This historical romance tells the story of the notorious pirate Jean Laffite and the fiery Léonore Roncival, who also has pirate blood in her veins. When Jean and Léonore first meet, the strength of their attraction is undeniable; however, they also seem destined to be enemies, since Jean first sees her when he tries to invade her island home. For Léonore, the small and insignificant island of San Stefan is her most precious asset, and she is determined to keep it safe no matter what. Protecting San Stefan might turn out to be impossible, however, as the major world powers – France, Spain, England, and the United States – go to war over their territory in North America. As Jean and Léonore struggle to reconcile their divergent political views with their growing love, their separate paths finally converge at the Battle of New Orleans.

Since I loved Sawyer’s The Code of Love, I had high expectations for this novel; unfortunately, maybe they were a bit too high. The writing style is every bit as excellent, and I definitely bought into the passion between Jean and Léonore. However, the plot of this book is quite slow to unfold, and the pacing tends to drag. I think the plot is also very conventional within the romance genre: the hero and heroine have a series of Big Misunderstandings, all of which could have been avoided with a little honest communication. That got on my nerves quite a bit! I did really enjoy the historical detail, though; it was extremely interesting to read about the War of 1812 from a non-American perspective. I hadn’t realized how important the Caribbean islands were to the European powers in their quest for domination in the new world. I was also interested to discover that Jean Laffite and many of the other characters in this novel were real historical figures, and Sawyer appears to have been very faithful to the historical record. Overall, if you want to read a pirate romance novel, you could do a lot worse; I liked this book well enough, but it was disappointing compared to The Code of Love.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Siren. Cheryl Sawyer is a new-to-me author, and Siren is a really thick book--over 500 pages--so I was a little hesitant to start it.

But oh, my goodness, am I glad I did. One of the best things about this board is finding wonderful new authors, new books, even new genres that I probably wouldn't have found otherwise. Siren is a perfect example.

It's a lush, romantic story about star-crossed lovers Leonore Roncival and Jean Laffite--yes, that's right--the famous pirate Jean Laffite.

Leonore is the daughter of a pirate, mistress of her own island. When Jean Laffite tries to raid her island, she proves more than a match for him, despite his superior numbers and weapons.

Throughout the book, they move from enemies to respected rivals to lovers and reluctant partners, all against a backdrop rich in historical detail.

Siren has earned its place on my keeper shelf--I'll be reading this one again. And I'll be watching for more books by Cheryl Sawyer. ( )