STORMY PERSUASION - Johanna Lindsey
A Malory Novel - Book 11
Gallery Books
ISBN-13: 978-1-476-71427-1
June 2014
Historical Romance

London, England, and America - early 1800's

Cousins Jacqueline and Judith Malory are both turning eighteen and ready for their debuts into society.  Judith has just come of the age, and Jack, as her father has nicknamed Jacqueline, will celebrate her birthday in a couple of months.  The only problem is that Jack's debut will take place in America, while Judith will have her debut in London.  The cousins are the best of friends; they have done everything together all of their lives, and now, this separation weighs heavily on Judith's heart.  Jack is sure she can persuade her father (also named Jack) to allow Judith to sail to America with them, but Judith knows her mother will never permit it.  But somehow, Jack manages to turn the tables, and Judith finds herself sailing to America with her family.

Nathan Tremayne lost his ship to pirates and then was captured by the English authorities for smuggling.  Now, he's been released from prison with the stipulation that he sail to America and locate the gang of pirates who are hijacking English ships.  Nathan can't resist the chance to get out of jail and get his ship back, so he finds himself sparring with the Malory men, then taking the job of carpenter aboard Jack Malory's ship.  It isn't long before Nathan and Judith catch each other's eye, which soon finds them sneaking around the ship to be together, always trying to stay away from Judith's and Jack's fathers.

STORMY PERSUASION offers a little mystery and lots of romance aboard this voyage, and when Jack is kidnapped, the Malorys must find a way to see that she is returned safely to the family.  A very good novel, STORMY PERSUASION is the newest in the long time Malory family series.  It was hard for me to connect with the story as I haven't read any of the previous Malory books, thus I felt as if I was missing a lot of history and backstory.  That aside, the characters sparkle and the story moves quickly.  Romance and danger on the high seas always make for a good novel!

Diana Risso