I’m so pleased that Carla Kelly is back writing for Harlequin Historical (and I hope they’re paying her well!). Although her books aren’t always as “romantic” as I prefer, she has a unique voice, and I would hate for her to be lost to the romance world.
Marrying the Captain by Carla Kelly
(2009, Regency) 1/21/09
Grade: 4
Captain Oliver Worthy is on a brief leave from the French blockade, waiting for his ship to be repaired. He agrees to look in on Lord Ratliffe’s illegitimate daughter, Eleanor, and is soon enchanted by her and her family. But Oliver is unwilling to marry when his life is in constant danger – and Nana doesn’t want to burden him with a wife who will never fit in.
Carla Kelly is unparalleled in her depictions of ordinary heroes and heroines, and she does a wonderful job here with Oliver and Nana. She’s particularly good at creating military heroes, and she really brought her naval hero to life. (The heroine is a more typical “too good to be true” type, but she’s well written.) There were many scenes that stood out here, as the hero and heroine quietly spent time together. However, the book didn’t really stand out from other Carla Kelly books. It dragged a bit in the middle, and the action scenes felt tacked on at the end. Overall, it just felt predictable, although well executed – nothing that really excited me. But still, a good Carla Kelly book is still well worth reading, even if it’s not that different than the ones that went before.
Although Carla Kelly has dealt with illegitimate heroines before, this almost seems like a trend in romance – I’ve seen more illegitimate heroes and heroines in the past year than I ever have before. I’m intrigued – with all the mistresses and so forth, there had to be a lot of them running around Regency England, and it’s a side of life we don’t see very often.
Karen Wheless
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