The female pirate of this novel is BLACK! Woo-hoo!.
This is the book which got shifted forward on the review schedule because we moved house last week. PIRATE OF PANTHER BAY was recommended to me after I reviewed PIRATICA by Tanith Lee. What sets it apart is that the Heroine is black. You wouldn't know it by the cover. I dream a day in which novels with black heroes and heroines can be marketed to white people with the characters in full color on the cover. But, until then, this is better than white readers never getting the richness of black culture at all.
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Here's a couple of sentences:
“You are Creole. Your Spanish blood did not come by your will. Or
your mother’s.”
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“True. Nor does my British blood. Only Africa’s blood is true.”
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Isabella bears the scars of the slave-traders' whips and this drives her passion as a pirate. More than that, she wants revenge and she supports the European countries who support the Americans against the British. A pirate and a political activist!
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Isabella hates the Spanish because they were the slave-traders. She's also mourning the death of her boyfriend, Jacob. Well, if you read romance novels, you can guess what happens. During the first couple of chapters she acquires a Spanish prisoner. And dang it all, he's gorgeous too.
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Isabella is still trying to figure out what to do with Santa Ana (the hot Spaniard prisoner) when her ship encounters another pirate ship, commanded by Captain Yellow Jacket. At first, everyone's civil, but then Yellow Jacket wants to beat the tarnation out of Santa Ana just for fun because, after all, he's only a dago. Having been abused as less-than-human herself, Isabella is seriously irked. Yellow Jacket accuses her of being only a girl who can't stomach such things. He also insinuates she wants to jump Santa Ana's bones. A swordfight ensues, demonstrating what Girl Power is all about.
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But, now, Yellow Jacket's pride is hurt and that makes for a very dangerous, evil pirate indeed. Megalomaniacs are horribly insecure, you know.
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Isabella and Santa Ana debate the virtues of killing the enemy and what constitutes weakness and respect. Isabella contends that Yellow Jacket is a greater threat to her than Spain itself. Santa Ana suggests Isabella could go legit with training, but she's sure that will never happen because she's female and a former slave.
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You can see how the plots are shaping up. Revenge, political ambition, pirates feuding with each other, and love transcending differences to reveal true nobility. Pop over to http://www.pantherbay.com/
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