Blackbeard is a pirate legendary for his fearlessness and cunning.  But what is really known about the man behind the myth?  Not much.  Until now ...

In Nicole Castroman's debut novel, Blackhearts, she imagines the famous captain as a young man, eager to take on the world.  After a year at sea, 19-year-old Edward "Teach" Drummond feels he has found his calling.  He has no use for the future that has been set before him—being grounded in Bristol, marrying a society woman he doesn't love, managing the business interests of his wealthy merchant father, and staying far away from something as uncouth as returning to the sea.  All he has to do now is convince his father—a cold, ambitious man—to allow his heir to walk away from it all.  Forever.

Anne Barrett is similarly adrift.  As the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy English merchant and his black slave, she has no real place in society.  When her father dies, leaving her without a protector or an inheritance, the 16-year-old is forced to find a way to support herself.  Although she's never worked a day in her life, she signs on as a domestic in the Drummond household.  It's only temporary, however.  As soon as she's saved enough money to sail to Curaçao, her mother's homeland, Anne will leave her grim life in England far behind.

From the moment Teach and Anne meet, sparks fly fast and furious between them.  It's a forbidden relationship, of course, one Mr. Drummond will never allow to proceed.  As the passion between them ignites, the conflicts of their daily lives intensify.  Everything stands in the couple's way.  Can they find a way to be together despite all the obstacles blocking their path?  Or will their love die before it ever has the chance to truly blossom?

Although Blackhearts doesn't boast a lot of swashbuckling, it's an exciting beginning to what promises to be a satisfying trilogy.  The story does offer a tense, romantic story line which is also fun and well-executed.  Sure, it's predictable, but that really didn't bother me in the least.  I thoroughly enjoyed Castroman's debut; in fact, before I'd even finished it, I found myself at Amazon pre-ordering its sequel, Blacksouls (which I liked even better, by the by).  If you—or your teen—are looking for a clean read that is both engrossing and entertaining, definitely pick this one up.  I loved it.

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of Blacksouls by Nicole Castroman and a little bit of the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer)

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As a tall, athletic, bi-racial woman, Lane Bishop is used to standing out.  Which is just fine by her.  She'd rather play center field than sit on the sidelines anyway.  When she's invited to a pick-up soccer game to cheer on the Hamilton men—five gorgeous "untouchable" brothers—she quickly decides cheerleading is for the birds.  Not only does she insert some much needed girl power into the game, but she makes the winning goal, and scores a date with Jamie, the most eligible Hamilton.  Lane swore off the LDS singles scene when she moved back to North Carolina, but what can she say?  She's never been able to resist a challenge.  And the commitment-phobic Jamie is a tantalizing challenge indeed.

Not long after winning her "prize," Lane begins to wonder if charming, spontaneous Jamie is the right man for her after all.  If only his older brother Simon weren't so grounded, so thoughtful, so observant ... so different than doesn't-think-twice Jamie.  Is it possible Lane's fallen for the wrong Hamilton?  As the situation grows more and more complicated, she knows she needs to tame her fickle heart.  And fast. 

If the plot summary for Wrong For You, a new LDS rom-com by Jenny Proctor, seems a little thin ... well, it is.  Besides the love triangle at the center of the novel, there's not a whole lot going on with this story.  It's meant to be a light-hearted romance, sure, but that doesn't mean the novel can't have some depth.  Wrong For You is fun and upbeat, with a strong female lead and yet, it just gets a little too silly for me.  I'm not a big fan of love triangles as the only source of conflict in a book in the first place.  I also didn't care much for Lane, who seemed like a big, fat hypocrite to me.  So, while Wrong For You is a light, fun While You Were Sleeping-ish novel, I didn't love it.  It made for easy, breezy reading during a week where my overtaxed brain couldn't have handled much more, but still ... Proctor's got a great storytelling voice; I'd just love a little more depth from her books.

(Readalikes: Reminds me of Love at First Note by Jenny Proctor and LDS rom-coms by Melanie Jacobson)

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