Captain Jack’s Woman by Stephanie Laurens

Narrated by McCallister Lee

An action-packed British historical romance, Captain Jack’s Woman takes the listener on a thrilling ride that includes sword fights, wild horse chases, smuggling runs, a masquerade ball, and even a passionate, illicit affair among two aristocrats impersonating leaders of rival smuggler gangs. Brought to life by McCallister Lee’s dynamic and talented performance, Captain Jack’s Woman is a classic romance, originally published in 1997, that lovers of European historical romances will not want to miss revisiting, or discovering for the first time, in its recently released audio version.

Set in the early 19th century, primarily in the English countryside of Norfolk, at a time when tensions ran deep between England and France, Captain Jack’s Woman is the love story of Lord Jonathan Hendon (Captain Jack) and Kathryn Cranmer (Kit).

After spending a disillusioning six years in London, where her aunt’s and uncle’s attempts of finding her a suitable match (i.e., one that will benefit them) prove uneventful, Kit is allowed to return to her grandfather’s home in Norfolk, and vows never to marry or succumb to the manipulations of others again. A wild child by nature, Kit prefers dressing in britches and riding her lightning fast, black, Arab horse named Delia, over any proper activities becoming of a lady of her high standing.

Amidst this backdrop, one adventure seeking night, Kit takes great pains to disguise herself as a boy and goes out to the sea to spy upon a smuggling operation. Interestingly, it quickly becomes evident that this group of smugglers, who recently lost their leader, is in need of direction and Kit fills that void. Greatly impressed with Kit’s natural leadership skills, and fooled by her disguise, the gang begs this “young lad” to become their leader. Kit — never one to turn down an adventure — accepts for the pure joy of it as she makes it clear that she is not interested in a cut, just decision power over the booty that they seek.

Lord Hendon, a former military hero, is a high-ranking British official who is on a mission to eliminate the smuggling operations that have been bringing French spies to England. In order to accomplish this aim, Lord Hendon assumes the disguise of Captain Jack. Upon discovering Kit’s gang, he endeavors to fold their operations into his, so he can monitor if they are part of the spy smuggling consortium.

While all of the men have previously been fooled by Kit’s disguise, the more clever, well known rake, Captain Jack, recognizes Kit as a woman almost immediately. His instant attraction to her, even in boy’s clothing, is overpowering. Moreover, while recognizing her family’s connection via her unusual red hair and classic Cranmer family coloring, he nonetheless believes Kit’s further lie that she is one of her grandfather’s “favorite” illegitimate grandchildren. This further disguise opens the door for Captain Jack’s seduction without having to worry about any unwanted repercussions for his alter ego, Lord Hendon. Being the arrogant man that he is, Captain Jack never even considers that Kit may not be interested. Fortunately for him, Kit has her own agenda, and also is powerfully attracted to Captain Jack.

So begins the incredibly sensual, passionate affair between Captain Jack and Kit – an affair neither expects to last. Captain Jack, however, is quickly captivated by Kit and can’t get enough of her, so being the aristocrat he is, he decides she will just have to become his mistress, the only station befitting of her given her “illegitimate” status. Add in Kit’s vehement oppostion to the smuggling of spies she believes Captain Jack is spearheading, (as well as potential encounters when not undercover) and you have a burgeoning romance amongst a mountain of misunderstandings and clashes of social conventions that make for a delightful listen.

One factor which is incredibly titillating at times, but at others borders on chauvinistic paternalism, is Lord Hendon’s extreme alpha, arrogant, domineering nature. In Captain Jack, it led to some extremely steamy, memorable scenes in that dangerous sort of way inherent in a pirate’s nature. In Lord Hendon however, it almost seems misguided (albeit likely true to the time) and for today’s audience likely beyond that which is necessary to be the protective hero. Moreover, it struck me as unlikely that a headstrong, wildcat, like Kit would accept such treatment. Nonetheless, the redeeming quality of this story is that if you follow through to its conclusion, Ms. Lauren’s message seems to be that these paternalistic, chauvinistic machinations are ultimately fruitless, leading instead to disaster and resulting in Lord Hendon having to bend to Kit.

Ms. Lee’s portrayal of Kit perfectly captures her youthful, zest for life. From excitement and passion to anger and concern, Ms. Lee’s skill in bringing to life Kit’s huge range of emotions makes Captain Jack’s Woman a captivating listen. Perhaps the only thing more dramatic and spellbinding is Ms. Lee’s voicing of Captain Jack. Bearing the perfect touch of aristocratic arrogance and commanding spirit, as well as the perfect mode of delivery for Captain Jack’s tongue-in-cheek humor, Ms. Lee’s performance is spot on for this British, aristocratic, alpha hero. In fact, I’d venture to say that I enjoyed Ms. Lee’s depiction of Captain Jack so much, that I think she has one of the better “younger” male British voices for European historical romances that I have listened to in a long time. Ms. Lee also does a magnificent job of slightly differentiating secondary characters. Whether it be a French accent for the double spy, class specific accents for the servants, or even disparate intonations for Jack’s friends, Ms. Lee’s dramatization is to be commended.  A few times, there seemed to be an unnatural fluctuation in the volume of the recording but this was an extremely minor production issue and didn’t detract from the listening experience. As best as I can tell, this is Ms. Lee’s first narration (at least for an American publisher). I can say with great certainty that I look forward to listening to more of Ms. Lee in the future!

All in all, I greatly enjoyed the audiobook version of Captain Jack’s Woman. If you love alpha heroes, strong heroines, and action-packed European historical romances, this is an audiobook you will want to add to your to listen list!

BJ

Narration:  A-

Book Content:  A-

Steam Factor:  For your burning ears only

Violence:  Fighting

Genre:  Historical Romance

Publisher:  Blackstone Audio

Captain Jack’s Woman was provided to the reviewer by Audiobook Jukebox.