Molly September, by Maggie Secara

Molly September
By Maggie Secara

I am on a never ending quest for female characters who are not female first and people second, and in Molly September I have found one.  Molly, as far as I was able to discern, is as self-actualized, as much her own person as any female character I have read, or for that matter written.  Brava, I say, brava!

This is the story of the daughter of a well-bred lady who fell in love with and eloped with a notorious privateer.  She has been in Port Royal in Jamaica for a short time being pushed into marriage with a brutal fop when she meets Dick Prentiss, the Jack-Sparrow-only-far-sexier  character in the book.  They are drawn together instantly, birds of a feather so to speak, and she, like her lamented slut of a mother, elopes with him as Maman did with her own scoundrel.  Molly proves an enthusiastic and skillful seaman herself.  The two and the crew of the ship Jealous Mary sail away into harrowing and sometimes quite deadly adventures always a step away from the vengeful plans of the jilted fop.  When twice it seems that Dick and Molly will never see each other again, the reader holds out hope and ... well you will have to read this thoroughly entertaining book to see what happens.

Let me get my few reservations out of the way, though, first, so I can start lavishing the book with my praise.  There were times, I am sorry to say, when I thought plot twists, like Molly's kidnapping by Armand, were in the book for the fun of writing them only, though in fact they do have importance to the final resolution.  I can't go so far as to say the subplots were gratuitous, and who cares anyway since they are so much fun?  The other thing i could have done without was the appearance of Lady Fortune,  a mystical creature, which I felt was inconsistent with the tenor of the rather natural, realistic novel.  Oh, and I really, really wanted an author's note.  Was it just not in the review copy?  I will decline to comment further on some tiny continuity problems.

OK, now I can get on with what I really wanted to say!  There are three aspects of this book I absolutely loved, in addition to it just being a heck of a fun read. 

First, the non-cartoonish nature of the characters.  Molly, as I said, is as much her own person as I could want.  She is so natural, so genuine and so in touch with herself she was precious to follow.  After her first sea battle, one in which she participated fully, she thinks "This is not women's business.  This is what I was born for!"    The pairing of those statements, and the liberating character of the second sentence, made me stop, nod, and say, "All right then!"  Nor is Molly the only simply real character.  I felt the author drew all of the many different characters just as honestly,  not at all the caricatures one might expect in a pirate adventure novel.  Each is suitably complex and therefore not always predictable and written clearly and satisfyingly.  And that goes for Dick Prentiss, Molly's love, and for the least member of the Jealous Mary's or any other ship's crew member for that matter.

Second, I loved the sex scenes.  They did what I always say sex scenes should do.  They reveal the characters in their most intimate  moments.  yes, these scenes were erotic, but they also told a story about love and about real care and concern for the lovers' partners.  They remained fresh and sweet, and I felt after each that I knew Molly and Dick, not to mention a couple other characters, so much better than I should have without them.

Finally, I adored the frequently poetic and original phrases.  I wish I could remember them all.  One I picked out was "Calmly, Armand backed off, black eyes reflecting light like soiled windows.."  There were lines about the sea, the ship, about the people and about their emotions that made me stop and savor the sheer perfection of them.  I know I will have to read this novel again just to savor them once more.  Next time I will write every last one of them down.

In short, this is a rollickign good read but with some quite aesthetic and literary jewels.

The author sent me a copy of this wonderful novel specifically for a review, sending me a file I could use on my Kindle 3.  She used the subject line "Have I got a book for you!"  I think I appreciated her chutzpah almost as much as I did a chance to add one more female character to the short list with whom I can identify.