Defying a Pirate by Camille Oster

Defying a Pirate Reviews

• 
  Goddess Of Blah

  This book held so much promise with an excellent start and then deteriorated massively after the heroine decided to become a SWOONING SIMPERING COMPLIANT SPINELESS SUBMISSIVE. I think when Camille Oster isn't relying on clichés to create a story then her books are 5* material.
  
  
  
  However, in this book the grammatical errors were far more obvious, huge historical inaccuracies, glaring cultural irregularities (I know the author isn't English but come on!), the characters suffered an identity crisis (the pirate was either a ruthless type or a humble kind victim - but he nor the heroine could decide which), and the heroine was a FEEBLE swooning annoying pushover!!!
  
  
  
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  Heroine: Gemma Montague is a 22 yo English gentlewoman who initially demonstrated intelligence, gumption and skill when she commandeered a man-o-war ship against a pirate enemy attack. She does it with such pose and no theatrics or melodramatic speech that you admire her.
  However, once the pirate kidnaps her from her bed, her personality undergoes a surprising U-turn.
  This gently reared virgin rather than resenting her kidnapper - accepts her fate as a pirate hostage without really doing much, she doesn't even fight back, but puts up with here pirate's ridiculous treatment and stupidity. The pirate doesn't seem very bright but she makes no plot to escape when they reach land but instead offers him her virginity.
  
  Throughout her time being abducted, rather than being concerned about the fear and anguish her family will be suffering, her reputation, the possible consequences in the event that the pirate dumps her at sea or sells her, she's instead fighting off an attraction, swooning and simpering after the pirate. I'd be furious that a man has abducted me just because I (very naturally) escaped a pirate attack - not swoon after the guy!
  
  The heroine couldn't make up her mind about his character either, she spends pages listing his attributes and convincing herself why a man whose career is to loot and kill people is just a victim of his upbringing. How it's unfair that such a person who goes about attacking the Royal Navy doesn't deserve to be caught.
  
  Then a further few pages bemoaning how restrictive society is and that she would like to live the free spirit manner in which the pirates do in beach huts – BECAUSE-LOVE-CONQUERS-ALL… including creature comforts. Now this was ridiculous considering she's meant to be a studious type who likes to read. Where exactly will she find a library in a beach? And what will she have in common with the women and men belonging to the pirate clan who haven't studied beyond their letters?
  
  
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  Hero: Captain Jack Molloy (the spelling of his surname changes in throughout the book) is one of those annoying characters that can't take the fact that he was beaten by a girl (when Gemma Montague foils his attack against the British Naval Ship).
  He then hatches a scheme to traffic her to the Caribbean and show off that she's now in love with him so that they're “even” and his pirate credentials are restored. I'm not sure how this action would give credibility to his piracy skills as abducting defenceless women and forcing them to fall in love with you isn't the same as pulling off a pirate heist - but there you have it.
  He man handles her (but she finds excuses to forgive him). He goes on how she doesn't have curves, is only average looking but then soon after they have sex NO-WOMAN-ON-EARTH-IS-AS-BEAUTIFUL as the heroine. Her sexual prowess is such that he's a reformed playboy.
  He also takes advantage of her when she's drunk to have sex (dubious consent) and then bullies her and she lets him.
  
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  Plot: there are far too many plot holes, including how her family accept a former pirate who attacked Royal Navy ships - THAT IS TREASON.
  And I don't understand how he freely wanders about everywhere from London to Ireland without fearing the threat of arrest. A Danish flag isn't enough to prevent that.
  Also, neither character considered the heroine getting pregnangt was a spossibility (well the hero assumes women only get pregnant after months of having sex –but then we’ve established he isn’t very smart). Not once did the heroine have her period (throughout the time she's captured) but this fact seems to have escaped both characters.
  
  Also, the heroine considers the prostitutes to be disease ridden but not once did she consider the man she's getting to know (and who pays for their services) might have encountered their diseases? Sailors and particularly pirates were notoriously known for STDs. But I appreciate that STDs didn't exist in this fantasy version of a Pirate Adventure but it's silly and sexist to assume that only the women will be carriers
  
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  Romance: lots of swooning from the heroine, the hero falls for the heroine soon after they have sex and decides to forgo his playboy existence. They have nothing intellectually in common - just a huge dose of Stockholm syndrome and sex.
  The heroine is a pushover who submissively accepts whatever the hero dishes out including his childish attitude. I did like how she did occasionally become upset with him when he would display his anger without throwing melodramatic fits. It was also good to witness that when she was frightened of him, this would upset the hero. But she gives in so easily. And the hero doesn’t even try hard to gain her trust or loyalty
  I skipped the sex scenes (prefer some curves on the heroine if I'm reading that stuff - wouldn't want to have a hero less than well-endowed so why a heroine?).
  
  
  
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  Writing style: was appalling. Not only the grammar etc. But the heroine thinks of the Royal Navy/ UK authorities as "British". If you are British (or rather she'd consider herself English back then), then you'd not say things like "if the British get him" - so weird.
  Also, you can immediately recognise that the author isn't English, the lexicon is off.
  
  
  
  Overall, the heroine's swooning, simpering and pathetic character just ruined the book.
  
  
• 
  Caroline

  Loved It!
  
  Such a wonderful take of love at first sight and the lengths a man will go to keep a woman he loves.
• 
  LadyCalico

  I found this to be a delightful little romance. The pirate was kind of a clod, but that gave him a lot of room for growth as the relationship progressed, and, as his background story was filled in, we get to see why he is what he is. Also instead of a too dumb to live heroine we have one who is smart and wily, at least smart enough to know when she is out of her element and can listen, instead of constantly trying dumb things to get herself killed. The author actually showed some intelligence in developing the characters and plot of this pirate story. I liked how the relationship was developed slowly so that both H/h found themselves surprised by their feelings. I did find Jack's insistence that he had to be a pirate because he had no skills to do anything else was rather frustrating since if you are ruthless, bold, and commanding enough to be a pirate captain, and have loads of capital to invest, you could undoubtedly succeed in any business without really trying.
• 
  A

  An unpolished story with under-developed characters, historical inaccuracies and uninspired naming conventions.
  
  The sprinkling of minor characters had no purpose or plot of their own, aside from whispering advice into the ears of the conflicted protagonists.
  
  After the initial display of battle tactics and nautical knowledge from the heroine during the first chapter, I was disappointed to see neither protagonist display any manner of skill or knowledge apart from not-knowing-their-own-feelings and repeatedly chasing after each other.
  
  And there's a typo in chapter 12.
• 
  ⚜️XAR the Bookwyrm

  Glad to see that I wasn't the only one to hate this book! I was so bored with most of it and the Pirate was a jerk for most of the book. Wasn't even that romantic a story! There was hardly any action other than the beginning fight scene and it seemed that the supporting characters had no real purpose for being in the story. I couldn't bring myself to care about these characters, that's how much I hated the book. Glad I got it for free, as it will make deleting this book from my Kindle library painless!
• 
  pianogirl05

  Loved this!!!
  
  I loved this book. It was entertaining from beginning to end. If there were grammar errors I didn't notice because the storyline and characters were so captivating.
• 
  Frédérique

  A very good historic, enjoyed it a lot, loved the scene when Jack meet Gemma. The story is well written and the characters well develops.
• 
  Angela Whitmore

  Quick read
  
  I got through this one very quickly. The story was compelling and I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It was slightly let down by some need of editing to make the reading experience smoother.
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  Diane Pope

  Where ever the wind blows
  
  This was an excellent story, but I hated it. It caused me to feel too many emotions. I loved the bravery of Gemma and the romance of James. I just couldn't see how they could stay together.
• 
  Lori

  Stolen
  
  On her way home Gemmas ship was attacked by pirates. And what she did changed her life and her future.
• 
  Kay Folks

  Was nearly a DNF
  He’s a jerk pretty much the whole way through and she starts with a backbone but looses it very quickly.
  People and place descriptions could do with being a bit more in-depth too
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  Lisa C.

  This was not a typical historical romance. It was pretty exciting at first but then got boring. Too many things were glossed over or not explained enough. The pirate couldn't decide if he wanted to be mean to the girl or just get her in bed. I don't know what exactly I was expecting but the story just didn't do anything for me. I didn't connect with either of the characters. The ending was too abrupt after they got to Ireland. Very forgettable.
• 
  Cayla

  Gemma is a great character--she's got spunk. She takes charge of a ship during a time of crisis and defeats a pirate. The pirate later tracks her down and steals her away. They banter, they quarrel, and eventually the wall between them comes down. Due to his lifestyle as a pirate and her background as a proper Englishwoman, they question whether or not they can even make this work. Two people from totally different worlds.
• 
  B.L. Teschner

  This book was pretty good. There were some spelling errors here and there but nothing too huge. It started out slow in my taste, and was a little slow at about 75% in, but the majority of the story was really interesting. I liked the pirate captain's overall attitude, and I liked his strong romantic role.
• 
  Camisha Castle

  Confronting!! But can we use another word
  
  this book is a very good read. a pirate out for revenge against the English Miss who thwarted him on the seas! I actually LOVED the book, but if I never see the word CONFRONTING again, it will be too soon.
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  Joann Maggio

  I enjoyed this story. The battle of wits between Gemma and James was very cute. I got the strong impression the author want to wrap it up quick. Should could have expanded the love story but chose not to continue.
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  Victoria

  Is a great book to read
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  Gabriela

  Cute little romance. Perfect for the lazy days around the holidays.
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  Emma Johnson

  Wasn't this just the worst thing ever??