I've read more than 20 nostalgic romance books this year, and this is probably the most problematic one.
The first 30% of Prisoner of My Desire by Johanna Lindsey hooked me anyway, so let's talk about it.
Published in 1991, this medieval historical romance fits right into the '80s to early 2000s timeline I usually focus on for Books Your Mom Never Told You About.
Content warning: this book includes sexual assault, with both main characters assaulting each other, plus kidnapping and captivity. Please check content warnings before you start.
What is it about?
In 1152 England, Rowena has no rights as a woman. Her evil stepbrother, Gilbert, wants control of as much land as possible, so he forces her to marry a man who is practically dead.
Before the marriage is even consummated, her husband dies. Gilbert wants to keep it a secret, so he forces Rowena to become pregnant before the death is announced. To do that, he has a knight kidnapped and forces Rowena to have sex with him.
Rowena hates it and feels terrible, and she eventually helps the prisoner escape. But he isn't just any knight. He's Warrick de Chaville, a powerful lord, and it comes back to bite them. Warrick returns with his own army, kidnaps Rowena, and makes her his prisoner.
Quick Info
📖 Book: Prisoner of My Desire
✍️ Author: Johanna Lindsey
⭐️ Rating: 2.5/5
🌶️ Spice: 2/5
📅 Published: 1991
🏰 Genre: Medieval Historical Romance
📱 Format: E-reader
What are the tropes?
⛓️ Captive / Prisoner Romance
📜 Forced Marriage
⚔️ Revenge
🐺 Alpha Hero
😈 Evil Stepbrother
📼 Nostalgic Romance
What did I love?
The first third. The first 30% of the book was really compelling, and I was locked in.
Rowena. I loved her as a heroine. She's wise and layered, and I felt so much for her and how difficult her situation was.
What didn't work?
Everything from the time Warrick captures and kidnaps Rowena does not work for me. What he does is terrible, and I might have been able to land on a higher rating and get past it to some extent, similar to how I felt about The Flame and the Flower, if there had been a really good grovel, apology, and retribution. There wasn't a grovel at all, in my opinion.
Warrick is definitely an alpha, but there aren't enough good elements to overcome his ego, his stubbornness, and his ultimately poor treatment of her. At times it also slowed down my reading, and I just couldn't get past it.
Let's talk about the problematic parts
Rowena is forced to assault the prisoner early on. She hates it, feels terrible, and helps him escape. I found this really interesting because it flips the genre's usual script, with the heroine as the one assaulting the hero. It's still absolutely wrong, but the book at least treats it that way.
Then Warrick comes back, kidnaps her, and does the exact same thing to her as a way of giving her a taste of her own medicine. I understand this is a medieval romance, Rowena is really young, and it's a very different time, but two wrongs never make a right. Some of the intimate scenes after the kidnapping are steamy, and I felt really conflicted about that given how they come about.
Does it hold up in 2026?
No. I was shocked this was written in 1991, because it feels like it would have been controversial even then. If you read it shortly after it was published, I would love to know if there was controversy around it, or how you felt about it.
Alli's Scorecard
Here's how Prisoner of My Desire stacked up for me:
🫶 Characters █████░░░░░ 2.5/5
🔥 Chemistry █████░░░░░ 2.5/5
📖 Plot ███░░░░░░░ 1.5/5
⏱️ Pacing ██████░░░░ 3/5
🌶️ Spice ████░░░░░░ 2/5
⭐️ Overall █████░░░░░ 2.5/5
Final Thoughts
A really compelling first third with a heroine I loved, but I just couldn't get past what comes after it.
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