Nobody's Saint

Diego Montoya is a sea captain with a problem. The Spanish privateer has uncommonly good luck when it comes to avoiding the disasters that normally torment one in his line of work. His ship sails smoothly through storms and his luck with pirates is unparalleled. In modern times, this would cause one to admire him, however, among Spaniards of his day, this admiration is mixed with profound fear since his crew fears that he has struck a most unholy bargain in exchange for his good fortune.

The incredible truth that Diego fears to tell them is that he sees visions of Saint Mary Magdalene. His saint has helped him avoid disaster, while also promising him the fulfillment of one of his dearest wishes - a soulmate. When Diego first sets eyes on Mary Kate O'Reilly, a woman he rescues from a pirate fight at sea, he knows instantly that she is the one promised to him by his saint. However, he cannot believe that this wild Irish girl is to be the one for him.

Mary Kate O'Reilly, desperate to flee the betrothal arranged for her by her much-despised grandfather, wants nothing more than to return to Ireland. When Diego rescues her, she is drawn to him, but she also sees him as a means to escape her unwanted fate. So, as Diego continues on his journey with his rescued captive, Mary Kate does her very best to seduce the handsome captain she sees as her way out of her betrothal.

Paula Reed does a wonderful job of evoking her setting. Without serving up too much exposition, she gives readers a picture of shipboard life, Diego's trade, and life in Spanish Cartagena. The small details of her characters' lives add richness to the story. For example, when Diego and Mary Kate reach Cartagena, we see them traveling through the port city, making confession at the church after months at sea without benefit of a priest, and so on. Cartagena as evoked by Reed is a fascinating place and I would love to see more novels set here.

Ms. Reed's story is filled with action and the characters are engaging for the most part. This is not a "lords and ladies" romance and I enjoyed that. Diego has humble roots and I enjoyed seeing how he worked toward his goal of owning his own ship. He is intelligent and kind, yet his struggles with his visions keep him from becoming larger-than-life. Indeed, his humanity and good humor made him all the more appealing.

Mary Kate is a little more difficult to like. She is not a terrible heroine, but she does seem at times to be a "feisty" heroine from Central Casting. Her dilemma makes her basically sympathetic and, at the beginning, I admired her spirit. However, as the story went along, she seemed to act without thinking and also seemed a bit more forward and in possession of more sexual knowledge than one would expect from a sheltered girl of her time. These qualities made her grate on my nerves at times. She does, however, grow throughout the story and this somewhat redeems her less-enjoyable moments.

My other quibble with this story came from the saints themselves. Diego's visions start off being interesting and his spiritual dilemma seems authentic for the time and drew me in. However, Reed then starts to insert conversations between Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary into her story. These pulled me right out of the action and at times they just seem too cutsey to fit in with the overall tone of the story.

Still, even though this tale had a few eyeroll-inducing moments, I found it compulsively readable. Even when Mary Kate irked me, I genuinely cared about Diego and I absolutely loved the setting. Paula Reed's beautiful prose also drew one in. This is a fun read, and I am certainly curious to see more from this author.

-- Lynn Spencer

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