Welcome to the second discussion of Kissing the Captain by Kianna Alexander. This week Jacilyn and Michaela will be discussing Chapters 15-Epilogue.
Spoiler Warning! This post will contain spoilers for Kissing the Captain by Kianna Alexander.
Trigger Warning! This week's discussion briefly includes sexual assault and rape.
Discussion #3:
Michaela: Last week we were left a huge cliffhanger. Ricardo was shot by intruders and as Lilly was running to town to get help she ran into none other than Mr. Martindale. I was very surprised to see Lilly meet him on the road and he has showed himself to be even more toxic and evil than I thought.
Jacilyn: I really enjoyed that Lilly totally saved herself from Martindale. He couldn’t stop talking and going on and on about how he’s entitled to her land, and that meant that he had some sort of ownership over Lilly herself, in spite of the fact that he’s clearly disgusted by her heritage. Lilly stays calm, considers her situation, and waits to pull out the gun until she could ensure that she could gain the upper hand. Martindale clearly intended to sexually assault her, and she totally prevented that herself. Even Ricardo was impressed with her.
Michaela: I think Martindale shows just how much he is the embodiment of toxic masculinity in this scene. He is obsessed with Lilly yet also disgusted by her heritage and calls her “half-breed tramp”. He views her and Ricardo beneath her for no reason, he admits “I may not be better than everyone”, he just hates seeming less powerful and being rejected by a woman. He even attempts to rape Lilly which is all about power. Lilly fighting back and drawing the gun on her obsessed attacker was amazing and Lilly is a very brave and strong woman.
Jacilyn: I do have to say that I really don’t enjoy the fat-shaming in regards to Martindale throughout the book. Like, descriptions are fine, but Lilly and Ricardo both talk about how fat he is and there are a PLETHORA of other shitty things about Martindale to talk about, yknow? That didn’t sit very well with me, honestly.
Ricardo comes to and immediately tries to find Lilly, and ends up finding her with her gun held to Martindale’s head. He finally sees that Lilly is a badass, and has respect for her because of it. Ricardo fought off the intruders, but they were there for him, not her. By all rights, Lilly saved herself, her own land, and Ricardo himself. I love her for it.
So, after Ricardo returns home from the doctor and is recovering, Lilly and Ricardo profess their love for each other. I have to say, I’m still disappointed that Ricardo never apologized for being an asshole.
Michaela: I agree, the fat shaming was a bit much for me. I do not condone fat shaming, sexism, sexual violence, or bias against sex workers; all subjects in this book. However, it is the time period of the book when many of this was more ‘acceptable’, but it is hard to read from a modern stand point on these issues. Many times I feel characters and people in general think that body shaming or making fun of someone is okay if they are bad, evil, or smarmy, and it just isn’t. Bullying is bullying, no matter who the person is. I was a little disappointed in Lilly especially when it came to this.
Lilly is such a badass woman, I love it. She saved herself from Martindale spectacularly and probably saved Ricardo from bleeding to death. Ricardo finally seeing that she can take care of herself was relieving but I still think he has a lot of societal “norms” of the time working against him because I think he will still struggle with Lilly wanting to have her own business.
I am disappointed Ricardo never fully apologized, he definitely acknowledged it in his own thoughts but I don’t think he ever truly apologized to Lilly. Lilly seems to have forgiven him for it mostly, which good for her for being the bigger person here. I know it’s a romance novella but I still don’t know that I think people can fall in love after only five days but it was a very sweet encounter as they confessed that they love each other.
I hope that though Lilly is now realizing she can see a happy life with Ricardo, and is excited to have children with him, that she doesn’t forget her own dreams of being a seamstress. I really support Lilly’s dreams on this one as I want to start my own seamstress business in real life, I just want Lilly to have everything.
Jacilyn: To me, it felt like suddenly Lilly was willing to give her life up for him. We never get any mention of her career again. Like you said, it’s a romance novella, but it’s hard to take a romance seriously when it progresses this quickly. It’s just not something I’m into, personally.
So they have this sweet encounter where they confess their love for each other, and Ricardo is honest with her about why he no longer wants to sail. I was glad that he told her this, especially since his former first mate showed up moments later to beg Ricardo to join him on the ship. What did you think about the situation with Victoria?
Michaela: I agree, I still don’t know that I am a romance genre person. Ricardo finally trusted Lilly enough to tell her that was very sweet and reassuring of his feelings for her, I thought. I’m very happy that they are both getting more comfortable and less guarded with each other so that they can build a good relationship.
I felt really bad for Victoria, she obviously has had some bad experiences and thought Ricardo would be the one for her. However, from what I got from the book she only knew Ricardo from the short time at the frolic, so I’m confused why she would feel so strongly so quickly. It’s possible she knew him from past visits and he forgot, or maybe she has some experiences that are influencing her lack of stability in this moment. Victoria obviously views things to be bad enough to commit suicide and she needs help. Antonio and Ricardo’s willingness to actually help calm and get Victoria down from the mast was commendable. I think many people during this time would have been less willing to help in a situation like this.
Lilly was definitely the only who saved the day here, again. I think this made Lilly realize that “whores'' and “soiled doves” are women with feelings and lives that deserve respect. Lilly was very biased against them earlier in the book because of the frolic and her own personal bias. I am glad that she was willing to accept the right thing to do, which was to put aside her jealousy and bias to help someone who needed it.
Jacilyn: Since Victoria only knew Ricardo a short time, I’m guessing that there might be something else going on with her mental health that contributed to her reaction. Lilly showed great compassion when speaking to her, and I’m glad that she went with Ricardo and Antonio. I can’t imagine it would have ended well with Ricardo and Antonio trying to take charge…. They’ve made it clear that they aren’t exactly great with the whole feelings and compassion thing, to be honest.
After Victoria is brought down from the mast, we jump forward in time a bit. Lilly arrives home with a letter from Ricardo’s father, who has congratulated him on his marriage and praises Lilly as a fine woman. After they read the letter, Lilly surprises Ricardo with the news of her pregnancy. I had a feeling that this was the way that the book was going to end, actually. It ended up being a feel-good conclusion to the story, and all I can hope for is that Ricardo actually does end up compromising with Lilly and that she’s able to live her seamstress dream while also living a great life with a loving husband and a brood of children.
Michaela: I really hope Victoria gets the help she needs so that she doesn’t feel this way anymore. I thought the situation played out very nicely and safely for everyone, especially Victoria.
Ricardo’s excitement to hear from his father was so adorable and his father seems like a very nice man. However, I was not a fan of him saying Ricardo “inherited a wife”, that made me feel icky but again the time period. Gotta remember the time period, I feel like I had to almost chant this to myself as I read this book. His mother already being so excited about grandchildren made me roll my eyes because of course that’s her main thought process. Nothing wrong with being excited but it can be annoying and anxiety inducing being on the receiving end of it because it is a lot of pressure. Lilly obviously doesn’t feel that way though as she was super excited to tell Ricardo that she was pregnant. The two of them being so excited together was very sweet.
I thought the ending would be something like this as well, it just seemed like that kind feel-good book. I also really hope Ricardo and Lilly find a comfortable compromise together so that they can both be happy, and I’m glad that Lilly is actually excited to have a child and isn’t just pretending to be exciting for Ricardo’s sake.
And that’s it, folks. Thanks for joining us for our second book club read! What did you think of the confrontation between Lilly and Martindale? Are you into the fast romance? How did you imagine the book would end? Let us know below!
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