The Captain's Lady

War of 1812 #1

by Jo Goodman

Desperate to avenge her parents' deaths, Alexis Danty escapes from Captain Tanner Cloud--a devastatingly handsome man who has vowed to protect her--by masquerading as a man, but when she comes face to face with Cloud again, she can no longer deny the fiery passion that flares between them. Original.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Pirates, Fiction, Forced Proximity, Adventure

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

To find characters to illustrate my first family saga, I cut out models from the Sears catalogue. I was in fourth grade, but it was a start. In seventh grade I wrote a melodrama about two orphan sisters, one of whom was pregnant. There was also a story about a runaway girl with the unlikely name of Strawberry and one about mistaken identities and an evil blind date. My supportive, but vaguely concerned parents, sighed with relief when I announced I was going to write children's books. They bought me an electric typewriter and crossed their fingers, but somehow PASSION'S BRIDE came out. No one was really surprised.
I graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry and some notion that I would do marine research. Years of competitive swimming didn't help me anticipate seasickness. A career change seemed in order. I began working with adolescents and families, first as a childcare worker and later, after graduating from West Virginia University with a master's degree in counseling, as a therapist. I am currently the executive director of a child caring/mental health agency and find my work and my writing often compliment each other. One grounds me in reality and the other offers a break from it.

Reviews

[PACREG86 · Rating 5 out of 5]

***2025 Reread ..still 5⭐ Keeper Shelf....the competence porn!! and I'll always be up for sailing the high seas and some good forced proximity!!***


How is this book flying so low under the radar?? I couldn't find a single instance of a major romance site or prominent book blogger reviewing this (although the now defunct Romantic Times did give it an award the year it was originally published)...only 130 ratings on good reads and barely 12 reviews?! 😮

So the book is Jo Goodman's debut novel originally published in 1984 as yes...wait for it...Passion's Bride ugh, terrible title for this book...just awful...but definitely typical of the era!! and later renamed/rereleased in 1998 with another unworthy cover and another inappropriate title suggested by the publisher... Captain's Bride (NO one gets married in this book, damnit)...and neither title are Jo Goodman's fault...her preferred title was Dark Lady (the name of the heroine's ship)...and the cover art never comes close either. There should be some fabulous oil painting of Captain Alexis Danty in her swashbuckling black garb standing on the deck of her ship!...so I can only conclude that it is this combo of ill-advised titles and covers that has contributed to this book languishing in obscurity!

I picked up the (now titled) Captain's Lady on KU...and while the blurb sounded good (check the blurb for a more straightforward plot set-up)...I frankly had low to moderate expectations, I do know Jo Goodman can write emotionally intelligent ADULTS...BUT I've read enough 1980s bodice rippers to have certain umm expectations going in...AND THEN this book just kept surprising me...again and again...had I misread the date?? what an anomaly this is!!👀

Here is a fierce and intelligent female lead...not a Mary Sue...Not TSTL...Not perky, coy or so sweet you need to brush your teeth... BUT determined...pragmatic...driven... looking the hero in the eye and talking to him straight...and then him replying to her, just as straight...hell yeah!! Add in her evolution to Lady Sea Captain + forced proximity + their undeniable attraction to each other + disagreeing about her vow of vengeance for her loved ones + but eventually respecting the other's motivations...yep! works for me!

And Goodman's hero here surprised me as well...turns out Captain Tanner Cloud is a serious gamma hero...strong, intelligent and actually worthy of the force of nature that is Alexis Danty, the heroine...I was frankly a bit worried at first, that he wouldn't be worthy of her...He first sees her swimming in the ocean...but rather than drooling over her body...Cloud admires her physical strength as she tests herself against the current...and it goes on from there. Yes, he wants her, desires her, but not based solely on her appearance...it is her strength of character and skills that attract him, again and again.

And Goodman allows both Alex and Cloud to be a bit imperfect...and more importantly, allows them to grow as their relationship progresses!! I also like a hero in pursuit...and especially like when they say the words first...without knowing if the heroine feels the same.

And as these two get to know each other...just the way they mentally understand how the other thinks...so so good!! They respect each other!! and understand even when they don't agree with choices or decisions the other makes!!
"You might just be able to make it, Alex,” he whispered, to give her strength. “And you might just be able to stop me,” she said, returning it."

And y'all know how my little historian's heart beats for an author that can skillfully weave a story into actual historical events...which Goodman does with aplomb here...the backdrop ends up being events leading to the War of 1812...notably the British boarding and impressment of sailors often brutally into the British navy...as well as the history of privateers and pirates...here Goodman manages to weave Jean Lafitte into her story in a convincing manner as a supporting character...tricky using actual historical personages but Goodman pulls it off.

A few other notes...Goodman manages to avoid the worst of the 1980s bad sex scene euphemisms🔥 ...so that was appreciated...but just skips any mention of contraception, sigh...typical also of this period in the genre. The most notable flaw was the complete absence of POC in a Caribbean setting...in fact the villain is the only one to make any reference, which comes very late in the story...and the other characters are angered by the callousness in his references. Now, especially coming off Alyssa Cole's fabulous Civil War romance, it really stuck out...there should have been all kinds of POC especially when the ships are in port in the islands and in Washington DC...however, I do consider context as a reader (in this case, what publishers were and were not printing)...and while the absence of POC is a serious flaw, seeing as this was written in the 1980s, I appreciated that there were at least no cringe worthy stereotypes. I would like to think if Goodman was writing this today she would have figured out how to include POC without just side-stepping them.

Finally this book is, as books from this era are, almost twice as long as today's HR tend to be...which I love!...first the length allows Goodman to keep the pace steady, without rushing along too much...we get those moments of detail as the story progresses.

Are you one of those readers that get frustrated that JUST as the couple gets together, boom💥 the story is over...well, not a problem here...there are some terrific scenes of them together just being a couple, making plans, supporting each other...and the intricate plot has time to unwind as well. oh...also the BIG plot twist at the end had full-on 80s vibes, but I was invested in the characters at that point and Goodman sold it for me! I also think the end might have gone a bit differently if this was written today!

✨This book isn't perfect...frankly, no book is...there are always threads that can be pulled and criticized...a book either works for you or it doesn't, and this one:

solid well thought-out prose

a strong, smart, capable heroine

an equally strong but emotionally intelligent hero who can express his feelings

at odds but still supportive of each other = good tension

against a great historical backdrop, with political machinations

a heroine who wants vengeance against the person who has murdered her loved ones

with good supporting characters

a nice bit of forced proximity

and competence all around

the pining while separated

trusting the other person

nice steam!! 🔥

so despite any flaws, yes! this works for me...On👏The👏🏼Keeper👏Shelf!

CW: some scenes of violence w/ flogging, a stabbing...sword fight...battle scenes...and racist references to POC by the villain at the very end

[GigiReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much potential 😩

The FMC is intent on revenge after her adoptive parents and were murdered. She becomes a pirate and sails the seven seas looking for justice. Sounds so good! But lack of character development and telling and not showing turns her into an MPDG on steroids. The world bends over backward for Alex Danty. Everyone she meets is immediately enchanted and does whatever she asks no matter how idiotic. Including the hero. This is fine. I don't have a problem with old-school Disney-fied FMCs but for the love of Walt Disney show me WHY everyone acts like she single-handedly solved world hunger. The MMC is fine. He's all in from the word go and is very sweet and supportive of all her idiotic schemes. This kind of hero is slightly rare in a book this old. But because I never saw what he found so special in the annoying Alex, I never connected with him, with them, or with anyone. The writing was good enough, I did enjoy the historical aspect of it, it seemed well-researched and I appreciated the real-life figures that appeared in it but nothing about the romance worked for me/

🌟🌟/5
🔥/5

Tropes
Kidnapping
Forced proximity
Second chance

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has so much meaning to me, and I know it's silly to feel that way about a romance novel, but hear me out. (This is long and not strictly a review.)

When I was about 11 or 12, my elderly neighbor (who was always reading on her porch) sent over a brown grocery bag packed full of romance novels. She knew I liked to read and thought I might enjoy them. Was I a little young for some of them? Most definitely. That didn't stop me, though. I devoured those books, and it started a lifelong love of the genre, even if sometimes other people make me feel ashamed of liking it. (Never be ashamed of any reading! We read for different reasons, and no one should belittle us for what we enjoy.)

This book was in that bag. It's a historical romance with privateers, but not a "lady swoons and the bad-guy pirate turns out to be the hero" romance. No, the heroine is strong and badass, and she's the privateer. The main male characters are employed by the navies of their respective governments (or by the lady privateer).

Now, I read this book probably a dozen times when I was younger (like, way younger, about 20 years ago). In the pre-digital days, the books I had readily available were limited and I re-read what I had a lot. Maybe 15 years ago, I realized I had somehow lost my copy of this book when I was in the mood for a re-read. Unfortunately, I discovered that it was out of print. When I started reading e-books, I looked for it again. No luck. There was no Kindle edition. I couldn't find it anywhere. It seemed unlikely I'd ever see it anywhere, and I stopped looking.

Yesterday, out of the blue, I was browsing Amazon looking for something light to read. I started entering the names of authors I reliably liked, and I typed in "Jo Goodman." The VERY FIRST result when I went to her author page was this book, The Captain's Lady. Finally, FINALLY, Jo Goodman's backlist is starting to be available on Kindle. This was a super recent development, and I can't even believe it was there.

So, of course, I bought it. I immediately read it, wondering whether it would hold up over time, or whether I'd outgrown it, as I had many of the other romance novels I used to enjoy. Was it all nostalgia, or was this actually the great book I remembered?

In the case of this book, I still absolutely loved it. There were a few things I didn't love (the resolution of the Travers plot, for one — I think Alex should have been the one to kill him after all that time instead of having the man do it), but on the whole, I still couldn't put it down. I still loved the strong heroine who knew what she wanted and didn't let a man change her mind. I loved that while this is a romance novel, the romance wasn't the only (or even main) plot. I still love Jo Goodman's books and will continue to seek them out.

I'm SO glad I finally found a copy of this book. Thank you, Jo Goodman and publisher, for finally making this book available. It truly made such a big difference in my reading life, and I felt like I'd lost an old friend. It's great to have it back again.

[Blue Falcon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is of “Passion’s Bride/The Captain’s Lady” by Jo Goodman.

The book begins in 1809, where the fledgling American navy is hoping to enlist the services of pirate Alex Danty to help sink British ships. One person, Captain Tanner Cloud, the hero of the book, knows Danty won’t help. He knows this, because he knows Alex Danty, and knows that SHE, the heroine of the book, is attacking British ships for her own personal reasons, primarily to kill Captain Conrad Travers for what he did.

Alex and Cloud become lovers, both knowing that Alex will escape him if she gets the chance. She does, and for two years, they are apart. Cloud later arrests Alex, who is charged with inciting war with Britain. She would be let go, however, if she agrees to help the Americans fight the British, and help enlist Jean Lafitte to help, which Alex won’t do.

Alex is broken out of prison by Cloud, who is then arrested himself for springing her. Alex, her crew and his crew, work together to get Cloud out of jail. It comes out here that the order to jail Alex didn’t come from President James Madison, but from one of his surrogates, acting without Madison’s knowledge. That scandal is later exposed.

While at sea, the Dark Lady, Alex’s ship, is damaged badly in a storm. She and one of her crewmen are thrown overboard, and for a spell, Cloud thinks Alex is dead. He later discovers that is not the case when Travers brings Alex to Barataria, Jean Lafitte's island. A final confrontation ensues between Cloud and Travers. Cloud kills Travers, and later, Cloud and Alex have their Happily Ever After.

Upside: Alex and Cloud are two of the strongest characters I’ve read in any book recently, and possibly ever. Alex does not ask to become Captain Danty, she does it, and if others don’t like it, too bad. She is strong and single minded in her pursuit of Travers. Even though Cloud doesn’t like what Alex’s goals are-and tries to dissuade her at first-he eventually realizes that if he truly loves her, he has to love all of her, even the parts he disagrees with.. That is highly unusual, as most romance novel heroes-through words or actions-aren’t always supportive of the women they claim to love dearly.

Downside: The beginning of “Passion’s Bride/The Captain’s Lady” is strong, the ending is strong. The middle, however, is a bit mushy. I also didn’t like the ending, where Cloud had to fight Travers for Alex (to be fair, Alex had been thrown overboard, suffered exposure, been in ocean water and had been physically abused by Travers prior to the final confrontation, and therefore was in no condition to end Travers’ miserable life.). However, having Cloud-the man- kill Travers instead of allowing Alex that freedom kinda undoes the female empowerment mantra that Ms. Goodman was striving for throughout the book.

Sex: There are quite a few sex scenes, but most are fairly mild. Readers looking for hot sex. Ms. Goodman’s not your author.

Violence: Whippings, stabbings, assault and battery all occur here. The violence is not graphic.

Bottom Line: “Passion’s Bride/The Captain’s Lady” is a very good, emotional book. With a few tweaks, it could have been even better.

[The Book Worm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Captain's Lady is probably not one of Jo Goodman's best books (though as I have a soft spot for the Cowboys of Colorado series, my opinion may be biased in that point), but it's still very good. Alex's search for revenge is of epic proportions, as is Tanner's search for her. Their love story is dramatic, as they cannot be together until both of them settle their respective missions. Star crossed lovers that have to overcome huge obstacles before they reach their happily ever after.
However, this is not your ordinary romance novel - there's romance, of course, but there's also action, suspense, handsome pirates, dishonest politicians, and lots and lots of adventures.
It's a fairly long book, and in some places the plot seems to move a bit too slowly. But just when you start thinking that, a totally unforeseen twist occurs and the story is moving into a new direction you never anticipated before.
As I said above, it's not as good as some of the other books I've read be the same author, but I still recommend it.

[Emmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoning at 22% in anger. I thought this was going to be a book about a kick ass female pirate. And I did like Alex (for the most part), but I hate Tanner. I realize that his whole character arc is supposed to be that he eventually realizes he can't make decisions for Alex and knows her own mind, but right now, I hate him and I don't think he's redeemable from this beginning.

To start, he basically kidnaps Alex under the guise of her needing medical attention. So he takes her on his military ship, rather than leaving her with people on the island because she's unconscious and can't speak for herself, because he's decided (after seeing her for a few minutes), that he "can't let her go." When she wakes up, he refuses her request to return her to Tortola, deciding he knows what's better for her than she does. *Cue anger building* Then he continually underestimates her, acts like a neanderthal throwing her over his shoulder and such, and suggests he could just force himself on her. And despite all of this, we're supposed to think that Alex is falling for him and the attraction is growing and ew, ew, ew. Then the final straw was when Tanner actually assaults her! But its not his fault because she made him mad.
...
...
...
ARGHIHNCINDIWMCXLWMX! F* THIS F-ING BULLSHIT.

[Joycee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A captivating swashbuckling tale by Ms. Goodman!

Espionage, betrayal, treason, privateering, the slave trade, war, impressment ... goodness! What a backdrop for an evolving romance.

I admire Cloud for lending Alex the strength to finish her mission, by actually letting her finish her mission. As she admitted several times, once her mission was accomplished, she could feel truly free to be with him. She is single-minded, but she is just and decisive. As Cloud once described her, she is alluring, but not in the sneaky(?), coy way of some women ... she is forthright and determined.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having fun tracking down and re-reading historical romances I read in my teens. This one was always a favourite, and surprisingly still holds up.
My only real caveat: It is absolutely criminal that Alex does not to get to kill, or even face off against Travers. The one major flaw in this book is giving that moment to Cloud.

[Verity]

THE CAPTAIN'S LADY

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexis starts out her life in a rough place in London. She then pretends to be a boy. She gets onto a ship and gets a job as a cabin boy. Pauley one of the crewmen discover that she is a girl and knows a family that he can take her too. The family adopts her and she becomes Alexis Quinton heir to the Quinton shipping lines. A British Captain who wanted help from Quinton shipping lines was violent in getting what he wanted and killed Alexis’s family and maimed her in the process. She then became Alex Danty Captain of her own ship trying to avenge her parents and Pauley’s death. Captain Tanner Cloud of the American Navy was on the island the same time as Captain Travers. He witnessed what happened and was also injured. He took Alexis from her family home and the island where she grew up and was going to take her to America. She escaped to start her own mission of avenging the deaths she witnessed. She is a revered captain and somehow no one knows but her crew and those who are loyal to her that she is a female and not a male. There is a ton of action and adventure and shenanigans in this book as well as romance.
The people are a little complex to try to explain the book justly. You will have to read it for yourself. I just read the book in the series after this one so I had an idea how it ended I just did not know how it lead up to it.
I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review. The opinions in this review are 100% my own

[Bronte Dickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful book. It’s so full of passion, adventure, heartbreak and love. The relationship between Cloud and Alex is incredibly beautiful and healthy. They understand each other so deeply. The push and pull of their relationship is written so well you actually ache for them.

The Captains Lady is a long book that covers a large span of time and distance. In the first part is jumps perspective and past/present a lot. I have always been impressed by Jo Goodman’s ability to write about a feeling (and truly make the reader understand it) without calling it what it is. I honestly believe her works are for true intuitive readers. Her books are not to be read quickly or lightly- they are to be lingered over and mediated on.

The detail and action this story contains is impressive without being oppressive. The amount of research Goodman put into it makes it so realistic and interesting.

Overall this is one of my favourite books and I have read it multiple times over the years. Each time I pick it up it leaves me stunned.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first read this a couple of decades ago and remember really enjoying it at the time. It did not hold up at all well to a re-read. The plot and characters (at least the characters in theory) are still as fun as I recalled but boy was it a chore getting through to the end, due entirely to the poor quality of the writing and the utterly stilted dialogue. It took me a week to finish it because I almost stopped completely at multiple points. I have no idea why I didn’t recognize how terrible the writing was back when I first read this.

[Susan Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost stopped reading this book at the begining because there is a really violent scene. However, I'm glad I didn't. It was a good story with lots of twists and turns. There are already detailed descriptions of the story so I will just say a few things.

Although I liked Tanner, he was slightly abusive to Alex at times.

I did not like the ending regarding Travers (our villain). Alex was a very strong female heroine. She should have had her day.

I also would have liked an epilogue about their life in the future.

And isn't anyone worried about getting pregnant in these books?

[Holly Lenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Captain’s Lady is an absorbing historical romance with pirates taking place during the American War of 1812. This book is a real page turner with a strong female heroine and lots of Naval action.

Contains violence and graphic sex scenes.

"I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review."

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a guilty pleasure, so sue me.

[Furikake · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5!

[abi]

Bodice rippers are a hit or miss for me but this one sounds really fun

[Mmeguillotine · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF Too amateurish, unfortunately

[Cerise]

DNF. Possibly the most egregious instance of phonetically spelling an accent I’ve ever read (“Oi” instead of “I,” etc.). I could not get past the first chapter because of it.

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was honestly shocked that this was written in 1984, when the majority of books from that era include macho, domineering heroes who feel it's their place to put a woman in theirs. So imagine my surprise when I read this little gem about a woman so set on revenge that she takes on the persona of a man, a pirate captain named Alex Danty and the hero is not all gung-ho about stopping her. He just wants her to love him.

The hero, Captain Tanner Cloud is not really an alpha...but he's not a pathetic beta either. He's a macho kind of man, but he falls in love with Alex immediately and is willing to do anything to earn her love, except let her go off to be killed in order to avenge her family. But eventually he realizes he must, if they're ever to be together. There are other conflicts, such as the War of 1812, the fact that they're kind of on opposite sides and Cloud has his duty to the U.S. Navy. But under it all is this angst of two people who love each other, but cannot be together until Alex has cleared her plate. And let me just say, the scene where Alex's family is killed is so incredibly well written, that it gave me goosebumps. The feeling of these two being in love and being apart is pretty poignant - stomach twisting kind of angst for me. I loved Cloud - I always love it when the hero is the first to take the fall. He's still arrogant and masculine though (and he says he slept with 2 or 3 women while he was separated from Alex either assuming she wasn't coming back to that it would be a long wait, I'm not sure).

My problem here is with Alex. Cloud is literally willing to do ANYTHING for this woman. He lets her go when everything he is tells him to hold on to her. He risks his career, life and future to take on treason charges so she can complete her revenge and he does not stand in her way knowing what she has to do. Alex on the other hand is so consumed with her vengeance that Cloud becomes secondary. Alex does not love Cloud to the degree that he loves her and my heart hurt for poor Cloud. I could have forgiven Alex if she'd had some thunderbolt moment where she realized how little her vengeance meant to her compared to Cloud and she'd had a chance to grovel (for wasting 2 years of their life) but she didn't. Ideally, it might have been believing Cloud to be dead and she could feel the angst of it all, but no. She sort of subtly came around to the fact that maybe Cloud was more important. So it lacked the punch. If you can get a hold of this book, it's worth the read. In fact, just about anything I've read by Jo Goodman is very well written, high quality romance, often times breaking the mold of old-skool romance.

[Margaret Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The determination and tenacity that drove Alexis to escape her childhood home is the same strength that enabled her to withstand the sadistic treatment she received at the hands of Travers. As she plots her course, Tanner cannot help but respect and admire her courage and strength of will. When her quest becomes his, the simmering attraction between them begins to boil over. The story is well written, adventurous, although brutal in parts. Historical events are woven into the plot as Alexis and Tanner cross oceans to bring about the downfall of their enemy. I could not help but admire Alexis and given her early years, it is a wonder that she has such a strong core. Tanner is a beautiful hero and one that touched my heart. As with other books in this series, this is a standalone and comes to a successful close. Due to explicit scenes of brutality in this novel, it should come with a warning that it may affect sensitive readers. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colonial

[Diane Wachter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jo Goodman, PB-B @ 1984, 1985. Desparate to avenge her parents deaths, Alexia Danty escapes from Captain Tanner Cloud by masquerading as a man. Romance. Okay.