Heart of the Condor

I loved this book! Gabriel is to die for 'sigh'. All of the pirates (heros) in the three novels were great, but Gabriel is my favorite. It's best to read the three in order - My Lord Pirate - Night Shadow - Heart of the Condor - to appreciate all that's going on. Characters from previous stories appear & the same thread of piracy weaves throughout all three stories. Great Job - definately a keeper!

This title is third in a trilogy, which can stand alone but is made so much richer for having read the other two (My Lord Pirate and Night Shadow). Don Gabriel Cristobel is truly tormented, caught between what he thought his life was supposed to be and the discovery of the emptiness of it all and, eventually, finds the courage to change his path, despite very heavy expectations of king and country and life threatening consequences for himself. Add the intrigue and friction of the histories between the two main characters' families and the reader is caught until the very last page (and left wishing there were many more).

This book has it all and a wonderful relationship that made me laugh, cry and root for this couple all the way to the last page of the book. If you read any romance this year, this is your book.

As seems to always happen with me, I read the last of the trilogy first! I had never read any of Laura Renken's other books, but I will now! And it probably helps to read the first two books first (My Lord Pirate and Night Shadow) because there is a lot of history between the Drakes and the Espinosas (though it's not a necessity to follow the story).I have never come across a couple that so belonged together and yet faced so many obstacles! I really wondered how these two wonderful people could possibly be together in the end. Don Gabriel Espinosa y Ramirez, hero of Spain and pirate hunter stumbles onto a kidnapping attempt of Lady Sarah Drake from the convent on Martinique where she has lived for the past 11 years. In the process he is injured and is taken into the convent and sheltered there from the French authorities. Given their family history, neither trusts the other but they are undeniably drawn to each other. When a second attempt is made to abduct Sarah, Fr Henri decides that Gabriel must wed Sarah and take her away for her own safety. Reluctantly they are wed. Gabriel plans to annul the marriage and return Sarah to her brothers as he has problems of his own. He is supposed to be on his way to Spain to face a military tribunal after being accused of sedition. But that will have to wait until Sarah's brothers can be found.The more time Gabriel spends with Sarah, the more attracted he becomes and vice-versa. Somehow the annulment papers remain sitting in his desk drawer. His family and friends are appalled that he has married her (even temporarily) - an Inglesa and the sister of notorious English pirates. Gabriel flirts with the idea of staying married to Sarah, but knows that he does so at the risk of his career and the future of his young daughter.What neither knows is that Sarah is the sole witness to a crime committed years ago that the perpetrator wants to ensure remains unsolved, but if solved could restore her family's fortune. See her brothers are only pirates due to the fact that their lands and titles were stripped from them unjustly and Sarah could be the key to their reversal of fortune.But what matters here is the relationship between Sarah and Gabriel. It's sweet and bittersweet with both showing humor and courage and faith in each other despite what their respective families think. You'll laugh and you'll definitely cry so keep the kleenex close by.I LOVED THIS BOOK. A DEFINITE KEEPER AND ONE TO RE-READ OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!

This book was a keeper for me. I have already read it three times and as I write this review, I'm trying to figure out exactly why I was drawn to this story and to these wonderful characters. I think it was because I've never met two people who belonged together as they did. The story had depth. Both Gabriel and Sarah had carried a lot of baggage, yet the book was filled with humor. And man o man the love scenes. But whatever you do don't read the ending first. There was a great twist at the ending. If you want a frivolus read, then don't read this book. If you want a book that you can fall in love with, that has more than a great love story, then this book is for you.