Captive [Paperback]

Colleen Faulkner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1994

Coming to the Maryland colony in search of a better life, Tess Morgan finds safety and passion in the arms of Raven, the Lanape Indian warrior who rescues her from a savage fate. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Zebra (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821746839
• ISBN-13: 978-0821746837
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,762,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Colonial American Romance, March 18, 2011

By 

MelissaB "MelissaB" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Captive (Paperback)

Tess Morgan and her spoiled cousin Jocelyn were taken captive by the Mohawk Indians near their Annapolis Maryland home in the American colonies in 1758. Jocelyn was tortured and killed when she refused to walk any further in the wilderness, but Tess is a survivor so she obeys her captors and looks for a chance to escape. She sees her chance during a canoe trip across a river. She smacks one of her captors on the head with a paddle and jumps into the river.

Raven, a Lenape Indian, and his brother Takooko are watching from the riverbank when Tess makes her escape attempt. Raven decides to help her because he admires her bravery. Raven and Takooko help her escape into the forest after they convince her they aren't going to harm her. Raven is very gentle with Tess and promises to take her back to Annapolis since it's near his village. During the trip back, they see a group of white men looking for Tess, who calls out to them when she recognizes her fiancee, Myron. The white men shoot at Raven and Takooko, thinking they are her abductors. Takooko is killed in the firefight, so Raven abducts Tess in retaliation. He blames her for his brother's death so he decides she belongs to him now.

Raven takes Tess against her will to his Lenape village. He is no longer the gentle man she first met, he is angry and grieving. Once in the village, Raven's mother takes her in because she doesn't blame Tess at all, neither does the other Lenape who treat Tess with kindness. Raven refuses to listen to his mother, insisting that Tess will stay with him despite Tess's pleas to go home. Tess is a strong, intelligent woman who finds a way to escape the village after a few days. She needs to get back home so she can marry Myron, a man she doesn't really care for but sees as an able provider, and send for her deaf younger sister as she promised when she left England for her uncle's home in the colonies. Tess is also scared of her growing acceptance of the Lenape and her feelings for Raven, so she sees escape as the only option. Raven catches up to her and brings her back to his village, where he gets her to promise to be his wife for a year and he will free her afterwards.

Raven fights his feelings for Tess because she is a white woman and he wants to be war chief of his people, but he does everything he can to keep her with him because he can't imagine letting her go. Tess also tries to deny her feelings because she cannot imagine living in an Indian village and she knows she needs to leave so she can send for her sister. Outside forces intruded on the couple as well, with the French trying to get the Lenape to fight for them and the English getting closer to the tribal village all the time. Raven and Tess go through a lot of trials together which draws them closer and shows them how much they love each other.

I really enjoyed this book, it was full of adventure and action. The writing was very good and full of historical details. The characters were very well drawn and had depth. The romance was believable, Raven and Tess battle with emotions and difficulties that seem very believable for their situation but they are able to find common ground in their love and respect for each other. I like the fact that part of the story centered on Braddock's march to Fort Dusquesne, which is interesting to me because I live in Pittsburgh right where it happened, though the author said the year was 1758 when the march actually happened in 1755.

Overall, I enjoyed the romance and the exciting story. The setting is very interesting and unusual, while the writing is a cut above the normal Native American/colonial romance.