Every night for the past few months the heroine has had the same dream. Her island, a paradise where she would be free of her position as ladies made and treated like a queen. It's why she volunteered to follow her mistress to India, to be given the chance to see if her dreams are only a delusion or truly reality. On the way to the foreign land, their ship capsizes in a vicious storm and the heroine is left to die by her employer. Then, she is saved by the hero- a man whom she once considered empty headed and a tad bit useless. Now, she looks to him as her savior-if a bit addled in the brain. The hero has been a disappointment to everyone in his life up until this point. He is a rake, a man completely without motivation and a man whom no one can depend on. Then he finds himself as protector to the mousy servant who so captured his attention on board the ship for the hidden strength and fire he saw beneath the veil of meekness. Indeed, her vulnerability and inexperience with any level of the danger they find themselves in now has made him her guardian in a way. And the idea of this beautiful yet painful timid woman needing him makes him feel 10 feet tall and he vows that no matter what happens, he will never let her down. Their adventure sees them adrift on the sea until they are captured by French pirates. And while the hero is tied up below, it's the heroine who drugs the men and always her crew to steal the ship. They find themselves on land for a time and suddenly the heroine finds herself wed despite her objection to the heros proposal. Though she can think of many reasons why such a man would want to marry- the idea that he could love her isn't one of them. She doubts his affections and the hero is wise enough to acknowledge that he went about things incorrectly. He hides himself behind the mask of humor and portrays a picture of a man who has no worries or care for the world or his troubles- of course she doubts a man of his station could love a servent. But love her he does and he vows to prove it to her. Together they sale the seas until she at last finds her mythical island. It's there that the heroine must search herself for the place where she truly belongs but the hero has always known that wherever she is is where he's meant to be. I adored this story. I found it was really funny, witty, exciting and heartwarming. The hero was such a charmer and there's no way anyone couldn't fall in love with him. His smile, his dramatic and lavish retelling of their adventures and his devotion to the heroine made him a lovely character and one that I adored from start to finish. The heroine was also a lovely character which her mixture of insecurities and timid nature at the start as well as her strength and opinionated character by the end. Though she desired the hero, she was admirable in her denying him until she could be certain that his 'love' or lust wasn't just another fleeting enough and that he could love her for being herself. Together they made a great pairing with a lot of chemistry and the cast of supporting characters were just as charming as the leads. A fantastic book with a lot of action and adventure on the vast sea. ( )

This was my first Lisa Cach book and I read it on a suggestion from a fellow Goodreads member and I have not been disappointed! I loved it very much and intend to get more Lisa Cach books.
Anne is a ladies maid on her way to India because she has had dreams about an island for years and she secretly hopes to find it. Horatio is a Lieutenant in the British army who is on his way back to his station in India. Along the way they are in a terrible shipwreck and end up with three other sailors on a haphazard raft made up of wood pieces, crates, and wine barrels. Despite the gravity of the situation them floating around on the ocean drunk off their butts was pretty funny. Horatio is a very sunny hero and not at all brooding which made for a nice change. There was tons of adventuring and lots of humor and romance. Everything from shipwrecks, pirates, monkeys, opium, battles, head hunters, and more happen to the five of them and it is a very engaging and descriptive story the whole way. This is one you won't want to miss! ( )