I love the Bloody Jack series to pieces. Even my least-favorite of the books is ranked higher on my list of favorites than most of my other favorite books. My Bonny Light Horseman, as it happens, is my least-favorite of the six books currently out. I first read it in 2008, pretty much the moment I pulled it out of the shipping box, and felt that while it is a great book, the last half was a little disappointing. After reading it a year later, to refresh my memory in preparation for the release of the seventh book, I feel pretty much the same. It's a fantastic book and really fun to read, but the second half wasn't quite what I wanted from a Bloody Jack novel.

Like all the Jacky books, this one is split into parts, each of which encompasses a movement or mood, like the acts of a play. The first two parts of My Bonny Light Horseman take place at sea, first where Jacky's doing shipping runs between Boston and the Caribbean on the Nancy B., and then on the HMS Dauntless after she has finally been captured by the British and is being transported back to London. The third part sees Jacky in London and then in Paris, working for the British Intelligence. The fourth and fifth parts have her installed as a member of the French army and working as a messenger for Napoleon Bonaparte himself, of all people.

Also like all Jacky books, My Bonny Light Horseman doesn't shy away from the tropes previously established in the series. Jacky is still able to charm her way out of tight spots and wrap men around her little finger. She still insists that she's madly in love with Jaimy Fletcher, but manages to make exceptions for kissing other men. She crossdresses on a regular basis and doesn't think twice about getting naked (or nearly so) in front of other people. She also continues to have a theatrical, show-off nature and never backs down from a performance opportunity. These are all things I love about Jacky, no matter how tiresome other people might find them.

What sets My Bonny Light Horseman apart, I think, is that Jacky is actually captured by the British in the opening scenes and has no way out. So, already, the established way of doing things, where Jacky always manages to escape, has been upturned. Happily, for me at least, the frigate she lands on has both Davy (of the Brotherhood of the Dolphin) and Joseph Jared (of the HMS Wolverine) as members of the crew. But even they can't do anything to help her escape, and the entire ship is taken captive by the French — again, another change to what usually seems to happen.

Things continue to seem hopeless when everyone from the Dauntless are stuck in a French prison, until Jacky gets bought back by the British and sent to London to receive her fate. As it happens, the First Lord will have her act as a ballet dancer in Paris (at a time when ballet dancers were little more than prostitutes, note) in order to gather information from French soldiers, and in return for her obedience, he will save her imprisoned friends.

This first half, as I've listed the plot points here, still follows the usual Jacky tropes, but because of the variation on what usually happens to her, it feels different and exciting. Or, perhaps, "different" is the wrong word, but I really enjoyed the first half, both times I read it.

The second half keep Jacky on land. Not at all pleased that she's expected to actually prostitute herself in order to get information (or, alternately, work as a laundress, which is pretty much the same thing), she kits herself out as a cadet from America who has come to aid the French army. This works and she gets assigned to the Sixteenth Fusiliers as a messenger. Now, this part actually is different. Jacky has never before been involved with the military in a land campaign, though she has dressed as a boy and taken part in battles on sea.

But even though Jacky is in an entirely new situation, this second half of the story feels overdone and repetitive. Even more, though, it's like there are too many coincidences and the bow tying it all together is just a little too perfect. She disguises herself and obtains a position as messenger effortlessly, managing to turn a ragtag bunch of farmers into a decent military unit in the space of a couple weeks, as well. And then there's the way, in the course of her messenger work, she gets captured by a Prussian, only to escape and nab some maps and plans for her own commanders, which result in a successful battle at Jena and Jacky riding in the carriage with Napoleon himself (whereupon she receives the very first Legion of Honor medal). Some of the other events, which I shan't describe, in order to keep at least a little of the book from being spoiled, increased the eye-rolling at how easily everything went for her.

I don't know if maybe my disappointment in the second half of the book is because it really is a flat-out retread of others (particularly parts of Under the Jolly Roger), or if it just fizzles in comparison to the first half. Maybe I just don't care for Jacky on land as much as Jacky at sea. Maybe it's the moralizing that goes on, about how nasty war is and how a seeming enemy could be a friend — very true things, and not necessarily new to the series, but perhaps a little too blunt for me.

Nonetheless, as I mentioned above, despite my disappointment with the second half of the book, I still love the whole thing, and I love reading about Jacky. Now that my memory of her adventures is fresh, I'm very eager to get my hands on the seventh book to start reading. My Bonny Light Horseman ends with Jacky meeting up with the Nancy B. off the coast of France, and several of her old friends have joined the crew. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next! ( )

Bloody Jack Faber is on another breathless adventure, this time as a spy in France. She begins as a dancing girl in fashionable Paris, until she once again disguises herself as a boy and winds up in the thick of Emperor Napoleons army as they battle Prussian forces. A great and wild adventure, and a thoughtful look at the ugliness of battle and the complexity of defining who one's enemies truly are. ( )

Jacky is taken on another adventure. This time it looks as if she really will be persecuted for her crimes. Her attempts at escape bring her into Napolean's army. She meets many new friends and sees so many old ones. This installment in the Jacky Faber series will not dissapoint. ( )

6th installment in Bloody Jack Adventure series.

While trying to run a respectable shipping business in 1806, teenaged Jacky Faber finds herself in France, spying for the British Crown in order to save her friends. (BCCLS)

Slow start, but the action definitely picks up. ( )

I can never get enough of young Jacky Faber and in this third installment we find her once again captured by the British for piracy, then she ends up in the hands of the French and even ends up a dancer for some bit of her travels. This girl has no end to male friends vying for her affection and her insistence on keeping her maidenhood until she marries her betrothed, one young Jaimy Fletcher, whom she rarely runs into. I love the spirit and endless energy of dear Jacky (along with her devious ways to maintain her maidenhood and still swoon some men into her company). I do hope this series never ends. ( )