Destiny's Captive by Beverly Jenkins | Fall into Historicals
Romance at a Glance is a podcast where hosts Bridget and Shani review romance novels and interview some of romance’s biggest authors diving into candid conversations about life, relationships, and sexual desires. Expect 100% honest reviews, spontaneous singing, life lessons, indecent anecdotes, and bawdy humor. Leave us a rating and review on iTunes.
Full transcript available below.
Book Review at a Glance
Heroine Rating: Pilar
Shani: 🍑🍑🍑
Bridget: 🍑🍑🍑
Hero Rating: Noah
Shani: 🍆🍆
Bridget: 🍆🍆
McDreamy to Mc Steamy:
Shani: Mc Dreamy
Bridget: Mc Dreamy
Classy to Nasty:
Vanilla
Romance at a Glance Reviews Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins
AKA Who body-snatched Pilar?
The beginning of this book rocked our world. We were both sporting 5-star feelings after the initial chapters and then when they left Miami for California the whole book started to change for us. Gone was the fun, the danger, the excitement, and it was a complete 180 of Pilar’s character and priorities.
Some major points we discussed:
The fact that Pilar is afro Latina from Cuba and that her family was a slightly shady bunch of people where everyone had a skill to help out the group.
Love that is Pilar stealing his boat and not the standard girl stowing away on a pirate ship dressed as a boy trope. LOL
The love at first sight is the sword fight and subsequent proposal.
The segregated train car.
When pilar threatens to kill the man who tried to assassinate Noah.
We wished Pilar’s badassery was used more and that the book had a little bit more action. Pilar was essentially a fugitive and yet no one ever came after her. And she had little opportunity for her cutthroat talents.
That Pilar and Noah had very little conflict. It was a nice change of pace.
The plotline with Lavinia. WTF it was that super catty girl who is evil and 1-dimensional thing again. I wish there was a bit more of a build-up with that or a little more mystery.
This notion that if he went back to the island a while he would be fixed of his trauma.
WHAT HAPPENED TO HER HOPES AND DREAMS!!!! “a wife goes where her husband goes” (WHO THE HELL BODY SNATCHED PILAR)
She got pregnant and then what????? Why not a form of Birth control and keep fighting and have conflict with her husband a bit more. Maybe about when to settle down or how involved to be or maybe he helps her be a MF rebel.
This book ended hella weak. Where was the fiery Pilar! Where was the passion that Noah fell in love with? Where is part 2!
He talks in the beginning about wanting a wife who would sail the seas with him… why didn’t she become his biz partner? Why didn’t they try to prevent pregnancy so they could do that for a while?
On Romance at a Glance, we discuss and review all genres of romance novels, as well as get into the nitty-gritty of real-life romance, relationships, and sex... while cracking each other up. Expect some spontaneous singing, funny anecdotes, honest reviews, and naughty language.
Quick Guide Review of the Book and Notes
Book Title: Destiny’s Captive
Author: Beverly Jenkins
Audio Narrator: Thomas Penny
Part of a Series: Yes - Book #3 of Destiny
Genre: Historical Romance, Black Historical Romance
Cover Art:
Shani: I liked it.
Bridget: I liked it. The beautiful people, the open shirt her grabbing him, she has a sword, there is a boat. Into it.
Synopsis: TRIGGER WARNING: Rape / Abuse in Noah’s past
Noah Yates fully believes in the joys of a happy family and a good wife. But that's not life for him. After being taken and beaten and raped as an 18-year-old man and indentured for 2 years, he has spent the last 10 years trying to forget and build his fortune. On his last night in Cuba on business the unthinkable happens . . . Noah finds himself captured again, this time by a woman pirate who steals his ship.
Pilar is descended from pirates, thieves, and rebels. She steals his ship to run guns to the rebels and Noah promises revenge. How ideal for him he runs into her in Florida in the house of a business associate. Pilar literally fights for her life, but Noah proposes marriage and she’s forced to propose it right back.
Heroine Rating: Pilar
Shani: 🍑🍑🍑 She started off as a 5 and then slowly gave away all her will to her husband. BLAH
Bridget: 🍑🍑🍑 Soooooo…. I guess I’ll give her a 3? I was going to give her a 2 but I did like her gumption, and badass attitude and wanting to pull her own weight and contribute… didn’t like she just completely gave in to his choices?
Hero Rating: Noah
Shani: 🍆🍆 I like that he took care of Pilar. I don’t like that he separated from her on the train. But overall he was a kind husband and his family was cool. But I didn’t like him leaving her for 2 weeks and then disappearing from her to find closure until she went from not showing to showing her pregnancy. WTF.
Bridget: 🍆🍆 I liked his determination at the beginning, but then felt like everything was just happening to him versus him deciding, the shipyard thing fell in his lap, and he was talking at the beginning about never wanting to leave the sea. And I was not a fan of him leaving her and treating her so badly. I get it is PTSD and shame, however, she’s your pregnant wife, so you better deal in a better way
McDreamy to Mc Steamy:
Shani: Mc Dreamy
Bridget: Mc Dreamy
Classy to Nasty:
Vanilla
Favorite Lines in the Book:
Shani:
Bridget:
Favorite Review:
Shani & Bridget choose the same review from Goodreads!
Stephanie rated it it was ok
I hate to be the one to NOT like a Beverly Jenkins book. I mean she is the GODDESS of AA romance novels. Literally. Her book, Through the Storm, I read back in high school and since then I have been the ultimate fan. Besides the fact of giving such rich characters in Raimond and Sable, Ms. Jenkins had dropped GINORMOUS golden nuggets of AA history (a staple that holds true in just about all of her historical novels). Things that you don't get taught in HS due to ignorance or laziness.
Worth the Read?
Shani: This had all the elements of a great adventure but it fell flat. When Miss Jenkins is good she's great but sometimes these stories seem forced and rushed. This one was just OK. I think I will go back and read and Indigo again!
Bridget: Not for me… I honestly was more intrigued by the little glimpses we got of the sister-in-laws’ stories than this one… I thought there would be more piracy! But I will continue on in my journey into historicals
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Full Podcast Transcript
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Welcome to Romance at a Glance, a podcast that uses romance novels to dive into candid conversations about life, relationship dynamics, and sexual desires.
As hosts Bridget and Shani review books and interview some of romance’s biggest authors, they explore the breadth of the genre, openly embracing the sex, diverse couplings, and taboo in order to create a safe space for listeners to be exposed to different lifestyles, fantasies, and to pique their naughty curiosity.
Expect 100% honest reviews, spontaneous singing, life lessons, indecent anecdotes, and bawdy humor.
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