Judith‘s review of Captain’s Price by Lyla Sinclair.

Captain’s Private Journal, May 30, 1790: My heart pounds hard in my chest as I think of her–the lass awaiting me, naked in my cabin as I commanded. She was discovered masquerading as one of my seamen, yet I am still appalled at myself for demanding such a lewd price for her passage. But when I looked into her eyes–wide, but somehow beckoning–I was filled with a need deeper than any I had ever known. . . for her . . for Julianna.

Can I truly touch her and taste her and satisfy my lust on her without taking the maidenhead meant for another? I am a man of impeccable self-control–an asset that has redeemed my family and ensured I’ll not become my wayward father. Then what has taken hold of me? Each moment, the urge to go to her and steal away all that rightfully belongs to another man grows more irresistible. I must touch her. I must hold her. I must drive myself into her . . . I must not.

A well-established English sea captain, a titled gentleman whose profligate father has wenched and gambled away the family assets, now encounters a determined young lady, daughter of a wealthy but ambitious merchant. She refuses to assist her father in using her to “buy” an English title, thus raising him to a more exalted station in society. She is determined to get to America where her “true love” awaits, or so she believes. Two years earlier, they had pledged their love and their future to one another as he prepared to go to the Colonies to seek his fortune. Now she is seeking to be with him, even if it means that she must pretend to be a young, new seaman aboard The Redemption, and whose captain has now discovered her secret–just one week away from their destination. Her lady’s maid who has accompanied her on this adventure, is also discovered. In order to keep her from abuse and rape by his crew, the captain takes away her clothes and locks her in his cabin. Yet his plan to keep her safe backfires: he is caught in his own web.

Julianna is overwhelmed by her response to the captain. When she is discovered he “marked” her as his own in order to keep her safe. Now she is beginning to think that she would rather “belong” to Drew Price than to Jeffrey, the man she believes awaits her at the end of her journey. Even as she begins to respond more and more to this man, she wonders what kind of person she is. In just a week she will find the man she seeks. Yet in just one week she will have to walk away from someone who has changed her understanding of relationships, possibly more than she ever realized.

This historical context was not an unusual one–stowaways were common and often abused terribly when discovered. It was exceedingly dangerous for women who, when discovered, were often treated like whores, regardless of their social station. Women aboard a ship, when they were not specifically passengers, were believed to bring bad luck. (Whores were exempted from this superstition. Interesting how men can skew the rules when they want to.) The sea was not an easy life. It is also true that men and women often made verbal promises to one another and then were separated by long distances and absences that spanned one or two years. We find it hard to believe that travel was so slow; we who can make it to the other side of the planet in 11 hours are unacquainted with the realities these people lived with in the 18th century. It was also true that betrothed couples never saw one another again because of death by drowning, loss at sea, disease or plague. So Julianna was taking a real chance. She well may have been “stuck” in the Colonies for a very long time, trying to save enough to come home. By that time her marriage prospects in England will have dried up. For both Julianna and the Captain, family, namely the relationship with their fathers, had shaped their responses to life. Both were trying to forge their own path in life in spite of the wounds and disappointments of the past.

I think this is an interesting novella–a very authentic context in which two people are thrown together and find their attraction overwhelming. Yet they are both people of honor and integrity, having built their lives on being trustworthy. Now what do they do? Ms Sinclair has written a very good story in a shorter literary format–not an easy thing to accomplish for any writer–and she has designed characters that are genuine and who “fit” the historical context of this story. This situation very well may have happened in real life. It is readable and interesting, and my attention was assured from word one to the last page. I really like historical fiction but every now and then I encounter stories that just don’t do it for me. This was not one of those. I found I liked the main characters very much–I empathized with their struggle to make sense of what it meant for their future.

This is one of those warm and fuzzy love stories set in a distant time and place. Romance fans will find much to enjoy here. There’s some hot loving and even some piracy to liven up the tale. I give this novella a rating of 4 out of 5.

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

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