My library doesn’t carry Katie Macalister’s books for some reason.

While I don’t generally read romance novels Macalister’s books also carry a good dose of humour. They’ve even been known to make me laugh out loud. I like a book that can do that. She also tends to have engaging main characters that I like.

In this particular book Amy is a woman who is all work, work, work, work. Her teenage daughter decides she needs to play more so she makes her mother log into a virtual reality pirate game. But then something happens and Amy gets stuck there. Yes, she is stuck in a virtual reality pirate game. So what is there for her to do but to fall for a pirate?

It’s fun. It’s funny. It was a nice fluffy distraction from everything else that I should be doing this weekend. ( )

This was just alright. It had some of Michaels customary humor, but not a lot. I recognize it was a fantasy but it was just too far out in its premise and didn't make a lot of sense. Also, neither of the chief characters were all that enthralling. The heroine in particular was a bore. ( )

When I bought her other books, if I'd realized she'd written this I wouldn't have made the purchase.

The premise of the story was intriguing. I liked the 'real' personalities of both the hero and heroine. The MMORPG angle was a good one and the daughter so reminded me of my son that I should have loved the book. I think my problem was most likely that I HATE pirate scenarios and I think the time period was stinky, unhygenic, and disillusioning. I probably would have enjoyed the story MUCH more with almost ANY other premise for the MMORPG. I'm all pirates of the Carribeaned out...the cheese Johnny Depp look alike on the cover should have warned me. ( )

A Hysterical page turner and an incredible read. By far Katie MacAlister's best book, she continues with her quick wit and in your face characters. Loved it!! ( )

Amy Stewart's daughter thinks she never has any fun. To placate her Amy agrees to try out a new pirate virtual reality game called Buckling Swashes. While finding her way around, Amy encounters Black Corbin - the creator of the game who is delighted to find a real player who can best him. Soon, however, Amy discovers that she has been trapped in the game. And the only way out is to play out the running scenario - one in which Amy and Corbin find themselves on opposite sides despite their growing attraction.

I'm quite fond of computer RPGs. And I adore pirates. This is probably my favorite of MacAlister's romances. While I'm amused by her writing style, I don't usually find her stories particularly romantic. The sex was still a little too goofy for my tastes, and I'm not sure how I feel about sticky food substances...

There was a lot of sweetness in this story, though, along with a ton of hilarious swashbuckling. I really enjoyed that Amy liked the 'real' Corbin better than his fantasy version. I adored a bunch of the secondary characters - particularly Holder and Bas.

This has been the only MacAlister that has held up on the reread so far. I'll be keeping this for another round because of my deep and abiding love or pirates. ( )