The Captain's Daughter, London Beginnings Series #1

The Captain's Daughter (2017) by Jennifer Delamere is the first book in her London Beginnings series. This novel comes in all forms including eBook, and is 352 pages in length. With a full-time job, and a 5-year old who was sick with the flu this week, The Captain's Daughter took me four days to read. I purchased a copy of this novel to review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. I give this novel 4.5 STARS. The Captain's Daughter is a Historical Christian Romance.

This is my very first read of a Jennifer Delamere novel, but it certainly won't be my last. I found The Captain's Daughter to be engaging and highly entertaining. The main characters, Rosalyn and Nate, are well written, but I actually found myself enjoying the secondary characters better. The personalities of the secondary characters were endearing and symbolic. They reminded me a bit of many of Charles Dickens's secondary characters.

Of the two main characters, I liked Nate the best because he takes on problems that remind me a little of myself. Nate was in the military, but at the start of this story he is recuperating from a severe wound he sustained while in India. He feels the entire incident where he was hurt was his fault and wants badly to heal and reenlist so he can "make-up" for his mistakes. Over the course of the novel, Nate is insistent, much to his family's dismay, that he will reenlist no matter what and will make right what he feels he did wrong. Nate is a worker and a fixer. When something is wrong, Nate immediately wants to work to fix everything for everyone. In this, I really related to his character. I, too, want to fix everything for everyone so no one is unhappy and God is not disappointed. But, this is exhausting behavior. A very smart character by the name of Danvers realizes what Nate is doing and tells him, "absolution doesn't come through what we can do, does it? It comes from another source. One greater than ourselves" (338). This stops Nate right in his tracks as he realizes he never once went to God for forgiveness. He never talked to God about the situation or his actions in it. He never gave the burden over to God. Nate simply put himself to hard work trying to earn God's forgiveness. All this does to Nate is exhaust him physically and spiritually.

I really loved this message the most. It definitely came, as all God's reminders do, at exactly the moment I needed to hear it. There is nothing we can do to earn God's forgiveness. All He wants is for us to come to Him with our problems, sins, insecurities, failings, worries, etc. He wants us to discuss them together, and to leave our burdens at His cross. He wants to do the work for us. As Jesus says in the Bible, His yoke is light. All we need to do is come to Him and accept that like yoke. What a beautiful message. It was well worth reading this book to be reminded of this again.

I very much appreciated the historical detail to this story. It is beyond obvious that Jennifer Delamere did an extensive amount of research into this story. I felt like I was transported back to Victorian London! The sights, the smells, the cold London winter, the feel of the rickety old theater where Rosalyn works, the stark difference between an upper-class neighborhood a middle-class neighborhood and a poor, low-class neighborhood were all so very realistic to me. I could envision it all so clearly as the attention to detail is superb. I enjoyed feeling like I was right there with Rosalyn and Nate and they went about their days.

I can't say that I am a big Gilbert and Sullivan fan myself, but I do know of them. To see their different personalities a bit as they worked on their various operettas was a lot of fun. They appear to have been men of two different personality types. One -- Gilbert -- seemed quite brisk and a bit uptight, while the other -- Sullivan -- appeared a bit more personable. I did laugh at their expense a couple of times. And, it made me want to watch The Pirates of Penzance again, and do a little of my own research into their works.

Overall, I recommend this novel. I found it to be very interesting and engaging, and impressively well researched. The theme of going to God with our problems is timely and appropriate, and always a great reminder. I am very excited for book #2 in this series, The Heart's Appeal, which is due out on March 6, 2018. The Heart's Appeal is Julia's story -- Rosalyn's younger sister -- and sounds like a delight. The few moments we see Julia in The Captain's Daughter were a few of my favorite.

I love reading books about the theater in London. This book was so good. I loved the characters of Rosalyn and Nate. This book had a few twists and turns throughout this wonderful historical fiction romance. Each character learns to trust in God again. They each have to grow in faith. I received a copy of this book from Bethany House for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

What a great debut novel.

First, I had to love this book and the fact that much of it takes place in the theater. It was so fun to learn a bit more about Gilbert and Sullivan and how some of these musicals came to be. This was right up my alley.

For the most part this book starts with a bang and I had to see what happened next. As I read I did loose some of that sense of urgency but still enjoyed it. I would have liked to see a little more tension between our hero and heroine. There was some but I think it could have been played up a bit more.

But I will definitely be looking for the next book in this series. I really did enjoy it and can only imagine that the books will get better and better.

A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley.com. All opinions are my own.

This is a great historical fiction that paints the picture of London in the 1800's. This being said there are nice things about London at that time and not so nice things about London. This author does a great job with making it feel really realistic and not predictable with some intense scenes of what one might fall into if found a woman, alone in the city of London at the train station. I'm really glad that the heroine found freedom from the sad situation and not just freedom but exciting hope. I'm also a huge fan of George Muller and that was a great touch to the story for me. This is written with the idea that the main woman is a former orphan at the orphanage. It shows her living out the truths she learned under George's roof all those years. It's a great read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and was under no obligation to post a review.

The orchestra music plays; voices rise and fall in melodious song; organized chaos, hustle and bustle of people and props. The Opera.

Jennifer Delamere has penned a stunning page-turner in The Captains Daughter. I was immediately captivated by heroine, Roslyn Bernays story set in Victorian London, England. From the first page I was sucked in by Roslyns desperate plight. We follow her through danger and destitution. Rejoice when she reaches a safe, satisfying destination.

Theatre is the backdrop of this entertaining novel. I enjoyed learning about all the ins and outs of stage and opera life. Jennifer Delamere gives such descriptive details of this world that one feels as if one has been a part of the cast. I have never seen the two productions mentioned in The Captains Daughter, but now have a desire to see them for myself!

Opposite the frolic and fantasy of theatre life, we have the faithful fortress of a family. Roslyn is an orphan with two sisters, but no living parents. She is a more serious, quiet heroine, but will talk more and relax with people she knows. Roslyn is independent, but is cautious and can be slightly too trusting at times. She was different from a lot of heroines and I liked that. I love the hero, Nate Morans steadiness and care for Roslyn. She needs a place in life and Nate and his family are a stable influence in her world. As a hero I never felt like I got to know Nate as well as I should have. I liked him, but wished I could have gotten to know him better. The Moran family is the best. Especially Nates brother. They provide a lightness in what could be a more serious story. These supporting characters added to the novel greatly.

Ms. Delamere has such a gift for story-telling and keeping ones attention. I could hardly put the book down! The only drawback was not enough romance. It could have been upped more, but I had to keep reminding myself that this novel is categorized as historical fiction, not romance. The authors previous series was romance and I kept expecting more.

There is a slight Dickens feel to this novel, but the setting, atmosphere, and characters have stepped right from the pages of a Sherlock Holmes story. One without the mystery though.

The Captains Daughter is an excellent, entertaining read. If you enjoy the writing styles of Rosslyn Elliott, Anne Mateer, and Karen Barnett, you will want to read this novel.