The Pirate Next Door
Jennifer Ashley
Leisure Books, 2003
352 pages
Total Time to Read: An evening

Completely Subjective Grade: B+

A short and useless review of the tome after I locate my pirate eye patch…

Synopsis: So, what could possible make a book with a sad lack of the beautiful highlands of Scotland worthwhile? I have one word: Pirates. Yes, once again Jennifer Ashley has somehow pulled off a delightful Regency story involving pirates, the high seas, and Society (with a capital “s” of course!). As the title implies, a pirate, Grayson Finley – who is conviently a viscount don’t you know – moves in next door to a repressed widow, Alexandra Alistair, who – you guessed it – falls madly in love with the lord pirate captain and his affable daughter. The hitch in their happily ever after? All I’ll give away is it involves a ruthless pirate hunter, the exiled French king, and a rival pirate captain looking for revenge. I know it sounds kind of corny, but if you love Regency stories or ravishments taking place in a ship berth, this book is definitely for you!

Are there kilts? Sadly, no, which is the real tragedy!

Stupid name alert: Not a big fan of the name Finley (it’s a long story I won’t bore you with), but most of the time he is referred to as Captain Finley and as we all know, adding the title “Captain” makes any name bearable. Oh and I’m not fond of the name Alexandra either; I feel it gets overused, but I will refrain from ranting since I know the name is special to Crys.

Any plot points that make me want to throw my hands in the air in abject horror/frustration? Heroine has a miraculous medical recovery that annoyed the crap out of me.

Are any of the characters too stupid to live? Not exactly stupid, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the ‘villian’ and his idiotic actions. However, he wasn’t stupid as much as a crazed/homicidal/revenge-driven pirate hunter. (Think more maniacal and less obtuse!)

Likable Characters? Sure. I especially enjoyed Maggie, the good captain’s teenage kid…and I normally don’t like teenagers in regency books. Per normal, I like the secondary characters more than the main couple, but they aren’t atrocious.

How long did it take for me to pick it up from the pile? A mere 6 days after picking it up like a candy bar at the supermarket checkout…only it was the library instead of a store and I don’t intend on secretly eating it in the car before I get home. Moving on…

Did I ever feel the urge to chuck the book across the room? Nah.

Any Badly written ‘accents’? Thankfully, no. However, as previously noted, no kilts, which we all know means no written brogues!!

Would my mom like It? I doubt it. She’s all for ‘realistic’ plots…hilarious I know!