From the Bookshelf of Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous…

Royal Captive

Patricia Phillips

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Dec 10, 2013 Sarah Mac rated it really liked it

Shelves: bodice-ripper, zzz-2015, not-a-romance, italy-sicily-malta, renaissance, vintage, keepers-vintage, awesome-heroines, cover-me-cream, gloom-and-doom

A dark Shakespearean-type story set in 1400s Italy -- highly entertaining, though not for the reader who requires a happy ending.

Rosanna begins as a wild mountain gal, but that changes when her mother & halfwit servant are raped & murdered before her eyes. Miraculously (or not...?), she's rescued by a rich & hitherto-unknown family in Lorenzo, where she's installed as body servant to her bitchy cousin. In the course of her duties she's pimped out to Duke Paulo, & presto -- lovelorn obsession beg A dark Shakespearean-type story set in 1400s Italy -- highly entertaining, though not for the reader who requires a happy ending.

Rosanna begins as a wild mountain gal, but that changes when her mother & halfwit servant are raped & murdered before her eyes. Miraculously (or not...?), she's rescued by a rich & hitherto-unknown family in Lorenzo, where she's installed as body servant to her bitchy cousin. In the course of her duties she's pimped out to Duke Paulo, & presto -- lovelorn obsession begins. Rosanna might be ignorant of aristocratic social practices, but she's not stupid; she bargains her virginity to her uncle in exchange for gifts, then uses her cousin Marco to gain a foothold in Duke Paulo's circle. Various unwholesome deeds ensue as she works peripheral roles in the political schemes of creepster Miserotti -- but her conscience ceases to bother her once Paulo takes her as his official mistress. From that point she spends her days guarding against displacement by Paulo's angry wife Teresa (who has a penchant for suckling pubescent pageboys on her bountiful milk) & Paulo's equally angry brother Bernardo, who hates Rosanna with the passion of a thousand fiery suns (how dare she enter into a MOC with his gay lover?! HE MUST RETALIATE!).

Royal Captive could easily have been twice as long -- there's a lot that happens off-page, & the herky-jerky pacing sacrificed some details that the reader takes on faith. All the characters were interesting in their own right, but they didn't have much room for long-term growth because everything happens in less than 300 pages.

That said, I was totally invested -- even with the pacing issues & abundance of typos. The prose feels somewhat raw & unpolished (not necessarily a bad thing). But I liked the loose ends & open-ended moral repercussions of Rosanna's rise to power. Her mysterious parentage is never resolved -- was she a witch, albeit untrained? She's only a concubine, not a wife -- she might be the heroine, but some of Teresa's complaints are justified. Paulo loves Rosanna, yes -- but is it a noble love, or an unhealthy obsession to equal her own?

Anyway, this was a fun little ripper. I'll definitely be reading more from this author.

Squick List:

-strong violence
-rape
-Bernardo's murderous WTFery
-H/h sleep with other people (OH NOES! *clutches pearls*)
-dark ending ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

May 04, 2013 Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~* marked it as find-wish-list

Sep 11, 2013 Galateea marked it as to-read

Aug 05, 2015 Stephanie marked it as to-read

Nov 28, 2015 Wendy, Lady Evelyn Quince marked it as to-read

Shelves: hero-blond, romance, bodice-ripper, historical-romance, italy, romantic-fiction, romance-that-is-not-a-romance, ending-sucks, era-renaissance, life-sucks-then-you-die

May 11, 2019 Deborah marked it as to-read

Group Home Bookshelf Discussions

Photos Videos

Send invite Members Polls