HarperTorch, $5.99, ISBN 0-06-108711-4
Historical Romance, 1999

Serenity James one big dream is to be a professional, respected journalist. One that can go where she wants and sees the things she isn’t allowed to see. Alas, by virtue of her gender, it seems nothing but marriage is on her card for the future. Worse, no man wants to marry a nagging bluestocking like her. Sigh.

Still, a girl can dream. And when her fancy is captured by the dashing Sea Wolf, a pirate who liberates American slaves from their Brit masters, she decides to write an article about him. The article is mostly conjecture and hearsay, but imagine her surprise when the Sea Wolf himself come charging in annoyance at having his story published in papers.

But hey, Serenity isn’t complaining when she ends up kidnapped by Sea Wolf (whose real name is the more mundane Morgan Drake).

Until the seafaring part, A Pirate of Her Own is progressing nicely. There’s wit, Serenity is an appealing heroine in her daydreams and wishes for a more colorful life, and Morgan seems an okay if rather befuddled fellow. There are also a cantankerous fun ol’ pirate and his not too-bright buddy to provide comic relief.

But things start going around and around in a repetitious circle. Morgan wants. He doesn’t. He does. Serenity acts feminine to attract Morgan. She doesn’t. She does. Familiar plot devices rear their ugly head (misunderstandings and coincidences), and things go down into the deep blue sea.

It’s a pity. If A Pirate of Her Own had managed to sustain its initial momentum, it might have been an above average read.