2.5 stars 
 What can I say I found the entire story a little too: 
 Everyone is either roaring, bellowing or wailing through most of the story. There is no middle ground between those three. I'm surprised no one's head fell off from all the 'crystal-shaking' & 'wall trembling' tantrums. RME. The constant quick jumps from different range of emotions is really hard to follow and so hammy. It doesn't translate well. One minute a person is bellowing their demand the next line they are smiling tenderly with happy tears. WTF? And Garwood seriously couldn't find another word to express anguish with Jade besides wailing? Ugh. Why? The dialogue was the most tiring one-dimensional thing of all with it's repetitiveness and operatic style. This read very much like a campy over-the-top bad soap opera. Parts that were supposed to be funny and 'aw isn't that sweet' were so silly and obnoxious. Especially in regards to the heroine. Shrieking is not cute and it will never be cute. Also why does every person's name have to be repeated at the end of every line in the dialogue?? Drove me insane. I know who is talking to who there is no need to insert their name. SMH. It came off very unrealistic. 
 I had a hard time buying the heroine Jade as a sea-surfing pillaging pirate. Besides picking locks, this girl came across like a sheltered haughty naive 15 year old who was very quick to take offense. It took her hours to realize she was shot and refused to be looked at by a doctor and couldn't comprehend the idea of recovery. She didn't understand why Cain was trying to cover their tracks when they were being followed, loosing a trail was a complete foreign concept to her. Shouldn't a pirate know these things?? Through half of this she puts on a show of being a timid silly sheltered gentle lady to fool Caine. The problem was I wasn't at all convinced it was an act. She's huffy and demands an apology for every single thing through the entire story. Girl... get off it. 
 Caine as a hero didn't impress me either. I found him flat and ridiculous at times with the overly macho alpha behavior. He was just like every stereotypical bodice-ripper hero you could imagine with the sexist patronizing beliefs. I don't mind alpha jerks but it got to be too much in here and just eye-roll inducing. He's going 'you will be mine!' one DAY after meeting Jade and pretty much forces her hand into marriage. Meh. Wasn't feeling any of it. And was the endearment baby used in English peerage in the 1800s? I highly doubt it. I found this idiosyncrasy entirely out of place and so distracting. 
 The villain in this was even more laughable. 
 "I will have those letters, Jade. They are my proof to the world of all glorious feats I've accomplished. No one's going to deny me now. No one. In years to come, the world will realize what my Tribunal was able to accomplish. We could have ruled England, if I had chosen to continue with my work. Oh yes, I will have the letters back. They will be kept in a safe place until the time is right to reveal my genuis." 
 Seriously? LOL. I just can't. 
 I'm new to Julie Garwood and she seems to be a favorite among many. I've heard her heroines are not for everyone and I'm beginning to see why. If an author has the habit of writing shrewish childish insufferable heroines then see ya! I'm OUT and from what I've gathered this seems to be a scary pattern, which isn't very encouraging. But besides that, the writing for me severely lacks in depth and range. Emotions go from 0 to 100 in a heartbeat with no nuance or finesse. The characters come across like cartoons rather than living breathing characters with zero dimension. Meh. No thanks.