River Road

The final title in the "Tortured Souls" trilogy (after Blackburn Castle) takes Charles Moore, aka the pirate Hatchet, from his English base to his New Orleans home. Searching for a way to break the curse over his family, he works out a deal with a voodoo priestess who needs the pirate to steal back a family relic. Hatchet must also face family pressures to leave the sea and take over their plantation, while Hope Leblonc and her boarding house are being hounded by the temperance society. Their lives and subplots are much more deeply entwined than either can imagine. Despite an instant physical attraction, the relationship starts off badly owing to incorrect assumptions and barbed comments. Their interracial relationship is illegal, and though Hatchet is intent on returning to England, Hope is committed to New Orleans. However, with the lies and manipulations the pair use to get what they want, readers may be hard-pressed to root for this romance. The backstory contains significant sexual violence.