Book Review: The Captive

Author: Grace Burrowes
Title: The Captive
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publish Date: July 1, 2014
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: 

He'll never be free...

Captured and tortured by the French, Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia, survives by vowing to take revenge on his tormentors. Before the duke can pursue his version of justice, Gillian, Countess of Greendale, reminds him that his small daughter has suffered much in his absence, and needs her papa desperately.

Until he surrenders his heart...

Gilly endured her difficult marriage by avoiding confrontation and keeping peace at any cost. Christian's devotion to his daughter and his kindness toward Gilly give her hope that she could enjoy a future with him, for surely he of all men shares her loathing for violence in any form. Little does Gilly know, the battle for Christian's heart is only beginning.

Review:  I don't think I've ever read a historical romance that I've loved as much as The Captive. Grace Burrowes creates a hero and a heroine that you will love.

Both Christian and Gilly are broken people. Both have been abused, but in different ways, but together they fix each other and make each other whole.

That sums up the book in a nutshell

Both characters are strong willed, but they are so obviously in love with one another. I loved that there were no histrionics from Gilly and that she easily fell in love with him after her horrid marriage to Greendale.

These are two people that should be wary of love and relationships because of the things that happened to them, but instead they make each other better.

There's almost a sort of innocence between these two and their relationship, even when it turns sexual. (I loved that it took to nearly the halfway point before they consummated their relationship.) Grace chooses to let the reader know more of what happened to Christian when he was captured by the French, and though I love some steamy scenes, I preferred to learn more about him.

It took longer to find out about Gilly's bad marriage, though there were clues as to how bad it could be.

Nothing prepares you for the ending, which left me speechless. I don't want to spoil it, but suffice to say, the bad guy isn't necessarily who you think he is.

Grace Burrowes is definitely one of my favorite authors of historical romance. This is a must read!

Rating: 5 flowers