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|title=Mistress of the Sea

|author=Jenny Barden

|publisher=Ebury Press

|date=June 2013

|website=http://jennybarden.com/

|summary=A swashbuckling tale of romance, piracy and revenge, set against the backdrop of major events in the life of Sir Francis Drake.

}}

''Mistress of the Sea'' is an epic adventure involving pirates, star-crossed lovers and a lust for gold and vengeance. The novel, set in Tudor times, is based on the real-life events in the life of Francis Drake, notably the raid at Nombre de Dios and the rout of the English fleet at San Juan de Ulua. Barden weaves an exciting adventure/romance story against this backdrop, which results in an immersive narrative that excites the mind and senses.

If I have one criticism, it concerns the pace of the storyline. The story opens with a very exciting and unusual scene involving bear-baiting, which immediately draws the reader in. The first few chapters about Ellyn running away to sea manage to continue the momentum of the opening scene. Sadly, the plot seems to lose its way in the middle of the book, with one of the most interesting characters being marooned on a remote island, which is quite limiting in terms of action. Thankfully, the book picks up pace later on with the vivid, bloody depictions of the raids on the Spanish and the story reaches a gripping climax and powerful conclusion.

{{amazontext|amazon=009194922X}}