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The Captive Bride
The most dazzling beauties of London would have given all to trade places with Miss Annette Redding - yet this spirited young lady fought with fury against her fate as unwilling bride of the wealthy, the handsome, the insufferably arrogant Earl of Ardley.
"A marriage in name only," Ardley had promised, only to begin a cat-and-mouse game with Annette's inexperienced heart. Never, Annette vowed, would she let him suspect the passion he awoke within her. Never would her pride let her become his adoring plaything. But never could she have guessed the strange turn her dilemma would take, as intrigue and abduction plucked her from the aristocratic heights and plunged her deep into danger. Glittering with the romance of the Regency, this enthralling tale brings to life an unforgettable heroine who discovers there are far greater perils than desire, and that love is far easier to defy than to defeat.
"A marriage in name only," Ardley had promised, only to begin a cat-and-mouse game with Annette's inexperienced heart. Never, Annette vowed, would she let him suspect the passion he awoke within her. Never would her pride let her become his adoring plaything. But never could she have guessed the strange turn her dilemma would take, as intrigue and abduction plucked her from the aristocratic heights and plunged her deep into danger. Glittering with the romance of the Regency, this enthralling tale brings to life an unforgettable heroine who discovers there are far greater perils than desire, and that love is far easier to defy than to defeat.
- GenresRegency Romance
253 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1978
10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 10, 2020
The Captive Bride was the first of six romances Lucy Phillips Stewart wrote in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Then the author disappeared.
I loved the progression of The Earl of Ardley and Miss Annette Redding’s romance. What I found an exception was the pacing of the intrigue. I thought it was spaced in an unusual manner and sections felt slightly out of place.
The title, The Captive Bride, kicked in about 2/3’s of the way through the story after Annette did something foolish. There was a slapdash villain that joined the plot and like so many historical romances written in the 1970s, it had a bodice ripper moment.
Lastly, the ending was weak. I wanted an epilogue, but this was Ms. Stewart’s debut so I gave her some leeway. All in all, The Captive Bride was a vintage historical that HR fans may want to track down.
4 stars for the romance + 2 stars for the suspense = 3 stars
I loved the progression of The Earl of Ardley and Miss Annette Redding’s romance. What I found an exception was the pacing of the intrigue. I thought it was spaced in an unusual manner and sections felt slightly out of place.
The title, The Captive Bride, kicked in about 2/3’s of the way through the story after Annette did something foolish. There was a slapdash villain that joined the plot and like so many historical romances written in the 1970s, it had a bodice ripper moment.
Lastly, the ending was weak. I wanted an epilogue, but this was Ms. Stewart’s debut so I gave her some leeway. All in all, The Captive Bride was a vintage historical that HR fans may want to track down.
4 stars for the romance + 2 stars for the suspense = 3 stars
April 21, 2022
*Warning, spoilers abound*
So I’ve been listening to “The Thing About Austen” podcast recently (absolutely excellent, highly recommend) and in one episode, the hosts talk about the huge number of trope-riddled, cheap paperback regency romances they’ve read. My favorite local used bookstore has literally hundreds of these books on its shelves, so last time I was there, I grabbed a few and thought “Why not? How bad can they be?”
Turns out, pretty darn bad.
In fairness, the totally overdone writing, the wildly passionate and brooding hero, and the angelically beautiful and headstrong heroine were ridiculous in a fun way. The intense, whiplash-inducing emotions and the gothic elements and the forced marriage trope all sucked me into the very particular ambience of this very particular genre. We all know what trash we enjoy.
But the last quarter or so of the story totally killed it for me. Even cheap paperback regency romances from the 70s have a ridiculousness threshold, and this one crossed it. (Or maybe I just haven’t read enough cheap paperback regency romances from the 70s to become inured to this type of thing? Maybe this is an average amount of ridiculousness?) It just felt like the author was stuffing the last pages with every possible contrivance. French spies! And traitors! Murder! Kidnapping! A head injury! Amnesia! And another head injury! Come one, come all!
Annette and Drake’s (Drake, of course his name is Drake 😂) months-long separation got really tedious, too. I kept waiting for Drake to swoop in with all his righteous fury to rescue Annette (c’mon, give the people what they came for) but instead, we never even see their reunion because of Annette’s freaking AMNESIA. And then we eventually find out that Drake just up and FORGAVE the man who held his wife captive for the better part of year while she was pregnant, groped her without her consent, and barely restrained himself from raping her. Happily ever after, I guess?
So, was this book so bad as to be laughable at times? Undoubtedly. Will I stop reading regency romances anytime soon? Not likely. Clearly I’m having too much fun to quit.
So I’ve been listening to “The Thing About Austen” podcast recently (absolutely excellent, highly recommend) and in one episode, the hosts talk about the huge number of trope-riddled, cheap paperback regency romances they’ve read. My favorite local used bookstore has literally hundreds of these books on its shelves, so last time I was there, I grabbed a few and thought “Why not? How bad can they be?”
Turns out, pretty darn bad.
In fairness, the totally overdone writing, the wildly passionate and brooding hero, and the angelically beautiful and headstrong heroine were ridiculous in a fun way. The intense, whiplash-inducing emotions and the gothic elements and the forced marriage trope all sucked me into the very particular ambience of this very particular genre. We all know what trash we enjoy.
But the last quarter or so of the story totally killed it for me. Even cheap paperback regency romances from the 70s have a ridiculousness threshold, and this one crossed it. (Or maybe I just haven’t read enough cheap paperback regency romances from the 70s to become inured to this type of thing? Maybe this is an average amount of ridiculousness?) It just felt like the author was stuffing the last pages with every possible contrivance. French spies! And traitors! Murder! Kidnapping! A head injury! Amnesia! And another head injury! Come one, come all!
Annette and Drake’s (Drake, of course his name is Drake 😂) months-long separation got really tedious, too. I kept waiting for Drake to swoop in with all his righteous fury to rescue Annette (c’mon, give the people what they came for) but instead, we never even see their reunion because of Annette’s freaking AMNESIA. And then we eventually find out that Drake just up and FORGAVE the man who held his wife captive for the better part of year while she was pregnant, groped her without her consent, and barely restrained himself from raping her. Happily ever after, I guess?
So, was this book so bad as to be laughable at times? Undoubtedly. Will I stop reading regency romances anytime soon? Not likely. Clearly I’m having too much fun to quit.
May 7, 2024
Dnf. And dnr. Blame it on the author. Hear me out.
Main characters, especially the heroine, I found were flat and so it was hard to connect with both individuals given their lack of significant POV and backgrounds. Not to mention, character’s development remained highly inconsistent with the storyline. One second the hero is decent to her and the very next moment he is all worked up over something undeveloped. And no, the hero wasn’t even all that horrible or domineering, but really the author was hoping! And blessed the heroine’s soul, every damn scene was nearly like that. It was an overwhelming pattern with the hero’s emotions frying low and high for half-baked reasons! At this point, I think the hero is emotionally unstable and capricious, maybe, a bit bipolar, too. He was very much like a chameleon, changing his state of mind and instincts quick. For one, he said he don’t care to make anything out of their matrimony but so quick, and randomly, too, confessing his love for her. A bit early on, about 1/3 of the book, and heroine wasn’t even interested and really, neither was he! The way the scene was written, the entire moment appears forgettable. Both were unaffected, neutrally amicable again. Though, next morning, hero shed his ease, and was more than ready to chew her head off when she appeared to be unpunctual for their travels. Well, that was short-lived! There was no adoring change in his character or manner. Instantly, berating her as if he haven’t uttered the word love to her previously. I tell you, he’s very inconsistent and the build up, indeed, falls contradictory and doesn’t make a strong foundation for such high emotion and matters.
Main characters, especially the heroine, I found were flat and so it was hard to connect with both individuals given their lack of significant POV and backgrounds. Not to mention, character’s development remained highly inconsistent with the storyline. One second the hero is decent to her and the very next moment he is all worked up over something undeveloped. And no, the hero wasn’t even all that horrible or domineering, but really the author was hoping! And blessed the heroine’s soul, every damn scene was nearly like that. It was an overwhelming pattern with the hero’s emotions frying low and high for half-baked reasons! At this point, I think the hero is emotionally unstable and capricious, maybe, a bit bipolar, too. He was very much like a chameleon, changing his state of mind and instincts quick. For one, he said he don’t care to make anything out of their matrimony but so quick, and randomly, too, confessing his love for her. A bit early on, about 1/3 of the book, and heroine wasn’t even interested and really, neither was he! The way the scene was written, the entire moment appears forgettable. Both were unaffected, neutrally amicable again. Though, next morning, hero shed his ease, and was more than ready to chew her head off when she appeared to be unpunctual for their travels. Well, that was short-lived! There was no adoring change in his character or manner. Instantly, berating her as if he haven’t uttered the word love to her previously. I tell you, he’s very inconsistent and the build up, indeed, falls contradictory and doesn’t make a strong foundation for such high emotion and matters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2025
This book was so… i don’t even have words for it. The plot was so stupid it was hilarious. She gets amnesia at the very end of the book from hitting her head, tries to run away and in the process falls off her horse, hitting her head again, then regains her memories. LMFAOOOO
sampled
June 28, 2025Didn’t held me.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews