Scandalous

The orphaned daughter of Christian missionaries in Africa, Sarah has been kidnapped, along with all the people in her village, by Dutch slave-traders. The slave trader is boarded by Martin, a former slave turned privateer on behalf of the English king, who loathes slavers with every iota of his being. At first Martin thinks Sarah is a slaver, or a slaver's doxy, but soon comes to realise she is nothing of the sort and is a formidable woman as she enters into bargains for the lives of the slave trader and his crew. Martin tries to offload Sarah and the slavers in Freetown but the British Admiral in charge balks when he discovers that Martin's slaver is related to the Dutch King, suddenly Martin is forced to transport Sarah and the Dutchman Mies to England. Rising sexual tension on board a small ship, jealousy and frustration create a does he/doesn't he vibe on board ship but this felt a bit samey-samey to me. I know the circumstances were different to Mia and Hugh but I just had the he was a slave, they did unspeakable things to him seen it all before vibe, which seems crushingly insensitive I know but I felt the idea had been done to death with the first two books. Also, Martin was supposed to be a ladies' man with women falling over themselves to both bed him and marry him but he seemed totally clueless about women. Overall, if I hadn't read the two previous books I think I would have enjoyed this more.

Scandalous by Minerva Spencer The Outcasts #3 I have enjoyed this series and looked forward to reading this book. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. Why? I felt disappointed in the portrayal of beautiful, vain, unfeeling Captain Martin Etienne Bouchard. He could have used his past to be more than his job and money and reputation as a rake. And Sarah Fisher, missionary, was a good-hearted woman secluded from much by living twenty-four years in a small village with only her parents and the tribe around her. She was taken in by a pretty face and mean talking man and fell head over heels for him...that I had trouble understanding. Also, I had trouble believing that Sarah could have or would have done some of the things she did. It is fiction and thus can happen in a book but...she was strong and weak in weird ways. What I liked: * Martin’s love for the man that saved him and his ability to become the man he did * Sarah’s love of all human beings and her willingness to stand up for their rights while forgiving evil doers. * Seeing some of the characters from previous books * Beauville finding Mary * Some of the interactions between Sarah and Martin * Hearing the backstories of Martin and Sarah * Sarah knowing where her heart really lay What I did not like: * Martin’s immature acting out and what just seemed mean at times * The Slavers...all of them * Armand and his father I enjoy a swashbuckling tale and this provided that. I had parts I loved and parts I didn’t like as much in this book. I felt that the time in England could have been shortened a bit and more time spent on Martin and Sarah actually getting along rather than fighting and at cross purposes. I understood that with the history Martin had it would be hard to trust and love and believe in a future though in some ways he was a bit tooo much of a caricature...or something. Did I enjoy this book? Yes and No Would I read another book in this series? Yes Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington – Zebra for the ARC – This is my honest review. 3-4 Stars

Sarah Fisher, a missionary and the daughter of missionaries, had been kidnapped along with the people from her village in Africa, where she was born. Captain Martín Bouchard has dedicated his life to capturing slavers and made his fortune that way. He seizes the enemy vessel on which Sarah was held captive, but she begs for mercy on behalf of the slaver ship's captain by offering herself to Captain Bouchard. I had been eagerly awaiting Martín's story, the enigmatic, seductive, dissolute rake with the fascinating past. He's fastidious, exceedingly proud, vain, and he's prone to violent outbursts. And he is irresistible to all women. SCANDALOUS seemed off to a great start with witty dialogues, a lively pace, and an atmosphere that reminded me of old Errol Flynn black and white movies. Minerva Spencer is an extremely talented storyteller, her exquisite prose vibrantly eloquent, and her characters staggeringly complex, even secondary ones such as Mies Graaf. I liked Mies, in spite of some prior distasteful actions, and herin lies the problem: my dislike for Martín, which grew as the story progressed. SCANDALOUS is one of those books where I wondered if Martín had been merely very good-looking, not the absolute epitome of masculine beauty in the history of time, if the romance would have occurred at all. I did not understand the romance. He's mean, treats women as disposable commodities, which I found a little strange considering his upbringing. At least, it's logical that Sarah would want to "save" him, she's a missionary after all and she was grateful that he'd rescued her, but I couldn't understand why she "fell in love" with him merely because of his god-like appearance and the lure of sexual ecstasy. He treated her with contempt, he was dismissive, rude, insulting, condescending; the only reason I could see was that she was a glutton for punishment, and she came back for more because he was physically irresistible. Sarah had seemed like an admirable character at the beginning until she made an utter fool of herself, drooling over this beautiful monster. Yes, he had a very painful past, but it was no excuse for the way he acted towards her, and worse for her to always forgive him because of his beauteous person. In a way, I came to hate her even more than him for her superficiality, for "loving" him while he was such an insufferable beast. I found Martín to be one of the most unpleasant heroes I have ever seen and she was no better than the countless other women who fell at his feet. And unfortunately, as the story unfolded, I hated him even more. I just had no idea where his supposed infatuation came from, why he wanted her - I can't say love, because I never saw it - except that he enjoyed tormenting her because she put up with his boorish behaviour while she desperately lusted after him? Because his oversized ego thrived on taunting her? He wanted her for some obscure reason that eluded me until the very end. I don't find this a solid basis for a happily ever after. I found the sections of the book that revolved around slavery the most interesting. I was hoping for an ending that would make up for that non-romance, alas it was not to be. Martín experienced some sort of miraculous partial metamorphosis, two cumbersome characters were conveniently disposed of, and Sarah and Martín went on to fornicate happily ever after. Hopefully, the few mistakes in French will have been corrected in the final version. Needless to say, this was not a pleasant read for me.