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Captive #3
Captive Splendors
A manly captain pines for his sexy stowaway in this classic tale of destiny and desire at sea from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author. As a van der Rhys, Caleb’s first allegiance is to the sea. Close behind are his affections for anyone foolish enough to pass him in a skirt. But that shouldn't be a problem when he’s hired to ship a cargo of Puritans to the colonies—until a stowaway is discovered onboard. Wren is equal parts stormy and beautiful, normally an irresistible combination for Caleb. But they have a shared past that deems her off limits. All they have are the stars to guide them, in which case anything is possible . . . Third in the series! Praise for the Novels of Fern Michaels “There's enough melodrama in Michaels's newest offering . . . to quench the thirst of soap opera devotees.” —Publishers Weekly on About Face “Michaels knows what readers expect from her and she delivers each and every time.” —RT Book Reviews on Perfect Match
402 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1980
423 people are currently reading
536 people want to read
About the author
Fern Michaels
422 books6,456 followersFern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
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April 20, 2011Dire
Skim read only.
Heroine Wren decides she loves a total creep. She goes out of her way to meet with him and engages in compromising situations with him. He is also sleeping with her alleged best friend, who is ( in name only) a puritan. After about 100 pages of this, she goes to meet him secretly But he rapes her violently and then loses her in a card game to a group of rough sea men who then gang rape her. Description of these events is almost prosaic and suggests that it's nothing much to worry about and she'll get over it. She maims the creep and kills one of the other rapists.
She then runs away and for some reason instead of going home, ends up on a ship heading for the colonies captained by her cousin Caleb.
The alleged friend is on board with her perverted brother who acts as a mad minister who terrorises the people in the hold.
The hero also gets it on with the friend who is now pregnant to the creep.
There was some level of romance between Wren and Caleb but it was hard to tell.
The crazy perverted minister story line seemed to go on until near the end.
I can't begin to describe what I didn't like about this novel but it would be fair to say that this includes the writing, the heroine, the hero, the side characters, the stereotypical mad minister, the gang rape from which she seems to recover pretty quickly and the whole general plot.
This came across as a cold book ( a bit like Rosemary Rodgers in that respect) . It never engaged from the start and I skim read it only before I gave up.
Definitely not a keeper.
Skim read only.
Heroine Wren decides she loves a total creep. She goes out of her way to meet with him and engages in compromising situations with him. He is also sleeping with her alleged best friend, who is ( in name only) a puritan. After about 100 pages of this, she goes to meet him secretly But he rapes her violently and then loses her in a card game to a group of rough sea men who then gang rape her. Description of these events is almost prosaic and suggests that it's nothing much to worry about and she'll get over it. She maims the creep and kills one of the other rapists.
She then runs away and for some reason instead of going home, ends up on a ship heading for the colonies captained by her cousin Caleb.
The alleged friend is on board with her perverted brother who acts as a mad minister who terrorises the people in the hold.
The hero also gets it on with the friend who is now pregnant to the creep.
There was some level of romance between Wren and Caleb but it was hard to tell.
The crazy perverted minister story line seemed to go on until near the end.
I can't begin to describe what I didn't like about this novel but it would be fair to say that this includes the writing, the heroine, the hero, the side characters, the stereotypical mad minister, the gang rape from which she seems to recover pretty quickly and the whole general plot.
This came across as a cold book ( a bit like Rosemary Rodgers in that respect) . It never engaged from the start and I skim read it only before I gave up.
Definitely not a keeper.
May 26, 2013
As Old Skool romances go, this one wasn't all that bad. On the other hand it never reached the exalted So Bad It's Good level I was so hoping for.
This is the third book in a series I hadn't read before. Thankfully the first few chapters give an adequate outline of who is who and what is what so I had a basic idea of the story so far. Anything I didn't get wasn't important enough to worry about. What is boils down to is we're following the adventures of squeally Wren van der Rhys. The story starts in England where Wren has been kicked out of finishing school because she mistakenly believes she's in love with, and is loved back by, Malcolm Weatherly. At this point I'll be generous and not label Wren as TSTL and instead chalk it up to her being extremely young and inexperienced.
Wren's adoptive parents see Malcolm for the gold digger he is and they attempt to break the pair up. This backfires on them and starts the ball rolling that will eventually lead to The Really Bad Thing happening to Wren. After The Really Bad Thing, Wren begins to show signs of toughening up and taking matters into her own hands. I thought good, we're going to see Wren maturing and growing into a woman. Unfortunately my expectations were premature.
Thinking she needs to get out of the country fast because of The Really Bad Thing, Wren sneaks aboard the ship of her non-biological brother, Caleb van der Rhys. He's taking a load of Puritans over to the New World. Caleb is your typical Old Skool hero. He sleeps with any woman within spitting distance (with nary a STD to worry about picking up), spends very little time with the heroine, and yet even when he says himself he hardly knows Wren it's just a few pages later before Caleb realizes she is his "destiny" and he's totally, devotedly in love with her.
A good chunk of the book takes place aboard the ship and this is when the story just drags. I admit I skimmed through a bunch of this. Wren is back into squeally mode. Eventually they make it back to dry land and the story picks back up. I didn't say it got better, I just said it picks back up.
I was almost ready to like the minor character of Lydia when she began going on about her pies. Nevermind she just saved a crazy pregnant slutty pilgrim from a religious fanatic. Nevermind there's trouble brewing with the colonial villagers and our gang have to beat a hasty retreat back to the ship. Lydia wants her damn pies! I want to punch you, Lydia. I want to punch you so bad.
There's a brief skirmish onboard the ship and Wren proves her mettle by killing a bunch of men. Almost immediately after this Caleb carries his love off to his cabin for some purple prose lovin'. Cuz nothing sets the mood like dead bodies littering the deck.
This is the third book in a series I hadn't read before. Thankfully the first few chapters give an adequate outline of who is who and what is what so I had a basic idea of the story so far. Anything I didn't get wasn't important enough to worry about. What is boils down to is we're following the adventures of squeally Wren van der Rhys. The story starts in England where Wren has been kicked out of finishing school because she mistakenly believes she's in love with, and is loved back by, Malcolm Weatherly. At this point I'll be generous and not label Wren as TSTL and instead chalk it up to her being extremely young and inexperienced.
Wren's adoptive parents see Malcolm for the gold digger he is and they attempt to break the pair up. This backfires on them and starts the ball rolling that will eventually lead to The Really Bad Thing happening to Wren. After The Really Bad Thing, Wren begins to show signs of toughening up and taking matters into her own hands. I thought good, we're going to see Wren maturing and growing into a woman. Unfortunately my expectations were premature.
Thinking she needs to get out of the country fast because of The Really Bad Thing, Wren sneaks aboard the ship of her non-biological brother, Caleb van der Rhys. He's taking a load of Puritans over to the New World. Caleb is your typical Old Skool hero. He sleeps with any woman within spitting distance (with nary a STD to worry about picking up), spends very little time with the heroine, and yet even when he says himself he hardly knows Wren it's just a few pages later before Caleb realizes she is his "destiny" and he's totally, devotedly in love with her.
A good chunk of the book takes place aboard the ship and this is when the story just drags. I admit I skimmed through a bunch of this. Wren is back into squeally mode. Eventually they make it back to dry land and the story picks back up. I didn't say it got better, I just said it picks back up.
I was almost ready to like the minor character of Lydia when she began going on about her pies. Nevermind she just saved a crazy pregnant slutty pilgrim from a religious fanatic. Nevermind there's trouble brewing with the colonial villagers and our gang have to beat a hasty retreat back to the ship. Lydia wants her damn pies! I want to punch you, Lydia. I want to punch you so bad.
There's a brief skirmish onboard the ship and Wren proves her mettle by killing a bunch of men. Almost immediately after this Caleb carries his love off to his cabin for some purple prose lovin'. Cuz nothing sets the mood like dead bodies littering the deck.
October 30, 2013
I see the negative reviews but read for yourself. This book was great. I have loved this entire series. Women pirates it was awesome with their trials and love. Fern Micheals book has never disappointed me.
August 8, 2018
So bad. So very bad that I was nauseous.
The entire beginning is the author waxing on and on about how awesome the other characters are and all the while, she ignores the characters that she is supposed to be writing about. FIRST, the hero is her BROTHER. Okay, she's adopted, but still, it's her BROTHER. Even I am grossed out by this.
The heroine had thrown herself at one guy who was also screwing her best friend. Her own mother tries to seduce the guy too. The author tries to make it out like the mother was being magnanimous, but there is no way that a mom seducing her daughter's boyfriend is cool. The heroine was convinced she was in love with this guy and tried to run away with him, but he wasn't interested in anything but hr dowry. Her mom and dad din't approve, so she wasn't getting a dowery. On that note, he refuses to marry her, but she still gives him her virginity. Ten hours later, she maims the guy, murders another and within a few days is ready to jump in bed with her BROTHER (who, by the way had just screwed her best friend about ten hours earlier and she knows it.)
If you're not completely grossed out by this, then let me tell you how the hero had been sleeping with his own stepmother. That's right. His father's wife. Anyone ready to vomit yet? Oh, and all these people act like they are all just good friends. On top of this enormous pile of dung, is a boatful of Quakers. I could drop the mic here, but believe me, this book gets so much dumber than this.
If this isn't enough to make you vomit, there is more stupidity, but please, take my advice and don't waste your time. It's a shame, because I usually like Fern Michaels. It's like she got some deranged teenager to write this novel. The entire beginning is filler for word count or something. The rest is simply trying to test the reader's ability to be grossed out and dumbed down for good measure.
The whole book was filled with so many disgusting people that I wasn't sure who I was rooting for anymore. Do I want the guy who screws his stepmom, his little sister and her best friend? Do I want the idiot heroine whose spine is optional? I'm almost rooting for the jealous slut of a best friend, because honestly, there are no winners here.
I think I need a drink after reading this.
The entire beginning is the author waxing on and on about how awesome the other characters are and all the while, she ignores the characters that she is supposed to be writing about. FIRST, the hero is her BROTHER. Okay, she's adopted, but still, it's her BROTHER. Even I am grossed out by this.
The heroine had thrown herself at one guy who was also screwing her best friend. Her own mother tries to seduce the guy too. The author tries to make it out like the mother was being magnanimous, but there is no way that a mom seducing her daughter's boyfriend is cool. The heroine was convinced she was in love with this guy and tried to run away with him, but he wasn't interested in anything but hr dowry. Her mom and dad din't approve, so she wasn't getting a dowery. On that note, he refuses to marry her, but she still gives him her virginity. Ten hours later, she maims the guy, murders another and within a few days is ready to jump in bed with her BROTHER (who, by the way had just screwed her best friend about ten hours earlier and she knows it.)
If you're not completely grossed out by this, then let me tell you how the hero had been sleeping with his own stepmother. That's right. His father's wife. Anyone ready to vomit yet? Oh, and all these people act like they are all just good friends. On top of this enormous pile of dung, is a boatful of Quakers. I could drop the mic here, but believe me, this book gets so much dumber than this.
If this isn't enough to make you vomit, there is more stupidity, but please, take my advice and don't waste your time. It's a shame, because I usually like Fern Michaels. It's like she got some deranged teenager to write this novel. The entire beginning is filler for word count or something. The rest is simply trying to test the reader's ability to be grossed out and dumbed down for good measure.
The whole book was filled with so many disgusting people that I wasn't sure who I was rooting for anymore. Do I want the guy who screws his stepmom, his little sister and her best friend? Do I want the idiot heroine whose spine is optional? I'm almost rooting for the jealous slut of a best friend, because honestly, there are no winners here.
I think I need a drink after reading this.
June 30, 2019
Good read
This is another awesome series from Fern Michaels. I have read all of the Godmother series, the sister good, and now just finished the third book in this series. I love it with authors do a series. Sometimes at the end of a book, you are wondering, WHAT/!!!!!! When that happens, it feels unfinished. I look forward-looking to Reading b the fourth book. Just ordered it online.
This is another awesome series from Fern Michaels. I have read all of the Godmother series, the sister good, and now just finished the third book in this series. I love it with authors do a series. Sometimes at the end of a book, you are wondering, WHAT/!!!!!! When that happens, it feels unfinished. I look forward-looking to Reading b the fourth book. Just ordered it online.
May 20, 2018
I would have given this book a lower rating but it's not possible. How horrid - what happened to Fern Michaels???
August 8, 2018
Worst Book Ever
I can't even begin to explain how very bad this book is. It would take too long. It's literally nauseating. Oh, and stupid.
I can't even begin to explain how very bad this book is. It would take too long. It's literally nauseating. Oh, and stupid.
September 25, 2021
Third book in the series wren and Caleb love story , Sara and Lydia. Malcolm and Bascom the preacher.?
They are stowaways to escape. Great adventure and love ❤️
They are stowaways to escape. Great adventure and love ❤️
December 23, 2021
Like most of the author's early works, the story's way over the top, totally unbelievable, and so far fetched it's insulting to her readers' intelligence. (This is the third - and final - of her earlier works I've read. Her later ones bored me.)
The only thing I liked about this story was one scene, which I wish had been part of other books. It's when Caleb is ready to "forcefully seduce" Wren, who had way too many bad experiences with men (i.e. several rapes). At first he starts saying she wants it as much as he does, but then he sees how frightened she is, realizes what she's been through, and apologizes, lets her cry in his arms and then just holds her close a long time. None of that ridiculous, "It's too late, I can't stop now, try to relax and it won't be so bad" and all that crap. This was just so sweet and tender.
Too bad the rest of the book didn't measure up to that scene.
The only thing I liked about this story was one scene, which I wish had been part of other books. It's when Caleb is ready to "forcefully seduce" Wren, who had way too many bad experiences with men (i.e. several rapes). At first he starts saying she wants it as much as he does, but then he sees how frightened she is, realizes what she's been through, and apologizes, lets her cry in his arms and then just holds her close a long time. None of that ridiculous, "It's too late, I can't stop now, try to relax and it won't be so bad" and all that crap. This was just so sweet and tender.
Too bad the rest of the book didn't measure up to that scene.
Want to read
June 7, 2013http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/bl...
"Caleb is an ass-hat throughout the entire book. At one point Michaels decides he might actually need to have a feeling other than gas, so she has him reflect on what he’s looking for in a lady:
“Somewhere, someplace, someday, he would find a woman full of wonder and excitement, a woman who would love him the way he would love her. They would make love the first time to his satisfaction and the second time to the satisfaction of both; each time they would be tantalizing and incomprehensibly cruel with each other, yet gentle, so very gentle, as if their lovemaking were an assault and a confession at the same time…” (Michaels 144)."
omg
"Caleb is an ass-hat throughout the entire book. At one point Michaels decides he might actually need to have a feeling other than gas, so she has him reflect on what he’s looking for in a lady:
“Somewhere, someplace, someday, he would find a woman full of wonder and excitement, a woman who would love him the way he would love her. They would make love the first time to his satisfaction and the second time to the satisfaction of both; each time they would be tantalizing and incomprehensibly cruel with each other, yet gentle, so very gentle, as if their lovemaking were an assault and a confession at the same time…” (Michaels 144)."
omg
January 24, 2017
I did not like this book! I try to be fair in my reviews but I just couldn't with this one. It was a very heavy book. Wren our heroine falls for a very bad guy and abandons her family for him. Only to be raped by him and some thugs. Her adopted family loves her but she runs from them. Then her adoptive brother becomes her love interest and he is a total jerk! Then she is on Calebs ship and once again gets raped by the same man she tried to escape. It was just too much for me. After reading this book I know I will not read another from this series because it has more raping from what I've read. Just way to heavy for me. Plot had potential until the heroine took hit after hit emotionally and physically. I couldn't find any connection with the characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2023
Oh what fun was played on these two blind simpering fools ; by two other crazy idiots just a touch more vain then Caleb & Wren. I was surprised Wren even predicted the weather on board the Siren.
On to book 4... Fury, please don't be such a twit, or do be do da. whatever. I coulda stopped after book 1 I'm thinking.
On to book 4... Fury, please don't be such a twit, or do be do da. whatever. I coulda stopped after book 1 I'm thinking.
January 26, 2016
I thought this had way too many plot lines and not enough time spent on building the feelings between the two main characters. Toward the end, I found myself feeling anxious that the author would be able to resolve all the issues before the end of the book. She did resolve them, but it seemed rushed and not well thought out. I found myself very dissatisfied at the result of the ending.
November 28, 2014
While I have enjoyed reading this series by Fern Michaels and the era of pirating, They are now kind of sounding like the same thing over again. Still liked book, but there comes a time when a series needs to end. I think there is one more left.
August 23, 2009
I was so excited when I found this, I wanted to continue the saga of this family. (Still young and dumb.)
June 27, 2013
Bad pacing, lots of 'telling not showing' and no good sex scenes. A few 'read aloud to whoever will listen' sentences.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews