Help A Bitch Out

HaBO: Pirate Cross Dressing Romance

T.L. sent me the following email:

Over at the Amazon Romance forum, a few of us have been having a devil of a
time figuring out what this darned book is. It’s historical fiction, takes
place at least partially on a ship, and the heroine disguises herself as a
boy. The captain is oblivious for at least a little while, his crew is not,
and exciting adventures ensue. We’re sure the heroine gets punished because
she does something really, really stupid that endangers the crew somehow,
and we think the crew stands up for her right before the captain starts the
punishment, claiming that they are all responsible in some way, shape or
form. The captain is frustrated by this and does not punish her. Oh, and we
think there is a sidekick, possibly named Kit.

Here are a few of the books it is NOT: Anything by Johanna Lindsey, Lady
Vixen by Shirlee Busbee, Kinley MacGregor’s Master of Seduction, Captain’s
Woman by Saliee O’Brien, and Captain Jack’s Woman by Stephanie Laurens.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I am CONVINCED I know this. I first thought it was a Darlene Marshall book, but I was confusing a sidekick named “Kit” with a goose – easy mistake to make, right? Of course. But do you remember this one?

 

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  1. JaniceG says:

    Google is not always the answer! You can find copies of The Windflower through ABE books for between $15 – $22: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=london&sts=t&tn=windflower&x=0&y=0

  2. cate says:

    I think that it’s Marsha Canham’s The Wind and The Sea.
    …..But, now, thanks to Annette & Terra, I have more Pirate Porn to search out on Amazon ….Thanks Ladies !

  3. Jessie says:

    @Daisy ahh, Daisy, you’re right! That’s what I get for being lazy and not fact checking.

  4. CoCo LaCook says:

    I always thought it a shame that Laura London (Mr. And Mrs. Curtis) never wrote a book about Cat. Maybe it was because when I read this, I was just a bit younger than this character, or just his general hotness, but he was way more interesting than Dev. Raven’s antics cracked me up. I still read this book once a year, whenever I get really sick and need to lay around and be all emotional.

  5. Lora says:

    try alibris I get the best used prices from them!

  6. Faky says:

    I’m almost certain this is True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi.

  7. Jen B. says:

    I just added True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle to my Amazon cart.  Aviis a truly talented author. 
    I don’t have a clue about the HaBO but I plan to look it up (and several others) as soon as it’s id’d.

  8. Alissa says:

    I think someone further up the thread mentioned An Improper Proposal by Patricia Cabot, and as soon as I read the HaBO that’s what I thought it was, but I have hazy memories of it so I could be wrong…

  9. Johanna Jochum says:

    I have my copy of Virginia Henley’s Seduced right here! Could it be it?  The Herione is Lady Antonia Lamb who became Lord Anthony Lamb. Her brother is missing at sea and she is trying to save her the entailed property. I would have to read it again to see if there is a “Kit” or if any of it takes place on Sea but the Hero is a scarred rake named Adam Savage and he is a adventurer not sure if he is a sea captain though! I think I have read dozens of books with these plot!

  10. Joanna S. says:

    I think the problem is that we’ve ALL read at least a book or twelve with this plot.  I myself am vaguely remembering one that seems to follow this plot where the captain only discovers the heroine-in-disguise is a she when she’s chained to the main mast about ready to be whipped for some major infraction of ship law.  Once her shirt is ripped open, and her breasts are exposed the captain sort of goes, “oooooh, so I’m not gay! The cabin boy I’ve been having some improper thoughts about was really a GIRL!  I’m so very relieved!!”

    Sadly, I can’t for the life of me recall title or author.  However, I know it’s not Garwood’s The Bride or The Wedding because both of those take place exclusively in the Scottish Highlands.

  11. Suze says:

    So many people are recommending “The Windflower”! I went to check it out, but it’s out of print, there’s no ebook, and even the used prices are ridiculous. Does anyone think an ebook or reprint will become available?

    You know, if the Curtises wanted to fund their retirement (or maybe even their grandchildren’s retirement), they’d reclaim their rights to all their oop books and self-re-publish them.  I’d totally buy them all in e-book form, and pimp them out to everyone I know, and everyone I interact with.  All their books were wonderful.  The Windflower was the best.

    And I, too, would LOVE to see a Cat sequel.  Cat was intriguing.  I would LOVE to see him get through his education and take his father’s seat.  I wonder what kind of woman he’d end up with?

    Now that I’m older, I love Rand even more than I did back when I first read the book (although I really can’t see him as the hero of a romance—although if the Curtises wanted to write one, I’d buy it).

  12. Literary Slut says:

    Wow, cross-dreassing pirate porn romance.  Who knew it was so popular?  Now I need to read me some.

  13. beggar1015 says:

    I’m going to throw caution to the wind here and publically admit I read The Windflower and …

    I didn’t really like it.

    I know it’s a beloved book by many. It is on so many Must Read lists, that’s the reason I found a copy at the local used bookstore. (Now that I see how hard it is to find a copy and how much people are willing to pay for a used paperback, I would have kept my edition. But hindsight is 20/20. I also would have kept my original Star Wars toys – in the box, natch – and I’d be rolling in the dough right now.)

  14. Nicolette says:

    Parts of the description remind me of Margaret McPhee’s “The Captain’s Lady”, but it’s not set on a pirate ship (it’s a British Naval vessel) and as far as I recall, the crew cossets the runaway, crossdressing heroine but doesn’t realise she’s female.  The captain of the ship does, and when he starts giving her special treatment, and keeping her in his cabin, he starts getting some sideways looks from his crew.

  15. Carmie says:

    I think the problem is that we’ve ALL read at least a book or twelve with this plot

    i totally agree with that! The description reminds me of “Gentle Rogue” by Johanna Lindsey “Captain Jack’s Woman” by Stephanie Laurens “Devil’s Embrace” by Catherine Coulter and at least on other but i can’t remember the title.

  16. bookstorecat says:

    Used copies of Windflower start at around $19 at bn.com.  I clicked on the “Tell the publisher you’d like to read this book on your Nook” link, just because so many people here have now mentioned how much they liked it. The customer reviews online are pretty gushy, too. Here’s hoping other people are looking for this title as an ebook, and making it more likely the publisher will bring it out. I look forward to reading it if they do.

  17. Kathleen says:

    I always thought it a shame that Laura London (Mr. And Mrs. Curtis) never wrote a book about Cat.

    I felt the same way! I was so disappointed when I finished The Windflower and looked that up. Cat was definitely my favorite character and I wanted to know more about him.

    No clue on the HaBO, sorry. I don’t generally like pirate romances, although I did enjoy The Windflower.

  18. Anna M says:

    This sounds vaguely familiar…though don’t all pirate romances. Is the main character by chance an editor of a newspaper?

  19. Francesca says:

    I’m going to throw caution to the wind here and publically admit I read The Windflower and …

    I didn’t really like it.

    I agree; I was intrigued by Cat’s character and was hoping for that sequel, but I never quite saw the big fuss about this one. I also read that one with the Amish girl, who stars in a horror movie and decided I’d had enough of the Mr & Mrs Curtis.

    I know that this is not the book you’re looking for, but Chance the Winds of Fortune by Laurie McBain keeps coming to mind.

  20. Sycorax says:

    As far as I can remember Charlotte Doyle lacks a romance, so it is unlikely to be that.

    I haven’t delved much into pre-90s romance, but The Windflower is the only Old Skool romance I’ve really liked, despite the weepiness of the heroine and the asshattery of the hero. It’s one of the only times I’ve gone from being furious with the hero to accepting his repentence and her forgiveness. Mostly with asshat heroes the grovelling isn’t nearly satisfying enough.

    I have no idea what this is, but I want to read A King’s Ransom, now. It sounds terrible in all the most awesome ways.

  21. SB Sarah says:

    From Margaret, via my email:

    Actually this book sounds like Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer. Bloody
    Jack is an excellent YA historical about a girl named Mary Faber who
    becomes a cabin boy or midshipman on a British man of war…I don’t
    have the book handy to check details so this is just a suggestion.

  22. Kati says:

    I adore The Windflower (as Monica Burns says), and in fact, own three copies of it (one to loan, one to read, one to keep), which is probably going overboard. It is definitely Old Skool, and I get why a lot of readers do not like it. For me, the prose is just delicious and over the top. And I adore Merry (the heroine)‘s evolution and growth. And the secondary’s are awesome.

    That being said, this HaBO is definitely NOT The Windflower.

    Personally, I wish desperately for Rand Morgan to get his HEA even more than Cat. How much fun would it be to watch a woman just completely level Rand?? He’s such a bad man.

  23. I own a copy of Bloody Jack, and yes, it’s an excellent book, but I don’t think it’s the one in question. It’s been a while since I read it, but I don’t believe the crew was ever aware of her true gender, and there was definitely no punishment scene as described.

  24. Donna says:

    OK, I’m just saying going in that I KNOW this is not the book, as the heroine doesn’t cross dress and the Kit is the H/h son born in the next book, but I just had a strong “Chance the Winds of Fortune” flashback. Laurie McBain, now there was a woman gone much too soon. Loved this book so much because in a sea of old skool you only hurt the one you love asshat rapists, Dante & Rhea Claire were such a wonderful characters. Their love was so much more believeable for the fact that they actually fall in love.
    HaBo? Sorry, I can’t, but thanks, because now I know what I’ll be reading when I tuck up in bed Christmas Eve.

    spamword know65. I Said I know!

  25. I also thought of Charlotte Doyle and Bloody Jack (there’s a whole slew of sequels to that) but the main men in those were Zachariah (CD) and Jaimy (BJ) so I don’t think it’s them.  Plus those are more young adult books not romance.  But I love cross-dressing AND pirates so I’m looking forward to someone figuring it out!
    ~lAUra

  26. T. L. Haddix says:

    We’ve been searching for weeks now, and you see why it’s driving us crazy?  Thanks, Sarah, for posting this.  Joanna S., that scene where she is about to be whipped – I’m pretty sure that is in it.  Also, I want to say the crew tries to stop the Captain but they can’t without revealing why, and things progress to that point. 

    This is soooo frustrating.  It is definitely not Windflower.  I want to say it’s a pretty well-known author, maybe Julie Garwood, maybe not.  Shoot, at this point I’m lucky I remember my own name.  Anyhow, the saga continues… thanks to everyone who has tried so far.  We’ll find it (T. L. assures herself), sure we will.

  27. Hillbilly Harlot says:

    Pirates! Arr!

    This sounds so familiar, but the description seems like it could be an amalgamation of at least 4 different books. I’ll be interested to see if someone comes up with a definitive answer.

    It’s definitely not Windflower. That’s one of my all time faves. I read it when I was about 17 and had major chubs for Cat. *sigh* I was so disappointed when I found out he didn’t get his own book, that I was compelled to write my first fanfic. Yeah, hideous purple prose spat out by the fevered imaginings of a horny, repressed teenage girl. Oh, the humanity.

  28. Cat says:

    How about “The Sweet Trade” by Elizabeth Garrett?  I have it in my bookcase and just love the woman-disguised-as-a-man, who is then hit on by the pirates own woman, who then finds out the man she is trying to seduce is a woman, who are both discovered by the pirate himself,…..etc.

  29. Cat says:

    hahaha!!!!  I just went to Amazon to check out “The Sweet Trade” and the author to see if she had more books -and it turns out she is a he!  Yes, Elizabeth Garret is a pen name for James L Nelson!  I guy posing as a woman writing an historical romance about a woman posing as a man…
    http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Trade-Elizabeth-Garrett/dp/0812578511/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_5

  30. Julia says:

    I have no idea if someone already mentioned this novel, but I think you’re looking for “Rapture’s Tempest” by Bobbi Smith

  31. I read this book a LONG time ago. Didn’t the heroine run away and become a cabin boy to avoid that old plot corn plaster, marrying her guardian/uncle/etc.? And didn’t she cut off her eyelashes to make herself look more like a boy (I always thought that was weird because she only did it once)?

    But I don’t remember the title or the author. Somewhere in the vast pile of books that qualifies me for my own episode of Hoarders, I have it. I’m just not sure where.

  32. Laurie says:

    I must admit that I have no clue and have never read any book which sounds similar to this, but my TBR list has grown by leaps and bounds reading the suggestions.  🙂

  33. Niveau says:

    These comments have helped me remember something super-duper important: I used to have a copy of Charlotte Doyle! Like, twelve years ago! And I cannot for the life of me remember what I did with it! THIS WILL BOTHER ME FOR THE NEXT WEEK, AT LEAST.

    On-topic(ish): I second Laurie’s comment. So many crazy plots have been mentioned here, and I must read them all!

  34. Literary Slut says:

    Sycorax wrote:

    It’s one of the only times I’ve gone from being furious with the hero to accepting his repentence and her forgiveness. Mostly with asshat heroes the grovelling isn’t nearly satisfying enough.

    My favorite is when the Duke of Avon goes down on his knee before his page Leon[ie] in Heyer’s These Old Shades.  Gets me every time.

  35. Joanna S. says:

    O.k. – so, even though I am being totally unhelpful by remembering a major plot point, but not remembering anything that would be truly helpful, like title and author.  Here’s what I can tell you that may help the search criteria:

    1) It was a book that my mother gave me around the time she started letting me read romances (I’d been sneaking them for several years, but at this point, I was allowed to let her know I was reading them), which would have been around my junior year of high school.  Therefore, I think the book you are looking for was published around 1993-1996-ish, as I remember it being a new book at the time. 

    2) The only other thing I can tell you is that my mom had certain authors that she read pretty exclusively back then, so since you’ve already nixed Johanna Lindsey and, thus, Gentle Rogue – you might try: Amanda Quick, Jo Beverly, Beatrice Small (although she is usually pretty exclusively medieval Scottish), Judith McNaught, Jude Deveraux, and Julie Garwood.

    I hope this helps!

  36. Hvitveis says:

    How about Lady Vixen, by Shirly Busbee? There is the hiding as a boy at a ship, a distant captain, a trusty friend on the ship who knows her secret, Can’t remember anything about the rest of the crew knowing though. There is also the lovely hero: the captain who had an affaire with the heroine’s mother and thinks that all women ar sluts, uncomfortable seductions and and assorted asshat behaviour. Copyright in 1980….

  37. Karen says:

    Until the time frame, I was thinking that maybe it could’ve been one of Kinley MacGregor’s pirate novels—I thought there was one with a girl who the crew taught to be a pirate?  And I also immediately thought of Captain Jack’s Woman…  I also swear there is another book I’m not able to think of right now (the holidays must’ve burned my brain) but I used to be a huge fan of the pirate as well as the disguised as a boy plot devise and have probably read a ton of books that could be this one 🙁

  38. Deedee says:

    Connie Mason “Tempt The Devil” – Hero is pirate Captain Diablo, aka Kit.
    Cynthia Wright “Silver Storm”

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