Blackhearts

The infamous pirate Blackbeard gets a romantic origin story in this historical drama set in 1697 England. Edward "Teach" Drummond, son of a wealthy English merchant, and Anne Barrett, a biracial orphan working as a maid in the Drummond household, fall for each other despite numerous obstacles. Teach wants to defy his father and return to sea; Anne has been stealing from her employer in order to run away and start a new life. United by their distaste for their current predicaments, the two overcome an initial clash of personalities and station to form a deeper bond. When Teach is accused of piracy, and Anne's financial circumstances improve, it seems as though neither will get the dream he or she desire, but hope springs eternal in Castroman's debut. The author plays fast and loose with the legend of Blackbeard, taking advantage of the lack of available details about his early life to craft this soap operatic adventure. An entertaining if unsurprising page-turner that is clearly set up for future installments%E2%80%94which readers may hope are less landlocked than this outing. Ages 14%E2%80%93up. Agent: Tracy Adams, Adams Literary. (Feb.)