The Puritan Pirate 

by Jules Radcliffe 

3 out of 5 

Synopsis 

The Caribbean, 1664

An uptight naval lieutenant. A free-living buccaneer. Enemies from the first.

It all changes the night Quinn reluctantly rescues Lieutenant Peregrine from the consequences of his folly. Their tentative truce leads to a wild tryst and the thrilling discovery that their unconventional desires are perfectly matched.

Perry is the most delightfully submissive lover Quinn has ever had, and he wants Perry by his side for good. But such an affair would not only end Perry’s career, he may never be able to return to England and his family. Fearful of discovering Perry’s desire for respectability is stronger than his love, Quinn leaves him behind in Port Royal.

But in his darkest hour, Quinn discovers that Perry will risk his life for them to be together.

Review 

Lieutenant Peregrine thinks it's the worst punishment in the world, being assigned to the pirate ship Audacious, in the name of cooperation with the Navy. But the stuck-up officer finds freedom and the promise of passion.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lieutenant "Perry" Peregrine has followed all the rules, he works hard and encourages those around him to work hard, and he has earned his commission in the Navy. He has also earnt the spite of his superior officer. Being thrown onto the Audacious is just another spiteful play by "Captain Killjoy".

Once there, Perry is surprised at the freedom the pirates have. Notably that relationships are considered equal, whether it is with a woman, or another man. After being forced to keep his perversion secret for so long, Perry no longer knows how to act.

Quinn can't stand the arrogant new addition to the crew. They have spats and arguments and never a civil word.

What Quinn doesn't realise is the hostility is merely a front. Perry wants nothing more than to be pinned down and ravaged.

This novella is the second book in the Pirates of Port Royal series.

I don't think the writing was as confident in this one, but that kinda makes sense, because I believe this one was originally published first, and The Pirate's Promise could be seen as a prequel - especially as that one follows a different central couple to the other two books available.

Whereas "Promise" has a plot that is easy to follow and unfolds nicely into the romantic aspect; "Puritan" was a lot more hit-and-miss.

Perry's history didn't come across as strongly as Job's. You get the sense that Perry hates Captain Pobjoy, and that his time in the Navy was fraught with bullying, but the way that it's expressed doesn't have the depth that I know the author is capable of.

For a short book, it jumps around alot, following how Perry and Quinn get together (the literal climax of the book); but this is interspersed with Perry in the Navy, and Perry being the odd-man-out of the Audacious, and Perry with his only pirate friend.

I was confused over where this fits in the timeline, as it seems to conflict with some of the details set down in the first book.

Primarily, in "Promise" Job is the newcomer, and Perry teaches him to fight with the sword. It's commented on that Perry and Quinn dislike each other and are always arguing. I assumed that Perry had been around a while.

Then in "Puritan", it makes it seem as though Perry is only joining the crew when Job and Garrett are already together, as it's one of the relationships that surprises him.

Overall, I could tell this was the author's earlier work, and I know what they are capable of. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

<spoiler>

OK, I have to confess that I've already started the third book, and my first impression was that The Puritan Pirate is almost superfluous.

The first hundred pages of The Pirate Master is this book from Quinn's perspective - just missing the sex scene and the Navy history from Perry's side.</spoiler>

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