Excellent, didn't end like I thought it would, but I liked it. I thought sure he would have it all.

A promising beginning dives off a cliff into an ocean of obvious after about the first three chapters, leaving the reader to follow along bemusedly ticking off cliches on her fingers and toes. And it's wrong, wrong, wrong when the sexiest man in the novel is the impeccable, inscrutable butler and not the swashbuckling pirate.

i read this book (and its sequel) at about 1 in the morning during what i can only describe as some kind of hysterical fugue episode of which i only have vague memories of pacing around a room and yelling UGH and OH, DON'T DO THAT into the unfeeling night air... now i feel ready to discuss my thoughts to an extent. i can only say that for a book which blatantly ripped off the jeeves character he was extremely incidental to what little of a love story there was. additionally, the beauty and the beast motif was not great, mostly because the entire concept of beauty and the beast makes me want to pitch myself into the sea, although in this case if i did that it would only have been more fodder for tristan's gross woman= boat metaphors. man was a pirate turned privateer and still managed to be incredibly tedious when he wasn't being a complete pig but hey at least he's busty and mildly tortured from his sort of sad backstory!
line up ladies you too could have the merits of your figure debated between tristan, his estranged brother, and his sidekick before he continues to make increasingly forward comments and gestures no matter how many times you tell him to stop doing that <3

So tempted to check this out from my library, just because the title cracks me up for some reason...

First I just smiled to myself about the title while looking for that Patrick O'Brian book, then I put it on hold, took it off hold again, thought about it and sought out a synopsis...

It sounds so funny! A Butler going to collect an illegitimate child, grown up and rebellious? Is it queer? No? He plays matchmaker?! It sounds too good.

It sounds better than it will be, so I'm going to content myself with a chuckle and imagine what could be, and not actually read this.

More like 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the book but there were several places that got a little boring and I put the book down for a while. I also found myself skipping some scenes (and didn't miss anything). Honestly, I found Reeves finding Christian and everything to do with that more interesting than Tristan and Prudence's (what a terrible name for a heroine) "dilemma".

Very enjoyable, although it left me feeling as if there should have been more to the story. What there was... was fine, well written, and engaging. So we'll see how Christian's tale continues it all...

I think the book lost itself a little towards the end but on the whole a very enjoyable read. Solid cliches in there if you're a fan of enemies to lovers and a wounded hero I recommend reading this. It did have some fun and unique moments and just brought a lot of joy.

Maybe my expectations were simply too high, so I'll just say you get exactly what the cover promises. Ridiculousness.

If you know anything about the Royal Navy OR pirates, the premise of this book will drive you crazy. There are countless little off details that made me twitch in pain. Not to mention I think the appearances of the hero and the brother were switched since the first draft of this book, it gets a little muddy in places.

That said, I did enjoy Reeves, and the banter between Prudence and Tristan. Tristan's determination to take care of his men was admirable. The sheep caper was quite amusing, if not predictable. But the actual romance was pretty boring, I found myself flipping through the love scenes, which is annoying when you're reading a book because you're in the mood for a *love* story.

The ending was rushed, and rather unsatisfying. This is really probably a 2.5 star book, but I'm feeling generous and rounding up.

Fun and romantic. Hawkins has the most wonderful characters. I must say that I would love to have a butler like Reeves. He is so much more than a butler. More than once I was on pins and needles.

Where have you been all my life Karen Hawkins?

This book came a such a surprise - it was filled to the brim with whimsical, slapstick humour - and although I appreciate more subtle approaches to humour - this book cracked me up. I swear the story of Daisy the sheep almost overshadowed the main romance.



There was never any doubt that Tristan was a cuddly bear. Even in the prologue you can tell that Tristan is going to be the gentle giant while Christian (his twin) is the brooding rake. His relationship with his crew, especially his first mate and then Reeves is heartwarming and so funny. I wish I could be a fly on the wall in his cottage and just watch them interact all day.

Prudence was just the kind of heroine I love - and we need more like her!! She was passionate, sensible and intelligent - and always stood up to Tristan. She was also refreshingly honest - in fact all the characters were honest - they confided within each other and spoke frankly, it was so damn satisfying!

This book gave off a Disney feeling - also not unlike the movie Stardust, where the humour was rather blunt but still hilarious. There was no sub-plot of mystery or some kind of adventure or quest and frankly I liked the book even more for that. It was simply a romantic comedy without any extraneous fluff - love love love!

I loved Tristan and Prudence!
Tristan loves the see, he loves his freedom. So when he's confined to a life on the shore, he hasn't anything left to live for. Until his crew comes to his cottage, one by one. He's is such a wonderful man. Even though he doesn't have many resources himself, he welcomes everybody in his crew and tries to take care of them as good as he can. And the way he reacted when Prudence came to tell him about the problem with the sheep... I couldn't stop laughing.
Prudence is a widow who fled London because of a scandal. She knows who she is, but most of all she knows who and what she isn't. I loved to read about how she experiences love once again and experiences it in a whole different way.
But the most fun I had with Reeves. His "Guide for being a most proper butler" is fantastic. And the way he reacts to things... It's just superb. I look forward to reading more about him in the next book.

Really enjoyable. A little melodramatic and old-fashioned romnov-esque, but it was fun and a fast read.