Wednesday, June 2, 2021

The Captain's Quest

About the Book

Book: The Captain’s Quest

Author: Lorri Dudley

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: June 22, 2021

The Captain's Quest (1) Innocent mistakes can have dire consequences.

Pricilla Middleton only attended the Lemoore house party to keep her friend out of trouble. Now, her only chance to keep from becoming a gossip column headline is to sneak aboard her brother’s ship and pretend she’d been visiting him instead of taking part in the debacle. Before she can speak to her brother, the ship sets sail, and the man in charge is not at all who she expects.

Captain Tobias Prescott, son of an infamous war hero, has been assigned on a critical mission to deploy warships in St. Kitts for battle in New Orleans. Unfortunately, his orders require him to assume command of a friend’s ship, and he must weigh anchor the instant the former captain is escorted down the gangplank. When they reach open waters, the last thing he expects is to find a woman hiding in the captain’s cabin, yet his mission is too urgent to return her to England.

The Middleton name has always brought Tobias trouble, and Pricilla is no exception. As the waters clear and the temperature warms, the danger escalates too. Yet Tobias discovers the intuitive and strong woman who struggles to hide her anxiety is nothing like her disloyal brother. He may lose the opportunity to help his country, but perhaps he can still save the woman who’s rescued his heart.

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About the Author

LorriDudleyProfilePic Lorri Dudley has been a finalist in numerous writing contests and has a master’s degree in Psychology. She lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone filled household. Find her online at www.lorridudley.com.

More from Lorri

Priscilla Middleton’s character begged for her story to be told. The Captain’s Quest is the fourth book in the Leeward Island series. While it can read as a stand-alone, the heroine, Priscilla, had a brief guest appearance at the beginning of book two, The Merchant’s Yield, as Lottie’s closest friend. With Lottie now living on the isle of St. Kitts, that left Priscilla to navigate the London season all on her own. I imagined what mischief a young woman would find whose parents allowed her too much freedom, especially with her friend, the voice of reason, across the Atlantic.

When my close friend moved to Michigan, the loss of her physical presence left me feeling disoriented, lost, and out of place, even in familiar surroundings. There was loneliness, a desperate need to replace what was missing, and fears about being forgotten. In Lottie’s absence, Priscilla clings to an unhealthy friendship, landing herself in a precarious situation, with no other option but to hide aboard her brother’s ship to save her reputation and that of her family.

The biggest issue with running from problems is that we can’t run from ourselves. Priscilla avoids one catastrophe only to walk right into another as Captain Tobias Prescott takes command of the ship. She blames the brooding captain for her predicament only to realize she’s battling the wrong enemy. The more Priscilla tries to hide from the problems she must face within herself, the further she drifts from everyone she knows and the chance to be fully loved.

Although Priscilla’s story was drafted pre-pandemic, her struggles are similar to those that surfaced during the lockdowns. Anxiety, loneliness, isolation, fear, and feelings of being disregarded mounted as the pandemic spread. Vacations, Thanksgivings, and Christmases were canceled. Families couldn’t visit or see each other—the feeling of being forgotten sliced open raw wounds.

Cory Ashbury’s song Reckless Love was popular as I plotted The Captain’s Quest, and the lyrics from the book of Matthew of how God will leave the ninety-nine to chase after the one lost sheep developed Priscilla’s story. Through its comical mishaps, dramatic twists, and struggles to prevail, The Captain’s Questis a reminder of the heights, depths, and lengths that our great God will go to show His passionate love for us.

To learn more, checkout my website at LorriDudley.com, or watch The Captain’s Quest book trailer by clicking here: The Captain’s Quest trailer.

MY REVIEW

I could tell as soon as I started reading the book that Pricilla was going to be a great character. It takes less than a few pages for her to be in big trouble. Who knew by attending a function she would find herself compromising her family’s name? She made me laugh as she tries to figure out what to do.

The adventure starts as she boards a ship thinking her brother is in charge. To her dismay not only is her brother not in charge, but she is now on a ship with complete strangers and she has Captain Tobias Prescott to deal with. I don’t think Tobias was very happy finding a stowaway aboard his ship. Pricilla finds out how dangerous a storm at sea is when her life is in danger. The author does a great job describing the treacherous sea and the aftermath that finds Pricilla and Tobias lost at sea. I couldn’t believe his crew would not look for them. I guess the mission is more important than saving their captain.

Being on an island alone with Tobias proves to be challenging. I liked how protective Tobias is . He is definitely a gentleman and it was nice for Pricilla to share her past with him. The story shares a lesson about trust not only in others but in God. He protected them in the storm and provided food for them as they prayed to be rescued.

Being on the deserted island allowed Pricilla and Tobias to open up to each other and rely on their faith to survive. The author has a few surprises in store for readers as the story is filled with hope, rumors of treason and trusting God. I enjoyed the adventure and how strong these two characters were. Their instincts helped them overcome obstacles and the ending is well written.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.