My Lady Captive

This is the third novella in the Archangel series. The Archangels are a group of British noblemen who have served their country during the Napoleonic Wars. They have served as soldiers, as diplomats, and as spies. None of them have escaped unscathed, whether physically or emotionally.

This is the story of Wyndham, Baron of Hawkenge, who was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo. Wyndham is now on a mission to rescue Madame Orèlan Becou, a widow and the step-daughter of the late French ambassador to Spain. She is being held as the captive of Alexei Tropov, at his impregnable “depraved mini Russian court” of Valcourt. Wyndham and Tropov have a history, as do Wyndham and Madame Becou, resulting from their spying activities during the Wars. Will Wyndham be able to save the lady before they are both debased by the activities surrounding them at Valcourt?

I enjoyed this particular installment in the series a lot. Ms. Anders has quite an imagination! The books in the Archangel series are like no other Regency novels I’ve ever read. Instead of primness and subtle courting, these novellas contain in-your-face eroticism and graphic sexuality. The plot is fast-moving, with subterfuge and lurking danger to punch it up. The actions of the characters are internally cohesive, that is, the characters’ reactions are consistent with their motivations and the circumstances in which they find themselves. I must confess that I thought Tropov, the villain, was the most fully drawn character in the story. Of course, it is always easier to depict evil than good – the evil are so overt in the actions! Wyndham and Orèlan are, however, not merely stick figure protagonists. They appear to the reader as admirable people, in spite of being wounded in body and/or spirit. The sexual scenes are very, very graphic and, in addition to the traditional male/female sex include spanking with hand and belt, fellatio, cunnilingus, voyeurism, bondage and domination, and forced nudity. The sex scenes are quite intense, and may be offensive to readers who prefer implied sensuality over a graphic display.

Reviewed by: Jean