(Image from Barnes & Noble)

(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Rapture of the Deep, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier Jacky Faber adventures.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

Ever since her first adventure as an orphaned street urchin turned swashbuckling sailor, Jacqueline "Jacky" Faber has pined for one James "Jamie" Fletcher.  Now 16, Jacky is finally getting her wish to marry her long-time love.  Only moments before she takes her vows, however, she's captured by her constant enemy, British Naval Intelligence.  The powers that be force her to take on another dangerous mission, although this one is much more to her liking.  This time, Jacky will be searching the Caribbean sea for lost Spanish treasure.  With the glint of gold in her eye, she embarks on her newest adventure—one that will bring Jacky new challenges, fresh risks, and another chance to appease her greedy, sea-yearning soul.  Along the way, there will be plenty of laughs, romance, and at least one "starkers" episode that will surely go down in naval history.

As Rapture of the Deep is the seventh installment in L.A. Meyer's incomparable Bloody Jack series, you've no doubt heard me rhapsodize about how much I adore these books.  Each is an engrossing, exciting tale full of laughs, romance, adventure, and derring-do.  Jacky is the kind of bright, fun, admirable character that you never want to stop reading about.  Unfortunately, her creator passed away in 2014, so after Wild Rover No More, the 12th book in the series, there are no more high sea chanteys for my beloved Bloody Jack.  I'm reading the remaining tales slowly so I can savor every word.  Rapture of the Deep, by the by, is just as much fun as its predecessors.  It gets a little long-winded (like every seafaring storyteller does at times), but it's still a charming, always entertaining read.  It might not be my favorite of the bunch; still, I adore any Jacky yarn and this one was no exception.

(Readalikes:  Other books in the Bloody Jack series, including Bloody Jack; Curse of the Blue Tattoo; Under the Jolly Roger; In the Belly of the Bloodhound; Mississippi Jack; My Bonny Light Horseman; The Wake of the Lorelei Lee; The Mark of the Golden Dragon; Viva Jacquelina!; Boston Jacky; and Wild Rover No More)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (no F-bombs), violence, blood/gore, and innuendo/mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Rapture of the Deep from Half Price Books with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Liv Connelly has always been fascinated by the story of the Patriot, a schooner that vanished without a trace off the Carolina coast in 1813.  No one knows what befell those aboard the missing vessel. Liv's especially curious about the fate of the ship's most famous passenger, Theodosia Burr Alston, the beloved 29-year-old daughter of Aaron Burr.  What happened to "Theo"?  Did she drown in stormy waters?  Was she taken captive by greedy pirates?  Theories abound.  Liv wants the truth.  Although crippling asthma and a paranoid, anxiety-ridden father keep her grounded, she longs to comb the ocean floor for clues, to solve the mystery for herself.

Her obsession with shipwrecks leads Liv to two men, both graduate students in marine archaeology.  Whit Crosby and Sam Felder couldn't be more different—the former is spontaneous, unpredictable; the latter calm and controlled.  The friendship between the three is exciting but rocky.  

Thirteen years after they all meet, Liv is married to Whit; the couple has been estranged from Sam for years.  That all changes when they need his help on a dive.  Sam's return brings a tornado of emotions for Liv.  Sam's obviously looking for a second chance, not just with Liv but at fulfilling their shared dream of finding the Patriot.  With her business in the red and her marriage on the rocks, it's time for Liv to finally decide what—and who—she really wants.

It's difficult not to be intrigued by the mystery at the heart of The Last Treasure by Erika Marks.  I'd never heard of the Patriot before picking up the novel, but now I, too, wonder what happened to Theodosia and her fellow passengers.  It's a puzzle, the possible solutions of which kept me reading this book despite not feeling overly connected to its players.  I'm not fond of love triangles to begin with—I especially dislike them when those involved are fickle, selfish, and just not all that likable, a description which fits Whit, Liv, and Sam.  This, coupled with a loosey-goosey plot that focused more on romance than mystery, made The Last Treasure a bit of a disappointment for me.  I wanted to like it a lot more than I actually did.  Oh well.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't really think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:

 If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a few F-bombs plus milder expletives) and sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of The Last Treasure from the generous folks at Penguin.  Thank you!

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

When 18-year-old Kate Thompson returns to her Prescott homestead one day to find her father's dead body swinging from a tree, she's horrified.  And outraged.  Clearly, this is the work of The Rose Riders, a notorious gang of outlaws.  Kate knows exactly what they were after, too.  Her father possessed a mysterious diary that supposedly contained directions to The Lost Dutchman, a mine full of treasure hidden at the base of the Superstition Springs Mountains.  Kate's Pa always said gold made monsters of men.  As she sets off in pursuit of The Rose Riders, it's not greed propelling her, but an unquenchable thirst for revenge.

Disguising herself as a boy, Kate does exactly what Pa told her to do in case of emergency—she heads to the ranch of his friends, the Coltons.  There, she receives a letter in which her father strongly cautions her against taking any kind of action against the Roses.  Ignoring the advice, she sets off in pursuit.  Only now she has brothers Jesse and Will Colton riding in her wake.  Try as she might, she can't shake the boys, not in their perceived duty toward her or in their lust for gold.  Reluctant companions, the trio rides on.

As they cross over 100 miles of Arizona Territory desert, the group faces dangers of every kind, not just from the relentless heat and ever present dust, but from snorting javelina and wildlife of the most dangerous sort—the human sort.  Unwilling to trust anyone, Kate does what she has to do, even when she has to use her gun to do it.  As she comes ever closer to a face-off with the men who killed her father, she will have to make a choice between justice and mercy, revenge at any cost or the safety of those she's come to love.  With family mysteries unfolding before her, Kate's seeing more clearly than ever before.  But will that stop her from avenging her father or will it push her even harder toward her goal?  

I've read a few YA westerns lately and, let me tell you, I'm digging this trend toward exciting, old-fashioned yarns.  It's refreshing.  I appreciate the break from the usual vampires, demon hunters, high school love triangles, etc.  Especially enjoyable is Vengeance Road, the newest from Erin Bowman.  Featuring a tough, sharp-shooting heroine, it's a gritty tale of survival set against a punishing desert background.  The characters are sympathetic while remaining authentic in their actions and desires.  Plot-wise, the story gallops along at a steady pace, offering surprising twists around every cactus.  It's an engrossing, well-told tale that delivers a compelling, action-packed story as well as an important message about the too-high price of greed. 

A fun sidenote:  Bowman didn't make up the legend of the Lost Dutchman's Mine.  It's one with which most Arizonans are familiar.  The hidden mine has never been found and treasure seekers are still drawn to the Superstitions and the gold that may—or may not—be hidden somewhere in the 160,000 acres of desert that surround the mountain range.  So, guess who may—or may not—have sparkling caches of gold sitting practically in her backyard?  Yours Truly!  If you're ever in my 'hood, be sure to visit the Superstition Mountain Museum, which is dedicated to collecting and preserving artifacts related to the colorful history of this area.  It's only a few miles from my house, but I've never taken the time to visit.  Reading Vengeance Road definitely fired up my imagination and piqued my interest in learning more about the fact, folklore and plain ole fiction surrounding the desert where I live.

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee and the movie True Grit  [which is based on the book by Charles Portis, which I have yet to read])

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (no F-bombs), violence, sexual innuendo, and mild (not graphic) sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find