Once A Pirate

During a freak storm in the Atlantic Lt Carly Callahan's fighter jet goes down. When surfaces she finds herself in the water next to a pirate ship in 1821. Captain Andrew Spencer assumes he is hauling in Lady Amanda, betrothed of his mortal enemy to be held for ransom. Over the next 6 weeks Carly tries to convince him of his mistake as she adapts to ship life and crew. Fun time-travel romance.

Just returning to work after the death of her mother and loss of her unborn child, the heroine finds herself in a nasty storm and her plane crashes into the ocean. There, she's rescued and brought aboard an honest to God pirate ship. Thinking there's no way she actually traveled through time, she thinks they're all play acting-rich boys having fun. The captain informs her that she's being kidnapped and held for ransom from her betrothal a duke of England and the hero's arch enemy. Born as a bastard to the Duke's brother, the hero made a grave error in her young and challenged the man for the title. This resulted in his mother and brother dying and the hero being stripped of his naval achievements and forced to live as an outlaw. Now, he show more has the beautiful heroine as leverage in his war for revenge against the man but it's becoming harder and harder to keep his hands off the cargo. Though it's said this Lady Amanda is young with dark hair, the hero ignores these facts in his pursuit of his goals. The heroine tries to tell her she's not this other woman but rather a time traveler, but he thinks she insane. As the months go on, they become closer and closer. Flirty, and growing a friendship becoming more than captor and prisoner. When it becomes clear that he can no longer deny she is who she says she is, he's cast into a swirl of conflicted emotions. On one hand, he's now risked his life and the life of his crew for nothing and the duke will think him a fool. But on the other hand, he's free to have her as his own. The heroine was very quick to become content with her situation. As she had very little to live for in her own time, she's more than happy to spend her life on the ship surrounded by friends, the crew becoming something of a family to her. And she's willing to fight to keep it that way. I loved this heroine because she was feisty without being obnoxious. She just calmly states that she's not who they think she is and when it's clear she has no idea how to return to her own time, she strives to make it in this new world the best she can. She was kind and smart and capable. She brings out the best in the hero, though at times he makes it difficult as he can be stubborn. They had a very lovely relationship that took some time to develop. It wasn't an overnight affair, the heroine spent months on the ship as they danced around each other, getting to know one another. I liked that the hero was a pirate and was a good guy yes, but his profession made him handle business when he needed to and he was no push over. And my goodness the robe...read this book and let me know how you feel about robes afterwards! show less

Carly Callahan is a 21st Century Air Force pilot who is thrown back in time when her jet gets caught in a lightning storm. She is rescued by Sir Andrew Spencer, English nobleman turned pirate. Unfortunately, Andrew doesn't believe she's from the future; instead, he's convinced she's the fiance of his detested (and detestable) cousin and he abducts her for ransom and revenge. As they are chased down by the cousin, Andrew and Carly find themselves falling in love. True love fails to run smooth of course, but a happy ending is assured.

This is a pleasant enough little story, but it isn't exactly mind-blowing. It is well saved by a clever twist at the end, which raises it up a notch from the usual run-of-the-mill time travel romance. I show more think Grant's later work has certainly improved from this beginning, but Once a Pirate is a very pleasant read without any major faults. show less

Recently discovered Susan Grant and I am enjoying her books. This is a fun time-travel book back to 1821 pirates. First time I read an ending like this one. I've enjoyed her futuristic books too. I like how she uses her Air Force and 747 pilot knowledge in her books.

4.5 stars