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Captive in the Millionaire's Castle
Millionaire Michael Denver fiercely guards his privacy. The breathtaking views from his cliff-top castle and the dark, thunderous elements provide the solitude this enigmatic writer needs to lick his wounds from a bitter past.
Secretary Jenny Mansell may be unworldly and shy, but her approach has always been strictly business. However, on her first day working for the elusive Mr. Denver she's a little hesitant crossing the castle threshold. But it's not the imposing building that sets Jenny's heart trembling...it's her captivating new boss!
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Lee Wilkinson
265 books41 followersLee Wilkinson was born in Nottingham, the only child of loving parents. She was educated at an all-girls' school, and after leaving, tried her hand at several jobs, including modeling swimwear.
At 22 she met and married her husband, Denis. They had a traditional white wedding and a honeymoon in Italy, and have been happily married ever since. They have two children, a son and a daughter—both now grown up and married—and four lovely grandchildren.
Lee's writing career began with short stories and serials for magazines and newspapers before going on to novels. She has had more than 20 Mills and Boon romance novels published to date.
Amongst her hobbies are reading, gardening, walking, and cooking. Traveling is her main love, and teaming up with her daughter and American son-in-law, she and her husband spent a year going round the world, taking in India, China, Australia, New Zealand, and the States.
Last year she rented a palazzo in the heart of Venice, followed by a quick hop aboard the Orient Express. Lee is currently saving up for a whirlwind tour of Japan, a romantic and exotic destination she has wanted to visit since childhood.
At present she lives with her husband in a 300-year-old stone cottage in a picturesque Derbyshire village, which gets cut off by snow most winters
At 22 she met and married her husband, Denis. They had a traditional white wedding and a honeymoon in Italy, and have been happily married ever since. They have two children, a son and a daughter—both now grown up and married—and four lovely grandchildren.
Lee's writing career began with short stories and serials for magazines and newspapers before going on to novels. She has had more than 20 Mills and Boon romance novels published to date.
Amongst her hobbies are reading, gardening, walking, and cooking. Traveling is her main love, and teaming up with her daughter and American son-in-law, she and her husband spent a year going round the world, taking in India, China, Australia, New Zealand, and the States.
Last year she rented a palazzo in the heart of Venice, followed by a quick hop aboard the Orient Express. Lee is currently saving up for a whirlwind tour of Japan, a romantic and exotic destination she has wanted to visit since childhood.
At present she lives with her husband in a 300-year-old stone cottage in a picturesque Derbyshire village, which gets cut off by snow most winters
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 7, 2024
Uhhh no. Pretty boring compared to others I’ve read from LW. The H was conceited and considered himself to be some stud who couldn’t be left alone from intense female adorations. The h is referred to him as a PA and he evaluates if he’ll be safe from her given that he’s such a package. 🙄
Tbh that was a bit delusional of him cuz if anything he was a writer and I do not find Hs who are writers and painters attractive at all, not for an HP to say the least, and even if they have deeeeep pockets. For once the H here was a writer, who considered himself above others and owned some kind of a castle.
When the h comes to work for him she eerily knows the inside of his house despite she’d never been there before. The H also doesn’t skip any opportunity to get in her pants like what level of bipolar is that?? Weren’t you just trying to avoid getting a PA cuz she’d try to go down on her knees for you and here you are trying to get in the h’s breathing space to steal kisses.
There’s some ex wife drama that ensues but I’d already checked out from here so no, do not recommend this obnoxious H and available h (she wasn’t a virgin either).
Tbh that was a bit delusional of him cuz if anything he was a writer and I do not find Hs who are writers and painters attractive at all, not for an HP to say the least, and even if they have deeeeep pockets. For once the H here was a writer, who considered himself above others and owned some kind of a castle.
When the h comes to work for him she eerily knows the inside of his house despite she’d never been there before. The H also doesn’t skip any opportunity to get in her pants like what level of bipolar is that?? Weren’t you just trying to avoid getting a PA cuz she’d try to go down on her knees for you and here you are trying to get in the h’s breathing space to steal kisses.
There’s some ex wife drama that ensues but I’d already checked out from here so no, do not recommend this obnoxious H and available h (she wasn’t a virgin either).
April 8, 2012
Michael Denver is a successful author in need of a personal assistant. Coincidentally, Jenny Mansell is a fabulous PA in need of a job. Destiny. Oh, and Michael also happens to own a castle, though they don't stay there and he certainly doesn't keep Jenny captive there despite the title.
Michael spends the first half of the books being annoyingly suspicious of Jenny. Apparently he is hot stuff with hordes of manipulative women throwing themselves at him continuously. His ex-wife, Claire, was pretty free with her affections and he keeps expecting Jenny to be like her (eating like a bird, vain, critical, and bored by quiet country living). This gets tedious fast. Very fast. He keeps wondering if Jenny is cleverly pretending to not be interested in him in some complex nefarious scheme to snag his attention, because he is after all, an irresistible stud. Conceited much? It is completely inconceivable to him that a woman would not try to manipulate her way into his very presence, not to mention his bed.
Jenny on the other hand has had her share of disillusionment when she caught her fiancé doing the nasty with another woman. She's lovely at first, but all it takes for her to believe the worst in Michael and run away is for his ex-wife to visit unexpectedly. By this stage, Michael has already told her that Claire took it upon herself to inform the press of their supposed reconciliation, but he himself has no intention of ever getting back together with her. Claire tells Jenny that she is visiting uninvited. Yet what does Jenny do? She immediately jumps to the conclusion that Michael is in love with Claire, is planning on re-marrying her, and has been lying to her about their relationship all along.
This could have been a sweet story but both Michael and Jenny's insecurities are over the top. Rather than feeling sympathetic towards them I was just annoyed. Couple this with a cloyingly sweet "destiny" back story, and I give it a thumbs down.
Michael spends the first half of the books being annoyingly suspicious of Jenny. Apparently he is hot stuff with hordes of manipulative women throwing themselves at him continuously. His ex-wife, Claire, was pretty free with her affections and he keeps expecting Jenny to be like her (eating like a bird, vain, critical, and bored by quiet country living). This gets tedious fast. Very fast. He keeps wondering if Jenny is cleverly pretending to not be interested in him in some complex nefarious scheme to snag his attention, because he is after all, an irresistible stud. Conceited much? It is completely inconceivable to him that a woman would not try to manipulate her way into his very presence, not to mention his bed.
Jenny on the other hand has had her share of disillusionment when she caught her fiancé doing the nasty with another woman. She's lovely at first, but all it takes for her to believe the worst in Michael and run away is for his ex-wife to visit unexpectedly. By this stage, Michael has already told her that Claire took it upon herself to inform the press of their supposed reconciliation, but he himself has no intention of ever getting back together with her. Claire tells Jenny that she is visiting uninvited. Yet what does Jenny do? She immediately jumps to the conclusion that Michael is in love with Claire, is planning on re-marrying her, and has been lying to her about their relationship all along.
This could have been a sweet story but both Michael and Jenny's insecurities are over the top. Rather than feeling sympathetic towards them I was just annoyed. Couple this with a cloyingly sweet "destiny" back story, and I give it a thumbs down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2019
My first read by Lee Wilkinson. This is the story of a celebrated and award-winning author of psychological thrillers, Michael Denver, and a PA he's about to hire, Jennifer Mansell. After a high-profile divorce from top model Claire Falconer, he isn't interested in women, especially those who use sex as a weapon. Ahem! He just wants to get on with writing his next book. And he finds the perfect PA in twenty-four-year-old Jennifer, who wore an engagement ring for a few months before she swore off men altogether. What a perfect match!
But, but, but...there is a 'Serendipity' moment, as he has seen her before, when he was all of twenty-two. And surprise, surprise, she has never seen him but she is a big fan of his work. It was hilarious, she and her flatmate trying to decide the looks of a psychological thriller writer! He's a recluse who doesn't like to be in the media's eyes.
After reading so many books with huge age gaps between the protagonists, comes one with a gap of two-three years and voila, she's thinking of him to be middle-aged.
What a dream job though! Sigh! One month trial period of her job starts in Slinterwood, Michael's writing retreat. She sketches him as someone who's cold and unapproachable. Slinterwood is where his country house located on the Island of Mirren, the same island on which Mirren Castle is situated, where they first saw each other. This book is kind of magical and mystical, set in England, where you will so few Harlequin books are. I could feel the anticipation as well as the trepidation when there was no one on Mirren except the two of them. And then the recurring feel of dejavu that Jenny kept having, as I said, its kind of mystical.
Michael does not want to get involved with anyone, yet is always trying to steal kisses from Jenny. And flirting by dishing out corny lines with a straight face. As the days pass, they almost fall into a routine of domesticity, while Michael is still intrigued as to how she knew about Slinterwood in detail even after not being there, ever. Yep, she described the entire house accurately, without ever being their once.
It has a real castle, secret passages, and unknown adventures. I didn't like Michael constantly comparing Jenny with his ex. On producing a fake boyfriend to keep away from heartbreak, it was quite hilarious to see Michael interrogating Jenny about this boyfriend. It's destiny, all destiny, kismet, it's a sweet and warm story that I really enjoyed reading. A story about a writer is always welcome, especially with the English Literature references - Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress.
But, but, but...there is a 'Serendipity' moment, as he has seen her before, when he was all of twenty-two. And surprise, surprise, she has never seen him but she is a big fan of his work. It was hilarious, she and her flatmate trying to decide the looks of a psychological thriller writer! He's a recluse who doesn't like to be in the media's eyes.
After reading so many books with huge age gaps between the protagonists, comes one with a gap of two-three years and voila, she's thinking of him to be middle-aged.
What a dream job though! Sigh! One month trial period of her job starts in Slinterwood, Michael's writing retreat. She sketches him as someone who's cold and unapproachable. Slinterwood is where his country house located on the Island of Mirren, the same island on which Mirren Castle is situated, where they first saw each other. This book is kind of magical and mystical, set in England, where you will so few Harlequin books are. I could feel the anticipation as well as the trepidation when there was no one on Mirren except the two of them. And then the recurring feel of dejavu that Jenny kept having, as I said, its kind of mystical.
Michael does not want to get involved with anyone, yet is always trying to steal kisses from Jenny. And flirting by dishing out corny lines with a straight face. As the days pass, they almost fall into a routine of domesticity, while Michael is still intrigued as to how she knew about Slinterwood in detail even after not being there, ever. Yep, she described the entire house accurately, without ever being their once.
It has a real castle, secret passages, and unknown adventures. I didn't like Michael constantly comparing Jenny with his ex. On producing a fake boyfriend to keep away from heartbreak, it was quite hilarious to see Michael interrogating Jenny about this boyfriend. It's destiny, all destiny, kismet, it's a sweet and warm story that I really enjoyed reading. A story about a writer is always welcome, especially with the English Literature references - Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress.
March 11, 2016
Captive in the Millionaire's Castle?
For what it's worth, the storyline had very little to do with the title
Captive - Jenny was no captive, she was the PA, and had accepted the stay in the castle.
Millionaire - In my opinion, Micheal was an award-winner,and there seems to be no
mention of him being a millionaire, although the reader can indubitably jump onto that conclusion.
Castle - Well, at least that was got right...:)
Honestly, the story was a bit slow....it would have better been published in
M&B's Romance/Cherish, or Harlequin's Romance;
but it surely does not fit in M&B's Modern.
For what it's worth, the storyline had very little to do with the title
Captive - Jenny was no captive, she was the PA, and had accepted the stay in the castle.
Millionaire - In my opinion, Micheal was an award-winner,and there seems to be no
mention of him being a millionaire, although the reader can indubitably jump onto that conclusion.
Castle - Well, at least that was got right...:)
Honestly, the story was a bit slow....it would have better been published in
M&B's Romance/Cherish, or Harlequin's Romance;
but it surely does not fit in M&B's Modern.
April 27, 2012
It was like a Cinderella tale to me. This was the "prince" of her past and she was the future "princess". I really enjoyed reading it and although it seemed long it was delightful. There was really no enemy or villain, except perhaps the heroine herself that doubted herself and her hero. It was all quite cute and lighthearted. A book based upon "fate".
May 19, 2022
The title is misleading, but the story did carry an air of captivity and there was a castle.
Barely 2 stars. Barely 1.5.
Once Michael seduces Jenny beginning while she is literally asleep in a chair, my attitude toward this book was mostly set. Technically Jenny is free to leave, but Michael exerts a lot of pressure on her not to. The place he has taken her is remote and difficult to leave without his help.
Another problem I had is that I don't like stories replete with mixed signals resulting from mixed feelings. Particularly when Jenny is at Michael's mercy to a degree, then "no" should have a default meaning of no, not the assumption that she doesn't mean it. The problem is, according to her thoughts in the story, she wasn't sure she did mean it. But he didn't know that. I'm sure this happens and perhaps it is even common, but I just don't like a story based on this theme.
There are hints of supernatural things going on, but also hints that they result from a rational explanation.
Regarding style, this author is another who reveals the characters' thoughts often changing from one paragraph to the next without being clearly separated into sections grouping each character's thoughts together. The author mostly succeeds in doing this without confusion.
Both characters' backstories lead to trust issues. At times, Michael's have a flavor bordering on paranoia regarding Jenny. And then convenient, but unlikely, rumors flame the paranoia. Yet it changes little.
This is also another story where lust becomes love without much justification outside the physical.
Perhaps it is because of my negative mindset from the seduction, but the story seemed to drag.
Mature themes: there is mildly explicit sex and a lot of it. I alluded to the issue of consent which is kind of foggy. A case might be made for lack of consent, but likely would not stand up in court, so to speak.
Barely 2 stars. Barely 1.5.
Once Michael seduces Jenny beginning while she is literally asleep in a chair, my attitude toward this book was mostly set. Technically Jenny is free to leave, but Michael exerts a lot of pressure on her not to. The place he has taken her is remote and difficult to leave without his help.
Another problem I had is that I don't like stories replete with mixed signals resulting from mixed feelings. Particularly when Jenny is at Michael's mercy to a degree, then "no" should have a default meaning of no, not the assumption that she doesn't mean it. The problem is, according to her thoughts in the story, she wasn't sure she did mean it. But he didn't know that. I'm sure this happens and perhaps it is even common, but I just don't like a story based on this theme.
There are hints of supernatural things going on, but also hints that they result from a rational explanation.
Regarding style, this author is another who reveals the characters' thoughts often changing from one paragraph to the next without being clearly separated into sections grouping each character's thoughts together. The author mostly succeeds in doing this without confusion.
Both characters' backstories lead to trust issues. At times, Michael's have a flavor bordering on paranoia regarding Jenny. And then convenient, but unlikely, rumors flame the paranoia. Yet it changes little.
This is also another story where lust becomes love without much justification outside the physical.
Perhaps it is because of my negative mindset from the seduction, but the story seemed to drag.
Mature themes: there is mildly explicit sex and a lot of it. I alluded to the issue of consent which is kind of foggy. A case might be made for lack of consent, but likely would not stand up in court, so to speak.
September 28, 2022
Silly in several ways. She believed ex wife despite H telling her bluntly and several times he was not taking ex back. Still readable.
June 9, 2023
Very cute and lovable setting. I loved the twist and all the cute scenes
September 6, 2024
The story was underwhelming. There was no romance between h and H.
September 15, 2012
I think the fact that I've been reading this story since the 3rd of September says a lot about it (boooooooooooooooring)
Usually I finish an ordinary romance in few hours but not this book, like come on it was so boring it got me off anything else. The story was soooo weak; nothing exciting happened the whole time and I actually found my self dozing whenever I open it hence the 12 days reading period.
I just didn't like it…
Usually I finish an ordinary romance in few hours but not this book, like come on it was so boring it got me off anything else. The story was soooo weak; nothing exciting happened the whole time and I actually found my self dozing whenever I open it hence the 12 days reading period.
I just didn't like it…
February 11, 2011
This was actually not that bad of a read. Michael is really guarded and even though with Jenny being his new secretary it isn't the first time he had actually had seen her but Jenny doesn't realize that. While i find this to be an ok read for 4 stars its plot was simple, I personally enjoyed reading it but its a 1 time read for me.
January 15, 2010
if you need a sweet story. This is it.
but it's too short, frankly speaking....
but it's too short, frankly speaking....
April 28, 2015
really good.... its a nice quick read... fast and interesting... i would want to read it again for sure..
July 12, 2010
The book wa ok, but the begining was a bit long.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews