4 STAR REVIEW - Stormy Persuasion (Malory-Anderson, Book 11) by Johanna Lindsey

4 Stormy Stars!!

After the disappointment of the last several Johanna Lindsey books, I was very hesitant to read this one, despite it being about my favorite family series ever. Even the last three Malory novels were not that great, which almost made me think that perhaps Johanna Lindsey wasn’t writing them, and had employed a ghost writer instead. I’m delighted to admit I might be wrong. Stormy Persuasion reminded me why I fell in love with the Malory family and why I’ve been reading Johanna Lindsey novels since I was in the 8th grade. Is it as good as the first Malory novels? No. But it’s way better than anything she’s published in the past 10 years or so, and definitely worth the purchase price. I love how different the personalities of Jack (Jacqueline) and Judith are. Jack is exactly like James, bold, brash, and says exactly what’s on her mind, and definitely the leader of the two. She wears breeches and goes barefoot on board the ship, fences, and probably can sail the ship just as good as her father and uncles can. Judith is much more feminine, preferring to wear dresses even as she admits their impracticality aboard a ship, and she’s definitely the optimist of the two, preferring to think the best out of everyone. Judith tempers her cousin’s rash behavior, and tries to get Jack to think before she speaks or acts. Nathan is a likeable hero. He’s been dealt a bad hand in life—his father was a smuggler and died when Nathan was in his early twenties, just after the two had a falling out. Nathan’s sister has also recently died, and he is now the guardian of her two young daughters. And of course he’s managed to have his father’s smuggling ship, The Pearl, stolen by the man who killed him, another smuggler who happens to be the regency era version of a black market car dealer. He steals British ships, refits them and resells them in America as new or “gently used.” Right after Judith meets Nathan, he gets captured and is cut a deal by the British military—expose the man behind the ship stealing and he will be granted a full pardon for smuggling. Nathan needs to get to the U.S to capture the criminal—who fortunately runs the operation from Connecticut, and as luck has it, Judith’s uncle James’ ship is headed there in a few days. Nathan and Judith have some pretty good chemistry together. They’ve already met twice before being aboard The Maiden George (James’ ship) and she correctly suspects him of being a smuggler. He’s fighting his attraction for Judith, and has to keep away from her father, who he may have actually knocked out in a tavern brawl the night before the ship left for Connecticut. James remembers Nathan from the fight, but of course seeing Tony get taken down endears Nathan to James. Nathan works as the ship’s carpenter, and there are several opportunities for Judith and Nathan to meet up privately throughout the voyage. The only real annoyances with the book are Catherine and her brother Count Andrassy, who I really can’t go into too much detail without spoilers. I guess I’m irritated that they take up more pages than I think they should have, although they seem to play a big role in what will be Jack’s book. Which is another point on why Stormy Persuasion was worth the read: it definitely harkens back to the earlier Malory novel formulas: just like James and Georgina’s story begins during Tony and Roslynn’s, it looks like the events in Jack’s book will take place during Judith’s and Nathan’s. And Jack’s story looks to be quite a doozy—we don’t know his name, but she keeps calling him “The Bastard.” LOVE her! As my favorite Malory is and always will be James, I am delighted to say that he is just as awesome as ever. Tony too, but surprisingly we don’t get as much of him as I would have thought, since this is his daughter’s story. Tony does have some great moments in here though, so I wasn’t too disappointed. So Malory fans, don’t fear! This book is well worth the wait and I’m hoping the next one will be just as delightful to read.

#4stars #review #pirate #historical