Prince & Pirate

I've really liked all of this author's work so far, and I love pirates, so I was very excited to read this book. I enjoyed it a lot.

Gavin's father, the king, sends him on a diplomatic mission to a neighboring kingdom. The king insists that Gavin travel in disguise, which makes his trip much more dangerous. He very quickly becomes the prisoner of a notorious pirate, Marcas Drake, and they have a series of adventures together.

It's set in a fantasy world, with light (but adequate) world-building. There's a good amount of action, and it's all very exciting. But the book mostly focuses on how Gavin and Marcas change over the course of their adventures: on their feelings about each other, about their families, and about their hopes for the future. They're both somewhat introspective, and the romance is slow and sweet, and not really lust-driven, although they are attracted to each other from the start. I couldn't predict how they would find their happy ending, and it was great to see them reach it together.