PIRATES OF THE MIST

Author: Tracy L. Ranson ISBN: 1933874600 7/2006 TIME TRAVEL Publisher: TRISKELION

Old legends told a tale of a pirate curse placed on the town of Mystic Harbor, death to anyone on the beach the night of the anniversary of the pirate Tristan Hamilton's death. Determined to enter the sorority of her choosing, Michaela Martin chooses to ignore that dire warning. The fog, thick and white, rolls in from the sea at midnight, her fear getting the best of her. Michaela tries to outrun it but it was too quick for her. When she awakens, she finds more than she bargained for aboard Tristan Hamilton's ship. Tristan Hamilton, a legendary pirate, doesn't know what to make of the strange lass aboard his ship, her voice and her dress completely alien to him. Where did she come from? In order to get his answers, he threatens to punish a crewman if she doesn't tell him. Her compassion touches him, far deeply that he would ever admit to. Through dangerous waters and pirates, Tristan and Michaela form a deep and passionate love that would stand the test of time. The only thing looming over them besides the dangers that threaten their love is the fact of Michaela's knowledge of his history and future. Will she let history take its course or alter it and risk a possible paradox in her own time?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

The pirates are out! With the huge success of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, it's a good time to have a pirate novel out. PIRATES OF THE MIST is an engaging time travel adventure which romance readers will enjoy as a worthy addition to this Summer of the Pirate.

Michaela Martin is a lonely pre-med college student in South Carolina, who has long fantasized about Tristan Hamilton, the Black Hand, a seventeenth century pirate who died in a shipwreck near her school. As a sorority pledge challenge, her sisters leave her on the beach on the night of June 12th, in order to have her test the curse that Hamilton left on the area the night he died.

Instead of killing her, the curse sweeps her back in time, onto his ship. Hamilton is a gentleman pirate, but Ranson keeps things pretty realistic, both in terms of the behavior and attitudes of a modern-day college student, and the brutal realities of the pirate time period. Along the way we meet a few of the most infamous pirates of the day, before the book ends up with a nice touch regarding Michaela's only real friend.

Kick back in the hammock and enjoy this adventure on the high seas!

Heather Hiestand