The Beautiful Christina Wakefield wants to visit London to see the town and its beauty ,she wasn't looking for a husband but she had her share of feverous suitors claiming love and wanting marriage just after a day with her. So when yet another suitor by the mane of Philip Caxton wants her hand in marriage she refuses and walks away thinking that it is the end of that. Sorely she was wrong.
After her brother gets orders to go to Cairo as soon as possible Christina plans on traveling with her beloved brother. And in the still of the heated desert night Christina is stolen..

Philip Caxton leads two lives one in England and one with his desert tribe in the mountains of Egypt. At the first sight of Christina he knows he wants her but she refused to marry him so he makes her his , his way , by stealing her in the dead of night and taking her to his camp. He rather live with her hatred than not live with her at all.


Such misleading reviews. If I had read theses first I wouldn't have pick up the book. But as always I am entitled to my opinion, as others are to theirs.
You either hated the book or loved the book and I can see a lot have stated their hate for Captive Bride. I may be alone in liking this book .
But this book was written well I love JL's writing style quick to the point no endless drawn out plot, kidnaping, fighting, hate, then love Although I could of done without the kidnaping but this was the year 1883 and they did thing different back then As for the cruelty I didn't see anything that stuck me as cruel yeah Philip threaten to beat her but that was the custom of his tribe he never beat her he spanked her once and even then he felt bad for making her cry.
I saw the love develop and although you and I would see kidnap/ love different than Christina and Philip they Loved each other they wanted each other they desired each other

To sum this up give this book a chance it may just surprise you

Captive Bride is an okay novel. It was suspenseful and exciting, which I did enjoy, but, it was seriously lacking in the romance department. The two main characters did have quite a few sexual encounters but they ended quickly without any detail. The main characters weren't really to my liking, she seemed kind of pathetic and he was a no class jerk. I was actually kind of surprised because I usually love all of Johanna Lindsey's novels, but this one just wasn't as much to my liking.

^^I wrote this right after I read the novel, but I just found out the other day that Captive Bride was Lindsey's first novel, and I believe that I was a little bit too critical of it. It was excellent for a first novel by someone.

This book has dull dialogue and poor character development, but the worst of it is that entire story is about the glorification of rape and how women enjoy being forced into a sexual relationship. A no is a no, and just because a women's body is pleasured doesn't mean it's okay. And Stockholm Syndrome is not the same as eternal love!

The reason why I bought this is because this reminds me so much of my teen years. I first read this when I was 13 (my classmate way back in high school loaned it to me) and was enthralled by it. Now, more than 13 years after, I wanted to read it again and remember why I was so fascinated by it. As soon as I got my copy, I realized how different my taste was. The scenes in this book are too dramatic and the characters' reactions were too over the top. Example, instead of describing the character as being impatient, at times, the author would say they character was shouting. Totally inappropriate. The reactions were too severe and extreme.

Nevertheless, I still Loved the plot. I have to give it to her, this was her first book (I think?), having published this in the 1970's. I have read her other works and those were definitely a lot better, as far as characters' descriptions are concerned. Still, the PLOT and STORY OF THE CAPTIVE BRIDE IS STILL ONE OF MY FAVORITES.

As others have mentioned, this is a first book and does not reflect the same caliber of writing as later books by Johanna Lindsey. Philip Caxton, the supposed "romantic interest" and "hero" (I use the words "romantic interest" and "hero" very loosely) is not in the least likeable. To call him a Neanderthal is an insult to Neanderthals. His behavior is supposedly explained by having to live with two different cultures since is the son of an Englishwoman captured by a Sheik. I don't see how that could make someone so vile. In England he is known as Philip Caxton and in the Middle East he is known as Sheik Abu. When he first meets Christina (in England) he is overly aggressive and arrogant. After Christina, a young innocent woman, rejects his overly obnoxious advances, he decides to kidnap her and make her his slave. It just gets worse from there on with more abusive and arrogant behavior. I can't help but wonder if the heroine, Christina, isn't suffering from Stockholm syndrome, when she falls in love with this jerk. I never saw any significant redemption of Philip. In fact, toward the end of the book, Christina asks him if he is jealous of another's attention. In typical Philip Caxton/Sheik Abu style, he denies being jealous but then states that he will "beat the daylights out of "Christiana is she looks at another man. With all the issues related to spousal abuse I hate to see a character as vile as Philip Caxton portrayed as anything other than a brute. But, this was written in 1977 --- before some of the modern sensitivies about abuse.