The Reckless by MaryLu Tyndall: A Review

The Reckless is MaryLu Tyndall’s latest pirate adventure, and I have a bone to pick with MaryLu Tyndall. She’s the reason I don’t sleep well at night. Her novels are filled with adventure, mutiny, and numerous twists and turns keeping me from being able to put down the book! The Reckless proved to be just another example of why I never sleep well when I’m reading one of her novels.

This isn’t your typical pirate adventure, however. The hero isn’t a pirate, anymore at least. The heroine is actually the pirate. Not just a pirate, but in many ways a siren, if you will. Frederick Carlton left his pirating days behind when he turned back to God. But Reena Hyde determines to bring him back to his ship, The Reckless. So she kidnaps him off of a Royal Navy ship. I’m sure you can predict how well that went.

So now Frederick finds himself labeled a deserter. He then demands that Reena take him back to his hometown of Kingston. But Reena has no desire to do so. She wants to go back to the days when her and Freddy loved and sailed the seas together. But Frederick, as he insists on being called, has no desire to go back to his pirating ways. So Reena does what any normal woman would do: she kidnaps him again. Because what’s the point of searching for the Fountain of Youth if you can’t make the man you love drink the water with you and suffer your company the rest of his life?

Okay, so Frederick isn’t exactly suffering. But Reena proves to be a temptation he has a hard time resisting. He’s desperately trying to live for God, and Reena doesn’t want anything to do with Him. So Frederick must maintain some distance, a difficult thing to do when you’re stranded on an island together.

Did I mention this novel is chock full of adventure? Because it is. Just as the other books in the series. Have you read them? You should. Frederick is the son of Captain Kent Carlton and Lady Isabel. Reena is the daughter of Captain Merrick Hyde and Charlisse Bristol. Recognize those names? They’re featured in the previous books of the series.

And MaryLu Tyndall always manages to mesh these incredible spiritual messages within her adventures. Reena is afraid of losing her youth and beauty and searches for eternal life. Frederick tries to explain to her that outside appearances don’t matter, and we all have eternal life, we just have to decide if we’ll spend it with God in Heaven or without Him in hell. Meanwhile, Frederick is afraid of turning into his father and tries to make up for the circumstances of his birth. He has to learn just what it means to be a new creature in Christ, as well as the importance of forgiveness.

I got swept away in the adventure, not just wondering if they would find the mythical Fountain of Youth, but also if Reena would stop running from God and if Frederick would finally find some peace. This well-crafted novel is definitely worth reading, and the spiritual truths worth meditating on.

Want to check out the adventure for yourself? You can grab a copy at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I would highly recommend reading the other books in the series first: The Redemption, The Reliance, The Restitution, The Ransom, and The Reckoning.