To Tame the Wind
In this prequel to her Agents of the Crown series, Regan Walker presents a romantic adventure story that can easily be appreciated as a stand-alone, without reference to the later books in the series. The plot is set in the final years of the American Revolution and centers around innocent young nun Claire Donet, who spends her time committing small acts of rebellion against the convent rules at Saint-Denis, including sneaking off to costume balls. At one of these, she meets English privateer Simon Powell, and although the two both feel an instant chemistry, he returns her to her convent, where, as the years pass, she comes closer and closer to a marriage arranged by her father. But when her father, who hasn’t told her he’s a pirate, seizes the ship and crew of Simon Powell, Powell retaliates by kidnapping Claire, setting the stage for typical romance-novel misunderstandings and a climactic confrontation.
Walker tells a zesty (albeit intensely predictable) tale, and her two main characters on their path to love grow more and more sympathetic and interesting as the book progresses.
The dialogue throughout is spirited, and the period details of seamanship – both the legal and illegal kinds – are convincingly done. Fans of swashbuckling romance won’t be disappointed.
