You did it! We figured this one out! It is a truth universally acknowledged (by me for certain) that the Bitchery pretty much knows everything, and really, it's true. Scroll down to see the solution for this HaBO - and many thanks!
This HaBO request is from Cat, who is looking for this bonkers book:
So, while in Mexico I picked up a paperback someone left behind. It was written by a man, and I remember thinking, “this really feels like a good female romance writer!”
Here’s the premise: There was a ship on the cover. Three brothers, one might have been a pirate.
What stands out for me is one brother falls in love with a princess somewhere in Arabia. A eunuch catches her and locks her up, but before he does, he puts a packet of super hot pepper powder (some pepper from the region which can literally burn the skin) wrapped in rice paper up her heehaw. The rice paper melts slowly and the pepper will kill her. The son in love with her has to find her and save her before it’s too late.
That’s all I remember, but it was a damn good swashbuckling tale and I would love to read it again!
Wow.
Monsoon
by Wilbur Smith
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This sounds somewhat like Wilbur Smith’s Monsoon, which features three brothers, sailing, and swashbuckling adventure. Not a romance, but it has some prominent romantic relationships. The youngest brother is captured by Arabs (and actually converts to Islam) and falls in love with an Arab princess. I don’t recall the pepper plot but it sounds like something Smith would include.
My gosh, that eunuch is evil. Love to know what this book is.
Well, that is a um…plot twist o_0
Through the use of some very weird online search terms, I was able to confirm that this is indeed Wilbur Smith’s Monsoon. Don’t worry too much about the princess – she is rescued and ends up with the brother. Smith just published a book about their grandchildren.
Well done, Mrs. M. The funny thing was I thought it sounded vaguely familiar, but it didn’t sound like what I would normally read.
Thank you so much for helping me identify this book! I just ordered a copy. I suspect that if it is as good as I remember, I’ll end up buying the whole series and then some!! I’ll get back to you on this page with an update of if my memory was accurate.