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Desert Captive
SENSUAL OASIS
Kidnapped from her French Foreign Legion escort, indignant Alexandria Harding had every reason to despise her nomad prince captor. He'd forced her brother to flee into the ruthless Saharan wasteland, bound and tortured the soldiers sworn to protect her—then ordered the independent firebrand to share his saddle! But as they traveled to his isolated mountain kingdom, the proper, demure Englishwoman couldn't help but be aware of the strength of his embrace and the thrumming of his heart. Without knowing when it happened, Alexandria found her hate melting into desire, with a force that could never be denied...
MIDNIGHT MIRAGE
When the powerful chieftain Sharif Al 'Azim found the green-eyed temptress trespassing with his expansionist enemies, he knew he had to keep the sumptuous spitfire. Faced with such voluptuous beauty it was easy for the virile leader to forget that his people would demand her life in vengeance against the whites, that his jealous concubine awaited him, or that a British prisoner could start a war with the Empire. All he could see were her luscious curves, all he could smell was her scent of roses, all he could feel was her ecstatic response as he made love to his delicious desert captive.
Kidnapped from her French Foreign Legion escort, indignant Alexandria Harding had every reason to despise her nomad prince captor. He'd forced her brother to flee into the ruthless Saharan wasteland, bound and tortured the soldiers sworn to protect her—then ordered the independent firebrand to share his saddle! But as they traveled to his isolated mountain kingdom, the proper, demure Englishwoman couldn't help but be aware of the strength of his embrace and the thrumming of his heart. Without knowing when it happened, Alexandria found her hate melting into desire, with a force that could never be denied...
MIDNIGHT MIRAGE
When the powerful chieftain Sharif Al 'Azim found the green-eyed temptress trespassing with his expansionist enemies, he knew he had to keep the sumptuous spitfire. Faced with such voluptuous beauty it was easy for the virile leader to forget that his people would demand her life in vengeance against the whites, that his jealous concubine awaited him, or that a British prisoner could start a war with the Empire. All he could see were her luscious curves, all he could smell was her scent of roses, all he could feel was her ecstatic response as he made love to his delicious desert captive.
512 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 8, 2022
DNF on pg. 185
First, thanks to Ann for the copy & Nenia for buddy reading this with me! ❤️
ETA: If anyone is interested in reading this, but can't track down a copy, it is available to read for free on Open Library/Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/desertcap...
If anyone relies on screen readers or audio books Archive.org has a 'read this book aloud feature.' On the interface, bottom right next to the zoom out feature, you'll see headphones. Click on that and the book will be narrated for you.
*****
I'm gonna make this review quick, because I'm ready to move on.
What didn't work for me:
🧀 Purple prose
For context, I regularly defend purple prose found in bodice rippers and Forever My Love by Rebecca Brandewyne is one of my favorite BRs. She is the Queen of purple prose. The style of prose in this book didn't work for me. There were too many vague adjectives (such as 'magical') that failed to create imagery in my mind. Instead they were distracting and frankly, funny. I expect cheesy bodice ripper covers and blurbs, but my favorite BRs have a compelling narrative, good characterization, and grit. This had none.
🧀 Pacing
One of my favorite tropes is childhood friends to enemies to lovers. The author failed this trope by not allowing the reader to see their friendship in the beginning of the novel. The prologue is short, and there is a brief mention that they are playmates. For their later enemy status to have any emotional impact, a strong childhood connection needs to be established by the author.
To compound this problem, 2 seconds after the heroine is kidnapped by the H she escapes. I felt this was rushed. I wanted to see her new environment, get a stronger sense of how she would be treated before she escaped. Instead more time was spent on flowery descriptions and declarations of love and angsty feelings.
🧀 Cheesiest dialogue & inner mono I've read in a BR in a while
Examples from the H:
Have you come to me at last from across the seas and across the desert sands, that I might claim you as my bride, beloved houri?
There was no answer on the breeze. But that night, she came to him again in his dreams. That fleeting night, he dwelt again in Paradise. . . .
"Soon I come to claim thee as my woman, Zerdali!" came his husky voice. "The sands of time are running out; the hour draws even nearer. Do not fear me, Zerdali. Do not fight against the fate which is yours. It was written in the stars that you would be mine, from the moment of your birth . . .
"O, what a woman art thou, Zerdalie!" he murmured. "A bride fit to carry the sons of Sharif al-Azim in her womb! Our children will be lions of the desert, my jewel-amongst-women. Hawks of the winds! Princes amongst men!"
...it never lets up.
Sure, Forever My Love by Brandewyne had its share of cheese, but there were elements to that book that more than made up for it. The enemies to lovers felt real, the Romeo & Juliet retelling was charming, the characters' motivations, actions, and dialogue had a level of authenticity I felt was completely lacking in this story.
🧀 Too romantic
I couldn't get into the dream shtick. There was this mystical, 'we are destined to be with each other, we've both been dreaming of each other for years,' thread running through this book that I found OTT ridiculous. The mystical element in Forever My Love was so much more badass and actually contributed to the overall narrative arc.
Positives:
This author's prose has nice flow. I enjoy descriptive writing, and was honestly excited when I started this book. I noticed right off the bat unlike Rebecca Brandewyne her sentence structure wasn't quite as overwrought. I'll try one more book by this author, but if Desert Captive showcases her trademark style, this author isn't for me.
First, thanks to Ann for the copy & Nenia for buddy reading this with me! ❤️
ETA: If anyone is interested in reading this, but can't track down a copy, it is available to read for free on Open Library/Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/desertcap...
If anyone relies on screen readers or audio books Archive.org has a 'read this book aloud feature.' On the interface, bottom right next to the zoom out feature, you'll see headphones. Click on that and the book will be narrated for you.
*****
I'm gonna make this review quick, because I'm ready to move on.
What didn't work for me:
🧀 Purple prose
For context, I regularly defend purple prose found in bodice rippers and Forever My Love by Rebecca Brandewyne is one of my favorite BRs. She is the Queen of purple prose. The style of prose in this book didn't work for me. There were too many vague adjectives (such as 'magical') that failed to create imagery in my mind. Instead they were distracting and frankly, funny. I expect cheesy bodice ripper covers and blurbs, but my favorite BRs have a compelling narrative, good characterization, and grit. This had none.
🧀 Pacing
One of my favorite tropes is childhood friends to enemies to lovers. The author failed this trope by not allowing the reader to see their friendship in the beginning of the novel. The prologue is short, and there is a brief mention that they are playmates. For their later enemy status to have any emotional impact, a strong childhood connection needs to be established by the author.
To compound this problem, 2 seconds after the heroine is kidnapped by the H she escapes. I felt this was rushed. I wanted to see her new environment, get a stronger sense of how she would be treated before she escaped. Instead more time was spent on flowery descriptions and declarations of love and angsty feelings.
🧀 Cheesiest dialogue & inner mono I've read in a BR in a while
Examples from the H:
Have you come to me at last from across the seas and across the desert sands, that I might claim you as my bride, beloved houri?
There was no answer on the breeze. But that night, she came to him again in his dreams. That fleeting night, he dwelt again in Paradise. . . .
"Soon I come to claim thee as my woman, Zerdali!" came his husky voice. "The sands of time are running out; the hour draws even nearer. Do not fear me, Zerdali. Do not fight against the fate which is yours. It was written in the stars that you would be mine, from the moment of your birth . . .
"O, what a woman art thou, Zerdalie!" he murmured. "A bride fit to carry the sons of Sharif al-Azim in her womb! Our children will be lions of the desert, my jewel-amongst-women. Hawks of the winds! Princes amongst men!"
...it never lets up.
Sure, Forever My Love by Brandewyne had its share of cheese, but there were elements to that book that more than made up for it. The enemies to lovers felt real, the Romeo & Juliet retelling was charming, the characters' motivations, actions, and dialogue had a level of authenticity I felt was completely lacking in this story.
🧀 Too romantic
I couldn't get into the dream shtick. There was this mystical, 'we are destined to be with each other, we've both been dreaming of each other for years,' thread running through this book that I found OTT ridiculous. The mystical element in Forever My Love was so much more badass and actually contributed to the overall narrative arc.
Positives:
This author's prose has nice flow. I enjoy descriptive writing, and was honestly excited when I started this book. I noticed right off the bat unlike Rebecca Brandewyne her sentence structure wasn't quite as overwrought. I'll try one more book by this author, but if Desert Captive showcases her trademark style, this author isn't for me.
April 12, 2021
This review is of “Desert Captive”, a standalone by Penelope Neri.
Starting in Egypt, 1840, readers are introduced to Alexandria-hereafter known as Alexa-Harding, age 4, who will grow into the heroine of the book. As the book begins, she is fighting with Sharif Al’ Azim, 12, who will become the hero of the book, after he breaks her beloved doll. Soon, Alexandria and her parents will leave Egypt to go back to their native England after the birth of her brother, Keene.
Fast forward 20 years. The now-adult Keene is accused of a crime, which he says he didn’t commit. Alexa-based on Keene’s past-believes he’s guilty. Angered by her lack of support, Keene leaves England and joins the French Foreign Legion. Two years pass, and Alexa discovers that Keene is innocent (of this, at least).. She travels to Africa to find him and ask for his forgiveness.
Alexa finds Keene, but their reunion is not a happy one. He is then ordered to take Alexa back to the British consulate in Algiers. They never get there, as Alexa, Keene and his fellow Legionnaires are ambushed by a Tuareg band led by Sharif (This is in response to an evil act that Keene and his men did earlier). Alexa is kidnapped by Sharif and taken to his camp. There, Alexa and Sharif become lovers and later marry. (Sharif marries Alexa not only because he loves her, but to protect her from someone who wants to kill her, although he doesn’t mention this threat to Alexa). Alexa and Sharif’s marriage is not a happy one, however, due to their cultural differences, their communication difficulties with each other and the constant presence of Raisha, Sharif’s former mistress. However, in time, Alexa and Sharif reconcile and become happy.
However, their happiness is threatened by secrets from Alexa’s past, and the threats she faces to her life. She is later kidnapped and rescued by Sharif, who has to make a decision: keep Alexa as his wife, or let her go so she can be safe.
The threats to Alexa’s life are soon dealt with, she and Sharif have a daughter and find their Happily Ever After.
Upside: I find Ms. Neri to be a good conceptual writer, meaning that she comes up with good and interesting concepts for her books, as she does here with “Desert Captive”. The concept here: two people who were sort of frenemies as children find each other again as adults, fall in love and marry is a concept with a lot of room to work with. She is also a good descriptive writer, going into great detail about Africa, Muslim culture of the time and language.
Downside: Although both Alexa-Alexandria-and Sharif are nice enough characters, there isn’t a lot of depth to them. “Desert Captive” is a Stockholm Syndrome romance; yes, someone who reads the book might be able to argue that the kidnapping was done to save Alexa’s life and that is indeed true. However, the fact remains that Sharif DID kidnap Alexa and that makes it a “Stockholm Syndrome” romance, which is not something I like to see. On other notes, the font of the book is very small and at times, Ms. Neri writes like she’s trying to get into the Guiness Book of World Records for most exclamation points in a romance novel! Most of these are unnecessary.
Sex: A few good love scenes between Alexa and Sharif; one in particular stands out. It starts in Chapter 22, ends in Chapter 23 and features food and light BDSM. It’s nice to see authors getting creative with their love scenes; I wish more authors would do so, you can only do the same stuff over and over again so many times, people!
Violence: Most of the violence that takes place-assault, battery, murder and sexual assault-takes place “off-screen”. Of the “on-screen”violence, none is graphic.
Bottom Line: “Desert Captive” is a better book than I remember it being (I first read the book when it came out in September 1988), but there are enough cracks in the armor to keep the book out of 5 star territory.
Starting in Egypt, 1840, readers are introduced to Alexandria-hereafter known as Alexa-Harding, age 4, who will grow into the heroine of the book. As the book begins, she is fighting with Sharif Al’ Azim, 12, who will become the hero of the book, after he breaks her beloved doll. Soon, Alexandria and her parents will leave Egypt to go back to their native England after the birth of her brother, Keene.
Fast forward 20 years. The now-adult Keene is accused of a crime, which he says he didn’t commit. Alexa-based on Keene’s past-believes he’s guilty. Angered by her lack of support, Keene leaves England and joins the French Foreign Legion. Two years pass, and Alexa discovers that Keene is innocent (of this, at least).. She travels to Africa to find him and ask for his forgiveness.
Alexa finds Keene, but their reunion is not a happy one. He is then ordered to take Alexa back to the British consulate in Algiers. They never get there, as Alexa, Keene and his fellow Legionnaires are ambushed by a Tuareg band led by Sharif (This is in response to an evil act that Keene and his men did earlier). Alexa is kidnapped by Sharif and taken to his camp. There, Alexa and Sharif become lovers and later marry. (Sharif marries Alexa not only because he loves her, but to protect her from someone who wants to kill her, although he doesn’t mention this threat to Alexa). Alexa and Sharif’s marriage is not a happy one, however, due to their cultural differences, their communication difficulties with each other and the constant presence of Raisha, Sharif’s former mistress. However, in time, Alexa and Sharif reconcile and become happy.
However, their happiness is threatened by secrets from Alexa’s past, and the threats she faces to her life. She is later kidnapped and rescued by Sharif, who has to make a decision: keep Alexa as his wife, or let her go so she can be safe.
The threats to Alexa’s life are soon dealt with, she and Sharif have a daughter and find their Happily Ever After.
Upside: I find Ms. Neri to be a good conceptual writer, meaning that she comes up with good and interesting concepts for her books, as she does here with “Desert Captive”. The concept here: two people who were sort of frenemies as children find each other again as adults, fall in love and marry is a concept with a lot of room to work with. She is also a good descriptive writer, going into great detail about Africa, Muslim culture of the time and language.
Downside: Although both Alexa-Alexandria-and Sharif are nice enough characters, there isn’t a lot of depth to them. “Desert Captive” is a Stockholm Syndrome romance; yes, someone who reads the book might be able to argue that the kidnapping was done to save Alexa’s life and that is indeed true. However, the fact remains that Sharif DID kidnap Alexa and that makes it a “Stockholm Syndrome” romance, which is not something I like to see. On other notes, the font of the book is very small and at times, Ms. Neri writes like she’s trying to get into the Guiness Book of World Records for most exclamation points in a romance novel! Most of these are unnecessary.
Sex: A few good love scenes between Alexa and Sharif; one in particular stands out. It starts in Chapter 22, ends in Chapter 23 and features food and light BDSM. It’s nice to see authors getting creative with their love scenes; I wish more authors would do so, you can only do the same stuff over and over again so many times, people!
Violence: Most of the violence that takes place-assault, battery, murder and sexual assault-takes place “off-screen”. Of the “on-screen”violence, none is graphic.
Bottom Line: “Desert Captive” is a better book than I remember it being (I first read the book when it came out in September 1988), but there are enough cracks in the armor to keep the book out of 5 star territory.
August 28, 2021
4 stars. Read this for Regan Walker’s Historical Romance Review blog, August is exotic locale month. My first read by P. Neri and a pretty good book it was. I really enjoyed it. Great characters and lots of action. Some of the happenings were quite predictable a couple not so much. For the most part all issues were resolved in the end. However, I wish Neri would have told us what ended up actually happening to Tabor and H’s former mistress, we are only left with where we last saw them, but I guess you can perhaps draw your own conclusions from there? All in all a very good ‘old school’ read and I would definitely recommend it.
May 8, 2019
3.75*
This was a soap opera 100%, but that's what I was in the mood for so it worked well :)
This was a soap opera 100%, but that's what I was in the mood for so it worked well :)
February 24, 2020
I read this book so many years ago but I still carry the paper back everywhere with me. It was really captivating, although I hated the part when the hero basically raped the heroine? Besides that, it was a captivating read.
August 4, 2021
Longer than it needed to be. I liked the story though too many pages were, well, just a lot of words.
Read
September 8, 2024I listened to a summary of the book by Montana State of Mind, so I didn't rate it. I wanted to record my thoughts on the book, based on my summary, here. I like the story: it had me thinking, but also the political intrigue of the desert makes for good scenarios in which we get Romantic conflict.
September 26, 2024
What a gorgeous, flowery, ludicrous hoot! Heroine is a beauty with golden red hair straight from the fifties Technicolor movie - her arrival to the desert fort with a parasol twirling made me think Eleanor Parker from the Naked Jungle. THIS is a way to write escapism! 🤣 Without gorgeous cover and yellow pages of the paperback it would undoubtly lost at least part of the charm, but I definitely have fun.
On the negatives: Ethics. This is eighties. So hero can be abusive Alpha Cloaka.
One villain's motive goes from yucky medical exploitation to sudden pathos. And the Noble Savage thing goes suddenly from trails and down from toilet. "We are not evil white rapists, we just rape women for revenge!". Which, by the way, happens to women in real life. Yai for White Saviours? Thankfully (?) this is book no one takes seriously. Right?
On the negatives: Ethics. This is eighties. So hero can be abusive Alpha Cloaka.
One villain's motive goes from yucky medical exploitation to sudden pathos. And the Noble Savage thing goes suddenly from trails and down from toilet. "We are not evil white rapists, we just rape women for revenge!". Which, by the way, happens to women in real life. Yai for White Saviours? Thankfully (?) this is book no one takes seriously. Right?
July 6, 2019
I had to get this at a library book sale while visiting my friend in Virginia. Just look at that magnificent beast of a cover.
As an old skool romance it has its share of crazysauce. While it was pretty campy and I did enjoy it, it didn’t go full bore crazysauce as a Johanna Lindsey or Virginia Henley.
Unsurprisingly it’s fairly racist (although not as much as I expected - white people do, and are punished for, some horrible things) and has the good old “forced seduction” trope. It was unnecessarily long too; the leads don’t meet (again) for over 100 pages.
The writing wasn’t bad. I’d probably read this author again if I find her books at another book sale.
As an old skool romance it has its share of crazysauce. While it was pretty campy and I did enjoy it, it didn’t go full bore crazysauce as a Johanna Lindsey or Virginia Henley.
Unsurprisingly it’s fairly racist (although not as much as I expected - white people do, and are punished for, some horrible things) and has the good old “forced seduction” trope. It was unnecessarily long too; the leads don’t meet (again) for over 100 pages.
The writing wasn’t bad. I’d probably read this author again if I find her books at another book sale.
May 27, 2025
Si a mon prochain voyage au bled je me fait kidnappée par un prince touareg qui s'appelle Sharif Al-azim, ne venez pas me sauver. Je ne veux pas être sauvée. Alexa mon icône 😔❤️ Personnages hyper attachants, intrigue captivante, des retournement de situations fous- quelques aspects problématiques notoires on va pas se mentir mais j'ai ADORÉ ce bouquin.
August 14, 2018
So wonderful that I'm ready to re-read and fall in love all over again
January 26, 2023
I loved this book. One of my old time reads.
August 17, 2024
Nothing guilty about this pleasure. The descriptions of spaces, people, places, and foods are lavish and opulent, and cultural consideration is very much present.
As usual, one should always admit there's excellence behind a banger cover.
As usual, one should always admit there's excellence behind a banger cover.
May 27, 2022
This book took me over a week to slog through. What ends up being over 500 pages, could have been much more readable if some serious editing were done and knocked it down to 300. It way to wordy, descriptive overload. I like the scene set, sure, but not at the expense of my attention span.
The premise was a good one and the characters were somewhat fleshed out. There were some loose ends that were never resolved.
On the good side, the cover art by Pino is beautiful. If you get the chance to pick this up in paperback, you’ll not regret it. This was a Zebra historical romance.
3.5 stars
The premise was a good one and the characters were somewhat fleshed out. There were some loose ends that were never resolved.
On the good side, the cover art by Pino is beautiful. If you get the chance to pick this up in paperback, you’ll not regret it. This was a Zebra historical romance.
3.5 stars
November 22, 2024
2.75
crazysauce Orientalist tea
crazysauce Orientalist tea
March 21, 2023
Desert Captive (1988), by the British author, Penelope Neri, is set in the mid 1800s mostly in the desert of Algeria. Both MCs are strong willed individuals … he’s a gorgeous chieftain and she’s British with hair the color of apricots who’s gone to find her brother … he’s in the French Foreign Legion. This is an action filled romance… sandstorms, treachery, rape, violence and a heart throbbing HEA. Amazing scenes more like modern HRs… hero spanks the heroine in public, in a sex scene he ties her down, and he’s found a creative use for pomegranate juice. Nuff said.
Beautiful cover by the legendary artist, Pino.
Beautiful cover by the legendary artist, Pino.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2020
You might feel guilty reading this guilty pleasure ... but you'll keep reading. I sure did. Nothing to think about, nothing award winning here. Archetypes and cookie cutter plot written perfectly. Enjoy it when you are looking for something steamy and diverting.
February 6, 2011
Its was ok a bit longggggggggg but a ok read for me. 512 pages are a bit much. I really like that they were dreaming about each other though.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews