The Lady's Favour is comprised of three novellas written by A.J. Roberts and combined to produced a satisfying novel. This book includes “Gentlemen of Fortune”, “The Pirate King”, and “The Homecoming”, now together as one. This is not a genre I normally read, being a historical pirate story but I like to divert from my norm every now and again.
The Blurb
Isiah Kestrel is a romantic thrill-seeking Cornish libertine who tends to leap before he looks. Jacob Scar is a cynical Antiguan mercernary and ex-slave who likes to know what he’s getting into. Together, they roam the Caribbean in search of adventures.
The Lady’s Favour follows these wandering rogues as they meet Rosanna Barclay, recently arrived in Port Royal in search of her missing father. Their shared journey has them clashing blades with unscrupulous nobles, ruthless foreign agents, and some unearthed bad memories with age-old grudges.
The Review
The Lady's Favour tells the story of how Kestrel and Scar meet up with Rosanna Barclay whose pirate father causes her stress and surprise in equal measure. The trio face the trials the author throws at them together. Their different reactions to things are a source of amusement. Scar is a giant of a man and has great strength. Kestrel is more strategic in his thinking but he and Rosanna are always out for the main chance which puts the trio into one difficult situation after another.
They commandeer a boat and sail around the islands of the Caribbean while chasing and being chased by rival gangs of pirates. Eventually the trio decide to return to England where Rosanna plans a new life for herself.
I don't do spoilers but suffice to say there are several shocks and surprises for our heroes.
I have read pieces by A.J. Roberts previously and enjoyed them. The Lady's Favour was no exception. It is an interesting book with a satisfying ending.
The Author
Born in Lancashire, A. J. Roberts has been writing as a hobby since the age of 17. This initially stemmed from writing campaigns for pen-and-paper roleplaying games, and later developed into short stories reminiscent of the pulp magazines.
Always a fan of swashbuckler fiction (especially Zorro), he wrote a story featuring a pair of wondering scoundrels partly inspired by Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. It was while writing this he found that he wanted to see the protagonists he created get into all kinds of trouble in different stories.
After discovering an annual writers’ retreat in Derbyshire, he decided he wanted to take things further. In 2018, he left his job as an accountant to begin studying for a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing. While he’s experimented with new mediums on his course, he hasn’t forgotten the old pulp style he was originally inspired by.
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