As I continue on my quest to read the eBooks that have been lingering in my “library” of such items, I ran across a trilogy entitled Captive Brides. What was I thinking when I acquired it? I don’t know, but apparently I either read or abandoned the first novel in the series. So, I began (again) with book two, Captive Rose. Warning: I don’t care about modern sensibilities, and that includes having slaves as minor characters. When this book was set, lots and lots of folks were slaves. Now, I have dealt with that, okay?

The title character has been reared as a Christian in Damascus, in the middle ages. She is summoned to assist her physician step-father to help care for a captured Crusader, who has been severely injured in battle. Her mother had been widowed when her husband died on a trip to the Holy Lands, and she ends up married to the best doctor in Damascus. Through out the novel, her daughter, Laila, is associated with the rose, from her perfume to her favorite plant in the gardens in the main settings.

The Crusader, Guy de Warenne, escapes custody, and he is grateful to the young woman who assisted in his care. Through medicine that would be unknown in his homeland, he not only lives, but is restored to health. He is also confused, because he believed her to be a Christian slave amongst the pagans, and he wants to pay her back by taking her home to England away from the infidels in Damascus. Unfortunately, she is not too happy about that, and much of the conflict between the characters falls back upon that misunderstanding.

Minger seems to have done quite a bit of meticulous research to bring each setting and the each of the main characters to life. This one has it all, y’all, from dungeons to jousting matches. While this book was not written recently (couldn’t have been, actually) I really, really enjoyed it. So, if you enjoy bodice rippers, you just might like Captive Rose.