Captives of the Night

Author:

Loretta Chase

Published:

Avon Books, February 1994 ; 392 pages

Related titles by this author:

The Lion's Daughter, Lord of Scoundrels

Subgenre:

Historical romance -- Regency

Setting:

England -- London, 1828

Main characters:

Alexis, Comte d'Esmond, and Leila Beaumont

Sexual explicitness:

Explicit, nicely handled

Keywords:

Intrigue ; blackmail, murder investigation, portrait painting, widows

Reader rating:

Reader comments:

Fabulous book! I stayed up all night to finish it. Loretta Chase is a masterful storyteller, and this is one of her best efforts. The characters in Captives are all fully realized, even the secondary ones, with a mix of good and bad traits, just like in real life. (J.F., 2-5-98) More of a plot than Lord of Scoundrels, perhaps too busy but nevertheless a wonderfully told tale with riveting hero and heroine and fascinating historical background of that murky period between regency and high victorian. The heroine was victorian the hero still a regency buck as his public personne. Loved the depiction of the heroine's working artist personne. As good as Lord or Sandelwood Princess. (Y.P., 3-9-97) Terriffic! Characters more finely drawn and descriptive enough to draw the reader into the dialogue. Never a dull page. Can't say this for too many other authors that I know of. Ms. Chase knows how to keep her love scenes from degenerating into silly sex .Everything she puts into her books is relevent, and not just there to satisfy some word count. Would recommend her to anyone and everyone. (P.C., 10-22-96) Has a few good scenes with decent banter between the hero and heroine. All in all, not an extremely memorable book. (E.C., 10-21-96) Good, steamy romance with interesting court scene, and some mystery elements worthy of whodunit genre (unusual in romances). On the minus side, there's too much of the Oriental prince stuff (esp., though I'm sure Albania has blonds, its hard to believe an English heroine would envision a gorgeous blond as an Oriental prince). Also, some of the mystery elements are a bit farfetched--too many suspects on the scene (though one finds this even in Agatha Christies!) Finally, while some of the reasons for the tension between hero and heroine are quite believable, others are not, and the delay of sexual consummation is (typically) highly unbelievable. Despite these minor flaws, Chase remains one of my favorite romance writers. When is she coming out with another. Lord of Scoundrels, her last, was 1/95--it's been a long time! Is she moving on to bigger and better things like Joan Wolf? (E.P., 5-19-96) Excellent tension between hero and heroine. Description of hero's thoughts and feelings really pull reader into story. Excellent! (S.S., 2-28-96) This novel occurs at almost the same time as _Lord of Scoundrels_ and is just as compelling. Once again, Chase gives us characters who are more than just unique. We get to know their feelings, thoughts, and motivations quite well. I can't wait for her next one! (C.B., 1-20-96) Intelligent characters. Excellent development of relationship between hero & heroine. One of my Top 10 favorite books. (I.V., 12-28-95) Full of intrigue and tension. Not as wonderful as Lord of Scoundrels, but more than worth a read. (A.K., 10-29-95)

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