Merciless is the name of the pirate's ship and that's where the title comes from, but it also describes Marlin in the beginning, as he appears quite merciless. The character of Marlin is the epitome of the pirate captain in the beginning. He is cruel and leaves you feeling he would gladly toss Elizabeth overboard. But his character is layered when you think of what he must do to keep his crew in line. He will appear crueler than he really is and his character will come to surprise the reader.

Elizabeth is fearless or quite stupid in the beginning, it is hard to decide which. Maybe she just had a death wish. I do not think she even knew herself. She recognizes the things in the captain he tries hard to hide. The dialogue is well written and easy to follow. The relationship between Marlin and Elizabeth is interesting and will keep you wondering. They are obviously attracted to each other but for obvious reasons they will fight their attraction. She cannot love a pirate. He cannot fall for his captive that is just a means in which he can have revenge against a certain naval captain.

The author keeps you anticipating when the two will give into the inevitable. The passion is worth the wait and you get to know the personalities of the characters better before they become romantic. The scenes of the story aboard ship are described in great detail and you can sense the roll of the sea as you read. Felicity Heaton has written a romance involving pirates that is both creative and quite original. Although it is hard to get passed the initial cruelty of the beginning of the story, it develops into a passionate romance that will fascinate the reader.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Very sensual

Reviewer: Anita
April 29, 2006