The Pirate Lord (Lord Trilogy, Book 1)
The Pirate Lord begins with a young crusading reformer, Miss Sara Willis, determined to experience first hand the substandard conditions and situations female convicts must face as they are transported to penal colonies in Australia.  After several weeks at sea, the ill-fated ship Chastity is overtaken by the dreaded ship Satyr, vessel of the notorious Pirate Lord Gideon Horn.  Gideon and his men are seeking to create their own utopia on an uncharted island and retire from the pirating business for good.  All they need to make their island paradise complete is the presence of women, who will become wives to the pirate and his crew.  Sara is just as stubborn as Gideon when an idea pops into her mind, and she sees that Gideon is more or less wanting to make her fellow females submit to the desires of his men, no matter that they would be legally wed.  As the two leaders of the two factions butt heads on how a peaceful solution to their situation can be reached, they fall in love.  Only one problem in their tropical Eden exists, Sara's stepbrother is searching for her and could possibly be the serpent that destroys the fragile paradise Gideon is seeking to build. I very much enjoyed this tale and the sparring that occurs between the two lead characters of this book.  There was a wonderful dialogue and parallel love stories amid other secondary characters as well.  I thought Ms. Jeffries kept all the love stories well balanced, without causing the reader undue confusion.  Though the plot is somewhat predictable, if the reader sits back and just lets the marvelously developed personalities of the characters take over, the reader will not be disappointed in this book.  Ms. Jeffries has a rich sense of humor, which is readily apparent in her writing and provides welcome entertainment for a few hours.   Thankfully, the reader can expect more from this very talented author.  Ms. Jeffries is planning a trilogy, the second of which will be the story of Jordan Willis, Sara's step-brother, in The Forbidden Lord to be released in the spring of 1999. Sabrina Jeffries spins a wondrous tale of high spirited individuals, set in fabulous locales, and creates sparkling dialogue which carries the reader away! The Pirate Lord is a rich story led by its powerfully charismatic hero and heroine who have the warmth and wit of characters Hepburn and Tracy used to play! Gloria Lower  --Copyright © 1998 Literary Times, Inc.  All rights reserved--FromLiterary Times