Genre: Historical, Pirates, Interracial
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
Get It On Amazon
About The Book
Secret friends. Forbidden lovers. Some bonds aren’t meant to be broken.
When Titus Kandel meets Sir Henry Polglase, an irrepressible fire smoulders between them. But Ty can’t act on his feelings—he is owned by another man.
Affronted to learn he’s property, Sir Henry swears he’ll free Ty from his master’s clutches. Ty is elated. Finally he’ll have the freedom he’s always longed for.
And then he discovers what really brought Sir Henry to the Caribbean…
Gay historical romance from the Golden Age of Piracy, set in the world of Radcliffe’s epic Pirates of Port Royal series.
The Review
Titus Kandle is in Barbados, waiting on the Bridge Town dock for his Master, Jonkheer Von Wyk, and his supplies to arrive. It’s quite active with haggling, vendors with sales pitches, from socks to fruit to sugar cane, and cargo to be loaded. He watches the fluyt – a Dutch cargo ship – out in the harbor that will take him and the cargo onboard to the Batavia.
A deep voice asks him if that’s the Batavia waiting in the harbor. Startled by the pale English man suddenly standing before him, Ty feels an immediate attraction, and it seems to be mutual. Sir Henry Polglase also is on his way to Port Royal, on a special mission. Ty has caught his eye and it’s clear that he’s interested in more than conversation with.
The Jonkheer’s cargo has arrived, and it’s up to Ty to haggle with loaders to get the cargo on board the fluyt. He also assists Sir Henry, who generously pays him for the service, and they share a conversation on the fluyt. As the cargo is put away onboard the Batavia and cabins are claimed, everyone awaits the arrival of Von Wyk. Sir Henry finds Ty on ship and they have a very short interlude, but are interrupted by Von Wyk’s appearance.
Captain Adriaenszoon of the Batavia has already sent by special invitation for Sir Henry to him join at diner. Von Wyk is rude and invites himself to dinner, which the Captain is not happy about. As Ty is the server, he overhears the conversation that takes place between Sir Henry and Von Wyk. Sir Henry has bought time with Ty, but Ty is now very angry, and the awful part is that there will be consequences for Ty, no matter what he does.
Ty has one goal – to save enough coin to buy his freedom and leave the abusive Von Wyk. He believed he could gain that freedom with Sir Henry Polglase, until he hears a startling conversation between the two men. Polglase is cousin to Viscount Rupert Ranconner, and is looking into the investigating the slave trade and plantation situation for Rupert. They have formed a company with King Charles as their patron: the Company of Royal Adventurers Trading to Africa, which would permit slaves to be sold to the English colonies.
What can Ty do now? What hope does he have left? Can he trust Sir Henry?
Radcliffe has penned an intense tale with A Chevalier in Deed. At times it can be hard to read about with the reality of the abuse, both physical and verbal, that Ty faces from his cruel master and others. Henry is kind and has so much respect for Ty. His anger grows as he sees how Ty is abused. This book is the start of an interracial, hopeful romance between two men at a time in history when it was very dangerous.
I’ve had the 2017 version of this book and never got to read it. There are some minor wording changes, but the content of the story overall is the same. I love that Ty is on the cover of the 2017 version and Sir Henry is on the 2023 one.
I highly recommend A Chevalier in Deed, part of the “Pirates of Port Royal’s” new series “Chevaliers and Charlatans.” It’s an entertaining, well written story filled with little bits of history. I would love for Jules Radcliffe to continue this journey with Ty and Sir Henry. Please!
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
