Charlesgate

Having a famous female pirate in the family would be a great thing to most people. Not to mention that with her dying declaration from the scaffold, she put a curse on two households to exact revenge. But in Zylla Berry's case, she did not know anything about her famous ancestor or the curse. That lack of information could be deadly.

At this moment all Zylla did know is that she needed to move on with her life. She had spent years waiting for an old high school crush to fall in love with her. Now he was getting married. Zylla finally realized she had put her whole life on hold waiting for him to come to her and realize they should be together. Other than waiting for Michael, her only other passion was with an old 19th century building called "Charlesgate." Zylla was drawn to it. Part of her wished it could be refurbished to its old glory.

Then by chance she meets Jabe Thayer. A wealthy contractor who had bought the Charlesgate on a whim. He figured he would turn it into something commercial. That was until he met Zylla.

Jabe had seen Zylla a year before at a concert and had decided then that she was his soulmate. He did not even speak to her then, he just knew he wanted her. He found it amazing that they had come across each other again. Jabe was immediately affected by Zylla's passion to see the Charlesgate brought back to its original splendor. He decided to use a store of funds that supposedly had come from a fortune that was awarded to Jabe's ancestor. It was a gift from King William for the capture and execution of a famous female pirate named Charlotte Berry. The fortune was made up of the booty that Charlotte had accumulated from all her years of pirating. According to Jabe's relatives, Charlotte had put a curse on her own family and Jabe's at her execution.

What Jabe and Zylla learn is that their meeting and love for each other could break that curse forever.

Dina Keratsis gives us history, folklore, mystery, fantasy and romance all in one story! The opening starts us out with the curse and legend of Charlotte. Then moves on and follows Zylla through her search for information, not only on Charlesgate, but also on the woman in her nightmares. The speed at which all the mysteries are unfolded is not too fast or slow. Just enough to keep page after page turning. I found myself mesmerized by the history, and intrigued by the love story between Zylla and Jabe. Both unsure of love, yet still knowing somewhere inside that they should be together.

Reviewed by: Kathy