CFBA feature: The Reliance, by M. L. Tyndall

I'm Mad Mary Roberts, and I have the great honor of holding the position of Quartermaster on THE RELIANCE (pardon my use of English instead of pirate--I figured none of ye er... you would understand if I used my own dialect).

You can see a picture of me and a list of the other shipmates on THE RELIANCE here:

Or, find out your own pirate name here:





A YOUNG BRIDE separated from her husband just as a child has been conceived...

A GRIEVING HUSBAND tempted to take his anger out through the vices of his past...

A MARRIAGE AND A SHIP threatened to be split apart by villainous Caribbean pirates...

In THE RELIANCE, Edmund Merrick tormented by the apparent demise of his pregnant wife Charlisse, sails away to drown his sorrows. He turns his back on God and reverts to a life of villainy, joining forces with the demented French pirate Collier. When his mind clears from its rum-induced haze, will Edmund find the will to escape?

Seemingly abandoned by her new husband, Charlisse battles her own insecurities as she is thrown into the clutches of the vengeful pirate Kent, who holds her and Lady Isabel captive.

Will she be swept away by the undertow of treachery and despair? Can Edmund and Charlisse battle the tempests that threaten to tear them apart and steer their way to the faith-filled haven they so desperately seek? Or will they ultimately lose their love and lives to the whirlpool of treachery and deceit?



M. L. (MARYLU) TYNDALL grew up on the beaches of South Florida loving the sea and the warm tropics. But despite the beauty around her, she always felt an ache in her soul--a longing for something more.

After college, she married and moved to California where she had two children and settled into a job at a local computer company. Although she had done everything the world expected, she was still miserable. She hated her job and her marriage was falling apart.

Still searching for purpose, adventure and true love, she spent her late twenties and early thirties doing all the things the world told her would make her happy, and after years, her children suffered, her second marriage suffered, and she was still miserable.

One day, she picked up her old Bible, dusted it off, and began to read. Somewhere in the middle, God opened her hardened heart to see that He was real, that He still loved her, and that He had a purpose for her life, if she's only give her heart to Him completely.

MY REVIEW:

Merrick and Charlisse have fallen in love and married. The captain continues sea life commanding his ship, “The Redemption,” and bringing ruthless pirates to justice for the British government.

While visiting San Lorenzo, Spain, Merrick and Charlisse are caught in an onslaught by the dreaded pirate Captain Morgan. During the couple’s hasty escape, they help some orphans by herding them into an abandoned church building. Soon after Merrick leaves to find a wagon, the church blows up with Charlisse inside. He thinks she has been killed, when in fact she has been kidnapped (for the second time—first in the previous book) by scurrilous pirate Captain Kent Carlton.

Through storms, dangerous ports, sea battles, misunderstandings and more, Charlisse learns that the only thing she can count on is God’s love and protection. Though everything about her wavers and crashes, she must learn to rely on God’s unconditional love for those who believe. What a great reminder! God often doesn’t take storms from us, but He is with us in them and grows us into His likeness through them.

And as Merrick learns the hard way, even when our trials come at our own fault, we need to be certain that God is faithful, even when we are not.

Regardless of the fact that I’m not into historicals or romance, I love these pirate stories. Tyndall has done a remarkable job making these books enjoyable to a wide readership.