THE CAPTAIN OF ALL PLEASURES

Author: Kresley Cole ISBN: 0743466497 7/2003 HISTORICAL Publisher: POCKET BOOKS
Time Period: 1850's

The terrible enmity between Captains Jason Lassiter and Derek Sutherland lay just below the surface, seething for years. Now on the cusp of the Great Circle Race of 1858, both their shipping lines are imperiled. Only a win in the prestigious sailing race from London to Sydney can save Lassiter's heavily leveraged company or Sutherland's reputation. When Sutherland inadvertently prevents Lassiter from sailing, Nicole Lassiter easily assumes her father's half of the embroiled rivalry with Sutherland. A restless young woman with a swaggering confidence, Nicole will not merely vie with him. After he disregards their one misguided night together, she decides humiliating him with an easy win will make a fine revenge. The weary bitterness Derek Sutherland carries like a mantle has finally been pierced. What has, as his relatives would describe it, "provoked Sutherland to a pulse"? His unsettling attraction to a young woman with the darkest, most soulful eyes he's ever seen. Unfortunately, she's the daughter of a man he'd like to see dead. Worse, she publicly vows that Derek will memorize the look of her stern during the Great Circle Race. Derek readily accepts the challenge of besting Nicole, and the two become determined to defeat the other at any cost, including trickery, deception, even seduction... More information can be found on Kresley Cole's website: http://www.kresleycole.com/

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS: (and 1/2!)

Have you ever read a book by a debut author, and then kept shaking your head thinking, "This can't be her first book. This can't be her first book."? I must admit that was my first thought when I finished the last chapter of this rousing, adventurous, highly-spirited and sensual story by Kresley Cole. It's a captivating tale that kept me turning page after page. A bit slow at the start, the pace soon built and that was it for me...I was thoroughly and completely hooked.

In THE CAPTAIN OF ALL PLEASURES we have Nicole, a heroine who knows what she wants and is stubborn enough to go for it - tough, spirited and no wishy-washy Miss is this little gal! And I like a woman who can take charge and end up "on top" in a somewhat unusual situation (once you read this book you'll know what I refer too *G*). As for Derek, he has his own demons to fight, some obvious and then some not--one in particular I never would have guessed. And perhaps that's one reason I liked this book so much: just when I thought I knew what was what, Ms. Cole throws in a little of that "twist in the mix" element into the storyline that keeps you glued to the pages.

Debut, you say? Yes, it is, and it's a very impressive one at that. With great dialogue and solid character depictions, along with edge-of-your seat sexual tension throughout, it's the perfect book that will sweep you away to adventure, excitement, and blazing romance on the high seas for an afternoon. Enjoy it! (I certainly did!)

Nancy Davis