" A young woman’s journey to help in the war against Napoleon brings her close to a brave and caring officer in this historical romance.

As the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman, Polly Brandon has always felt like an ugly duckling. So she’s amazed when Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Philippe Junot pays her such close attention as they sail for Portugal. She knows this Royal Marine would never look at her under ordinary circumstances, but having his protection is more than a comfort . . . it is a pleasure.

Hugh is immediately taken with the spirited beauty aboard his ship. Her determination to assist with the war effort is admirable, and when she falls ill, he feels compelled to care for her. But Polly still has trouble believing what she sees in Hugh’s eyes—that she has turned from an ugly duckling into a desirable swan . . . "

Quoted material is from the book's Amazon sales page. Most of my review is in the "further comments" section, near the bottom.

People who like historical romance and / or military stories with a strong romantic element.

The things I learned.

See the further comments section.

Read something different.

I imagine all the emotions, at one time or another.

"About the Author
I started writing Regencies because of interest in the Napoleonic Wars. I like writing about warfare at sea and ordinary people of the British Isles, rather than lords and ladies. In my spare time I like to read British crime fiction and history, particularly the U.S. Indian Wars. I currently live in Utah. I'm a former park ranger, and double Rita Award and Spur Award winner. I have five interesting children and four grands. Favorite authors include Robert Crais and Richard Woodman."

Quoted material is from the book's Amazon sales page.

See the further comments section.

See the further comments section.

Am I glad I read this book? I'm still not 100% sure, though I think so.

After reading a fantastic book by this author, I bought this one (and some others) when it was on sale for either $1.99 or 99 cents. I have now read the one book by this author that was fantastic, and one that was okay to good. This one I guess is okay to good too. It had moments of being great, and times of being gripping. It also had many moments that bored me and caused me to switch to other books for a while before coming back to it.

I did like the characters, especially Polly and her Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Colonel), Polly's brother in law, and a surprise "French lady" near the end. I felt like cheering for Polly a lot of the time, and wishing she had more self confidence a lot of the time too. I wished that she and Hugh (the Lt Colonel) had stood up to her sister.

Apparently the sister has her own book and I should have read that one first. I didn't even realize this was probably part of a series until I got to that part of the book (first was a long voyage, then the time with her sister, then the most gripping part, then the end... it was really like three books in one, as they parts were so very different in tone and action). I still don't know for sure. I even just went to see if I missed it on the Amazon page, and there's no listing of a series (usually it says book x of y in the series and links to the other books if it's part of a series), so maybe her sister doesn't have her own story, though this book sure hinted at that, and since her sister was already married, it seems a strong possibility. It also hinted at another book for her other sister, although the other sister didn't appear in the book herself. So probably this is part of a three book series, as there were three sisters in total, with Polly being the youngest.

Anyway, back to this book. See how I am rambling? That's how this book was at times. Fine for a little review if you don't mind it, but harder in a 363 page book.

I did learn a lot of historical information that I didn't know, and some Portuguese cultural information I didn't know. The Royal Marines information was interesting too.

The romance was super slow. I guess it would have had to have been for this time line and story line, but wow... almost nothing until that gripping section of the book and then .... more than I expected.

But I was very happy with the ending and found myself wishing the fictional couple a very happy and long life together.

I rated the book the way I did because of crimes that occurred in the war against women and children. Overall, the book's rating is lower, but at sections, it was gory, so I went with the higher rating level.

I'm writing this review on the evening of April 29, 2025. As of this time, the book's Amazon best seller rank is as follows:

"Best Sellers Rank: #414,479 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)

#1,176 in Sea Stories
#2,767 in War Fiction (Kindle Store)
#4,531 in War Fiction (Books)"

Considering that it was released in 2010, that's not bad, I don't think. Though, as I mentioned, I bought it on sale. I don't know how often the author (or her publisher) runs sales, but they probably boost the rankings.

This book currently has 490 reviews with an average of 4.5 stars on Amazon (though I am kind of surprised that this book is rated that high), and 1,357 ratings with an average of 4.0 stars on Goodreads.

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Created Apr 29, 2025 at 9:36pm • Submit your own review...