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Book Review of A Captain for Caroline Gray by Julie Wright

May I start by saying how thankful I am that I live now? Right now. In this time and place. I am SO grateful that my future does NOT depend on finding and marrying the proper match. Even if I hadn’t married, I would have been ok. I can get an education and a job, and I can own property and vote all on my own. I know there are probably women around the world that still do not have this opportunity, and my heart goes out to them. I will do what I can to help those women. For now, I’m counting my blessings. The book I am reviewing today is called A Captain for Caroline Gray by Julie Wright. It’s a fun proper romance, and I’m excited to share my thoughts!

Blurb:

“Caroline Gray would rather be daring and intelligent than demure and insipid, which is why she is still unmatched after her third season in London. Her family’s threadbare finances leave Caroline with only one choice to secure her future: sail with the Fishing Fleet to India, where the son of a family friend is willing to consider an engagement to her.

Captain Thomas Scott loves the open sea as much as he despises the three-month, twice-yearly trip his ship makes as he ferries young English girls across the ocean. He can’t imagine what family would allow an innocent young woman to be matched up with the Englishmen of questionable reputation who work and live in India.

But when Miss Gray boards the HMS Persistence, all of Captain Scott’s plans are upended. Miss Gray’s fiery spirit can’t be contained, and he is shocked and secretly delighted at her boldness—and her beauty. But the rest of his passengers aren’t so kind.

Caroline finds herself an outcast among her peers, but Captain Scott becomes an unlikely ally. They share the same passions and interests, creating an undeniable attraction. But they both know any relationship between them is impossible. After all, Caroline has obligations to fulfill in India.

Caroline has until the end of the voyage to decide if she is going to marry a man she has never met or be brave enough to love a sea captain who just might break her heart.”

My Book Review:

Have you ever thought about what it would have been like to live in Victorian England? I admit that I have. It would be fun to travel back in time and stay there for a week—as long as I was able to attend a few of the events of the season. I’d love to attend a ball here and an outing there. I’d like to dance in a fancy ballroom and take a ride in a carriage. What I do not want is the stress of finding a husband there, or else. Can you imagine? Thank you modern society!

Caroline has attended three seasons in London and has come away unmarried. She thinks it will be ok until she is informed that her family’s finances are gone. This leaves Caroline out in the cold unless she can find a husband—and quick! So what does she do? Caroline makes a sort-of agreement and then gets on a boat sailing for India. There’s sure to be an Englishman in India that would want to marry her, right?

Well, there’s a catch. Caroline is well-educated. How is that bad, you ask? Well, apparently Englishmen in Victorian England do not like it when women are smarter than they are. In fact, once they find out how smart Caroline is (and how she is not afraid to put them in their place), the men tend to walk away from Caroline. Hence…three seasons and no engagement. Will the Englishmen in India feel the same way? Caroline hopes not!

This is a fun, entertaining read! The characters are well-written and developed. They each have unique voices, are realistic, and are fun to read about. Ms. Wright does a great job with the relationships between characters. All the women on the ship were fun to read about. Some of the relationships between them may have been rocky or full of drama, but I enjoyed the back-and-forth. Those relationships were quite realistic for the age and place of the women. It reminded me of high school. Haha! I’m not sure if that is a good thing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Caroline and Captain Scott. I loved the banter between them. Caroline has a way with people, and that was one of my favorite things in this book. I loved how she took care of the young cook and how she made it a point to treat everyone fairly and with respect.

Another thing I enjoyed about this book was the writing style. I thought it was well-written. It’s easy to read and understand, it flows well, and it had a fair amount of action for a proper romance. This is the second proper romance I’ve read recently that occurred on the ocean, and I like it. It’s a new space for the genre.

There was a part at the end that was a bit too unrealistic for me. It didn’t ruin the ending for me, but I rolled my eyes and said, “Yeah, right!” I think I even laughed out loud. It’s a bit out there, but it’s short, so I just rolled my eyes and kept reading. You’ll know it when you get there. Other than that, I liked this book a lot! It’s a fun read and a good addition to my proper romance collection. If you like proper romances, you’ll enjoy this book!