Bad Boys Ahoy by Sylvia Day (An Anthology)

This is an antho that Mailyn recommended (I'm pretty sure Romance Lover did, too). See below for my review of each, but beware, there is some mild profanity involved.

Oh, those naughty rakes. With their wicked winks, sensual smiles, and bad boy habits, you just canÂ’t take them out in polite society. But who wants to go out when you can stay in...?

STOLEN PLEASURES
Sebastian Blake, Earl of Merrick, long ago fled the responsibilities of his title to become the infamous pirate, Captain Phoenix. But the booty heÂ’s just captured on a merchant ship is a fierce tempered minx who claims to be a bride...his bride, married to him by proxy on behest of their fathers. He could shame his hated family and return his beautiful wife untouched, but no treasure has ever proved more tempting to Sebastian, and making their marriage a true one-in every sense-is his one urgent desire ...

Of the three stories in this antho, this was my favorite. Long ago Sebastion fled England and his responsibilities to his title, trying to escape a jerkoff father. It worked, too, until he takes over a ship carryiing his new wife...a wife he knows nothing about.

Olivia is just as confused as her husband. Per her father's request, she was married by proxy to the Earl of Merrick and she's on her way to England to meet him for the first time when her ship is taken over by the Dread Pirate (hehe, Isabel) Captain Phoenix, who turns out to be none other than - yep, you guessed it - her husband.

Turns out her hubby's pops and cousin have been schemeing and are trying to pass the cousin off as the real Earl. Too bad for them, however, while still at see, Seb and Olivia fall in love (or Lust, whatever).

I liked Seb. He was kind of tortured, and kind of an ass, but it worked for him. I liked Olivia, too. She didn't seem TSTL and though she was cautious, she didn't carry the whole, "you're not who you say you are" thing too far.

There were some things that bugged me, however:

- Seb's family. I never felt like we got closure, there. When they first arrive in England, Seb demands that his father leave him and Olivia alone, but in the end Olivia needed his help (and that of the smarmy cousin) to gain entree into society. But nothing is ever addressed between Seb and his father. It irked me.
- The way Seb left towards the end. He basically deposited his new wife in her new home in England and then disappeared the next day for 2 months. Seemed like Olivia gave in too quickly, too, when he finally got back. Methinks someone needed to be clouted over the head with a rather large skillet. Meh, not impressed.
- The constant use of the words Fuck and Cock. Sorry, but in a regency..NO!! Even the heroines used those words. I was over it after the first time, so the fact that they repeated them every other page really bugged.

Overall it was good, though. I'm giving this one a:

3.5 out of 5

LUCIENÂ’S GAMBLE
Lucien RemingtonÂ’s reputation as a debauched libertine who plays by no oneÂ’s rules-in business or the bedroom-is well deserved. He gets what he wants, social repudiation be damned. But society can keep from him the one thing he truly desires, the untouchable Lady Julienne La Coeur. Until she sneaks into his club dressed as a man and searching for her irresponsible brother. Suddenly sheÂ’s in LucienÂ’s grasp, his to take, and his mind is filled with the most wickedly sinful thoughts. A gentleman would walk away from the temptation she presents. But then, Lucien has never claimed to be a gentleman...


I enjoyed this one, too. Lucien and Julienne have been lusting after each other from afar for quite sometime when she just happens to end up in his club, while hunting her irresponsible brother down. They interact a bit and then can't seem to stay away from each other after that. While Julienne falls more in lust - and love - with Lucien everyday, he's more determined to find her a suitable hubby than ever. Though he never seems to get around to it.

It was good, but the likeness to Lisa Kleypas' Dreaming of You wasn't lost on me.

Stuff that bugged:

Once again the overuse of the words Fuck and Cock. I was close to scratching my eyes out by the time I was done with this story. Just a short note to Ms. Day: Buy a thesaurous. There truly are other words out there to describe the act of making love and the male member. Find a few and USE THEM!!!! Thanks.

Still, despite my near nausea, this was a good story. I give it a:

3.5 out of 5

HER MAD GRACE
Hugh La Coeur never wanted to be the Earl of Montrose. Wine, women, and a hefty wager are preferable to responsibility of any kind. ItÂ’s certainly preferable to spending the night in an eerie, neglected mansion owned by a legendary madwoman. The duchessÂ’s companion, the fiercely independent Charlotte, is another matter altogether. Hugh would be happy to spend as many nights in her bed as possible. He knows sheÂ’s hiding terrible secrets, but for once in his life, Hugh has the desire to take on someone elseÂ’s burden as his own, no matter what the danger...


Of the three, this is my least favorite. Hugh is the irresponsible brother from the previous story, and he gets stranded in the country at the home of Her Mad Grace during a blizzard. He starts lusting after Duchess' (that would be, Her Mad Grace) companion, then sleeping with, only to realize she's really the duchess and she was a courtesan before snagging the late Duke's hand in marriage (it's not as squiggy as it sounds, but y'all have to read it for yourselves to understand better..I'm too lazy to type it all out for you).

Of course, Charlotte is so used to relying on only herself, so she has a really hard time trusting Hugh. Since she's on a sort of treasure hunt, he agrees to help her, but she's wary the whole time, even though she's sleeping with him.

This one was ok, but there were quite a few things that rankled me:

- The heroine. She was one of those TSTL idiots with issues. She was willing to sacrafice her happiness and that of other people's because she couldn't trust the hero.
- There was a sort of twist that irritated me. I guess it was the nature of the relationship the heroine had to the person that was introduced during the twist, to be more exact. It had me rolling my eyes and sort of feeling squicked out.
- The ending. I thought the heroine should have had to pay more for being TSTL. The hero just sort of seemed to cave and that bugged.
- The hero. He was really insecure, which sort of got on my nerves after awhile. I wanted to shout, "You're a man, act like it!!" throughout most of the book.
- The villian. To be honest, I was more interested in him than I was the main characters. Since I'm not Mailyn, that's saying a lot, you know?
- Yet again the neverending use of Fuck and Cock. Crying all night in a bucket of dirty water, STOP!!!!

This one basically sucked all around, and I can't really think of much to recommend it, so I'm giving it a:

1.5 out of 5

TheyÂ’re mad, bad, and totally irresistible...


But they have an obsession with the words Cock and Fuck, so you might want to read about them anyway....

*snicker*

P.S. I didn't even proof read this, so ignore my typos, k? Thanks!