Product Description

The buccaneer Will, once known as the Viscount of Marsdale, libertine, duelist, dilettante, haphazard philanthropist and philosopher, must decide his future in the face of his father's demands that he be a good nobleman's son and marry to produce heirs. Meanwhile, the French Brethren of Tortuga blame Gaston, Will's beloved matelot, for the loss of their finest physician and many want his life. Can Will and Gaston's fragile relationship survive Will's taking a wife, the French, and most of all, Gaston's madness?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #143944 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 606 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780972109833
• BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

From the Publisher
Part two of an epic four part "love story for men" set amongst the buccaneers of Port Royal during the infamous Henry Morgan raids. It is the story of the relationship between two lonely and scarred men as they attempt to find happiness and peace through love and friendship. With adventure and romance, this chronicle explores questions and themes of gender, sexual preference, societal acceptance of homosexuality, survival of childhood abuse, and how to build a lasting relationship in a world gone mad.

From the Back Cover
1668 - Marriage in the West Indies Wherein, we follow the continuing adventures of the buccaneer Will and his beloved matelot Gaston as they contend with unexpected brides, the need for an heir, misunderstandings with the French, and Henry Morgan's ambitions against the Spanish. Conflicts Arise, as Will, former libertine and duelist, haphazard philanthropist and philosopher, negotiates an ever-trickier path betwixt the requirements of his remaining the Viscount of Marsdale and his commitment to his matelot. Amidst This, Gaston, exiled French nobleman, physician, renowned buccaneer and madman, must learn to control his madness before it destroys them both. Together, they must discover how to nurture love and passion in the face of war, tradition, and the demons of their pasts.

Customer Reviews

Matelots
Usually, the second book in a series doesn't hold up to the calibur of the first. Hoffman, however, delivers in spades. Matelots is equal to, if not better than, Brethren: Raised by Wolves. Hoffman makes exceptional use of language to put the reader in the time period without burdening us with difficult to read passages. The old-fashioned phrasing used by the characters could have been awkward, but is heart-felt and realistic here. Secondary characters take a bigger part in this story, especially Gaston, making the dialog even more important. The author cleverly shows the "evolution" of buccaneers into pirates and how the term "mate" derived from matelot to be more encompassing (much to the disgust of a few characters!). Whether this is historically accurate is irrelevant; it gives the reader something to grab onto in the story to connect them with what we *think* we know about pirates and who the buccaneers actually were. The pacing of the book is excellent and there is a lot of action, but the focus is the evolving relationship between Gaston and Will.

At the end of Brethren, we saw that Will and Gaston had grown to love one another, but there are more obstacles in their way than sexual preference. Gaston and Will both have personal demons that threaten to destroy them from within. Gaston does suffer some mental illness which is exacerbated by the horrors in his past and his fear of hurting Will. Will has been damaged both physically and mentally by the cruelty Shane inflicted on him. Add to this Will's father scheming to have Will marry and produce an heir, Gaston's dangerous jealousy over potential brides, the consequences of their encounter with Doucette, and the dangers of their lifestyle and these two have a lot to overcome.

I cannot recommend these two books enough! They are wonderful stories with depth and power that will keep a reader up long past their bedtime to finish. This is historical fiction at its best. Volume 3 "Raised by Wolves: Treasure" is due in Spring 2008, and Volume 4 "Raised by Wolves: Wolves" in Spring 2009. I hate waiting!!

Read and be enthralled!
You know how sometimes the following books in a series just aren't as good as the first one? Yeah... forget that. This one rocks!

The adventures and soul explorations of Will and Gaston continue in book two much to the satisfaction of this reader, with plot twists and insights and all the things you've come to love from book one and then some. The ending to book two is **fantastic** (no, don't skip ahead!), and things that you had hoped would happen happen, as well as things you never saw coming.

I highly, highly recommend this book as well as its predecessor, Brethren (Raised by Wolves book one). This is easily my favorite series of all time. These are the type of novels that speak to your soul of what it means to be human. I can't recommend them enough!!

A truly spellbinding and gripping volume 2.
As a forewarning, if you love vol 1, you should not start this unless you have uninterrupted time to finish it, as I did so in 1.5 days. Like its prequel, "Matelots" is truly captivating. I am under its spell from page one as Will's distinctive and vivid narration easily draws me into the arousing and deeply touching world of the buccaneers and their matelots.
Will and Gaston is of course the main focus as each man battles his ghosts and haunted past. The ensuing anger, pain and madness is one emotional ride which only their unwaveringly steadfast love for each other could overcome. Their story is powerfully stirring and deeply emotional as it is told with such passion and intensity.
Vol 2 also breathes life into most of the side characters introduced in vol 1 as their stories are entwined with that of Will and Gaston. However, the writer has done an injustice in this second volume, by forcing a female into Striker's and Pete's relationship. My heart goes out to poor Pete. Is the writer trying to create angst in her story ? But Striker's change of heart is really sad and disheartening. I do not favor M/M/F and hate this change in Pete's and Striker's relationship. However as Pete and Striker are not the main characters I will not mark the book down but this really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Lastly with the appearance of Alonso, there is much more installed.
Matelots is not merely a historical gay romance. Hoffman has given us a truly magnificent epic, at its core one mesmerizing love story. And now to wait most patiently for Wolves:Raised by Wolves.