Taming Charlotte

In 1877 Charlotte Quade has finished her tour of Europe and is longing for one `` glorious adventure'' before returning home to Washington Territory. No sooner does she express that desire in a letter to her sister than she is kidnapped in a marketplace on the island of Riz while traveling with family friends. The prize in a poker game, she is then delivered as a gift to Patrick Trevarren, a ship's captain on whom she has had a crush since she was caught climbing his rigging at the age of 13. Patrick deposits her in his friend the sultan Khalif's harem so that he can complete some business before accompanying her to Seattle, but she fears that he has abandoned her and tries to escape. To avoid punishment for her escape, she is forced to marry Patrick when he returns. The two then travel together but are soon called back to assist Khalif when his evil half brother tries to take over the palace. Miller ( Yankee Wife ) fills this frenetically paced romance with spirited repartee meant to recall The Taming of the Shrew, but while Charlotte is appealing and clever, her love interest is not her intellectual match, and his insistences that she stay out of trouble become tiresome. (Nov.)