Review: One Wild Raveneau + One Misbehaving Beausivage = Adventure and Passion!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 15, 2013
I have absolutely LOVED each and every one of Cynthia Wright's Raveneau and Beausivage novels.  If my Kindle had a "shelf of honor," they would most certainly be there, front and center.  The characters are so vividly drawn that it's hard to remember that they aren't real.  I wish they were!  And just like a meddling matchmaker, what could I possibly want more than to see the headstrong children of Andre/Devon and Nicholai /Lisette on an grand adventure full of unexpected passion and love to rival that of their parents?  Yes, please!Nathan Raveneau is the kind of hero you will daydream about afterwards for months.  This juicy apple definitely didn't fall far from the tree!  Like his dashing father he's a daring sea captain with a reputation that "set London society on its ear,"  earning himself the nickname of the "Scapegrace."  One night in London he crosses paths with an old family friend, Nicholai Beauvisage, who tells him about threats made against his daughter.  During the course of their conversation, Nathan realizes that Nicholai is the owner of a parcel of land in Barbados that borders his own plantation and the two reach an agreement. In exchange for spending a few months protecting Beauvisage's headstrong daughter from her menacing former employer, he will get title to the land he has wanted for so long.  The only catch is that he needs to be in mild-mannered disguise so that Adrienne will cooperate. Goodbye "Scapegrace," hello spectacle-wearing, scholarly Nathan Essex.Little did he know that the young lady in peril was none other than the very same infuriating chit that earlier that day had nearly wrecked his phaeton in her single-minded, frivolous pursuit of THE PERFECT fan.  Adrienne Beauvisage would not be easy to protect.  To quote from the book, "...the more she was encouraged to behave properly, the more she felt the urge to run free."  Still, you would think that keeping a girl living as a paid companion to an eccentric old lady residing at a country estate would be relatively easy.  Right?  Not quite.  They find themselves thrust into one nefarious plot after another and fleeing to Barbados only to find even more danger than before.There are some great characters in this book--especially the quirky and one-of-a-kind  Lady Thomasina Harms.  She has an utterly ridiculous filing system she requests her companion Adrienne to follow in her library (by color of the spine!), she conspires to marry "Miss Beau" to her dandy of a son, and has a dog that she spoils in the most outlandish ways.  The villains are so dastardly that you cheer when they meet their match in the swashbuckling Raveneau.  And as usual, the book is peppered with delightful secondary characters that give glimpses into the life and times in both England and the changing social climate of Barbados.  As with all of this author's books, the story is well written, carefully edited, and rich in detail with fully developed characters and settings.  Her books are truly several notches above the norm.  They are so much more than the typical romantic fluff!Once you finish this wonderful story, you will be eager to move to TEMPEST, the conclusion of this family saga.  Then, sadly, that's the end.  But never fear, then you can move to the author's Western novels...