The Raven Saint by M.L. Tyndall
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Pages: 318
Date Published: January 1, 2010
Publisher: Barbour Books
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Grace Westcott is kidnapped by a French mercenary, tossed aboard his ship, and told she will be sold to a Spanish Don in Columbia, she cannot imagine what she has done to deserve such a horrid fate. She has spent her entire life serving God and helping the poor, not to mention trying to save the souls of her two wayward sisters. Thinking perhaps God has sent her to preach to the vile captain and his crew, Grace’s every attempt to correct their sinful ways is rewarded with only mockery. When Grace’s situation grows far worse than she could imagine, she is forced to face her own human weaknesses. But she isn’t prepared to face her biggest weakness of all—falling in love with the nefarious captain, Rafe Dubois.

Captain Rafe Dubois hates nothing more than a religious pretence of piety. Fleeing a home of abuse and betrayal under the thumb of his self-righteous father, he became a mercenary upon the Caribbean. There isn’t any job, no matter how vile, he won’t undertake in order to amass the fortune he needs to build a hospital for the poor in his home town of Port-de-Paix. The praises of the people fill a craving in his soul for the self-worth and value he never received from his father, not to mention give him a sense of purpose for his otherwise reckless life. That is, until he meets the saintly Miss Grace Westcott who continually berates his every move.

MaryLu is an author that I always enjoy. During my move this book disappeared and I did not get to finish it. It was very frustrating, but then while I was reading my latest sea-bound adventure Ransome’s Crossing I found the hiding book. So I jumped from one adventurous romance ship-set journey to another in a different part of the ocean.

Each of the Charles Towne Belles novels has given an inside view to a different sister with extremely unique personality. I wish there was a fourth book about the last sister, yet I will take what I can get. Grace Westcott is the pious sister, and in the past books I did not really like her. Yet as I was able to know her personality and think about her perilous situation of being kidnapped and taken aboard a ship to be sold into slavery to a Spanish Don I was able to grow with her and learned to love her.

How many of us are like the Rich Man or the Pharisee that think we have everything figured out. Learning each day that it is not about us, but about the bigger picture and about Christ is quite the experience. Rafe Dubois is a fabulous character and brought me many smiles to see his inner personality wander the page. Each chapter was exciting and thrilling as I anticipated and could not wait for what would happen next.

Every book with MaryLu is a delight and I cannot wait for more. Especially her new Surrender to Destiny series with it’s beautiful covers!

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About the Author:

M.L. Tyndall (MaryLu) grew up on the shores of Southern Florida dreaming of romance and adventure upon the sea. She now lives with her husband, six children, and four cats in Northern California where she writes inspirational adventure romance novels. MaryLu’s novels have been praised for their fast-paced action, strong inspirational messages, and incredibly vivid settings. Her first novel, The Redemption was nominated for the prestigious Christy Award for Best Christian Fiction.

I personally cannot wait for her new series to come out. The covers are really amazing. Click here to read a press release, see the cover, read a Q&A with the author and watch the trailer about the first in the series Surrender the Heart, book #1 of the Surrender to Destiny series coming August 2010.