King's Captive/Amber Bardan/252 pgs

I heard a lot of buzz about this book and decided to give it a try, even though it's not something I would normally pick up. On Sarah's 18th birthday her family party is interrupted by a man named Julius King and a bunch of guys with masks on and guns drawn. Sarah's father, who she knows is involved in some shady business, ends up dead. Sarah ends up agreeing, under duress, to marry Julius so that he can have her inheritance when she turns 21. She does get him to agree to keep his hands off her until that time however. We then fast forward 3 years, to the month before her 21st birthday. Sarah has been held by Julius on a private Caribbean island the entire time.

This is a somewhat unusual book. I knew going in that all was not as it seems but I did not know the big twist in the story. Obviously I'm not going to spoil it here but I will say it was better than the scenarios I was imagining in my head:-) I have to admit, though, that once I knew what was going on (about 3/4 of the way through), my enthusiasm for finishing the book diminished, probably because I no longer had that sense of anticipation. Bardan is a thoroughly competent writer and there is a lot, I mean a LOT, of angst in this book, which isn't really my thing, but if you love angst, it's dialed up to 11 here. Be warned that this book revolves around criminal gangs who are into weapons and drug dealing. Even besides that, there are some very questionable morals running rampant through this story, especially if you think about it for longer than a minute. Still, I'm glad I read it.

The Not-Quite States of America: Dispatches from the Territories and Other Far-Flung Outposts of the USA / Doug Mark / 336 pgs

I've really enjoyed this book! The author visited all of those U.S. territories that most of us know nothing about including Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and really gets a feel for the culture, the problems, the history, and everything else you could ever want to know about these places that are part of America, and yet not quite. I like how the author describes the islands that he visits. He shows the beautiful and the ugly and really gives life to the people who he meets on his journeys. I highly recommend if you're looking for a good book about travel.

For the ReadHarder challenge I am doing, I am using this book for the Travel Memoir category. 

Where is Joe Merchant?/ Jimmy Buffett/ 416 pages

Where is Joe Merchant? is the debut novel written by Jimmy Buffett.  In this book Jimmy Buffett  introduces the reader to an array of unique and unusual characters whose lives intertwine in a totally unexpected way.  Each character is given a back story that brings them up to current time.  The charm of the book is the way they all come together in the Caribbean.  Frank is a pilot, deep in debt, Trevor is his ex-girlfriend, looking for her brother, Desdemona is building a rocket, Colonel Cairo is intend on owning his own country.  The question remains, where is Joe Merchant?

Voyager / Diana Gabaldon / 870 pages

In this third book of Gabaldon's Outlander series, Jamie must face his worst fear - sailing across the ocean - in pursuit of the pirates who kidnapped his 15-year-old nephew.  Claire won't be kept at home and accompanies him on his pursuit, getting into trouble along the way.  They tour the Caribbean islands of the 18th century during their chase and meet an old acquaintance they thought long dead.  This book exposes the many cultures and cultural attitudes of the 18th century while exhibiting the timeless love story that anyone would want to relate to.