HIGH SEAS STOWAWAY – Amanda McCabe
Harlequin Historical #930
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-29530-2
ISBN-10: 0-373-29530-8
January 2009
Historical Romance (Renaissance)

Santa Domingo on the Island of Hispaniola, 1532

At fifteen, Bianca Simonetti, like all the ladies and courtesans of Venice, loved Balthazar Grattiano, the handsome son of a fabulously wealthy Venetian; that is, until his father killed her mother. Bianca thought Balthazar conspired to protect his father and vowed vengeance.

Seven years later, Bianca owns a tavern on a Caribbean island when the notorious captain of the Calypso, Balthazar Grattiano, is wounded in her establishment.

Bianca and Balthazar epitomize the age in which they live: intelligent, curious, courageous, and adventurous. That they are both already living in the New World attests to this. These characteristics also provide the hero and heroine very sensual natures. Balthazar, especially, is a very complicated character sure to engage all readers. Bianca is not the lady common in most novels of this era, but a hard working and enterprising woman not intimidated by any man. What's more, she is believable. Their volatile affair starts when she stows away on the Calypso. What could she have been thinking...about her strong desire for vengeance or her very physical attraction? And considering Grattiano’s reputation, where will it lead her, especially when there is a killer hunting Balthazar?

A colorful background and charismatic, lustful characters make HIGH SEAS STOWAWAY well worth reading.

Robin Lee