This book hooked me from the very beginning and didn’t let up for a second. Bruce watching the spider try to weave a web only to fail again and again has bearing on this story, although it isn’t revealed to nearly the end.
Hawk–oh man, I loved him right from the start. He was introduced briefly in “The Chief”, the first book in this series, and he flew right into my heart and into my mind. He’s witty, clever, made me laugh more than once, was a daredevil, and gave zero thought to failing. It wasn’t going to happen. In his own words, he had “the wind at my back”. He’s a sailor (the captain actually), a lover, a fighter, is honest, noble, and loyal, even if Ellie doesn’t see all of those qualities at first. He’s handsome, an incurable flirt and makes no bones about being good with the lasses. He’s proud of it.
That’s all Ellie sees for the longest time. She knows she’s no raving beauty. She’s rather plain, small, and not at all his type. She spurns Hawk at every turn. She doesn’t want to become one of his harem of women. She lets him think that she’s a nursemaid rather than a Lady. He saved her life when she swam into a private meeting between Hawk and some others. Hawk whisked her away rather than let the other guys kill her. She’d witnessed something she wasn’t supposed to and the other guys didn’t want to risk that she’d heard anything. She figures she owes him for that, but Ellie is like all of us. She wants to feel special; like she’s number one to somebody. Everybody wants to be loved for who they are instead of what they can provide. She knew Hawk wasn’t capable of that. I felt bad for her when she thought maybe he did care for her and she decided he didn’t. He was using her. She was convinced of it.
Hawk didn’t think he would ever fall in love. He knew he’d marry someday, but he knew he’d never love his wife. It would be a business deal like most marriages were back then. He wasn’t looking for anything like that any time soon. He had a mission to complete. But he connected with Ellie on a level that was so foreign to him. She wanted to know him rather than be-bop with him like the other women did. No woman had ever wanted to know about his past, his hopes, his dreams, or just what the heck was going on his life. Ellie did and it was disconcerting to him. He’d never had to answer to anybody and he still wasn’t, but she was smart and figured out a lot, which rattled him even more.
I laughed and I cried while I read this. I loved all of the characters, except for Thomas Randolph (ugh!). Ellie and Hawk were yin and yang; the tension between them taut, but when they got together, the passion and the steam rolled off the pages. Hawk was everything I look for in a hero and Ellie fit him perfectly, even if neither of them thought so.
I loved, loved, loved this book and can’t wait to read the next one in the series.
*I bought this book at an online used book dealer, but it is available at Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y2764owu
Hanging out with Kristi 