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Captive: A Time Travel Romance of Haunting Passion and Harem Intrigue
"The haunting song of a distant era calls the beautiful graduate student to her subject, the enigmatic Captain Blackwell.
Across the centuries, she is drawn by an inexplicable passion into a realm of mystery and danger--to be imprisioned in an opulent world of harem intrigue and sensuous slavery.
And now Blackwell is with her--patriot, privateer, heroic commander of the U.S. merchantman the Pearl--the dream, the desire made achingly real. Imperiled captives of fate, they are united by a power far greater than time--and by a passion that could destroy them both . . . or forever change the course of history.
Across the centuries, she is drawn by an inexplicable passion into a realm of mystery and danger--to be imprisioned in an opulent world of harem intrigue and sensuous slavery.
And now Blackwell is with her--patriot, privateer, heroic commander of the U.S. merchantman the Pearl--the dream, the desire made achingly real. Imperiled captives of fate, they are united by a power far greater than time--and by a passion that could destroy them both . . . or forever change the course of history.
452 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1996
13 people are currently reading
277 people want to read
About the author
Brenda Joyce
106 books1,298 followersBrenda Joyce is the bestselling author of forty-one novels and five novellas. She has won many awards, and her debut novel, Innocent Fire, won a Best Western Romance award. She has also won the highly coveted Best Historical Romance award for Splendor and Two Lifetime Achievement Awards from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. There are over 14 million copies of her novels in print and she is published in over a dozen foreign countries.
A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her son, dogs, and her Arabian and half-Arabian reining horses. Brenda divides her time between her twin passions—writing powerful love stories and competing with her horses at regional and national levels. For more information about Brenda and her upcoming novels, please visit her Web sites: www.brendajoyce.com, www.thedewarennedynasty.com and http://mastersoftimebooks.com.
A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her son, dogs, and her Arabian and half-Arabian reining horses. Brenda divides her time between her twin passions—writing powerful love stories and competing with her horses at regional and national levels. For more information about Brenda and her upcoming novels, please visit her Web sites: www.brendajoyce.com, www.thedewarennedynasty.com and http://mastersoftimebooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
March 30, 2017
I couldn't finish it. The heroine is supposed to be a modern and educated woman who time travels to the past. Instead of behaving like what she is supposed to be (which is, educated and smart), she behaves like one of those uneducated, stupid, silly women from the harem (and most of them actually possessed more brains and exhibit smarter and cunning behavior than her). I have never been so irritated and disappointed with a heroine. To the extent that I wish she will get quickly get caught for her stupidity and the evil first wife of the harem will win. She endangered all those around her (her devoted slave and the hero) with her stupidity. Never had I hated a heroine so much that I wish she would die halfway (she almost did, but too bad she didn't) in the novel.
August 4, 2014
I first read this book when not long after it was published because I had gotten it from a book club. I loved it! Over the years, I had lost it and forgot the name of it but wanted to read it again. I searched and searched online only based on the story line. I finally found it, downloaded it to my kindle and began reading it right way. It was every bit as good the second time and I always recommend it. An adventurous book is my favorite and this one delivered.
October 14, 2025
The only reason this got 2 stars and not 1 is because the spicy scenes were decently spicy. Otherwise, this book was really irredeemable. It's been a long time since I've actively loathed a main female character so thoroughly. She's supposed to be a 'modern, educated woman' but yet she is selfish, self-centered, and unbelievably stupid. If I could have thrown her out a window, I would have. Good god.
February 14, 2016
Not bad for a time travel book. Alex got to be an annoying person about halfway through and I did not care much for Xavier. I didn't think either of them were very interesting, and her attempts to free the hero, an unwilling alli, even, and not be caught, then go 2 years without having sex with her husband was as unbelievable as her sneaking around and not getting caught. Along with more than once were repeated dialog, as if the author forgot that she had already covered those topics. I would think that a girl from the present, a historian no less , would be smarter than she was. I was disappointed in her lack of knowledge and her ability to constantly do stupid things that made her look like an idiot. But I did get through it, even though I put it down 5 times.
January 7, 2009
Steamy love scenes are about the only thing that saved this one for me, and boy were they steamy! I usually really love Brenda Joyce but I found the manner in which the main character behaved in 18th Century Arabia less believable than the time-traveling. Just not very good. I debated giving it one star but then again I did finish it (skimming along the way) which says something.
June 1, 2018
I even like my time travel fantasy novels to be correct historically.This book is set around the time the American navy stopped the Barbary coast corsairs. Comes across as quite well researched - at least the American part - and it is a very good story.
Sometimes you are in a museum and you look at a painting thinking "What a very handsome man that guys was. Too bad he is dead for centuries". I did last week. In this novel that is exactly what Alexandra, a student in naval history does. Somehow however she has the feeling the ghost of the man talks to her. (I just looked the guy up on Wikipedia. If he had talked to me I had committed myself to an asylum. But hey this is a fantasy novel. A timetravel fantasy novel).
Alexandra travels all the way to Ghadaffi ruled Libya to find our what happened to Xavier the man in the painting. When she is in Tripoli she faints and waked up in the early years of the 19th century.
The story is enthralling but there were four elements that annoyed me:
--- minor spoiler alert ---
1) The book is written during the Ghadaffi-era and it is obvious that the American writer had not that much sympathy for Arabs. There are only two people in the whole story that are mentioned in a positive light: a eunuch in the harem and the first wife of the ruler. For the rest people are depicted as being very cruel. And what is wrong with 'Being almost too handsome for a man?'
The cities on the coast of North Africa would attack Western ships for the cargo and the sailors would be held for ransom. As an alternative a country could pay a kind of protection money. When you read the accounts written by some of those sailors it is obvious that even while the crew was enslaved an educated man and one with a will to make something of his life could rise to quite a good job and even some personal wealth. Some became the secretaries of the barshaw or the bey. The common sailor would be put to work on manual labour and that could indeed mean an early death but having been pressganged in the navy you were also lucky if you survived. Life was a lot harder and more cruel than it is now. The slaves who had to build Meknes died very fast. The writer described the situation of the slaves like a kind of concentration camp or POW camp during the civil war. I think that was not always the case although slavery for years on end - when no-one paid your ransom - is terrible. But I think the writer shows prejudice against the Arabs in the book. The guy who marries her seems quite nice and if driven over the edge by how Alexandra behaves.
2) Alexandra knows Xavier will be executed because he had dealings with the wife of the ruler so what does Alexandra do when the son of the barshaw marries here? Exactly: try to contact Xavier all the time in person while a message could be send via her slave. Why put someone deliberately in danger? Someone you do not know personally.
3) Oh and the plot that her husband allows her a year to mourn is quite silly. One in those countries mourning was three months and two why would a guy in that position allow such a long period.
4) The sexscenes are quite explicit when they are in bed together but during one bad occasion we have to guess what happened.
Now it looks like I did not like the book: I do. It has you reading it for hours. And when you look things up the whole naval part is nicely done. It is just that the leading lady is stupid :)
Who wants to sniff up some historical fact have a look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_B...
Sometimes you are in a museum and you look at a painting thinking "What a very handsome man that guys was. Too bad he is dead for centuries". I did last week. In this novel that is exactly what Alexandra, a student in naval history does. Somehow however she has the feeling the ghost of the man talks to her. (I just looked the guy up on Wikipedia. If he had talked to me I had committed myself to an asylum. But hey this is a fantasy novel. A timetravel fantasy novel).
Alexandra travels all the way to Ghadaffi ruled Libya to find our what happened to Xavier the man in the painting. When she is in Tripoli she faints and waked up in the early years of the 19th century.
The story is enthralling but there were four elements that annoyed me:
--- minor spoiler alert ---
1) The book is written during the Ghadaffi-era and it is obvious that the American writer had not that much sympathy for Arabs. There are only two people in the whole story that are mentioned in a positive light: a eunuch in the harem and the first wife of the ruler. For the rest people are depicted as being very cruel. And what is wrong with 'Being almost too handsome for a man?'
The cities on the coast of North Africa would attack Western ships for the cargo and the sailors would be held for ransom. As an alternative a country could pay a kind of protection money. When you read the accounts written by some of those sailors it is obvious that even while the crew was enslaved an educated man and one with a will to make something of his life could rise to quite a good job and even some personal wealth. Some became the secretaries of the barshaw or the bey. The common sailor would be put to work on manual labour and that could indeed mean an early death but having been pressganged in the navy you were also lucky if you survived. Life was a lot harder and more cruel than it is now. The slaves who had to build Meknes died very fast. The writer described the situation of the slaves like a kind of concentration camp or POW camp during the civil war. I think that was not always the case although slavery for years on end - when no-one paid your ransom - is terrible. But I think the writer shows prejudice against the Arabs in the book. The guy who marries her seems quite nice and if driven over the edge by how Alexandra behaves.
2) Alexandra knows Xavier will be executed because he had dealings with the wife of the ruler so what does Alexandra do when the son of the barshaw marries here? Exactly: try to contact Xavier all the time in person while a message could be send via her slave. Why put someone deliberately in danger? Someone you do not know personally.
3) Oh and the plot that her husband allows her a year to mourn is quite silly. One in those countries mourning was three months and two why would a guy in that position allow such a long period.
4) The sexscenes are quite explicit when they are in bed together but during one bad occasion we have to guess what happened.
Now it looks like I did not like the book: I do. It has you reading it for hours. And when you look things up the whole naval part is nicely done. It is just that the leading lady is stupid :)
Who wants to sniff up some historical fact have a look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_B...
February 20, 2013
This is the first book that I've read with Benda Joyce that I've re-read again. Still the story is wonderful. I still feel the suspense as though I've never read it before. Yeah, I did re-read it. And I still had fun! I couldn't put it down and just finished it before the end of 24 hours (not including the time I slept). I still rate this book 5 out of 5 because I still love the story.
April 1, 2020
That is one of those books I read when I was a teenager. That also is the reason I decided to look for her and read it one more time. And I am happy I did.
The story plot is as it was then, very pulling. My time spent on it was full filed. Great work.
The story plot is as it was then, very pulling. My time spent on it was full filed. Great work.
August 10, 2019
TL;DR: Transcends romance to become an actual book.
First time-travel plot I've read in a long time that I could accept. Definitely written in 1996 but researched well. As a history student, I relate to falling in love with dead people. Alex is living the dream...eventually.
It was nice how Alex had an actual friend that was well developed and that she never broke down. She's not TSTL and makes some genuinely clever decisions. What I enjoyed the most is how much suspense Brenda Joyce manages to put into the story; I'm wholly familiar with Tripoli and America around 1800-1806 (it's at the tail end of what I'm focusing on in my studies), yet she had me flipping pages to see what happens. Joyce does a very nice job. She's the first romance novelist whose work I want to investigate further.
I'd recommend it if you're okay with more plot than romance.
First time-travel plot I've read in a long time that I could accept. Definitely written in 1996 but researched well. As a history student, I relate to falling in love with dead people. Alex is living the dream...eventually.
It was nice how Alex had an actual friend that was well developed and that she never broke down. She's not TSTL and makes some genuinely clever decisions. What I enjoyed the most is how much suspense Brenda Joyce manages to put into the story; I'm wholly familiar with Tripoli and America around 1800-1806 (it's at the tail end of what I'm focusing on in my studies), yet she had me flipping pages to see what happens. Joyce does a very nice job. She's the first romance novelist whose work I want to investigate further.
I'd recommend it if you're okay with more plot than romance.
April 2, 2025
True to its rating, this book was …. Not very good. It was about 100 pages too long, slow moving, and the characters were all uniformly flat and underwhelming. The “love story” was tepid, at best, and entirely unconvincing. In fact, Blackwell seemed to actively despise Alexandra for the majority of the book, and not in a sexy “enemies to lovers” way, but like, *actually hated* her. I wanted this to be so much better than it was.
April 29, 2023
I read this back in 2002 and it was one of my favorite books. Then over the years I lost the book, forgot the title and author. I was searching for years! Then, I did a random google search and found it…This novel is just as exciting as I remembered! I could not put the book down….
September 8, 2024
I read this book in 2018 and it drew me in immediately. I absolutely loved it!! So much so that I luckily had taken a picture of the cover. I just saw the picture on my cell today and I am looking forward to reading it again!!
November 29, 2017
10stars
March 18, 2018
Timetravel to Barbary
This book is set around the time the American navy stopped the Barbary coast corsairs. Comes across as well researched and it is a very good story.
This book is set around the time the American navy stopped the Barbary coast corsairs. Comes across as well researched and it is a very good story.
April 18, 2018
Huge let down.
April 27, 2021
Historical romance with a twist. The heroine is a time traveller. Corny and escapist.
April 27, 2023
White slavery! Ohmygod!
Should have made Murad the hero, Brenda, even if that’s the name of a skincare brand now.
Should have made Murad the hero, Brenda, even if that’s the name of a skincare brand now.
July 31, 2013
***Български***
Книгата е микс от любовна история, пътуване във времето и виждания за това как живеят и мислят мюсолманите. Тлавната героиня е много добре развита и не е трудно да се вникне в нейната същност. Твърдението й, че е влюбена след поглед в един портрет малко ме издразни, но както и да е. Изпитвах симпатия към Мурад (приятеля на Александра - не мога да го нарека роб, тъй като той наистина й беше приятел). Много ме впечатли чистата му любов към нея. В интерес на истината съм малко тъжна, че тази любов не беше споделена, защото щеше да направи книгата по-добра. Това което имам в предвид е, че това е една предсказуема любовна история, но ако Алекс беше отвърнала на чувствата на Мурад, това щеше да е много неочаквано. Въпреки всичко историята беше достатъчно завладяваща, за да изчета книгата до края с интерес.
Препоръчвам я на всички любители на любовни романи.
***English***
Love story + time traveling + some interesting thoughts about the way that the Muslims think and live. The main heroine was very well developed character and it was not hard to relate to her (although her declaration of love after seeing just a portrait put me off a bit). I had sympathy for Murad (Alexandra's friend - I can't think of him as a slave cause he was more like a friend to her). I liked his pure love for the main heroine. I'm actually a little bit sad that it was not requited cause it could have made the book better. I mean it's very predictable love story but if Alex was to requite her "slave" feelings it would have been such a twist. In spite of that the story was captivating enough to keep me reading with excitement.
Overall I recommend the book to anyone who likes reading romance.
Книгата е микс от любовна история, пътуване във времето и виждания за това как живеят и мислят мюсолманите. Тлавната героиня е много добре развита и не е трудно да се вникне в нейната същност. Твърдението й, че е влюбена след поглед в един портрет малко ме издразни, но както и да е. Изпитвах симпатия към Мурад (приятеля на Александра - не мога да го нарека роб, тъй като той наистина й беше приятел). Много ме впечатли чистата му любов към нея. В интерес на истината съм малко тъжна, че тази любов не беше споделена, защото щеше да направи книгата по-добра. Това което имам в предвид е, че това е една предсказуема любовна история, но ако Алекс беше отвърнала на чувствата на Мурад, това щеше да е много неочаквано. Въпреки всичко историята беше достатъчно завладяваща, за да изчета книгата до края с интерес.
Препоръчвам я на всички любители на любовни романи.
***English***
Love story + time traveling + some interesting thoughts about the way that the Muslims think and live. The main heroine was very well developed character and it was not hard to relate to her (although her declaration of love after seeing just a portrait put me off a bit). I had sympathy for Murad (Alexandra's friend - I can't think of him as a slave cause he was more like a friend to her). I liked his pure love for the main heroine. I'm actually a little bit sad that it was not requited cause it could have made the book better. I mean it's very predictable love story but if Alex was to requite her "slave" feelings it would have been such a twist. In spite of that the story was captivating enough to keep me reading with excitement.
Overall I recommend the book to anyone who likes reading romance.
February 5, 2015
Ugh... so bad... so bad that it had to be dropped. Can't believe that the Masters of Time series is written by the same author. The stereotypical rapey depiction of muslims (ridiculously written as moslems), just made me cringe. I really wonder where the author has gotten her information from (probably Fox News) because its just racist and idiotic. The moment the scene where she gets her clothing forcefully stripped off in public appears in the early chapters I knew I came across something distasteful. Had to at least give it another try, right? Few more chapters in.. and nope, not doing it for me at all.
July 30, 2023
Good read even though I skipped a few pages here and there. I prefer to read books about 300 pages so this was a bit long. She is a Naval / ship historian and soon discovers she is intrigued by a certain captain that has long been dead. In visiting his house, which had been made into a museum, she feels his present and his ghost then becomes obsessed with her. She decides to take a trip to where he was killed. This lead to her travelling back in time where she waits for him to appear in the flesh. He is now with her but can't marry her as he is married. This is their adventure and whatever happens changes history.
June 25, 2009
So far I'm not very impressed. The author uses "ohmygod" as a word to which I have two objections: #1 its THREE WORDS not one and #2 its on every page! If this continues, the book is going out the window.
June 14, 2012
Wow! Another amazing story by Brenda Joyce.
I was "captivated" by "Captive"!
The story is about a modern day gal - traveling back in time...yes I know we've all read books like that before, BUT this one is unique and intriguing.
Go out and get this one!
I was "captivated" by "Captive"!
The story is about a modern day gal - traveling back in time...yes I know we've all read books like that before, BUT this one is unique and intriguing.
Go out and get this one!
March 30, 2016
This book was a little childiss, simpel,..
I liked Alexandra, but she fell in love from a picture!?! on Xavier, he is from 100 years ago!
Then she will find him, and change the past,..
Well timetravel,..you have to like it,....
I liked Alexandra, but she fell in love from a picture!?! on Xavier, he is from 100 years ago!
Then she will find him, and change the past,..
Well timetravel,..you have to like it,....
November 13, 2007
pah, got only to chapter 1 and decided to throw it under the bed and feed it to the mice or roaches or whatever living under my bed, wkwkwkwkwk
December 21, 2009
it's the best time travel romance I ever read. I've read it many times
December 20, 2010
I thoroughly enjoyed the complexity of this story.
SPOILER: Heroine is raped by someone besides the hero and is then consoled by the Hero, this was a heartbreaking scene.
SPOILER: Heroine is raped by someone besides the hero and is then consoled by the Hero, this was a heartbreaking scene.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2011
Not a typical romance. This one had a great story to it as well. More story than more romances. I really liked this one!
May 10, 2012
I really liked the story line in this book but it left me hanging like there should be another book after but I don't the author will write another one for this story line. Such a shame.
July 29, 2013
I didn't think I would like the time travel, but I was pleasantly surprised. Great character development and the romance was hot!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews