Captive by Joan Johnston

Captive by Joan Johnston
ISBN: 0-440-22200-1
Pages: 373
Back of Book Description:

Lional Morgan, earl of Denbigh, had been betrayed once at the altar and vowed that no female would ensnare him again. Then Charlotte Edgerton burst into his life. He was to be her guardian. Her protector. But Denbigh wasn't prepared for this headstrong American -- or the passions she inspired on first sight. He knew only that he had to civilize her, present her at court, and Almack's, then marry her off to the highest bidder. It wasn't until he nearly lost her that he realized the truth: She'd somehow reversed their roles and become the captor -- of his heart.

My Rating: A

My Review:

There is one lovely thing about being sick enough that you don't feel much like moving: reading an entire book in one day, one sitting even.

When I picked up this book I didn't realize it was a regency, and to be honest, I hadn't read the back of the book until just now when I typed it out for this review. I bought the last two in this series years ago, and felt like reading them, but can't read a series out of order, and so I had to start here.

When I realized it was a regency, I was a bit disappointed. I find regencies tedious most times. Everyone so prim and proper and never fighting each other like they should. This book surprised me because while it did have all of that, because of the female lead, Charlie, and her rebellion against this type of behavior, things were faced a tad more head on than what I'm use to reading in a regency.

What the back of the book doesn't tell you is that this is not ONE love story, but two. While the reader is frustrated by the lack of concession from either Lion or Charlie, one is also left in suspense about the true intentions of Braddock (Lion's enemy) towards Olvia (Lion's sister and Charlie's best friend). This second love story really kept the romance reader in me happy during what would normally be 'down times' in a romance.

I didn't exactly like how the story ended, but I think it didn't take itself too seriously, ending on a joke, instead of a tear jerker, even though it's not a particularly funny book. I look forward to the rest of this series and hopefully seeing more of all four of the characters that I read about in this one.