Beyond the Savage Sea

A clause in her father's will, and her uncle's determination to enforce it, force the heroine, Edwinna Crawford, to literally pluck a stranger who's been accused of piracy from his execution, and marry him. Edwinna holds her Barbados sugar cane plantation in trust for her missing sailor brothers, and if she fails to marry by the age of 26, her wicked uncle will have the right to claim the place. Luckily, Drake Steel, the man in question, is a decent sort; it turns out he was kidnapped by pirates during a sea voyage to Lisbon, and is in reality a respectable, widowed wine merchant. He's also young, a devoted family man, and oh, yes, quite handsome. Unfortunately, Edwinna's hellish childhood (abandoned by her mother, abused by her father) has damaged her to such an extent that creating a relationship with Drake is something she's not capable of doing. I don't just mean a sexual relationship, though (this being a romance novel) that is a part of it -- Edwinna is like a feral cat, a woman who's had basically no love or caring companionship in her life. She winces away from being touched, physically and emotionally. I thought the author did a wonderful job with the character of Edwinna, showing her gradual, well-paced softening toward Drake; the slow-growing trust that finally allows her to open up to him. Drake is at his best as a "hero" when he finally gets over his resentment at being forced to wed Edwinna in order to save his life, and his resentment at being forced to live on Barbados for a year thereafter. When he's interacting with Edwinna, encouraging her to let go of her demons, he's a wonderful hero. I have to admit I like Drake less later on in the story, when an unexpected twist of fate voluntarily separates him from Edwinna. To her credit, the author allows Edwinna to show all her newborn inner confidence, and she firmly removes herself from the painful situation although her heart is breaking. What a pleasure to read about a heroine who doesn't crack under pressure, who has truly grown strong during the progress of the story. Great writing! The end is somewhat TOO happy, a little bit corny for my taste, but, hey, given the hell that Edwinna's been through, I don't begrudge her a little purple prose. An added bonus is the novel's setting in 1659 Barbados. This is well described, particularly the disgusting conditions of slavery and the dangers involved in harvesting sugar cane. When the story moves to Restoration England, that's all good, too - there are too few romance novels written that use this time period. The strong subcharacters (Edwinna's protective plantation manager, Mr. Plum, especially) add interest and color to this story. All in all, I found BEYOND THE SAVAGE SEA hard to put down, and can recommend it highly, though readers who like their heroes 100% admirable might have a problem with some of Drake's choices. However, to his credit, he does realize his mistakes before the end.