The Bastard by Brenda Novak

The Bastard by Brenda Novak is an action packed historical romance, much of which takes place aboard the Royal Navy ship, The Tempest. It’s the story of a bastard son, Lieutenant Crawford Treynor, whose life is the sea and greatest ambition is to Captain his own ship. It’s a tale of a young bride, Jeanette Boucher - now Lady St. Ives who, on her wedding night, learns exactly what a monster her new husband is. Her family survived the hell of the French Revolution but can she survive the hell that is to be her marriage?

This is very exciting and romantic story, but I also found it interesting to read about life at sea during the late 18th century. And I’m not just talking about the ‘hoist the sails’, ‘swab the decks’, and the ‘hold him down while I tattoo him at against his will’ things, either. I’m talking about the horrible living conditions and the class distinctions and politics involved in buying a rank, even if you weren’t as capable or qualified as someone who had no such connections. All it took was money and title to give someone the advantage of rank which, as we learned from this story, could lead to deadly consequences.

The Bastard is my first taste of Ms. Novak's writing, but it won't be my last. Her characters are honorable - for the most part, and devoted to those they love. Were they perfect people? No, of course not, but that just made them all the more believable and endearing. With their troubled pasts and uncertain futures Treynor and Jeannette grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go! I'd tell myself 'just one more chapter' only to end up reading several, and still not want to stop and only when I was dragged from my hiding place to greet my Christmas Eve guests was I able to put the story aside.

The bottom line - If you're tired of the same old storyline and are looking for something a little different but have hesitated to read Ms. Novak's historicals because she's not yet one of the "big names" in this genre, I urge you to wait no longer! This was such an exciting, enjoyable story and I'll definitely be reading more by this very talented author!

This book was provided by netgalley.com in behalf of Brenda Novak.