This is book 3 in the Adventurers Quartet series -- the whole series is just WOW!!! I love Stephanie Laurens and she has absolutely outdone herself with this series. This book is just out and I can't wait for the next one. You really, really need to read this series in order because each book builds on the last. You could certainly read and enjoy this book as a stand-alone, but you would be missing such a rich background for the book!

In this series, the four Frobisher brothers each undertake a successive leg of a mission for the crown. People are going missing in Free Town and nobody is taking it seriously or even looking for them. A deep rooted conspiracy is suspected and therefore, the crown can't use its normal channels for investigation because they don't know who might be involved. The crown has even sent an undercover agent to investigate and he disappeared. So, the crown enlists the Frobishers to carry out the mission. The first mission is to find out basically what is going on and as much about who is involved as possible -- then get right back to England to report that. The next mission is to try to locate the slave camp and identify any more people who are involved then get right back to England and report that. The next mission (the one covered in this book) is to locate the mine the missing people have been kidnapped to operate and the fourth book will be the rescue and final wrap-up. The whole series is suspenseful, dangerous, and of course has a wonderful love story between a wonderful hero and heroine.

Captain Caleb Frobisher is the youngest of the four Frobisher brothers -- and the one who is deemed reckless and not grown up yet. Caleb wants to prove he can be responsible, so he steals his brother Robert's notebook from his leg of the mission and sets out on his own to take up the third leg of the mission -- that is the responsible non-reckless thing to do -- right.

Caleb along with his good friend Captain Phillipe Lascelle and his crew find the slave traders and decide to take them out so they can't kidnap and hurt any others. Then, they set out to find the mine and learn what they can. Once they find the mine, they happen across a young boy named Diccon. Diccon cannot work the mine because of severe allergies and is therefore allowed to roam the forest to pick fruits and nuts for the prisoners to eat. Diccon provides them with much information and tells them of the people within the camp.

Katherine Fortescue was kidnapped from Freetown because she is a governess and can manage the children who have been kidnapped. Katherine is a formidable advocate for those children and is the reason Diccon was allowed to collect fruit and nuts rather than being put to death. She's brave, intelligent, resourceful and beautiful -- what more could you want in a heroine. Caleb is attracted as soon as he sees her.

I won't go beyond what is above in my description of the story because it would surely spoil your read. Just know that it is full of twists and turns and you rarely know what is going to happen next. I just can't wait for the next one!!!

The Adventurers’ Quartet has been a great series to read, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, The Lady’s Command, and the third installment, The Daredevil Snared was just as much fun to read. Even though I didn’t read the second book, A Buccaneer at Heart, I had no trouble getting up to speed since Stephanie Laurens sprinkled little bits from the earlier books into this one. The Frobisher brothers were with sailing their ships to Freetown, West Africa, to get to the bottom of the disappearances of British men, women, and children–who are rumored to be enslaved and working in a diamond mine. Caleb’s job is to gather intelligence on the mining operation and return to England. The book starts with some exciting fight scenes, setting the tone for a great book full of intrigue and subterfuge.

A Reckless, Young Sea Captain Determined to Win…

Caleb Frobisher is the youngest of the four Frobisher brothers, and he’s definitely the most reckless and fearless of them all. A smart, take-charge fighter and a fiercely loyal friend, Caleb leads his small retinue of men as well as those of his friend Captain Phillipe Lascelle, who have joined this scouting mission for information on the mine and the kidnapping victims. Caleb wasn’t looking for love, he didn’t think he’d find someone as beautiful, as trusted, as looked up to as governess Katherine Fortescue. And he wasn’t certainly looking to get kidnapped along with some of his men and forced to take part in the mining operation.

A Smart, Savvy, Headstrong Governess That Wants to Save Everyone…

Katherine Fortescue had traveled to Freetown as a governess, and that was the main reason she was kidnapped–she could handle all of the children that sweep and pick the mine with ease. But the mercenaries didn’t count on Katherine’s keen mind and knack for manipulation, so she’s easily able to steer them into getting what she wants over time. They come to trust her and give her freedoms that enable her to meet with Caleb Frobisher once he’s made contact with a child who’s allowed to pick fruit and nuts outside the compound, and their alliance–and romance begins.

A Quiet Rebellion Building From the Inside…

With Katherine as a leader among the women and children at the mine, and adding in Caleb and his men after they’re discovered outside of the compound and taken as prisoners as well, plans are slowly implemented for everyone’s safe escape. The mercenaries running the camp are quite ruthless–especially Dubois–and the prisoners make sure to mine just enough diamonds from the dwindling supply in the shaft to keep the mysterious backers in England happy, yet keep themselves useful and alive. They’re buying themselves time while real help from England can come and rescue them. Forces will be needed with enough men to overtake the mercenaries, and these things take time to travel all the way from England.

I give The Daredevil Snared a four out of five. While the book started out with a heart-pumping fight sequence, the middle parts of the book were more subdued as Katherine and Caleb had to bide their time and make smaller plays to get everyone out of captivity, safe and sound. I really loved the romance between Katherine and Caleb. Since they were stuck together and in constant danger, their love blossomed more quickly and with less back and forth than usually happens in regency romance novels. The secondary characters really shone in this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed every scene with Captain Phillipe Lascelle and the young runner Diccon who helped introduce Caleb and Katherine in the beginning of the book. Stephanie Laurens writes great romances with interesting characters, and the time periods that can sometimes be a bit boring are made dashing, daring, and quite exciting with fun adventures in her capable hands. I highly recommend this series.