Perfect historical romance. Low drama, high steam and well written characters. Easy plotline to help keep those pages turning.

Maribel Cordoba is an 11 year old girl from Spain who loves her mother and grandfather and is intrigued by adventure, especially pirates. When the ship she is sailing on with her father is taken over by Jean Beaumont, French privateer, she ends up seemingly alone in the world and taken in by the captain. She endears herself to the crew and becomes the best lookout they have. However, a skirmish with another ship sends their own vessel to the deep and many souls to their graves. Maribel ends up taken in an orphanage run by nuns, never quite sure if the pictures she has of life at sea are dreams or actually memories.

Jean is actually Jean-Luc Valmont, lawyer in New Orleans. After the disaster at sea, he leaves his life of privateering (NOT piracy, which they point out several times in the book, making the title a little ironic) and throws himself into his work. He always wondered what happened to little Maribel and if she was lost along with the rest of the crew. Over a decade later, he no longer has to wonder when Maribel herself walks into his office. Now a grown woman recently reunited with her family, she needs some help with her families finances and her inheritance. But there is more to what's going on than meets the eye, and together they try to find answers.

I loved this book! This book was basically made for me. It's probably more of a 4 1/2, but you better believe I rounded it up to a 5. A young girl with a love for piracy and adventure who grows into a strong young woman who still has that love but hides it for propriety's sake? A privateer with a heart of gold? Good heavens, they even sail past Port Royal, Jamaica a few times! But then throw in strong characters, both main and supporting, good pacing and good writing, and there's even a Christian message about letting things go and leaving things in the Lord's hands. I liked how the religious aspect was handled in this book more than the previous book (it's the same series but different authors) because it fit in the story without hitting you over the head with it. Clean, lots of historical background even though it's fictional, an exciting story. I inhaled this book! Was it sometimes a little too convenient how things worked out to the point that it was a little unbelievable? Sure, but I was happy to overlook it because I enjoyed the overall book. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.

A sweet, short story set in the age of Pirates!

I will be honest, I tried reading this book in ebook form and got EXTREMELY bored, but in audiobook, it was actually quite interesting. The love story was a bit odd and kind of rushed feeling, but there were some strong faith themes throughout the book, and I ended up really enjoying it overall.

I have really enjoyed this series’s. You are looking clean books that have adventure, love and a bit of mystery. You will love this series!! Happy Reading 🤩

The Pirate Bride was even better than the first book in this series. There was mystery, action, and emotion. The Pirate Bride did well with historical facts, as well. Once I got started I had to keep reading. The Pirate Bride kept me on the edge of my seat and wondering what was going to happen next. The story was well written and had a wonderful beginning and middle. The ending was excellent and made me feel all cozy and warm inside.

It was a sweet and interesting tale. Pirates and faith? Somehow Kathleen Y’Barbo makes it work in this tale.

This is the story of a girl finding adventure. It is supposed to be a love story but I would not call this a love story. I wouldn't even call it a history novel. You do learn a little about the time and privateering and how that is different than pirating. We follow Maribell and Jean Luc on a long adventure spanning 11 years. I just didn't find myself pulled into the story or invested in the characters. The kiss at the end was so disappointing. I waited all that time for insta love and "they kissed". Oh well. The book was interesting and the storyline a good one. Just not an author who's style I like.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.

The first impression of this book carried a blip. The previous book in the series had said that Mary Elizabeth had eight children, but this story’s character list declared that she had thirteen. I had a friend check her paperback copy of this book, and sure enough, that number was not corrected before it went to print. Thankfully, this number mattered not when it came to the actual story of The Pirate Bride, because the numbers of great-aunts and -uncles was not mentioned anywhere once the tale began. Thus, this miscommunication between authors of book one and book two was noted but did not in any way affect my rating.

Now to the good stuff.

This story had an unusual presentation, as the leading lady was twelve years old for nearly half the story. This was so unique and interesting and instantly unpredictable that I was enraptured directly from the first page. The author never once let me go either, because she kept the floodgates of surprises wide open and gushing waterfalls of twists. I truly gasped aloud and screeched a few times when certain somethings were revealed. I even texted a friend in all caps, which I hardly ever do, and I couldn’t help gushing to her about how amazing the plot twists in this book were.

Of course, I can’t talk about those twists here. Where would the element of surprise be for you, dearest reader friend? Please just tell me that you’ll read this book and discover the amazingness of it for yourself.

The characters, even the baddies, were spectacular. Nothing to complain about there. Everything to gush about, really. The spunkiness of Maribel—and what a lovely name!—was clear from page one and consistent throughout. The mystery surrounding Captain Beaumont kept me off kilter in a fantastic way. I love a book that is written so well that I don’t mind the mental vertigo it gives me because the twists and character development and settings and any number of other writerly things worked intrinsically together to create an incredible story that kept me guessing on and glued to every single page of the entire story.

Speaking of the setting, the boats, islands, ocean, gulf, and cities were described with such vivid detail that they instantly came alive in my imagination. The author’s love of history and detailed research is clear throughout, and it was fun to read more about her process in the author’s note following the story. Be sure to check that out after you read the story, because there are major spoilers back there if you jumped ahead. So insightful!

Mrs. Y’Barbo—and I would love to know how to pronounce this unusual and beautiful surname—has such a great and wonderful talent for storytelling. I’m eager to read more of her books, so if you’ve got a favorite, I’d love to hear which book of hers you think I should try next.

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment spent in this book, and I’m planning on purchasing a keeper copy as soon as my book budget allows. Yep, it cruised to the top of that list, as well as the top of my favorites list for this calendar year (2020). If you’re looking for a distraction from the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, the adventure within the pages of this book awaits!

This is such a unique series, This installment by Kathleen Y'Barbo is a great addition. Tracing the generations, I love it!

I enjoyed this a lot! I mean what's not to love? This book is full of rich history and wonderful characters!
I spent a wonderful evening reading this book. I did not want to come back to the real world! I finished thos in one evening it was so good!
Just simply amazing!
I strongly recommend this book!! It has everything you'll ever need in a good clean read!
My thanks to Netgalley. All opinions are my own. NO compensations were received

Rich with history. Wonderful characters. Interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. I felt every emotion. Simply a GREAT read!

*thank you to Netgalley and Barbour publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review*

I am a huge historical fiction fan and I’m liking pirate tales lately so this book was perfect for me! Our MC, Maribel, is so fun of attitude and curiosity...the story is easily driven along by her adventures.

I really enjoyed this author’s use of the time period as a setting. Pirates and swashbuckling is always fun!

I quite enjoyed this story, with its spunky heroine, dashing hero, and a plot that held plenty of intrigue and adventure on the high seas. Maribel is a child of twelve during Part I of the story (almost the first half of the book) and first meets Jean-Luc when he takes command of her father's ship under his Letters of Marque as a privateer. I wasn't sure how I felt about this at first, in view of the romance to come, but Maribel was such a bright, vibrant child that it was easy to see how she captured the affections of Jean-Luc's entire crew. It is only in Part II that this affection begins to take a romantic turn for the hero and heroine--and the second half of Part II at that.

Part II picks up the story about ten years after Part I ends, but I won't say where or under what circumstances because that will spoil the story. Suffice it to say there were plenty of twists and turns, some heart-wrenching moments, and even some gasps of surprise as this story unfolded. The romance, when it did eventually unfold, was rather low-key, so if you're looking for romance in particular, this one may disappoint, but if you're after adventure and intrigue, this is a good pick!

Red, a young girl as the story begins, is on her way to Havana, Cuba with her seldom before seen father when the ship is overtaken by Privateers (NOT Pirates!). She and another young man a few years older than her are taken aboard the Privateer's ship along with the cargo from the ship they were traveling aboard. During the ship's capture, Red's father is killed by the Captain of the Ghost Ship. She believes she is now an orphan since her father has told her that her mother and grandfather were both dead. She is also convinced that the Captain is a good man who will not harm her. The Pirate Bride is a fun, exciting adventure full of surprises, that I really enjoyed reading. I wish there was a sequel!

A lovely extension of the Daughters of the Mayflower series. This novel did not pick up immediately after "The Mayflower Bride" ended, which is what I had somewhat anticipated. So that was a pleasant surprise. This story continues with Mary Lytton's descendant, Maribel Cordova. Her mother defied her family and ran away with a man she felt she loved, only to end up raising Maribel almost alone, but for the help of her father-in-law. Maribel saw her father only a few times in her young life, but she knows him enough that when he arrives at her home and tells her that her mother and grandfather were killed and she has to go with him now, she believes him and complies. Shortly after leaving on a ship with her father, they are waylaid by pirates and her father is killed.



That begins a long journey for her of meeting and befriending pirates, learning all about ships, and loving life. Sadly, thanks to her age and her gender, she is soon dropped off at an island for orphans where she spends the next decade of her life.



I, personally, did not care for this big disconnect in the story's timeline. While Maribel was on the ship with the "pirates" after her father was killed, she forms an attachment to Jean-Luc and feels very confident in the way her life is moving forward. After he drops her off at the island for orphans he moves on with his life and marries another woman. His wife later passes away, and he continues on with his life. Eventually, he finds himself back with Maribel after she is finally told that she has surviving family and she returns to the continent to be with them.



Once back in each others' lives, now both of them being of decent age for a relationship, the sparks fly between Jean-Luc and Maribel. They work together to solve a mystery and find a treasure, and save each other along the way.



I am conflicted about this story. On the one hand, I do like that it is an easy one-night read and did not require a lot from me. It was almost an auto-pilot kind of story. On the other hand, I felt that several of the pivotal plot lines were not well connected. Instead, there was almost this sense of, "Hm, I need to get from here to over there. Okay, let's time hop a decade." That was so frustrating for me. I always want more from my stories, though.



Overall, this is a good book and an enjoyable read. I would probably not read it again, but I am glad to have read it.

Consider this book another great addition to this bride series. While you can read this story as a stand-alone, reading the previous books in the series will add to the enjoyment. Looking forward to more books in the series.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by the publisher and Net Galley. However, the thoughts expressed are totally my own.

This is the second book in a series. While I did not enjoy the first book I decided to give this one a try. It started off good but feel flat towards the end of the book. Like the first book in the series there just didn’t feel like there was much depth.

This book has two parts.

In Part 1 we meet 12 year old Maribel. She is on board a Spanish ship with her father. They are on their way to Cuba when the ship is attacked by a French privateer. Her father is lost at sea, presumed dead, and Maribel stays on the privateer ship and becomes part of the crew. A few months later, the privateer ship is being attacked by a French navy ship. Maribel goes over board, the captain, whom she had developed a friendship with, is seriously injured in the attack and being shipped to New Orleans.

Part 2, eleven years have past. Due to fate Maribel and the former privateer captain meet again and fall in love.

It was a very bland story. A lot of the action happened somewhere, but not in the book. At the end of the book, I was still not sure what exactly the point of the story was, especially since the romance between the two "lovebirds" was really strange - I mean, this captain seemed to have fallen in love with a 12 year old girl when he allowed her to stay on board his ship and was still pining for her 11 years later.

3.5 stars

The Pirate Bride was so much better than the first book, The Mayflower Bride. I really liked the characters and found it interesting how the story started out with the MC being young and then jumped ahead 11 years. I found both portions of the book to be interesting.

The romance was okay; I didn't connect to it, but that may have just been me and my reading mood at the time. The writing style was great and I found it to be an easy read.

All in all, The Pirate Bride was a good read and I am looking forward to the next one in this series.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

Loved the fun shipboard parts to this. It's got more than a few nods to classic swashbucklers, which I appreciated, as I'm a big sucker for Sabatini and such. The first two thirds was five stars, but the last third became too hurried and the ending, while satisfactory, didn't delve so deep into the characters and tied things off too fast, leaving me with a bunch of questions about what happened next. I think if it had been a regular length novel with a longer, more detailed ending, it would have easily gotten five stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Goodreads giveaways for my free copy. A favorable review was not required.