This is one of the best uses of historical events in a romance I've read. Canham manages to balance and intertwine the action demanded by a rip-roaring, rollicking adventure on the high seas with the emotional development of the characters that makes for a good romance.
The main historical event is real,as the story takes us to the attack by Francis Drake on the Spanish fleet in Cadiz in 1587, an attack that delayed the eventual attempted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada by a year, giving Queen Elizabeth time to build up her own fleet to counter that attack. The story itself is about another, fictional privateer, Simon Dante, a half-French, half-English count who through a series of adventures manages to learn of the location of King Phillip of Spain's naval buildup and direct Drake to the right location, ensuring his success in that action. Dante only manages to get to Drake because he's rescued from his sinking ship by the Egret, captained by Jonas Spence and steered by his helmswoman daughter, our heroine, Isabeau (Beau). It is Beau who figures out the key to decoding the documents Dante has captured that show the importance of Cadiz, neatly tying the story into that event, which we then see through Dante's eyes as he joins Drake's force.
The romance between Dante and Beau develops beautifully, with both of them depicted as complex, interesting characters. Dante's reluctance to accept that Beau, as a woman, is actually a competent, valuable member of the crew and her fierce determination to do better than all the men around her to prove her worth, even before Dante shows up, ring true to that (and any) time and place. So do both of their issues with relationships in general and with the difference in their social status. The sexual tension and eventual sex are explicit, if that's not your thing maybe this isn't the book for you. That would be a shame, though, as it's a really well-written, interesting story, richly embellished with enough well-researched details of life and society and ships to give a real taste of the period without bogging down the story.
I particularly liked that it was a much more realistic look at life at sea, and particularly on pirate ships, than in most historicals. The heroine is not threatened with rape on a regular basis by her own crew mates, there is respect between the captains and their crews, and pirates are well-disciplined and hardworking, not a bunch of barely-constrained criminals. Seriously, how could pirates have been so successful otherwise?
It's not perfect by any means. There are a few moments that defy logic, like when the heroine, who has been part of the ship's crew for 8 years, suddenly falls out of the crow's nest while on watch for no particular reason other than to let the hero rescue her or when clothing that is sturdy enough to stand up to the wear and tear of working on a sailing ship suddenly rips like tissue paper when it's convenient for an erotic encounter. There's is also an annoying plot element that goes nowhere, when Beau has information about the defenses of Cadiz that should be critical to the success of the attack and the Egret rushes off to join Drake's forces, but the information is never passed along nor does it turn out to have had any meaning, as the defenses in question don't seem to exist during the battle. But these are minor, little flaws in an otherwise excellent story.
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Daisy valentine
Across a moonlight sea. Je n’ai pas été entièrement convaincue même si l’auteure a respecté l’historique et les aventures en mer des corsaires de l’époque. Une grande partie du livre s’inspire des exploits de Drake ( la prise de Veracruz...) et Drake a bien attaqué Cadiz coulant plus de trente navires et ainsi retardant l’expédition de l’Invincible Armada d’une grande année. Donc le côté historique c’est plutôt OK. J’ai trouvé le héros trop arrogant
Reviewed in France on June 29, 2020
Anthemusa Reviews
Much buckling of swashes!!!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2012