CAPTIVE HEARTS

Author: Teresa Reasor ISBN: 1601540752 6/2007 HISTORICAL Publisher: WILD ROSE PRESS
Time Period: England 1796

A witness to murder. A man unjustly jailed. Can finding love and justice free these captive hearts? Bent on seeing her family's murderers caught, Lady Katherine Leighton strikes a bargain with Captain Matthew Hamilton. They will wed just long enough for her to shed her uncle's hampering control and pursue the investigation her uncle refuses to undertake. Little does she know that what begins as a means to find justice, will end in the handsome American capturing her heart and holding it prisoner. Betrayed by one woman, Matthew doesn't trust the English beauty who offers him freedom from prison in exchange for marriage vows, but knowing it is his only escape, he agrees to the bargain. Little does he know that what begins as a means to gain his freedom will end in him losing his heart to the feisty woman who refuses to listen to reason. From the moment their lips meet to seal the vows, a passion ignites between them, which they are eager to ignore. When the highwaymen who brutalized Katherine's mother come after her, Matthew feels honor bound to protect her, but Katherine wants more than his honorable intentions, she wants his love... And she's willing to fight to get it.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I am happy to say that Teresa Reasor is continuing on her winning streak with CAPTIVE HEARTS. A willful heroine, a studly Alpha male, a great romance and terrific plot, all come together to make one heck of a book.

Katherine has decided that she is finally willing to allow her uncle to make a match for her. Ever since her family's horrid death three months ago, her uncle has hounded her incessantly to find a husband before the gossip begins—gossip that he no doubt encourages and adds to. On that horrible night, it wasn't just her family that was killed, but something was taken from her that she can never get back. She was abused and shot after witnessing her brother, mother and father be brutalized and then killed. All of this has left her terribly traumatized and ready to take control of her own life. Katherine decides that the best way to do that is to marry a man who is about to die in prison so she can take back control of her inheritance. Once that is settled, she figures that the lucky man will be happy for his life and very willing to go on about his way after they secure an annulment. She has no idea what a mistake she has made in that assumption.

Matthew Hamilton sets eyes upon Katherine one time, and he knows that he has been snared. He argues, at first, that he doesn't want to marry again after the death of his wife four years ago, but all of his earlier protestations are mute the minute he sets eyes upon the little hellion that is Katherine Leighton. Not only does Matthew throw all of his earlier convictions out of the window concerning marriage, he has decided, unbeknownst to Katherine, that there is not going to be an annulment. The fireworks alone that his decision set off are worth reading the entire book—and then some!

I will admit to being completely charmed by Katherine's character when I first began to read. She is spunky, plucky and not afraid of any single thing—at least, not anything that she will admit to. She has no problem holding a gun to her husband's groin or "inadvertently" injuring a prison guard who is misbehaving with his inmates. That's just the kind of woman she is. She lets her displeasure be known, and no one is going to take that pleasure from her.

I originally thought that her character was strong enough to really take the lead in the story, but I found that I was completely wrong. Somewhere along the way, Matthew laid claim to my heart. He became this larger-than-life hero who went to any lengths to see his wife happy. If she is cold, he gives her his jacket; if she is hungry, he gets her food; when someone accosts her, he punches them out. His character gave depth and intrigue to the story, and it was an absolute joy to watch him do everything in his power to win Katherine.

CAPTIVE HEARTS is a lovely, warm read that is action-packed and full of adventure and romance. So pull up a nice comfy chair and a cup of coffee, because you are not going to want to put this one down, once you've begun!

Kristal Gorman