Julienne La Coeur. Until she sneaks into his club dressed as a man and searching for her irresponsible brother. Suddenly she's in Lucien's grasp, his to take, and his mind is filled with the most wickedly sinful thoughts. A gentleman would walk away from the temptation she presents. But then, Lucien has never claimed to be a gentleman…
Her Mad Grace
Hugh La Coeur never wanted to be the Earl of Montrose. Wine, women, and a hefty wager are preferable to responsibility of any kind. It's certainly preferable to spending the night in an eerie, neglected mansion owned by a legendary madwoman. The duchess's companion, the fiercely independent Charlotte, is another matter altogether. Hugh would be happy to spend as many nights in her bed as possible. He knows she's hiding terrible secrets, but for once in his life, Hugh has the desire to take on someone else's burden as his own, no matter what the danger…
I must admit that I was pretty skeptical about this novel when I got it in the mail, but after reading just three pages I put aside all my preconceived notions and enjoyed every page of the read!
This book has many bad things I can say about it, but none of them about the writing or story telling ability of Sylvia Day who with this first book swept into the Romantica scene and left me hot, bothered, and breathlessly awaiting her next novel. As I said before, when I got this book in the mail I turned to my boyfriend and flat out mocked it. I mean it's an anthology of erotic stories all written by the same author (what she couldn't write one full book?), it's a Regency set book with the horrific title Bad Boys Ahoy! (hmm that's a title that screams Regency doesn't it?), and the cover is not only garishly colored but has a pirate ship and two kissing fish on it! (Look at it. I mean LOOK at it!). And yet by the third page I was laughing out loud and totally engrossed.
I am not going to give separate reviews to each story because they really all blend together well, and are all very similar. That similarity is probably the only real complaint I have with the novel that isn't aesthetic. Because Day has three short stories in one book, reading them all at once is like gloming a new author. When taking in an author in large gulps we begin to see the similarities in their writings. For example, while glomming a favorite author I discovered she had an obsession with men picking up her heroines and throwing them places to make love. These similarities wouldn't be seen if I read the books in small doses, but all at once they build up to seem like flaws in the writing or author obsessions. That same author is also obsessed with men suckling breasts until they are "full and rosy." Although I saw the same scenes enacted and phrases used in all three Bad Boy's Ahoy! stories it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book, but it did have me skimming a love scene here and there.
All three stories have strong female characters who are teamed up with bad boy men who have family problems and are awaiting the right woman to heal their wounds and teach them to grow and love. The love scenes are all explicit without being too flowery, ("his pulsing manroot"), or too medical ("he pulled back her labia and put his penis in") a gift that sets a good Romantica author apart from the pack. The stories are fairly historically accurate and very romantic which will keep Regency fans happy, and hot enough to keep erotica fans in the mood. However, my favorite part of this novel was how it mixed humor with passionate and fast character growth. Often in short stories a lot of exposition is written in. Not so with this novel. All the important details are slowly revealed through the action of the stories leaving a bit of mystery to all the characters until the final pages of the story.
Bottom Line: Don't judge this book by its name or cover because the only person who won't enjoy this book are those who don't like their sex hot!
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Cybil Solyn, csolyn@rakehell.com
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