Review: The Captain of All Pleasures

I just can’t get enough of Kresley Cole. As in love with her Immortals After Dark books as I am, I’ve been trolling around for everything she has ever written. And I found this gem. It’s definitely different… not a drop of paranormal in it.  Instead we have the story of a rakish sea-captain and the young woman who captivates his mind, body, and heart.

Our gutsy heroine, Nicole, is no stranger to sea life. Her father is captain of his own ship and she grew up on the water.  She returns to her dad after getting kicked out of yet another finishing school and she’s hoping to join him on a long race aboard the ship. She finds her father at a whore house as he investigates a series of sabotages on the vessels involved in the race. It’s there she first meets eyes with Derek.  Her father drags her out.

Later, Nicole catches some of the saboteurs in action on her father’s ship. They chase her, meaning to do her harm, but Derek rescues her and brings her back to the ship. He doesn’t know who she is, but they quickly get physical. Once he realizes she’s virgin, though, he pulls away.   And at nearly the same time, one of her father’s men finds her and drags her away.

When word gets back to Nicole’s dad, he faces off in fist fight with Derek and ends up in jail. Nicole decides to take his place in the race. Derek takes off behind her.  Quickly, the men on Derek’s ship start getting sick and they realize the water is poisoned.  Derek suspects Nicole. So when her ship goes down in a storm, he takes her and her crew captive.  It’s then that things really start to heat up… because while the rest of the crew is kept elsewhere, Nicole is kept in Derek’s room.

This was a really good book. The relationship between Derek and Nicole was stormy and steamy.  There were twists and turns in the plot –especially near the end when we find out why Derek is so opposed to marriage. 

It’s nothing like IAD… except for the hot factor… and when push comes to shove, the hot-factor is what I like best about any Kresley Cole book. 4 1/2 stars.

The Captain of All Pleasures 

by Kresley Cole

Release Date: July 1, 2003

Publisher: Pocket Books