Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: The Captain and the Cavalry Trooper
SERIES: The Captivating Captains #1
AUTHOR: Catherine Curzon and Eleanor Harkstead
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 211 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 3, 2018
BLURB:
As the Great War tears Europe apart, two men from different worlds find sanctuary in each other’s arms.
Captain Robert Thorne is the fiercest officer in the regiment. Awaiting the command to go to the front, he has no time for simpering, comely lads. That’s until one summer day in 1917 when his dark, flashing eye falls upon the newest recruit at Chateau de Desgravier, a fresh-faced farmer’s boy with little experience of life and a wealth of poetry in his heart.
Trooper Jack Woodvine has a way with strong, difficult stallions, and whispers them to his gentle will. Yet even he has never tamed a creature like Captain Thorne.
With the shadow of the Great War and the scheming of enemies closer to home threatening their fleeting chance at happiness, can the Captain and the Cavalry Trooper make it home safely? More importantly, will they see peacetime together?
REVIEW:
This is a perfect book for die-hard historical romance readers. It has a happy ending, a realistic setting, and enough escapist elements for us to truly get lost in a very different world from our own.
This is a WWI setting I’m not very familiar with, and the historical elements are, for the most part, very well-done and immersive. It’s a glimpse of war just outside the front lines—not the men in the trenches, but the men who might go there if the men before them perish. They aren’t in immediate danger, but it’s always looming. It adds an extra layer of urgency to Jack and Captain Thorne’s slow-building romance and raises the stakes.
Their tentative steps towards a dom/sub relationship are absolutely scorching. Thorne finding a naughty photo in Jack’s possessions ratcheted up the tension, and by the time Jack is spanked for the first time and realizes he’s been missing out for so long, we’re totally invested in their romance. We see the soft, searching elements of love first, which make way for the erotic elements—a tried-and-true romance formula that totally works for a stern captain and his kindhearted trooper.
There’s also a really interesting subplot I wasn’t expecting involving Queenie, an effeminate and cunning trooper who is jealous of Jack and Thorne’s relationship. He’s operating on a completely different level than his fellow trooper Jack—instead of finding love, he’s found himself sleeping with grotesque men for small favors, just to keep himself comfortable during wartime. He’s a nasty fellow who doesn’t deserve a speck of sympathy, yet…I felt oddly protective of him. His conclusion is pretty shocking, so I won’t spoil it, but I’ll tell you that my jaw was on the floor. It’s always nice to have a good subplot along with an enticing main story.
I do think this story lost steam a little in the last quarter. There’s some intense drama in the trenches, but in spots where the authors could’ve provided a better glimpse into the time period, we get some pretty by-the-book romantic melodrama between Thorne and Jack that started getting out-of-character with flowery prose and pining. And by the end, the strong dom/sub element that brought the two men together in the first place is completely forgotten, which was very disappointing. It almost seems like the authors lost interest a little and sacrificed previous characterization just to end the book.
So, not a perfect ending or completed story arc, but an excellent historical romance nonetheless. I’ll definitely be continuing with this series!
RATING: 
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