Prisoner of My Desire [Large Print] [Paperback]

Johanna Lindsey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 2002

It is a dark time for Rowena Belleme. The striking and spirited lady must produce an heir, for failure to do so will incur the dangerous wrath of a ruthless stepbrother who stands to forfeit his ill-gotten wealth. But in all of England there is only one man whom Rowena would have sire her child. His name is Warrick deChaville, a magnificent knight who possesses the strength, intelligence, and courage -- as well as the extraordinary good looks -- that Rowena would have passed on to her son. But Warrick is proud and stubborn, and he will be no man's -- or woman's -- pawn. The lady must take drastic action and so she has the noble warrior taken prisoner, intending to force him to bend to her amorous will.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lindsey, the author of nearly 40 romance novels, is back with a vintage cloth edition of this book (originally published in 1991), which proves that a well-written romance novel never goes out of style. The year is 1152 and, as a woman, Lady Rowena Belleme has no rights. Her evil stepbrother, Gilbert d'Ambray, desires control over as much English land as possible and has pledged Rowena's hand to Lyons of Kirkburough-a man so near death he is a walking corpse. Rowena at first refuses, but Gilbert threatens to kill Rowena's mother if she does not comply. Before the marriage can be consummated, Lyons dies and Rowena celebrates her good fortune, until Gilbert arrives with a new plot-Rowena must become pregnant before Lyons's death is announced. For three nights, Rowena lies with a handsome stranger kidnapped by Gilbert's men. Ashamed at the mistreatment of the man and knowing that Gilbert plans to kill him, Rowena helps him escape. Soon after, Kirkburough is attacked by Gilbert's nemesis Lord Fulkhurst. Rowena is captured and taken to the Fulkhurst dungeon, where Lord Warrick de Chaville cruelly strips Rowena of her title and forces her to become his serf. Despite their passionate hatred of one another, a fervor smolders between them, igniting passion of another kind. Warrick, always feared by the fairer sex, is intrigued by Rowena, who is not afraid of him. Rowena, accustomed to men using her for their own gain, is astonished that Warrick truly cares about her. But will their newfound love be enough to overcome Gilbert's vengeful wrath? Rowena and Gilbert are splendid protagonists, humorously stubborn and pleasingly forthright.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

With more than 54 million copies of her books in print and translated into twelve languages, Johanna Lindsey is one of the world's most popular authors of historical romance. Every one of her previous thirty-six novels has been a national bestseller, with several reaching the #1 spot on the New York Times list. Ms. Lindsey lives in Hawaii with her family.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: WmMorrow (November 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060518642
• ISBN-13: 978-0060518646
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #555,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

johanna Lindsey is one of the most popular authors of romantic fiction, with more than sixty million copies of her novels sold. World renowned for her novels of "first-rate romance" (New York Daily News), Lindsey is the author of forty-three previous bestselling novels, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers. Lindsey lives in Maine with her family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very interesting, February 14, 1999

By 

Skyelarke "skyelarke" (NY, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prisoner of My Desire (Mass Market Paperback)

I am an avid reader of romance novels. I have read many but never have I come across one so original. If you read romance novels as much as I do, you would know that great, imaginative storylines are rare and hard to find. This, indeed, is one of the best books I've come across. I always find it irritating when I read a one-sided review that tells me nothing about what the book is about, so here it is [briefly]: Rowena Belleme, a young, beautiful, virginal, aristocratic woman is forced to do the unthinkable due to some terrible circumstances. She's made to 'rape' Warrick, a great Lord, who also happens to be a gorgeous, big giant of a man. After the deed is done - the reason the deed was done was because Rowena's elderly husband croaked in the nick of time and a suitable replacement was needed fast! so became the abduction of Warrick - they let the handsome knight go, never expecting to hear from him again. What a shock they were in for because in not too long Warrick was back, and with his army too. Rowena was captured, as Warrick had vowed revenge and Rowena was going to pay. She was taken to his castle, where she was repaid in kind by Warrick, over and over, again and again. After a while Rowena is made his personal servant to serve him only. I bet you can guess that his passion is very ardent and she recoils at first, fearing his lust ... I'll let you wonder the rest.

Anyway, the book was a delightful read. I'm not an obssessive fan of Ms. Lidsey's but I must say that she has done a very, very good job. I recommend this book to anyone who likes tummy-wrenching erotica along with sweet romance. I thought this book was a two-hanky read.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Controversial, but utterly compelling., August 9, 2006

By 

M. A. Bechaz "bookaholic" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prisoner of My Desire (Mass Market Paperback)

Okay, as you've no doubt realised from reading the other reviews here, this book is controversial. It has two rape scenes, beginning with a man being raped by a woman (against both of their wills) and followed by him exacting revenge by visiting the same treatment upon her. I don't like rape. I'm always one of those people who call for tougher penalties in rape cases, and if I were a narrow minded person I might have condemned this book for featuring rapes.

However, I must admit, I found this book utterly compelling. Sometimes it shocked me, I'll grant you, but this gave me a great excuse to explore my own feelings about the subject matter, and also gave me a view into the psyche of both the perpetrators and victims of such crimes. It was an intelligent work of fiction from a skillfull writer, and she didn't gloss over the realities of the situation. There were consequences of actions for the characters, who had both been essentially good people before being forced into a brutal situation not of their choosing, and they were also forced at later times to confront the feelings of guilt and shame that committing such acts brought out in them. They both grew from the experience, and became better people. They proved themselves worthy of forgiveness, and eventually love -- love that they both earned the hard way. I liked that. I like to think that people can redeem themselves, especially when they are not really bad people but rather just victims of tragic circumstance. Another thing, too, is that this book is set in medieval times, and they were harsh times. There was a reason they were called the dark ages -- dark things happened! To shine the light of modern ethics and standards on the behaviour of medieval characters is unrealistic.

I liked this book. It was exceptionally well written for its genre. I liked that it dared to go beyond the normal light and fluffy boundaries of your usual romance books. I liked that it featured a PREGNANT woman as its sexy leading lady, proving that yes, pregnant women can be gorgeous, and men do find them attractive! And I liked that the story was utterly compelling, to the point where I couldn't put it down. I laughed. I cried. I FELT for the characters. I cared what happened to them. It was realistic enough that it made me forget it was a work of fiction.

But when it all boils down to it, that's what this book is -- FICTION. The author clearly doesn't condone or encourage rape in any way. She is simply presenting us with a story, to entertain us, to make us think, to let us see the world from a different perspective. That's what the fantasy of books is all about. It's not the real world that you'll find in books. It's this other place, one where we can go to to see the things that aren't done in real life. And I for one enjoyed this book, and the places it took me to, controversial subject matter or no.

I think there will be a few people who will refuse to read or enjoy this book for fear that by liking it they might be showing that they approve of rape. But think about it this way: if you watch a horrifying slasher flick, does that mean you want to go out and murder people? No! If you watch a movie about a junkie, does that mean you condone drug use? No! This is the same principle. You don't have to support what the characters are doing to like the book. And just because you may end up liking the characters, doesn't mean you have to like everything they do. Intelligent readers will figure that out, and look beyond the controversy to see what this really is -- a good book.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Be Warned: Provocative Medieval Romance, July 1, 2004

By 

Dakota "daxydakota" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prisoner of My Desire (Mass Market Paperback)

"Prisoner of My Desire" was pretty shocking to me the first time I read it about 10 years ago. I was a teenager then, and a HUGE fan of Johanna Lindsey, so I couldn't understand why she would write a romance about a man and woman raping each other. Needless to say, this book went on my list of "never to read again" obscurity. Luckily, I threw away that list!!!

I just reread "Prisoner" and, to my absolute surprise, enjoyed it immensely. It is a provocative book, but the rape scenes weren't as outrageous as I remembered (actually, they're pretty hot). The heroine Rowena is the one who starts raping Warrick, after all. Not because she wants to, of course, but because she is the victim of her scheming brother's greed and either has to straddle manly Warrick or watch her mother die. What would you do?

To say the least, Prisoner is one of JL's more steamy romances. I think half the book takes place in bed somewhere. Rowena and Warrick are fun characters, too, both with strong, likable personalities. It's hard not to like everyone in this book. Even Gilbert, the bad guy, has redeemable traits.

My biggest criticism of "Prisoner" is how closely related plot- and character-wise it is to JL's earlier work, "So Speaks the Heart." Both are medieval romances, both have blond lovers, both revolve around the knight treating the lady like a slave because of something bad involving the lady's brother, and both deal with pregnancies. However, "Prisoner" is the better book of the two, with stronger characters and a more intriguing storyline.

I personally would recommend "Prisoner" any day as a great medieval romance. However, if it sounds like too violent a book for you, read "So Speaks the Heart" or Lindsey's other medieval (and fantastic) novels "When Love Awaits" and "Defy Not the Heart." If you're in the mood for time travel to the medieval period, read JL's "Until Forever," about a gorgeous Viking with a cursed sword.