Customer Reviews

His Captive Lady (Berkley Sensation)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is without a doubt that Anne Grazie has to be one of the most amazingly talented romance writers today, able to create novels brimming with heart wrenching emotion, humor and tenderness and characters that revolve around the human spirit.

With HIS CAPTIVE LADY - she has done just that.

While traveling to see an old dilapidated estate for sale, Harry Morant spies a woebegone and thoroughly soaked woman sitting at the back of a cart. One look at her soulful and beguilingly griefstricken gaze and he is lost. He removes his hat and gloves, hands them to her for protection against the elements and rides off.

Lady Helen Freymore (Nell) is a fallen woman returning home. She has lost everything - her self respect, her virtue, the child she has given birth to illegitimately and now her father is dead as well. On a quest to return to London to look for her lost infant, a stranger's unexpected kindness gives her hope in her otherwise hopeless world.

Upon arrival at her home - she realizes that the stranger on the road, Harry Morant is now the new owner. He has purchased her father's crumbling estate with hopes of starting his stud farm and breed priced race-horses.

When Harry sees Nell in the stables, as she is helping her mare birth a foal, he is instantly captivated - as he realizes that "Lady Nell Fraymore" was the bedraggled, wet waif at the back of the cart in the forest. Harry impulsively proposes marriage to the destitute Nell - he already feels a powerful attraction to her and an inexplicable need to protect her.

What follows is the start to a really beautiful, tender and powerful love story. The circumstances that have befallen Nell will bring tears to your heart for her plight and anguish over her lost child. Not to mention the cruel and heartless childhood that Harry has suffered. How he has retained any semblance of kindness after such an abusive childhood is amazing. These two souls come together under amazing circumstances, each starved for affection in their own way. Being a bastard, Harry has received scorn and rejection all his life and feels that someone as lovely as Nell will never care for him. Nell has fallen instantly in love with the caring, noble and wonderfully tender Harry, but feels that her plight will never allow him to love her.

You will laugh, cry and cheer at their story. Anne Gracie's novels are powerful, moving and beautifully written. If you liked HIS CAPTIVE LADY - check out "GALLANT WAIF" and "AN HONORABLE THIEF" and "THE PERFECT WALTZ" - they are my favorites!

Anne Gracie's His Captive Lady was such a wonderful read! This is about a young woman who must find her missing baby stolen by her father. Helen Freymore reminded me so much of Tess Durbeyfield from the Thomas Hardy classic, Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Poor Helen has been through so much. Not only was she raped by a former associate of her father's, but her infant daughter, who she loves more than her own life, is taken away from the one person she always looked up to. Now with her father dead and gone and her home auctioned away because of his debt, Helen has a choice to either give into despair or rise above it all, find work and continue looking for her missing daughter.

The first time Harry Morant notices Helen, he thinks of her as a, "drowning Madonna" because Helen is stuck in the rain looking up at the sky in awe. From the moment on, Harry decides to help Helen in any way he can even though she doesn't want his help. Harry falls hard for the somewhat naïve yet tenacious Helen. Harry wants to marry her, to take care of her and make sure there is no more sadness or tears in her eyes. For some reason that Harry cannot understand, Helen won't let him help her. She thinks she is not good enough for Harry because of what has happened to her. Why would a man like Harry want a damaged woman with an illegitimate daughter like herself when he can have any woman he wants?

Harry is able to bring Helen around to his way of thinking, mainly by kissing her into submission. And when Helen finally tells Harry what she has been through, Harry rises in my opinion as one of my favorite heroes this year. Harry is a simple man, with simple needs. When he sees Helen, he can't get her out of his mind. She may not be, "beautiful, nor voluptuously built, and she certainly employs no arts to attract. But he couldn't take his eyes off of her." I love when the hero falls for the heroine just because he finds something special about her to him. She is not a raving beauty or is intelligent to the point she can give the hero a good argument. Helen is the complete opposite of most heroines I have read lately. When first introduced to Helen I found her a bit off, perhaps a bit slow in her thinking. But instead, I see her as a fragile little bird, much like a sparrow who may not survive in the worst of situations but is still strong enough not to succumb to defeat. Helen certainly doesn't succumb to the odds against her and once Harry is in her corner, things begin to look up.

Anne Gracie builds up sexual tension quite well between this couple, because sex is not a quick answer, especially because of what has happened to Helen. Harry is understanding and so very noble. He is a tad tortured in his thinking because he doesn't think he deserves love, but when Helen admits her love for him without one word from him in return, those love scenes almost brought a tear to my eye. His Captive Lady is sweet, endearing and an overall lovely read. If there is one historical romance you read this fall season, it should be His Captive Lady.

Katiebabs
The Stolen Princess (Devil Rides Series)

I loved the hero, and the heroine. Her story was so sad :( I loved the way he helped her to find her baby. And even though for a time I had a feeling that she was only with him because she was grateful and because he could help her, later on I could really see her feelings for him grow. And I loved her sleep walking and the way he tried to protect her. And I loved his respect for her. He was such a great hero! Tender, understanding, helpful, passionate, determined... I loved him! And the way he helped her get over her past and the terrible experience she had. I could really see her grow and become stronger. And I could see them falling in love. That is exactly what I want from romance novels.

First things first, and this applies to all Regency novels: Characters should NEVER use first names when addressing each other, unless the relationship is such that they are allowed to. I guess many readers don't really care about this, but for me, it's so irritating. One of the primary reasons I read Regency novels is because of the rules and manners so popular in that day. One of those rules was addressing a stranger as "Mr. Morant" or "Lady Freymore" or "my lady". But the more of these books I read, the more it seems to be the norm for authors to just throw out the rules in favor of writing what they WANT to write.

The best part about this book (and this is a stretch) is the plot line. I give credit to Gracie because she really knows how to drive a mystery. For a good while we don't know the history of Nell or Harry, and it's intriguing. The subplot with Ethan and Tibby is also pretty good.

The biggest problems with the book are believability and not sticking to Regency norms, which tend to go hand in hand. One of the most crucial aspects of an historical romance is to make something unbelievable feel believable. Like it's a little weird, but it might actually happen. A reader will only suspend belief so long before crying "No more! This wouldn't happen in a million years!" I'm sorry, but the BEST part about Regency novels is forcing the characters to conform to society's standards of behavior. Gracie just throws them out the window. If I wanted to read a modern novel, I would've borrowed a different one from my library (thank God I didn't buy this book).

Now to be more thorough. *SPOILERS*

Description. I don't know if Gracie had a deadline she was pushing, and needed to get more words into the novel, but the descriptions in this book are just sooooo long. No reader needs to know the exact perfect shape of someone's eyebrow, unless it's an unusual characteristic. One of the most fascinating parts of Harry is his limp, but it's only mentioned a few times, and never by the end of the book. Listen, authors, we readers have imaginations. That's why we like books. I don't want to be told the exact, most particular color of a character's skin. Just give me a brief description - I can take it from there.

Sex and the rape victim. I already take issue with Regency women hopping into bed with men like it's a normal thing to do. Premarital sex in Regency novels is just so awkward. If it's once or twice, it's believable. But if my main characters are doing it every night, come on. Like pregnancy never occurs to the characters? Or even decency? Not wanting the servants to know? Infuriating, especially in this book, where the female has been raped and had a baby.

Here is how the book reads: Nell sleepwalks, so Harry's only option is to sleep in bed with her? Oookay, I'll go with it (even though after Marlborough, he could just lock her in her room like the book TELLS us used to be done). After one morning of freaking out about waking up with a strange man in her bed, Nell's totally cool with it? Oh, in fact, she likes it. The girl who was raped in her own bed suddenly has no qualms about sleeping with a man she hardly knows. Wait, SHE is actually going to seduce him in payment for being so kind to her? That's a very strange thing for a rape victim, a virginal rape victim, to do. I guess I can see how she'd think sex is the only way to repay him, but he'd never let her go through with it just because he wants to screw her. Oh he is going to? Oh. Well. I guess he's not the great guy I thought he was. But it's probably just that once, I mean, they wouldn't want to get pregnant. Oh, it's every night? And lots of mornings? Huh. Well Eff me.

Consistency. Page 33 - "...she'd always preferred plain, dark-colored clothing." Page 257- "All these years she'd worn dark brown for practical reasons and it made her look sallow. ... she slowly realized that she'd been right, back then...that the soft colors she preferred did suit her." This isn't just about being consistent with Nell's taste. This inconsistency completely changes her character. It says something about a person who actually prefers to wear dark colors in order not to be seen. It says something completely different about a person who wishes she could wear bright colors, but for practical reasons wears dark brown in order to focus on other things. So which is Nell? Is she truly the girl who doesn't want the spotlight and wants to blend in? Or is she the girl who enjoys wearing pretty gowns and looking her best, but for a series of circumstances, had been unable to till now?

The last point, the baby is alive. It would have been better if Gracie had left the baby dead. Seriously. I was actually excited to find out the baby had died because I KNEW it left this learning experience open for Harry. Harry could've been forced to face the possibility of NOT fulfilling his promises, of NOT succeeding at something. Then he would've been forced to learn that he deserved love even in the midst of failure. Instead, Gracie wraps the book up in a tiny little bow, and Harry never learns that he's good enough to be loved even when he doesn't follow through. What a disappointment.

I am already in the third chapter of the third novel in this series, To Catch a Bride. So far, I can say it's immensely better than His Captive Lady. So maybe Gracie was just off her game for this one.

Harry Morant can't take his eyes off the woman in the rain. She's wet and muddy, and the most fascinating woman he has ever seen. Not knowing why, he gives her his favorite hat and gloves to protect her from the rain before she disappears. She fills his mind even as his aunt searches for a wife for him.

Nell Freymore only wants to get home. Everything will be all right once she gets there and she can start looking for her baby daughter. Except that when she gets there everything is not okay. Her father has lost their home in a card game. And now Nell is homeless and alone. The kindness of a stranger went a long way to sooth her bruised spirit.

Their paths cross again when Harry wants to buy the home her father lost. Nell is amazed that the man with the grey eyes wants to buy her house. Out of the blue Harry asks Nell to marry him, to the surprise of them both. And she refuses him though she doesn't want to. She will be companion to a widowed lady going to London. She can stand the way Mrs. Beasley treats her if it means finding her baby.

Nell is the only choice for Harry but she can't let him ruin things. She has plans for after she finds Torie and he is not a part of them. No matter how persistent he is. Harry wants Nell with every breathe in his body but how will he feel about her when he hears the truth?

The second in the Devil Rider's series, His Captive Lady is better than I'd expected it to be. I used to read every historical I could get my hands on then somehow I strayed. I do believe I have been lured back. I love the interactions between Harry and Nell. Nell turns Harry's brain to mush when he's around her. I laughed at his surprise when he asked her to marry him. He didn't even see it coming. Nell has to learn to trust this man who is so different from anyone she has ever known. A definite feel good ending.


Willow
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This book is one of my favorites. I usually read a book then turn it in for credit to the used book store. I have a few that I keep, this is one of them. Harry was strong yet vulnerable which we all want in our romantic heroes. Nell evoked sympathy without being pathetic; she was strong and independent without being shrill or pushy. Nell's torment was palpable and Harry's tender concern for her was touching. They made a great pair and the secondary characters really brought the story to life. I loved Ethan and Tibby and their romance. I don't want to give the story away (potential spoiler) but Nell's yearning to find lost child and her suffering were very real. Harry's genuine desire to see her happy at any cost to himself was stirring. I highly recommend this book.

Better than the last but not as good as her first books. This book left me lukewarm. There are too many convenient coincidences in the plot which were just a bit too easy and obvious - especially the ending. He was too nice and she was too tortured and I found her character irritating. I kept wondering why he was bothering. IMO this book is OK but I know Gracie can be better so I was disappointed.

This isn't a knock your socks off romance, but it is a memorable read about a woman who is searching for the baby that was taken from her, and the gallant hero that comes into her life to help her. The hero in this story is lovable and is such a generous man. The heroine has so many struggles that she needs all the strength the hero can give, and give it he does. The book touches on a lot of emotional subjects but at the same time I didn't feel emotionally overwhelmed for the characters. I actually think that with the depth of the subjects I should have felt more. I think I would have liked to watch the heroine and the hero develop a little more while knowing the search was important but not focusing just on that in revealing the heroine's thoughts and emotions. Also, the waiting to say the three little words is a little tired in romance. The secondary characters were interesting and I can't wait to learn more about them.

A Heart warming story, could not put book down. The story was rich and so well written. Touched so many events in life, had me in tears, but Happy tears. Great Book, looking forward to more from the author. Thanks Ms. Anne Gracie

I really like this author's writing style. She paces the story well, putting in lots of twists and turns and the suspense is done just right. The story is quick paced, not drawn out. She doesn't keep the hero and heroine apart for too long, and then even after they're together, there's enough of a strong plot to keep the story going strong. The characters are lovely and well drawn.
My only critique is that the side story about the best friend and the governess was unnecessary. I didn't get anything out of that side story.