The Captive Duke

Grace Burrowes

Jun 2023 · Captive Hearts Book 2 · Sourcebooks, Inc.

About this ebook

"Grace Burrowes is terrific."—JULIA QUINN, New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton series

A breathtaking tale of a tortured hero and the woman who helps him to heal.

Captured and tortured by the French, Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia, lost his wife, his son, and his will to live. He struggles to find a way back to the world he once knew until Gillian, Countess of Windmere, pointedly reminds him that he has a daughter who still needs him.

As Christian and Gillian spend more and more time together trying to help Margaret, who was traumatized by her mother's death, their attraction slowly begins to grow.

Previously published as The Captive.

Ratings and reviews

An unflinching look at POWs in the Napoleonic Wars Christian is finally released after months of tortuous captivity, only to find his wife and young son have died in his absence. Gillian, cousin to his late wife, has been caring for his daughter and demands that Christian reunite with Lucy as soon as possible. Gilly is a recent widow herself, and by a coincidence not all that unusual in the insular aristocracy, the man who inherited her late husband's title is also heir to Christian's dukedom. I loved the way the treachery came virtually out of nowhere and didn't follow a predictable path. That part of the storyline really kept me guessing right up until the clue about the horse, then I was kicking myself for missing it in the first place. This whole part of the story - the profound exploration of the emotional aftermath and the cost of war on a person's psyche - was excruciatingly well done. The romance was so very sweet and tender. Christian and Gilly have an almost immediate intuitive connection, one that was far more emotionally intimate than any physical relationship could be. The way she knew exactly what to do for him - right down to peeling the oranges - was astoundingly beautiful. This is a true soulmates love story and I enjoyed every breathtaking part of it. This author is one of my favorites in the historical romance genre, and this book is a stellar example of why that is. I highly recommend it for all romance readers. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Good

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes’ bestsellers include The Heir, The Soldier, Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal, Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish and Lady Eve's Indiscretion. Her Regency romances and Scotland-set Victorian romances have received extensive praise, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. The Heir was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2010, The Best Spring Romance of 2011, Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish and Once Upon a Tartan have both won RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards, Lady Louisa’s Christmas Knight was a Library Journal Best Book of 2012, The Bridegroom Wore Plaid was a PW Best Book of 2012. Two of her MacGregor heroes have won KISS awards. Grace is a practicing family law attorney and lives in rural Maryland.