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Captains of the Scarlet Night #1

Within a Captain's Hold

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Captain Jaxon Steele is a tall, sun-bronzed, fierce-fighting Pirate King. He and the notorious crew of the Scarlet Night are both feared and respected for their ruthless reputation. The Captain’s only love is the open sea and the ship he calls home. When it comes to women, he has three rules: never sleep with another’s wife, don’t take virgins into bed, and most importantly, never bring a woman aboard—that brings the worst luck of all.

Annalise Gatherone has to leave London—tonight! Usually her only concern is the color of her latest gown, but now she’s choosing between life and death. Desperate to escape the clutches of an evil Duke, she stows away aboard the Scarlet Night, hoping she’s bound for Port St. Maria. Winning Captain Steele's affections, she just might sneak by unharmed. But when her plans are altered in ways she never imagined, she must batten down the hatches for a journey into unknown waters…

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 24, 2015

11 people are currently reading
364 people want to read

About the author

Lisa A. Olech

14 books199 followers
Lisa is an artist/writer living in her dream house nestled among the lakes in New England. She loves getting lost in a steamy book, finding the perfect pair of sexy shoes, and hearing the laughter of her men. Being an estrogen island in a sea of testosterone makes her queen. She believes in ghosts, silver linings, the power of a man in a tuxedo, and happy endings.

Lisa would love to hear from her readers.

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5 stars
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25 (34%)
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15 (20%)
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Bambi Unbridled.
1,297 reviews139 followers
November 24, 2015
So there's this evil duke, more like a batshit crazy duke if you ask me. The evil duke is sadistic and likes to hurt women and the sight of blood stirs him, particularly in the nether region. He was a great villain, a somewhat schizo Jack the Ripper type character. You don't see many of those in modern historical romances. So the evil duke has set his sights on the virginal Lady Annalise with the fiery red hair, and he won't take no for an answer.

In a last ditch attempt to keep out of the evil duke's clutches, Annalise stows away aboard a privateering vessel, the Scarlet Night. Things go awry for Anna fairly quickly, starting with rough seas, an injury, and being discovered by the pirate captain, Jaxon Steele. Anna was a good, solid, likable heroine. She was genuine in all her interactions with people, and her love and feelings toward Jackson were open and encouraging. I usually don't connect well with the sweetly naive heroine, but Anna's character didn't push that annoying heroine button for me.

Captain Jaxon Steele has fought for his position tooth and nail, ever since he was fished out of the drink at the young age of 14. Jaxon's life definitely has not been easy, but he seems to be the honorable sort of pirate. He was a big ol' softie when it came to Anna, and he was fair and jovial when interacting with his crew. For all the danger the couple faced from pirates and the evil duke alike, the romance was more on the sweet side with a few steamy moments thrown in. There was some hot and cold relationship drama, mostly on Jaxon's part, but he always had Anna's best interests at heart.

The story had some great secondary characters, particularly Cookie (Sam-u-el) and Sarah. Cookie was the lovable pirate and our comedic relief. He was the stereotypical peg leg grandfatherly type. Cookie's wife, Sarah, was a soft Caribbean woman in bright colors with a touch of mysticism. I think she was my favorite secondary character - I had a great picture of her in my head.

I recommend this book for those who want to dabble in pirates but may not care for the old school bodice rippers. If you tend to be a fan of the bodice rippers, this one may be a little too sweet for you. I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars / 3 flames.
Profile Image for Sissy's Romance Book Review .
8,992 reviews16 followers
April 3, 2016
This is the first book in the series "Captains of the Scarlet Night". This is also my first book that I have read of Lisa A Olech. I have found my self in love with her writing. I loved the whole story of this book and usually I am not one to like a pirate story but I could not help but love this one!! Our poor heroine, Annalise Gatherone, is having to run for her life after a madman has set his sites on making her his wife. The madman is a Duke and has killed her Uncle to ensure that he gets her. She and her friend Alice think of a plan to have her stow away on a ship to out smart the Duke. Alice will be off pretending to be her and throw the Duke off. On the ship our hero, Captain Jaxon Steele finds Anna in a room on the ship hurt, he and his Cook take her to his cabin. This starts their story of fighting,overcoming and loving! There are some really good love scene and I did feel a time or two that Jaxon was being somewhat hard-head...but I loved every minute of this book!! I am so glad to have found Ms. Olech and can't wait for any of her books to come!! I hope that you will enjoy this book too!!
Profile Image for Zoe.
766 reviews203 followers
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January 5, 2016
it's not a bad book for someone who is just starting to read the historical romance genre. I found it interesting but after 3 chapters I was rather bored. I don't know why, it's just there is no pull in the story, even though the writing itself is not too bad. the flow too forced the passion too bland. I won't give it a rating because I decided to stop at 28%.
99 reviews1 follower
September 29, 2015
Annalise has been threatened by a vicious duke and she needs to escape. She stows away on the Scarlet Night in hopes of sailing to a far away land. When she is found by Captain Jaxon Steele, he knows that she can’t be seen by his crew so he keeps her within his hold. As the days at sea pass, so does their respect for one another, and soon, their love.

This is an easily read story; and it’s a good book for an occasional or beginner reader of this genre. If you’re a long time avid reader, you might find it to be a bit basic or cliché. Jaxon is revered to be the most feared pirate king out there. His stare alone would have most men dropping their weapons. Yet he instantly becomes a bowl of mush when he meets Annalise. Even interactions with his crew were light hearted and full of love. I just had a hard time seeing him as someone to be feared.

Jaxon and Annalise fall in love rather quickly and without much of a foundation. I also thought her intelligence was given too much credit. For example, she comes up with the plan of marrying Jaxon in order to ward off her predator. The Duke has a history of brutally raping and killing women, mostly virgins. Annalise believes that if she marries, this will deter the Duke’s interest in her. I had a hard time believing that if he’s killed off her family in order to get to her, and has been stalking her for some time, why would he give up so easily and/or not want revenge on her actions? Unfortunately, I just didn’t like Annalise, but that could be because her character wasn’t fleshed out as much as some of the others.
Although this book wasn’t a hit for me, I do believe it will have good audience for many.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity of reading and reviewing Within a Captain’s Hold by Lisa Olech.


Profile Image for Chris Torretta.
897 reviews39 followers
November 16, 2015
This has it all, drama, passion, romance, intrigue, a sexy pirate, and a determined woman! I didn’t want to put this down!

It all starts because Annalise is running from her enemy, a dreaded and quite evil duke. The man has no morals and is said to have killed his wife. Annalise has no family and only one friend but is determined to set herself free. She thinks the way to do that is to stowaway onto the Scarlet Night.

Enter sexy pirate! Or to be technical privateer, but same difference! Captain Jaxon Steele is not one to be messed with but he is just as knowledgeable about myths and curses aboard ships as his crew. Finding a woman in his cabin is not going to bode well for anyone.

I love this. Neither of them can run away from the other, although Jaxon tries multiple times. The time they have at sea while she is hidden is such a great story. I loved every single word. Cookie is another character that just finds his way into your heart and the fact that he laughs over the relationship these two have, makes him all the better!

The one thing I didn’t like was the villain. He is quite villainous, but there are moments when we can see his POV. I skimmed those parts. I am not sure why I didn’t like reading about him but I think it is due to the idea of having the villain more hidden. I did not want to know exactly what he had planned. That said, I realize why this had to be done since Annalise and Jaxon are on board the Scarlet Night, there is no other way to weave in clues about the villain really. But these parts seemed to drag the story down.

The rest of the story is HOT, HOT, HOT! Quite exciting and lovely. I am so excited that there will be a book two. This ended neatly but I want more!


4.5/5

Received from publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Carmella.
670 reviews2 followers
September 20, 2015
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Annalise has been promised to a Duke in marriage and she must escape him. He has been known to do terrible things to women and his last wife vanished. She has decided to stow away on a ship going to Port Royal, where her maid/friend Alice will meet her and hopefully they will be able to live a normal life without fear.

Anna is discovered on the ship by the Capt. Jaxon Steele and Cookie, the Cook. She has been injured in the hold and is taken to the Captain's cabin. It is more so the crew does not see her as it is very taboo to have a woman on a ship. Jaxon is enraged that she has managed to sneak aboard.

Jaxon has other problems besides having a woman on his ship. He has also learned that a cruel pirate, Capt. Bonchette, is out to kill him.

This is the beginning of Anna and Jaxon's story.

I liked Jaxon and Anna together. Even though Anna has not had much experience in the outside world, she is brave. She will deal with issues that women of her station never will.

Their love for one another is wonderful.! I could feel their love come up from the pages and I was almost jealous! Jaxon is worried about the fact he is a pirate will cause danger to Anna. Someone will always want his power, his luck..

There are some great characters in the book too. Cookie is more than a shipmate to Jaxon, he is a brother/father...family. Sarah, Cookies lady is such a good person and psychic also. It isn't something she uses though, it is truly a gift.

I would recommend this book, I think you will enjoy it. I look forward to reading about Alice also..
Profile Image for Megan (BookWifeReviews).
1,564 reviews55 followers
September 9, 2015
I received an ARC book from Kensington Books for an honest review.

I have never read any kind of pirate book. I had a little bit of trouble with the dialog at first but after I got use to the way they spoke I loved it.

Anna is running away from an insane man who wants to 'own' her and she ends up as a stow away on The Scarlet Night. Jaxon Steele (the captain) wants nothing to do with her at first and plans on dumping her off at the first port. But he finds that he isn't able to let her go. They get married on the ship in order to make it so that she isn no longer "pure" her her stalkers eyes and that will also make Jaxon a wealthy lord.

When they port and they find that their sham marriage is more real then they thought.

It was an easy read. I enjoyed it and I will read more from Lisa Olech.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
932 reviews25 followers
November 30, 2015
Lisa A. Olech sails off to an outstanding start to her new Captains of the Scarlet Night series in Within A Captain's Hold! This book took off from page one and had no lulls. Well-drawn characters that brought an added dimension to an already well-plotted tale combined with this author's fabulous writing skills sealed the deal on this great story. Each member of the cast in this novel contributed an interesting layer to this work bringing to life the pages of this epic adventure. Feelings ranging from frustration to scorching attraction defined a wonderful hero and heroine relationship. Lisa A. Olech is an author to watch as I suspect based on her latest effort we will be seeing more amazing work from her in the future!
*I received this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Profile Image for Julia DeBarrioz.
Author 6 books50 followers
January 25, 2016
This was great piraty fun, I enjoyed it. The author tells a good historical romance tale without shrinking from the nitty gritty of what life what like for a privateer in 1680. I also appreciated that she didn't succumb to the romance tale formula of torturing the reader with the hero and heroine fighting over every stupid little thing until the end when they make their great reconciliation. Anna was a genuine lead dame, I liked her a great deal, and Captain Jaxon was dreamy too. The villain, a psychopathic duke, is a character you'll love to hate.

I look forward to reading Alice's story next. She's the one who really has nerves of steel.

There were a couple details that seemed odd to me, but nothing truly glaring, so I give it a happy 4 stars!
Profile Image for Midwest Romantic.
489 reviews11 followers
October 23, 2015


Originally posted on my blog Live Laugh & Love Books



I liked Jaxon and Anna!!! Their love for one another was just great. I felt the emotions as I was reading this book and I have to admit I became a little jealous. I also like all the other incredible characters as well.

Just a great story and wonder writing! I certainly recommend this book because I really believe it will be enjoyable to read!

*I received a complimentary copy of the book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.*
Profile Image for Amy E Doyle.
13 reviews
July 12, 2022
If you are looking for a great pirate romance that will leave you tingling in all the right places, you've found it. Olech does a fantastic job weaving the world of pirate Captain Jaxon Steele and his crew. Everything from life on the ship, to the beautiful yet dangerous life in Port Royal. The scenes between Jaxon and Annalise are full of spark and passion.

This did lose a star for me because of how gruesome Wolfsan was. A number of the chapters of him made me feel extremely uneasy, and honestly pulled me out of the mood of the rest of the book.

Please research trigger warnings before reading this book!! I will definitely be moving on to the rest of the series!!
Profile Image for Lucinda Race.
Author 68 books666 followers
April 14, 2018
Loved this book. The action kept me on the edge of my seat and Turing the page. I've already dowloaded Within a Captains' Treasure -

Great story and just the right amount of heat.
1 review
January 19, 2020
Great book

I wasn't sure about this book to start with as its not the kind of book I normally read but I was quickly finding myself unable to put it down.
Profile Image for Dixie Brown.
Author 17 books352 followers
May 8, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyable story. Loved the characters. I went immediately to order book #2 in the series and that doesn't ever happen unless I've loved everything about the first one.
Profile Image for Adria's Musings.
843 reviews41 followers
January 24, 2017
Originally posted on Adria's Romance Reviews
* A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review. All conclusions are my own responsibility and I was not compensated for this review.

As a Pirate King, Captain Jaxon Steele has to make sure that he remains in charge of his ship, the Scarlet Night, and his crew. His ruthless reputation makes him both feared and respected by all he meets. Then Annalise Gatherone is discovered aboard and things start to change for Jaxon. Annalise is running away from a Duke who wants her dead and out of sheer desperation she has snuck aboard the Scarlet Night in hopes that the ship will head to Port St. Maria. Along the way Annalise gets the idea to win over Jaxon’s affections except her plans have unexpected consequences.

So, Lisa A. Olech is a new-to-me author and I love me some pirate romances. Within a Captain’s Hold wasn’t bad at all. I liked the fact that Olech gave me what I wanted: Pirates. Stinky, mean, thieving, and deadly. Lol, I know. Stinky? Well yeah, they’re on the sea for long periods of time doing hard core work and they can’t use all their drinking water for baths now can they? Anyway, they were pretty realistic. Olech didn’t shy away from painting the harsh picture of what life was like on the seas back then which made the book as a whole entertaining.

Jaxon, the “hero” of the story (Because he’s a pirate you know) was what I hoped he would be: Fearless, ruthless, dashing, dangerous, and passionate. He had his good side and his bad side which made him an overall interesting character. I enjoyed his progression from badass pirate captain to lovesick pirate captain. Just like a man, he was in denial for the longest time but he was a goner almost from the moment he met Annalise.

Now Annalise was a little harder for me to like. She was too sweet and innocent at first and I found her a little bland and boring. I wrote her off as too much of a damsel in distress until about the last half of the book where she got interesting. I did think that she could have been a bit more multi-dimensional from the beginning but she wasn’t bad by the end. By that time she had seen and done quite a bit to survive so I think that’s what made her a better character to me.

The supporting cast of characters helped make Within a Captain’s Hold more than just a love story. They brought humor and life to the story and I enjoyed them all. I also enjoyed the villains believe it or not because the hero and heroine are only as good as the villain is bad and in this case the duke that was chasing Annalise was bad and his actions definitely justified Annalise’s desperation to get away.

I will say that sometimes the book ran a little long in certain areas and I felt myself losing interest at times but when the pace picked up it was worth it.

Final Verdict: Not a bad way to spend my time. I’ll definitely be picking up the other books in the series.
Profile Image for N. Kuhn.
Author 65 books410 followers
December 4, 2016
What an exciting tale. I loved every minute, every page. Jaxson Steele, the name in itself sounds sexy as sin. But throw in that he's a pirate, his hotness just jumps up the scale. When he finds stowaway Anna on his ship, after a massive storm, he sees a side to himself he never thought existed. The tale is exciting, the romance is real. With each page I turned, I wanted more. When it comes to pirate novels, this was fantastic, and heart warming.
Profile Image for Tara.
376 reviews
January 17, 2016
Annalise is on the run from an evil duke who wants her at any cost. She ends up on Captain Jaxon Steele's ship and when he discovers her in the hold of his ship, that's when the real adventure begins. Annalise and Jaxon somehow end up married, but before they can truly enjoy each other, the duke shows up and he's ready to murder someone, mainly Jaxon.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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