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loverofromance's review
5.0
Originally Posted At My Website: Addicted To Romance
Christian Severn, the Duke of Mercia, married with two children, joins the military, but ends up being kidnapped and tortured and now is set free and makes his way back to England. Only to learn that his wife and son are gone and all he has left is his daughter. A daughter that doesn't speak. Gilly, is free of her marriage from hell, and when she sees the trouble with Christian's daughter, So Gilly goes with Christian to his country estate. Christian only sees the revenge for what was done to him, and to connect with his daughter again. From the moment he meets Gilly, his life alters. He starts to have passion for life again, and when their friendship kindles into more after a searing embrace, he knows that he would do anything to have her. Gilly is afraid to trust again, after being in a marriage for eight years that was eight years of nightmares. Can Gilly and Christian heal enough to trust in each other?
The Captive is the first book in the most latest and new series by Grace Burrowes. I was really excited to read The Captive, and I was really looking forward to reading it after reading the blurb. I really love the basis of the series. The Captive deals with two people that are both damaged, in similar ways, but we don't learn the full extent of their pasts until well past the first half of the story. I did have a difficult time getting into it, but while reading the first half I was really tired so when I was more alert I read the second half and it got much better, although still wasn't able to fully be engaged as I like to be in a story. But in all honesty I felt like The Captive was a solid romance with many qualities that gave it a 4 blossom rating for me. I loved the way this story line turns out. and I enjoyed seeing Christian and Gilly turn out into friends and then slowly kindles a more sensual relationship. There were many moments that were very heart wrenching, seeing both of these gentle hearts coming to terms with their pasts.
The match that Christian and Gilly made, they seemed like they complimented each other quite well. I really enjoyed the added character of Christian's daughter, and seeing the tender relationship form between these three. There is a sense of family in this book, and I loved how compelling the story could be at times. MOVING AND SENSATIONAL!!!
Christian Severn, the Duke of Mercia, married with two children, joins the military, but ends up being kidnapped and tortured and now is set free and makes his way back to England. Only to learn that his wife and son are gone and all he has left is his daughter. A daughter that doesn't speak. Gilly, is free of her marriage from hell, and when she sees the trouble with Christian's daughter, So Gilly goes with Christian to his country estate. Christian only sees the revenge for what was done to him, and to connect with his daughter again. From the moment he meets Gilly, his life alters. He starts to have passion for life again, and when their friendship kindles into more after a searing embrace, he knows that he would do anything to have her. Gilly is afraid to trust again, after being in a marriage for eight years that was eight years of nightmares. Can Gilly and Christian heal enough to trust in each other?
The Captive is the first book in the most latest and new series by Grace Burrowes. I was really excited to read The Captive, and I was really looking forward to reading it after reading the blurb. I really love the basis of the series. The Captive deals with two people that are both damaged, in similar ways, but we don't learn the full extent of their pasts until well past the first half of the story. I did have a difficult time getting into it, but while reading the first half I was really tired so when I was more alert I read the second half and it got much better, although still wasn't able to fully be engaged as I like to be in a story. But in all honesty I felt like The Captive was a solid romance with many qualities that gave it a 4 blossom rating for me. I loved the way this story line turns out. and I enjoyed seeing Christian and Gilly turn out into friends and then slowly kindles a more sensual relationship. There were many moments that were very heart wrenching, seeing both of these gentle hearts coming to terms with their pasts.
The match that Christian and Gilly made, they seemed like they complimented each other quite well. I really enjoyed the added character of Christian's daughter, and seeing the tender relationship form between these three. There is a sense of family in this book, and I loved how compelling the story could be at times. MOVING AND SENSATIONAL!!!
whiskeyinthejar's review
4.0
4.5 stars
This story is red wine, it's deep, dark, alluring, and multilayered, and will probably not fit the taste palete of the average reader. The Duke of Mercia, Christian, is taken prisoner by the French and systematically tortured over a couple months. Why is an officer and peer of the realm not afforded the usually respect? Well, Christian was captured when he was out of uniform, he was bathing, and this means he is accounted as a spy. Why is a Duke in the cavalry at all? Apparently my friends, even a Duke's life can be described as all that glitters in not gold. When Christian is released, he is severely malnourished and mentally and physically damaged. Why didn't the French just kill him? See, Girard, Christian's main guard/torturer has skillfully and perhaps irrationally kept Christian on the edge of life and death, even when it became apparent that Christian would not reveal any army secrets. When Christian reaches an English camp, his cousin Marcus even has trouble recognizing him and it is his horse, Marcus took care of him, which assures everyone this is indeed his former owner. The devastation is in fact not quite over for Christian however, as he learns that while his daughter is alive, his wife and infant son died while he was in captivity.
Countess, Lady Gilly Greendale, is newly widowed and the cousin to Christian's departed wife, learning of "The Lost Duke" return, pays him a visit at his London townhome to encourage him to return to his county seat and see his daughter posthaste. Gilly is close to Christian's daughter and is concerned that since the girl's mother died she has not spoken a word. Why is Gilly close with Christian's daughter? As with Dukes, Countess's lives can also be filled with less than ideal circumstances. Fresh from being acquitted of her ailing husband's death, she agrees to accompany Christian home to help with the daughter and act as a buffer between the world and Christian.
If all that I have described sounds straightforward, then you haven't been paying attention. This story is not only beautiful words and nuanced characters, it is plot twists, hidden secrets, and raveled human desires. Christian and Gilly are two tortuously beautiful fascinating characters. They blend together so completely that the word chemistry won't seem adequate and you'll simply skip to soulmates. Each has a deep, dark, and complex background that never feels forced or sensationalized. Their thoughts and feelings will provide lines that will artlessly gut you.
This story isn't so much as actions happening but emotions; due to this, the pace is more measured. There were a couple chapters after the middle that sagged because of this, before it picked back up when more action was added. The secondary characters are a large part of the story arc but are interwoven in such a way that Christian and Gilly are always front and center. Devlin St. Just, a friend of Christian provides a muted comic relief while Girard presents the stained side, if he and Christian were to be a two headed coin.
Sip this story slowly and indulge in it, for the characters are cassis and the story is buttery. I will definitely be partaking of the next book in the series as I can't wait to see how the author redeems who she has listed as the hero.
This story is red wine, it's deep, dark, alluring, and multilayered, and will probably not fit the taste palete of the average reader. The Duke of Mercia, Christian, is taken prisoner by the French and systematically tortured over a couple months. Why is an officer and peer of the realm not afforded the usually respect? Well, Christian was captured when he was out of uniform, he was bathing, and this means he is accounted as a spy. Why is a Duke in the cavalry at all? Apparently my friends, even a Duke's life can be described as all that glitters in not gold. When Christian is released, he is severely malnourished and mentally and physically damaged. Why didn't the French just kill him? See, Girard, Christian's main guard/torturer has skillfully and perhaps irrationally kept Christian on the edge of life and death, even when it became apparent that Christian would not reveal any army secrets. When Christian reaches an English camp, his cousin Marcus even has trouble recognizing him and it is his horse, Marcus took care of him, which assures everyone this is indeed his former owner. The devastation is in fact not quite over for Christian however, as he learns that while his daughter is alive, his wife and infant son died while he was in captivity.
Countess, Lady Gilly Greendale, is newly widowed and the cousin to Christian's departed wife, learning of "The Lost Duke" return, pays him a visit at his London townhome to encourage him to return to his county seat and see his daughter posthaste. Gilly is close to Christian's daughter and is concerned that since the girl's mother died she has not spoken a word. Why is Gilly close with Christian's daughter? As with Dukes, Countess's lives can also be filled with less than ideal circumstances. Fresh from being acquitted of her ailing husband's death, she agrees to accompany Christian home to help with the daughter and act as a buffer between the world and Christian.
If all that I have described sounds straightforward, then you haven't been paying attention. This story is not only beautiful words and nuanced characters, it is plot twists, hidden secrets, and raveled human desires. Christian and Gilly are two tortuously beautiful fascinating characters. They blend together so completely that the word chemistry won't seem adequate and you'll simply skip to soulmates. Each has a deep, dark, and complex background that never feels forced or sensationalized. Their thoughts and feelings will provide lines that will artlessly gut you.
This story isn't so much as actions happening but emotions; due to this, the pace is more measured. There were a couple chapters after the middle that sagged because of this, before it picked back up when more action was added. The secondary characters are a large part of the story arc but are interwoven in such a way that Christian and Gilly are always front and center. Devlin St. Just, a friend of Christian provides a muted comic relief while Girard presents the stained side, if he and Christian were to be a two headed coin.
Sip this story slowly and indulge in it, for the characters are cassis and the story is buttery. I will definitely be partaking of the next book in the series as I can't wait to see how the author redeems who she has listed as the hero.
nelsonseye's review
4.0
I started this the other day, so it feels a bit weird to already have a book finished for the 2015 Challenge. Oh well. Anyway, I held off on reading this series for a while as I wasn't sure I would be that into it. It was a slow start, but overall I quite enjoyed it. The villain was rather obvious, but I liked how the heroine was able to avoid/escape him and that the suspense wasn't too drawn out. It will be interesting to read the next in the trilogy.
altheodorou's review
5.0
I don't think I've ever met a couple like Christian and Gilly in a romance novel. Watching them fall in love was a treat, and Burrowes paced this perfectly. It's romance novels like this that keep me reading through the ones that disappoint.
taisie22's review
5.0
I pre-ordered this as The Captive Duke and found I had already read it back in 2017 under a slightly different title, but I loved it, so I reread it.
The French captured Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia, while on a campaign in Spain. For a year, he was tortured, highly unusual for a high-status prisoner, until Napoleon was captured and he was released. Now home, he finds his wife and son have died, and his daughter doesn't speak. Gillian, a recent widow and his wife's cousin, comes to help him and his daughter, but there is more at work here than the French.
Both Christian and Gillian have suffered and it's lovely to see how they help each other recover from their wounds, both physical and emotional. The story concentrates on their building romance, and the mystery, while important, is almost peripheral and resolved at the end of the book. Christian and Gilly are a lovely couple, complementing each other, and I loved how they deal with Margaret, Christian's daughter. Of course, I'm always happy to get more of the Windham family, and Devlin St Just appears here as Christian's friend. Well worth the reread.
The French captured Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia, while on a campaign in Spain. For a year, he was tortured, highly unusual for a high-status prisoner, until Napoleon was captured and he was released. Now home, he finds his wife and son have died, and his daughter doesn't speak. Gillian, a recent widow and his wife's cousin, comes to help him and his daughter, but there is more at work here than the French.
Both Christian and Gillian have suffered and it's lovely to see how they help each other recover from their wounds, both physical and emotional. The story concentrates on their building romance, and the mystery, while important, is almost peripheral and resolved at the end of the book. Christian and Gilly are a lovely couple, complementing each other, and I loved how they deal with Margaret, Christian's daughter. Of course, I'm always happy to get more of the Windham family, and Devlin St Just appears here as Christian's friend. Well worth the reread.
becbeach's review
5.0
Probably my very favorite book of Grace Burrowes alongside Darius, Lord of Pleasure. Christian's capture and torture by the French had a parallel in Gilly life, though the torture she endured for years was by someone who was supposed to love and esteem her. I love Christian and how he accepted Gilly's frailty but also her strength to endure. They were the true tortured couple but their love was inspiring. I also like that we find his torturer was just as abused as Christian and the true culprit of betrayal was discovered and punished, though to quickly by far.