Of Noble Birth

While I read several of the reviews, the one deemed Most Helpful Critcal Reveiw is grossly unfair. I know, I know, no one said life is fair.

I found this to be a good solid historical romance. There was not anything in way of blantant sex or other context that shows up in many of these novels which for the time period seems inappropriate. It required you in many cases to supply your own details from the imagination.

I love Alexander the lowly seamtress paired with the Pirate of Noble birth, Nathanial. I found the idea of his infirmity novel, and his strength of body and character so strong you forgot he was flawed.

I hated his father the Duke and his brother right on cue as these stories dicatate, and felt simpathy for Nathanials mother and the second wife. I like Lady Ann his half sister although she played a very small part of the story.

I loved ending and Alexander's compassion, in the end for the old sick Duke, or was it a tiny bit of revenge. You decide.

All in all I thought it was a good rendering for the time period and I enjoyed it very much. I believe it was worth the time and the money.

I would recommend it.

Brenda Novak knows how to write a great Historical Romance! Always some little twists and unexpected developments . She really takes time to research the era she is writing about. I enjoy all of her books.

I read a lot of historical (regency) romance novels. I've enjoyed more "classical" regency books by Georgette Heyer and Mary Jo Putney. I've read Amanda Quick and discovered new author Grace Burrowes. I don't need a "high born" hero. The hero in this book is Nathaniel. While born the heir to a Dukedom, Nathaniel was almost killed at birth by his father when the father learned of his infant son's deformed arm. Fast forward many years and Nathaniel is now a man. He was spirited away from the duke by a housekeeper and raised by her. He is now seeking revenge on his father by acting as a pirate and stealing from his father's ships.

We also meet Alexandra who is abused by her step-father (he has already locked her in a truck where she almost suffocated) and forced to work as a seamstress. She is trying to make her escape to a cousin when Nathaniel abducts her in a case of mistaken identity (he thinks she is is half-sister and abducts her to blackmail his father into returning one of Nathaniel's friends). I agree with a previous reviewer that it was disturbing to read about Nathaniel being sexually attracted to someone he thought was his half-sister. At one point, it did seem like he was threatening to rape her. I have no idea how/why she was attracted to him after he abducted her, kept her captive on his ship, implied he or his crew would rape her, etc. Then, he realizes that she is not his relative, so then everything is okay? Also, the focus of the book seems much more on the adventures of the characters (the race away from the seamstress shop when they abduct her, the piracy adventures, firing on other ships, etc.) rather than on the supposed romance. Also, the coincidence of who they catpure from one of his father's ships and the traitorous shipment of guns seems way too coincidental. I gave up about 50% in to this one, as it never really felt like a romance and I just could not get into the story.

The number of twists and turns the plot took seemed beyond imaginable. I appreciated that it wasn't ended abruptly but the longer the tale lasted the more I wondered how outlandish it might become before drawing to an end.

This review is based on four categories: Story Plot, Hero/Heroine Likeability, Romantic Theme, and Erotic Rendezvous. Each category is divided into word sections and every word is rated using a 0-5 scale where 5 most accurately describes the term relative to the category. The composite scores for overall rating and categories are qualitatively derived.
~~~~ OVERALL SCORE ~~~~~: 3.5/5
• Strengths - the story is very interesting; heroine is great
• Weaknesses - dropped story lines; several parts not believable (how exactly did the hero become educated... Oh, I remember he was self taught... That explains why he was stupid); hero prideful and not very smart
~~~~ STORY PLOT ~~~~:
Compelling: 4
Amusing: 2
Intriguing: 4
Exotic: 0
Provocative: 0.5 (hero missing a substantial part of arm)
Boring: 0
Ordinary: 0
Repellent: 1 (some gruesome scenes)
Flavorless: 0
Monotonous: 0
~~~~ HERO/HEROINE LIKEABILITY ~~~~
---- Hero ----: 3/5
Tenacious: 4
Arrogant: 5
Charming: 1
Decisive: 2
Push - Over: 1
* He was alright... Not very bright, his decision making process was flawed and perhaps blinded by his emotions, he had moments where his humour was refreshing... Nothing to swoon over... He just wasn't intelligent enough and he was too emotional for this reader.
---- Heroine ----: 4.5/5
Good -Natured: 5
Cheeky: 1.5
Dull: 0
Bollixed: 2
Tetchy: 0
* She was a "go getter" and successfully rose to the occasion... Very likeable... Kind, generous, forgiving, showed a great deal of empathy toward others
~~~~ ROMANTIC THEME ~~~~: 3.7/5
Dreamy: 0.5
Tender: 4
Exciting: 5
Maudlin: 2
Disagreeable: 5 (hero attracted to a woman he believes to be half sister... Yuck!)
Subjugation: 1.2 (relationship between hero and heroine begins as a botched kidnapping... Hero binds, gags, and puts a bag over heroine's head)
~~~~ EROTIC RENDEZVOUS ~~~~: 0.9/5
( # Of occurrences 0 ... just a few kisses and a little petting)
Carnal: 0
Seductive: 2
Steamy: 0
Suggestive: 2
Sensual: 2
Raw: 0
Bondage: 0
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You will probably enjoy this novel if you are:
? Dirty:
? Naughty:
? Nice: √
? Prudish: √ (skip the kisses, one mild petting scene at around 80%)
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? Constance Yarbury

I review historical romance novels that are part of Kindle Unlimited. To check out other novels I have reviewed in this genre tap on "constanceyarbury" highlighted in blue in the heading.

Of Noble Birth was a fun and exciting read! Captain Nathaniel Kent is the unacknowledged son of a duke, since he was born with only one arm. Raised by his father's ex-housekeeper, he grew into a life of piracy. But he only targets his father's ships! Then one night, one of Nathaniel's men is kidnapped by his father, so he sets out to kidnap his half-sister for ransom. Well, he winds up with Alexandra, who looks like his sister, but is really just a seamstress who was trying to hide from her abusive step-father. Oops.

I love tales of mistaken identity and Of Noble Birth was a great one! Alexandra had been fixing a dress for the duke's daughter, when her father whom she's running from arrives. She dons the dress and slips past him, only to get taken aboard a pirate ship! She tries to explain who she is, but Nathaniel thinks she's just trying to escape. But then...there's feelings! Nathaniel is attracted to his sister who's maybe not his sister! He doesn't know! He's so conflicted, especially when Alexandra starts saying she is his sister (for her own protection, of course)! This was all too funny! Obviously the truth has to come out soon enough when the duke doesn't pay up for his precious "daughter."

While Of Noble Birth has a fast paced, action packed, and engaging plot (there's a lot more to come after the initial kidnapping), I wish there had been more romance! I loved the beginning with Nathaniel struggling with his attraction to his sister, who's not really his sister, but after that the romance aspect kind of fades. Alexandra and Nathaniel spend a lot of the book apart because of reasons, but they're always pining for the other. I wanted more kissing! They do get their happily ever after as is the norm for Historical Romance, but I wish it had been explored more earlier on.

I really enjoyed Of Noble Birth. It was nice to see different kinds of characters in the lead roles: a one armed pirate and a lowly seamstress. The plot was really well developed, although there were a few jumpy transitions that had me momentarily confused. All in all, it was a great read, though don't expect much in the way of quivering thighs and heaving bosoms.