Synopsis:~

Regency London

Caroline Gray’s third season in London society ends as badly as her first two—no marriage proposal, no suitor, not even a glimmer of an interested prospect. She suspects it’s because she is far too quick to speak her mind to men who are put off by her forthright opinions, her eager intellect backed by a formal education, and her unconventional ideas about the future. She is far more daring than demure to suit the taste of her class. Besides, Caroline thinks there will always be next season to find a husband.

However, her family’s dwindling income leaves Caroline with only one choice to secure her future: a one-way ticket to sail with the Fishing Fleet to India, where the son of a family friend waits. If the match doesn’t work, Caroline cannot return home.

Captain Thomas Scott loves the thrill of the open sea, and as commander of one of the ships of the Fishing Fleet, he ferries scores of young English girls to the shores of India to find husbands. The voyages pay well, but he struggles to understand why families would allow young women to be matched with total strangers so far away.

The trips have always been routine and uneventful—until this trip’s first night’s dinner with one Miss Caroline Gray. She engages in a lively political conversation, presenting opposing viewpoints to the conventionally opinionated gentlemen at her table. Captain Scott is secretly amused and delighted at her boldness, not to mention quite drawn to her beauty.

The rest of the passengers are shocked by her behavior and Caroline finds herself an outcast, suffering harsh judgments from the other passengers. However, she finds an unlikely ally in Captain Scott which quickly draws them closer.

Both know an arranged marriage awaits Caroline at the end of their voyage, yet the attraction between them is undeniable. Caroline will have to decide if she will honor her mother’s wishes and marry a man in India whom she has never met, thus securing a future for her and her mother, or be brave enough to throw convention to the wind and commit to love a sea captain. He may be enchanted by her bold and unconventional ways, but will his love and admiration last?

My take:~

As a new to me author, Julie Wright has stamped herself as a must read author with the most excellent A Captain for Caroline Gray. I was invested in Caroline’s struggle from the first page, then immersed in the sights and sounds of ship life, the burgeoning attraction between Caroline and Thomas, and finally the beauty and mystery of India during the Regency era.

Evocative and entertaining, Wright shines with the well-drawn Caroline, a women overlooked in the marriage mart for her intelligence, wit, and propensity to speak her mind. This sees her shipped of to India where she catches the eye of the Captain, a man who has yet to meet a woman with more appeal than his ship and the sea. The very qualities that London men despised in Caroline, fascinate Thomas and he begins to contemplate more than a life on the ocean.

Exotic and romantic, this story hit all the right notes for me and I’m thrilled to have Julie Wright’s back list to discover. Highly recommended for readers of Arlem Hawks, Julie Klassen, and Sarah M. Eden.

With thanks to the publisher and Austenprose for my review copy.

Julie Wright wrote her first book when she was fifteen and has written over twenty novels since then. She is a Whitney Awards winner for best romance with her books Cross My Heart and Lies Jane Austen Told Me, and she is a Crown Heart recipient for the novel The Fortune Café.

She has one husband, three kids, one dog, and a varying amount of fish, frogs, and salamanders (depending on attrition). She loves writing, reading, hiking, playing with her kids, and watching her husband make dinner.

She hates mayonnaise.

Connect with Julie

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Join the virtual blog tour of A CAPTAIN FOR CAROLINE GRAY (Proper Romance Regency), Julie Wright’s highly acclaimed historical romance novel March 1 – 28, 2021. Over forty popular blogs specializing in historical romance, inspirational fiction, and Austenesque fiction will join in the celebration of its release with excerpts, spotlights, and reviews of this new Regency-era novel set aboard an English ship bound for India.

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

March 01       My Jane Austen Book Club (Excerpt)

March 01       Austenprose — A Jane Austen Blog (Review)

March 02       Storeybook Reviews (Review)

March 02       Lu Reviews Books (Review)

March 02       Bookworm Lisa (Review)

March 03       Probably at the Library (Excerpt)

March 03       Our Book Confessions (Review)

March 03       Lady with a Quill (Review)

March 04       The Caffeinated Bibliophile (Review)

March 04       Fire & Ice (Review)

March 05       Literary Time Out (Review)

March 05       Among the Reads (Review)

March 06       Books and Socks Rock (Review)

March 07       Encouraging Words (Excerpt)

March 08       So Little Time… (Review)

March 09       For Where Your Treasure Is (Review)

March 10       Laura’s Reviews (Review)

March 10       My Bookish Bliss (Review)

March 11       Heidi Reads (Review)

March 12       Reading with Emily (Review)

March 13       The Christian Fiction Girl (Review)

March 14       Silver Petticoat Reviews (Excerpt)

March 15       Austenesque Reviews (Review)

March 16       The Lit Bitch (Excerpt)

March 16       Greenish Bookself (Review)

March 17       Inkwell Inspirations (Review)

March 18       A Darn Good Read (Review)

March 19       Relz Reviewz (Review)

March 20       Book Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina (Review)

March 20       Christian Chick’s Thoughts (Review)

March 21       Jorie Loves a Story (Review)

March 22       From Pemberley to Milton (Review)

March 23       Gwendalyn’s Books (Review)

March 23       Historical Fiction with Spirit (Review)

March 24       Captivated Reading (Review)

March 24       Books, Teacups, & Reviews (Excerpt)

March 25       Roseanne E. Lortz (Review)

March 26       Cup of Tea with that Book, Please (Review)

March 26       Randi Loves 2 Read (Review)

March 27       Library of Clean Reads (Review)

March 28       The Bibliophile Files (Review)

PURCHASE LINKS

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