Johanna Lindsey’s PRISONER OF MY DESIRE – Not Your Ordinary Medieval Romance—a Bodice Ripper that Turns the Tables!

While not to everyone’s taste, I found this an exciting read. Set in England in 1152, it is the story of Warrick de Chaville, Lord Fulkhurst, a fierce knight who learned at a young age to take revenge on any who harmed him. So he would take his revenge on the woman who captured him, had him chained to a bed and forced herself on him, stealing his seed. Little did he know that Rowena Belleme, Lady of Tures, was herself forced to use him, a man she thought a slave, to produce an heir for the old lord she was forced to wed, who died before he could even consummate the marriage. If she did not cooperate, her ruthless stepbrother Gilbert would kill her mother.

When Warrick gains his freedom he vows to have his revenge, “like for like.” So he imprisons Rowena in his castle, taking her as he wants and forcing her to act the servant. Rowena hates the arrogant knight and the passion he forces from her, but out of guilt for what she did to him, she willingly plays the servant.

Lindsey does a superb job of bringing an unlikely tale to readers in a way that is rich in medieval setting, period language and history of England between King Stephen and the coming of Henry II. The sexual tension between Warrick and Rowena, as you can imagine, is high. Warrick is a domineering knight who has already had two wives and thinks to take a third, but it seems his betrothed has gone missing. Meanwhile, he must contend with the spirited woman who he changed from a lady to a servant, all for the sake of revenge.

A bodice ripper that turns the tables—a great read that will keep you turning pages!