Cinnamon and Gunpowder (Eli Brown)

I enjoyed this rollicking pirate yarn with a twist. The narrator is a chef, employed by a shipping magnate who is murdered by pirates, and the chef himself is kidnapped. The pirate captain is a wild and forceful woman who decides to keep the chef alive if he will provide her with one sumptuous meal per week from the inadequate materials at hand on her ship. Many adventures ensue, punctuated with the unlikely meals he concocts from unpromising supplies. The story is largely predictable, but told with humor and even tenderness, despite the occasionally gruesome violence.