"Merry Patricia Wilding was sitting on a cobblestone wall, sketching three rutabagas and daydreaming about the unicorn."Thus begins what is, in my opinion, the best romance ever written.For those who know me, they know that I read romance. A lot of romance. Thus, I consider myself to be quite an aficionado. I read almost all types of romance: contemporary, historical, paranormal, almost everything, except inspirational. If I had to guess, I would say that I've read well over 1000 romances in my life.A few years ago, while visiting the Avon Authors board, one of my favorite romance authors, Teresa Medeiros, mentioned that The Windflower by Tom and Sheila Curtis was her favorite romance. She said that it was one of the most beautifully written books she'd ever read. I immediately decided to track down a copy. It's out of print, and the Curtises don't write romance any more. I ended up contacting Mostly Romance, which is a terrific online UBS (used book store) and Sandy, the owner found my a copy. A week later, I had my very own copy of the book.One weekend, I sunk in. What do I love about The Windflower? Every single thing. It's a pirate story, it's a loss of innocence story, it's a hero is a spy for the British story, it's a war story. The prose is exquisite. I mean, really exquisite. The authors describe each character and setting in such loving detail that the book could almost be a screenplay. The heroine starts the story as an innocent girl, living with her maiden aunt in Virginia. She quickly gets caught up in an adventure that takes over her life. She's abducted by pirates, almost drowns, tries to shoot someone with a crossbow, and contracts malaria and nearly dies. Throughout, she grows and changes into this wonderful, headstrong character and of course, falls in love with Devon, our hero. Devon is (of course) an English peer who is acting as a spy for the British government. He spends quite a bit of time on his half brother's pirate ship, The Black Joke (awesome pirate ship name, BTW). Of course, since Devon takes Merry as his prisoner, her life is in his hands. And she's having none of it. It makes their interactions fascinating and emotionally charged.But what really makes the story is the secondary characters. It features Devon's half brother Rand Morgan, easily the best secondary romance character ever written. He's the heartless captain of the Black Joke who has taken a special interest in Merry. He's bitingly sarcastic, mean and what we call in romance a VERY. BAD. MAN. I've never wished harder for a character to get his happily ever after. There's Cat, a sexually ambiguous young man who serves on the ship. He was bought out of slavery by Rand and now is kind of a "pet." He takes Merry under his wing, and at turns protects and castigates her. There's also a host of fun pirates on the ship.It's a brilliantly executed, fully formed romance. The romance world lost giants when the Curtises decided to stop writing. But thankfully for me, I can revisit the Black Joke anytime I want. It's a ride I love every single time.
Superb Classic Pirate Romance—one not to miss!This was the product of the husband-wife writing team of Sharon and Tom Curtis and some believe it was their best. I can tell you this: this pirate romance set in in 1813 during the War of 1812 is one of the finest historical romances I have read. It’s a classic. Originally published in 1984, it was reissued in 1995, and can be obtained in paperback (used). Though you may have to pay a premium, as I did, to get a good copy, for fans of the genre, it is not one to pass up. It’s a keeper among keepers.It tells the story of innocent, sheltered Merry Wilding, an American living in Virginia with her maiden aunt. Merry has a talent for drawing faces from memory, a talent her brother, an American spy will use to his benefit, exposing her to pirates and worse. Then, on her way to England with her aunt who wants Merry to have a better future, she is kidnapped. Taken to a pirate ship, she meets the English pirate Devon, who remembers her from a night long ago where he encountered her in a tavern. He holds her captive, believing she is involved with his enemy who was also on the ship Merry was sailing on. Protecting her brother, she will not reveal who she is. Devon is intelligent, beguiling and smooth and innocent Merry is powerless to turn away his kisses. The whole crew of pirates comes to love Merry and to teach her many things as she blossoms from shy girl to strong woman.The writing is superb, the characters courageous, heartwarming and very special; the descriptions of the environs vivid; the metaphors numerous and well done; and the story a wonder to read, and re-read. The plot is intriguing. You will be swept away on a pirate ship to experience many adventures, battles at sea, storms, death, outrageous humor and love. I thought the writing gifted. Here’s a sample from one scene; I bet it moves you though not a word is spoken:“His fingers whispered over her face, seeking and slowly stroking nerve points, knowing where, how long, how much to caress. Her skin gained color under his touch; her eyes became enormous; her throat tightened. By her nose his little finger encountered a forgotten tear. Gathering the sparkling drop, he smeared it slowly over the curve of her lips and blew it gently dry. One hand came lightly to rest on her neck; the other supported her cheek as he sought her with his kiss.” Here’s another:“Tragedy dwelt like a blue flame in her big eyes; the shallow pulsebeat in the golden hollow of her throat was luffing like a spanker on a vessel that was hauled too close to the wind. He had seen the look before on women about to be raped, and he found no charm in having it turned on him.”If you love pirate romance—or even Regency period romance set mostly outside of England—this historical romance will not disappoint. Pay the premium for a good used copy and put it on your keeper shelf. That’s where it belongs!
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Now that I'm a "woman of a certain age", I tend to shy away from teen-aged heroines, too-handsome-to-live heroes, and - for Pete's sake- pirates, of all things! This book should have hit every "NO!" button I have. But it didn't. I enjoyed every single cliched page of it.Merry is a silly little 18-year-old girl, who is kidnapped and held captive on a pirate ship. Do the frightful pirates rape and torture her? Heck, no! They teach her how to sail, how to climb the rigging, and how to live like a pirate, yo-ho! There is - naturally - a to-die-for handsome pirate who falls for Merry like a ton of bricks. (He's also a spy. Of course.) Then there is Cat (blond and gorgeous), who was supposed to have had his own book, but the Curtises broke up before it could be written, and Rand, the (darkly handsome) Captain who is kind of a father figure...if fathers hold the option on keel-hauling his kids when they don't follow orders. And so much more...desert islands, crocodile attacks, dangerous illnesses, spies, sword fights and evil villains, plus the usual mis-understandings and hidden agendas...as another reviewer asked, "what's not to like?"Call me a hopeless romantic with a galloping case of arrested development. I don't care. I liked this book.
—Miki
[Laura London (a/k/a Tom and Sharon Curtis), "The Windflower" (From an earlier post at Amazon.):]I PBS'd my copy of "The Windflower" . . . that's how much I liked it! HAHA! Some advice: Pretend you are still a 14 year old teenager and you still think "boys are so cute" when you begin the book. You can then appreciate how many 16-18 year old boy pirate semi-heros are in the story. (You won't have to worry about the "actual" old-guy hero (I think he's about 30) . . . His interaction with the heroine "feels" pretty limited anyway, and besides, she's 18 years old herself, and much more comfortable "hanging" with the "young crowd." LOL! (There is kind of a "hot old guy" captain of the pirate ship though. ;) I just feel the book is best read as a more innocent love story for a "young-woman" on her first romance novel. I had to do that "eye-squinting" thing to imagine/feel "the love" of the H/h when they got together finally (i.e. suspend your disbelief for the sake of the time you've spent). I read it just a couple of years ago, and although it does have very well-imagined prose (at times a bit too flowery for me) . . . the love story itself was very juvenile in my estimation. I think it would have been better named, "The Adventures of Merry."K.
—K.
I own this edition of the book and that cover is hideous and embarrassing and I want to hide it. Good thing I didn't have any taste back when I first was reading romance novels. I loved this book when I read it years ago, and I love it still. It is all about the relationship between the two protagonists - and how they attract and don't want the attraction. On a Pirate Ship!!! Beautifully written, well researched. The secondary characters really make the story - they're wonderfully fleshed out and marvelously flawed and they get great lines. This was probably the first romance I read that acknowledged some of the darker sides of life in the 19th century - and it really adds depth to how those characters want to protect Merry (heroine) and how they sometimes fail. Historical romances of this era are often about the arc of growth the heroine goes through, and this book is no exception - and you just feel for her when things happen or when she learns something awful about humanity. Sometimes, though, these types of books often leave the hero with something important missing - like why anybody with half a brain cell would want them. But I fell in love with both the characters. The power between the two characters starts off unbalanced (differences in age and status and wealth and power), but it really struck me (and keeps striking me) how the writer seemed to see this and strove to make them be more worthy of each other, and tried make the reader see what they have in common.This is the romance book that all other romance novels have to beat.
—M
