#TBRChallenge 2024: Captured

The Book: Captured by Beverly Jenkins

The Particulars: Colonial Historical Romance, 2009, Avon, Book 3 in Le Veq Family series.

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I enjoy Jenkins' historicals more often than not and hello? This is a pirate romance. My print copy isn't autographed so I suspect I either bought this new or was sent a copy by the publisher.

The Review: I struggled a bit with what to read for this month's What A Wonderful World theme and while randomly digging through my print shelves I found this book by Jenkins. Hey, pirates! Pirates sailing the high seas! Traveling the world! So on that score this one fits. What doesn't fit is the heroine being a slave and how prominently slavery fits into the story, which is set at the dawn of the Revolutionary War, right around the time the French threw their support behind the rebel Americans. I'm more than well aware there's nothing wonderful about slavery, but this book has been in my TBR forever and a day and hello? A big chunk of the story either takes place on a ship or a Caribbean island near Cuba.

Dominic LeVeq is a notorious privateer, the product of a white French father, and African mother, one of the man's former slaves on the island of Martinique. Former because, even though he was married, he fell desperately in love with Dominic's mother, freed all the slaves and was set to live happily ever after until his wife, not all that happy with the arrangement, poisoned Dominic's mother. In response his father took Dominic and sailed the high seas until his death, and we've got two villains right out of the gate in this story: his father's wife and his odious half-brother, Eduard. 

Dominic is making his way back to his island home when he spots a gem of a prize, a British frigate. Among the spoils is the stunning Clare Sullivan, slave to a spoiled Savannah miss who is traveling back from England with her twin brother. Dominic cannot abide slavery and is gobsmacked by Clare, so naturally, he takes her.

This isn't exactly welcome news for Clare. She's drawn to Dominic almost immediately once she realizes he and his crew mean her no harm, but she has two children (a boy and a girl) back in Savannah. Her odious mistress and brother sold the children to a neighboring plantation, but Clare is able to see them on Sundays. She's been away for months in England and like any mother she is desperate to see her children. Once Dominic realizes this he promises Clare to take her back to Savannah as soon as he is able, but first he and the crew must return to their island home.

Naturally what happens, happens. Clare and Dominic fall in love, fall into bed, and come up with a plan to rescue her children.

This is a historical romance with high stakes conflict (boy howdy!) basically told in three parts. The first third on the ship has adventure and steamy chemistry. The second third on the island does bring a lag in the action but the world building (Jenkins excels at writing "communities") is lush and interesting, and the final third is action-packed, with our couple returning to Savannah to rescue the children but things not going exactly as planned. 

The romance here is heavy on Insta-Love, which honestly, not my favorite. Dominic is smitten right away and the romance just sort of happens. Certainly there's relationship building, but there's not a ton of heavy lifting here. It just...happens.

Also, some of my personal pet peeves crop up in this story - namely the Evil Other Woman (one of Dominic's former mistresses) and Not Like Other Girls Nonsense. Have I read more egregious examples in other romances? Yes, but they're still there. Dominic is basically a man-whore but one look at Clare is enough for him to change is profligate ways. There's the Evil Other Woman, cheating on her elderly husband she married for his money and other mentions of Dominic's many, previous lovers.  Clare is different. Clare isn't like all those other women Dominic slaked his lust with. Jenkins doesn't beat you over the head with it, but read between the lines and it's definitely there. Look, is this stuff rampant in romance? Yes. Am I in my Old Cranky Sea Hag Era and allowed to be annoyed by it? Also yes.  

Still, I enjoyed this and gulped it down in two sittings. I can always tell when I'm in the hands of a pro, and Jenkins is a pro. The middle does sag a little bit, but the island world-building is very good and the action adventure "stuff" bookending the story is great. Also, while part of Jenkins' Le Veq Family world, it stands alone very well, essentially being a prequel. Not my favorite of Jenkins' work to date but still an enjoyable read.

Final Grade = B-