Smitten by Books

Her Captain Dares All
Author: Eliza Knight
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Pub. Date: April 28, 2010
Retail: $4.00
126 pages

Pursued by kidnappers, Lady Tessa Woodward is running for her life. When handsome Captain Jeremy Williams comes to her rescue in the backstreets of Paris, she persuades him to help her escape France and return to her home in England.

Captain Jeremy Williams is captivated by Lady Tessa’s fiery nature and agrees to give her passage aboard his ship. Once on board, his desire grows and soon reveals a sensual side to the woman he can’t deny. But when danger threatens his lady, will the captain dare all to save her?

~*~*~

After a chapter or two, Eliza Knight subtly draws readers into the clever world of the Men of the Sea series.

Her Captain Dares All is Book 3 in Eliza Knight’s Men of the Sea series. Characters from previous titles in the series are mentioned, but reading order does not necessarily have to be chronological for each to be enjoyable. This book surprised me after a rough start. Once together, Lady Tessa Woodward and Captain Jeremy Williams enchant. As soon as they sail off from France to England, this story begins to read like the kind many romance readers first fell in love with; love on the high seas. I almost wish Tessa and Jeremy could have spent more time in the close confines on his ship, The Conqueror. Knight has a deft hand at building sensuality in subtle but no less satisfying strokes:

When she turned to face him, he stood so very close, his masculine scent of shaving cream and the sea wafted over her. She closed her eyes for a moment to breathe in his delicious aroma. The familiar tingle that now came about whenever he was near wound itself around her and settled in her core.

Dialogue swept me into this story as much as the plot. Almost as soon as Tessa and Jeremy began to converse, I began to enjoy the storyline:

“Captain, will you be sleeping in here as well?”

A wicked glint flickered in his eyes. “Would you like me to?”

Tessa gasped, shocked at his question, and at the way his words sent tremors rippling through her core. “No!”

Captain Williams laughed heartily. He removed her hand from his arm to give her a lingering kiss on the wrist. She sucked in her breath, and yanked her hand away.

“I promise, my lady, I will never sleep with you, not unless you beg me to.”

The character of Jeremy is most enjoyable. He is the quintessential historical navy captain, a man deeply in love with the sea. From the onset, his life as a seaman is precious to him—something he thankfully does not have to give up. The story is all the better for the fact that Tessa’s character understands fully that the sea is a part of the man. Knight did an excellent job building his character and motivations. Tessa’s motivations at times were questionable, especially in regard to her own safety and Jeremy’s feelings for her. He chases her across the sea, a three-month journey, and she refuses him, citing that he does not really love her. The all-out gesture should have been enough, in my opinion. Despite this, the ending seemed to click together well and the characters do get a satisfying HEA.

Knight easily draws readers into the setting, whether it’s the danger of the nighttime streets of Paris, the vast reaches of the sea and the snug confines of The Conqueror, the sophisticated society of London or even the cultural flavor of the West Indies. She paints a scene and builds a storyline with sensuality and intrigue in equal measure. Point of view changes were done smoothly, never jarring me out of the story. The only thing that distracted me was the occasional tendency to tell instead of show and a couple of turns of phrase that seemed too modern for the time period. Overall, after reading Her Captain Dares All, I’m tempted to read the first two books in this series.

Rating: 6 (Satisfactory )

Heat-Level: 3 (Sensual)