The first half is an awesome, poignant, heart-wrenching romance between a man abused since childhood and a strong, independent heroine who's willing to look beneath the surface and discover his heart of gold. While I adored this part, as soon as they discovered they were in love and he decided to leave the heroine in order to make his fortune and return as an equal to her, the story lost its interest for me. From that point on, it's historical fiction, not romance, full with privateers, Arabs, slave owners, mercenaries and all that the hero has to survive in order to come back to her. Just not what I was looking for, but nicely written for those who care. Pity:(