Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Review: Captive Bride

Book Details:






Author: Johanna Lindsey


Publisher: Avon (1977)


Book Summary: Under the desert stars of an Egyptian night, beautiful Christina Wakefield is overcome not with romance, but with terror--as she is kidnapped by an unknown abductor and held prisoner in his secret encampment! Enslaved by a man she thinks she hates, Christina is eventually awakened--in body and soul--by the passion of a man who wants her desperately.


My Review: A fresh look at an old favourite


My love of Historical Romance started with Johanna Lindsey books. I remember hot afternoons when I used to read her novels, especially the Malory series, at one go. Now, after many years, I decided to re-visit some of her books. I picked up Captive Bride as it was her first book and I could not remember reading it before. 30-40 pages into the book, I realised that, sadly, I had. Looking from a more mature perspective, and having an experience of reading a few hundred historical romances under my belt, I found myself not really liking Ms. Lindsey’s writing. This being her first book, you can clearly see how she has also matured through the years.


The book is a typical bodice-ripper, where the hero is an Alpha Male (obviously) and the heroine is wishy-washy and falls in love with him despite being kidnapped and threatened with physical abuse. He is an Englishman, who is also a Sheik, (it surprises me how many Englishmen end up as Sheiks in bodice-rippers) and gives the impression of being a spoiled brat, (I want her and I want her now... doesn’t matter if she does not want me). She seems the epitome of perfect woman, brave, beautiful, intelligent and has men all over falling at her feet. There is nothing new in the plot and the book is full of clichés.


Overall, I did not like the book as much as I had before. However, I rate it a 2/5 for old times’ sake. I read this as a part of my 100+ Books in a Year Challenge, Historical Romance Challenge, Historical Fiction Challenge and 2011 E-Books Reading Challenge.


Rating: 2/5

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