The Captive is an unusual romance, and honestly, is a bit slow to start. But the characters' backstories are compelling enough that they kept me reading and ultimately justified the slowness.
Christian Severn is a duke captured on the wrong side during the Napoleonic wars. His captors brutally torture him for months, during which time his wife and son in England both die. However, Christian also has a daughter, and the duke's "neighbor," Gillian, makes it her mission to reconnect the two. Christian eventually learns Gillian has her own horrific tale of captivity and the knowledge of her recovery helps him on the path to his own.
I'm not really doing justice to this story and Burrowes' handling of such sensitive subjects. Yes, it is a romance and yes, the characters fall in love as one expects them to in a romance. What sets a romance apart is whether the reader can care and whether, having given the characters something to overcome, the author can make that happen believably. I think this story met those criteria and I would recommend it to fans of Regency romances.
The Captive is available through interlibrary loan as well as on the shelves of local discount chains.
P.J. O'Rourke advises "Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
Let Galesburg Public Library staff and friends guide you in finding those books.
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