Wishing by Jarrett, Miranda - 1999

NY: Sonnet. Fine. 1999. Advance Review Copy. Softcover; Mass Market PB. 354 pages. Faintest edgewear; looks unread. ; <b>In 1721, Captain Samson Fairbourne is a confirmed bachelor, a deep-water sailor happily wedded to his work. When he pens a description of the perfect, obedient wife, and hefts the missive overboard in a bottle, all he has in mind is a cutting joke to teach his young cousin a lesson on the foolishness of wishes -- and women. Instead, his prank leads him to Polly Bray, a hardworking seafarer who is about to shake his disparaging notions of femininity -- while reeling in his heart.<p>Left an orphan in a Massachusetts fishing village, Polly dresses in boy's clothes to work aboard her father's fishing boat, the one possession he left her. Pulled under by a devastating storm at sea, she is rescued by Samson Fairbourne, and a sparkling, passionate bond takes hold. But the handsome captain seems determined to confine Polly to his limited view of womanhood. And Polly fears she must surrender her precious independence -- or cut the stubborn, impassioned Samson adrift....</b> .