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Capture My Heart
Captured in boyhood by Barbary pirates, raised among them, and renamed Serad, Lord Alexander Wakefield thought of women as mere booty - ornaments for his harem to be owned and enjoyed. Until he captured British heiress Victoria Lynn Lawrence, on her way home to England. Once he swept her from the deck of her ship, carried her to his cabin, and tasted the magic of her luscious lips and silken skin, Alex knew he would forfeit any ransom to keep the seductive temptress for his own. And though Tori was determined to be no man's plaything, she soon felt her defenses crumble under Alex's fiery touch. Though she must escape the harem where he would keep her as love's slave, Tori could never escape the firestorm of desire that captured her heart in the arms of her bold and demanding pirate lover.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
About the author
Bobbi Smith
128 books512 followersAfter working as a department manager for Famous-Barr, and briefly as a clerk at a bookstore, Bobbi Smith gave up on career security and began writing. She sold her first book to Zebra in 1982. Since then, Bobbi has written over 40 books and several short stories. To date, there are more than five million of her novels in print. She has been awarded the prestigious Romantic Times Storyteller of the Year Award and two Career Achievement Awards. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists. When she's not working on her novels, she is frequently a guest speaker for writer's groups. Bobbi is mother of two sons and resides in St. Charles, Missouri with her husband and three dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
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May 21, 2022(see stepback: https://youtu.be/vZpBs0GTEP4?t=69)
August 15, 2023
Зло семейство, платено отвличане на другия край на света, (псевдо)пирати, живот сред чужда култура, завръщане на следващото поколение за възмездие, измами и интриги, плюс няколко засукани любовни двойки. Идеално.
May 10, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✨English Duke Heir MMC turned Pirate 🏴☠️
✨Algiers Setting 🐪
✨Evil Villains
✨Family Drama
✨Harem Romance 🥵
✨Murderous Plot
It’s feeling like summer and you know what that means: PIRATE ROMANCES. 🏴☠️ I’m obsessed.
Bobbi Smith is the author that got me into reading vintage bodice ripper romances. I love her writing. If you are new to her, know that these stories can come off cringe and problematic. The book was written in 1992.
Bobbi focuses on many characters- not just the MMC + FMC. Her books always feel like a journey. The side characters always have fulfilling stories. I noticed some reviewers have hated that on here. Depends on your personal taste. I personally enjoy her story depth.
Here in Capture My Heart, the year is 1789 and the story starts off in England. 🏴 Readers follow an English boy (MMC starts off at 8 years old) who is being raised by his grandfather and aunt Catherine. His parents are villainous characters full of greed. In a plot to rid them of the boy so that they can gain more wealth and power (the grandfather is a duke) his biological father pays thugs to kidnap the boy and sale him into slavery in France so that he will never be seen again. The thugs obviously flop it up and take the child and the young Aunt Catherine. They aboard a ship (the villain biological father / brother as well) to head to France— however the ship of thugs is raided by a ruthless pirate 🏴☠️ ship while at sea. Most everyone is slayed down, including the villain biological father, during this attack. Aunt Catherine and the boy are taken to the Dey of Algiers. Catherine is a beautiful white girl with white hair and icy blue eyes. The Dey becomes fascinated with her and makes her one of his women in his harem. He sees the attachment that she has to the child and graciously keeps the boy as one of his own children to please her.
18 years later! 👀 Told you Bobbi loves a journey.
The Dey has renamed Catherine, to rid her of her English name, to Robbie. And for 18 years she has been his lover and companion inside his harem.
The Dey renamed the MMC boy Lord Alex to Serad. 🔥 He’s now a 26 year old man that has grown tall, dark and muscular. His black hair long and full dark beard full on his face. He has gained the reputation as the most fearless pirate of the sea. And he is known as the son of Malik- the Dey of Algiers.
Back in England 🏴 Serad’s grandfather, the duke, remains heartbroken over the loss of his daughter and grandson. He never stopped looking for them. He also never found out it was his own son (and his wife’s) doing. He didn’t miss his son as much because he knew what he was but wondered what happened to all his family.
Lady Victoria, a young spunky English girl, has been living in India with her parents. She’s been living pretty freely without rules there, which makes her more BOLD than most young ladies. She gets on a boat to head to England to be wed to her betroth- when while at sea her ship is raided by the most ruthless pirates! 🏴☠️ Serad is instantly enchanted by the spunky Victoria. He decides right away to take her to Algiers and put her in his own harem to be one of his many lovers.
The entire journey between these two is enemies to lovers but in the most playful lusty way. Victoria just wants to return to England and be married to the man she was promised to — but is completely captivated by Serad. He treats her like royalty despite her mischievous behavior. The two go back and forth the entire plot. Mainly, while in the desert, Victoria refuses to wear the appropriate Algiers desert outfits the women wear because they are not modest. But the two become lovers in love as he takes her across the desert on horseback.
Victoria escapes the desert with the help of others and is returned to England where she courts the man she is to be married to and finds it all so FAKE after spending months living in the desert and being a lover to the pirate. She yearns to be back with him.
The whole story comes 360 for Serad, when he comes back to England for Victoria and comes to terms with his past life.
I LOVED this story. This would be great source material for a TV show honestly. The drama of Bridgerton but Algiers setting. 🐪 I binged Sandokan during the winter and loved it. This has very similiar vibes!!
Harem reads are for everyone. ⚠️ I personally love this. I enjoy the cultural diversity romances and even cultural backgrounds inside these stories.
My only con for this book (didn’t dock a star for it) was the ending was so HEA that it didn’t feel right. I don’t want to spoil the entire book. But I would have wrote the ending differently. It was a good ending but idk I would have made a few changes myself.
Other than that- another Bobbi Smith book down for me. ✨
This book is almost 500 pages. I did score the first edition copy of this one at the flea market!
✨English Duke Heir MMC turned Pirate 🏴☠️
✨Algiers Setting 🐪
✨Evil Villains
✨Family Drama
✨Harem Romance 🥵
✨Murderous Plot
It’s feeling like summer and you know what that means: PIRATE ROMANCES. 🏴☠️ I’m obsessed.
Bobbi Smith is the author that got me into reading vintage bodice ripper romances. I love her writing. If you are new to her, know that these stories can come off cringe and problematic. The book was written in 1992.
Bobbi focuses on many characters- not just the MMC + FMC. Her books always feel like a journey. The side characters always have fulfilling stories. I noticed some reviewers have hated that on here. Depends on your personal taste. I personally enjoy her story depth.
Here in Capture My Heart, the year is 1789 and the story starts off in England. 🏴 Readers follow an English boy (MMC starts off at 8 years old) who is being raised by his grandfather and aunt Catherine. His parents are villainous characters full of greed. In a plot to rid them of the boy so that they can gain more wealth and power (the grandfather is a duke) his biological father pays thugs to kidnap the boy and sale him into slavery in France so that he will never be seen again. The thugs obviously flop it up and take the child and the young Aunt Catherine. They aboard a ship (the villain biological father / brother as well) to head to France— however the ship of thugs is raided by a ruthless pirate 🏴☠️ ship while at sea. Most everyone is slayed down, including the villain biological father, during this attack. Aunt Catherine and the boy are taken to the Dey of Algiers. Catherine is a beautiful white girl with white hair and icy blue eyes. The Dey becomes fascinated with her and makes her one of his women in his harem. He sees the attachment that she has to the child and graciously keeps the boy as one of his own children to please her.
18 years later! 👀 Told you Bobbi loves a journey.
The Dey has renamed Catherine, to rid her of her English name, to Robbie. And for 18 years she has been his lover and companion inside his harem.
The Dey renamed the MMC boy Lord Alex to Serad. 🔥 He’s now a 26 year old man that has grown tall, dark and muscular. His black hair long and full dark beard full on his face. He has gained the reputation as the most fearless pirate of the sea. And he is known as the son of Malik- the Dey of Algiers.
Back in England 🏴 Serad’s grandfather, the duke, remains heartbroken over the loss of his daughter and grandson. He never stopped looking for them. He also never found out it was his own son (and his wife’s) doing. He didn’t miss his son as much because he knew what he was but wondered what happened to all his family.
Lady Victoria, a young spunky English girl, has been living in India with her parents. She’s been living pretty freely without rules there, which makes her more BOLD than most young ladies. She gets on a boat to head to England to be wed to her betroth- when while at sea her ship is raided by the most ruthless pirates! 🏴☠️ Serad is instantly enchanted by the spunky Victoria. He decides right away to take her to Algiers and put her in his own harem to be one of his many lovers.
The entire journey between these two is enemies to lovers but in the most playful lusty way. Victoria just wants to return to England and be married to the man she was promised to — but is completely captivated by Serad. He treats her like royalty despite her mischievous behavior. The two go back and forth the entire plot. Mainly, while in the desert, Victoria refuses to wear the appropriate Algiers desert outfits the women wear because they are not modest. But the two become lovers in love as he takes her across the desert on horseback.
Victoria escapes the desert with the help of others and is returned to England where she courts the man she is to be married to and finds it all so FAKE after spending months living in the desert and being a lover to the pirate. She yearns to be back with him.
The whole story comes 360 for Serad, when he comes back to England for Victoria and comes to terms with his past life.
I LOVED this story. This would be great source material for a TV show honestly. The drama of Bridgerton but Algiers setting. 🐪 I binged Sandokan during the winter and loved it. This has very similiar vibes!!
Harem reads are for everyone. ⚠️ I personally love this. I enjoy the cultural diversity romances and even cultural backgrounds inside these stories.
My only con for this book (didn’t dock a star for it) was the ending was so HEA that it didn’t feel right. I don’t want to spoil the entire book. But I would have wrote the ending differently. It was a good ending but idk I would have made a few changes myself.
Other than that- another Bobbi Smith book down for me. ✨
This book is almost 500 pages. I did score the first edition copy of this one at the flea market!
November 13, 2023
The beauty of this story is that you’ll have multiple POVs and side romance from other secondary characters without overwhelming the main couple. It’s simply beautiful and steamy with the right amount of sizzle, you’d feel it coming across the pages.
The romance is so in depth and feels so nuance, the characters really come alive. Love the description of Algiers as the main backdrop of the story, as I’ve been to the place myself.
The romance is so in depth and feels so nuance, the characters really come alive. Love the description of Algiers as the main backdrop of the story, as I’ve been to the place myself.
March 29, 2022
2.5 Stars
This one was too much and I didn't like it lol.
This one was too much and I didn't like it lol.
May 17, 2024
Did not like writing style.
March 10, 2010
It's been years since I've read anything by Bobbi Smith. I remember enjoying the other books but this one just didn't cut it for me. Heck the hero barely made an appearance in the first 200 pages and the heroine didn't appear at all. The entire story was about his aunt, his grandfather, and his evil parents. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the plot centered around a despot's harem which is a theme that I absolutely hate. The last 100 pages were good but the build up wasn't worth the 8 hours of reading to get there.
I did have one major issue with the ransom note in the beginning. The thugs were only supposed to kidnap Alexander and I'm sure the note they left was written by Avery since in the 1700s thugs didn't read or write. It just wasn't possible for the thugs to have left a note claiming Alex and Catherine were kidnapped and asking for ransom for both of them when that wasn't the plan at all. Even if they could read and write, where would they have found paper (velum or whatever they used then) out in the Duke's backyard? Hmmmmmm
I did have one major issue with the ransom note in the beginning. The thugs were only supposed to kidnap Alexander and I'm sure the note they left was written by Avery since in the 1700s thugs didn't read or write. It just wasn't possible for the thugs to have left a note claiming Alex and Catherine were kidnapped and asking for ransom for both of them when that wasn't the plan at all. Even if they could read and write, where would they have found paper (velum or whatever they used then) out in the Duke's backyard? Hmmmmmm
January 1, 2021
Not a bad read although to much emphasis was on the male character as a young child. He is kidnapped along with his aunt and held for ransom. A ransom is sent to the Duke and even though he pays neither his grandson nor his daughter are returned. He assumes they are dead. Years later, the boy now a man is a powerful Barbary pirate whose plundering is legendary. He captures a ship containing a woman who is betrothed to a man that is disguised as the missing grandson. She escapes and returns to England only to discover her love for the pirate. Plenty of twists and turns and eventually he is returned to his right full identity. HEA ending.
January 9, 2009
The cover brought a few laughs, but this actually wasn't too bad of a romance novel...obviously some corny lines, but the story was actually not too bad: kidnapping, love and of course PIRATES..haha. Kept my interest and makes me want to head to walgreens to pick up another one!
September 21, 2011
My first book by author. Nice cover. Good plot, but shallow characters. Author not descriptive or emotional at all. I think that's why I couldn't "connect" with the characters. Only thing I wanted to see was the comeuppance of the evil mother of the hero...it happened, but anti-climatic. Oh well.
January 25, 2011
Intriguing.
October 16, 2012
Another one to go on my never read again author list.
June 26, 2013
Really enjoyed this book. It was wonderful. Just the right amount of everything!
September 27, 2015
Not much for historical romance but it was bad. Plot was okay along with characters -however- I do feel that it needed more.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews