So, I've been trying to remember a certain romance novel that I read some time ago, and while I remember some distinctive bits and pieces, mostly from the beginning of the story, they don't really provide me with search terms that let me use Google or the like to search for the book. So, I'm hoping that maybe one of the romance readers on this board might have an inkling what book this might be! I'll try to find detailed summaries of any books you might suggest on Amazon or something of that sort, so I should be able to tell you if it's the book or not.

Here's what I remember: the book opens with the heroine married very young to a cruel, abusive husband. In the first scene, she's running away from a group of his friends (on his estate, possibly) who were torturing a dog, which she rescued. She's trying to keep the dog from them, but they're catching up. Just before they do, she runs into the hero, a young man who is rather overweight, either on a small rowboat or near it. She explains her difficulties to him, and he brings her and the dog onto the boat and out into the water for safety. When the young men burst onto the scene, the hero claims that the dog is his and that she was bringing it to him. As he's of rather high rank, they don't dare do anything to him or to her in his presence. She's very grateful. He's sweet and shy.

That's sort of a prologue, and some years pass. She's a widow (who saw that coming?), and he was kidnapped somehow (possibly during war, although I think somehow the sea was involved, maybe he was in the Navy?). He was held captive for something like two years. Due to his long starvation and considerable physical exercise, he's now handsome and thin (who saw that coming?). They meet again, but I don't really remember how or much of anything else, although I seem to have a vague memory of reading much of the book wondering if they remembered that they had met long ago in the scene with the dog, so I have a feeling that either they don't recognize each other or they somehow don't refer back to that early meeting.

Does this at all sound familiar to anybody? I would have thought that it was a Mary Jo Putney, Jo Beverley, or Mary Balogh, because they've written most of the ones I've read recently. But, I looked through all the books I own of theirs, at least, and I don't see it. I'd love to find this book again, so if you recognize it, or have a guess, please let me know!

I wish I could help. I read a lot of Romances, but this doesn't ring a bell. Has anyone PM'd you with a possibilty?

Do you, by any chance, remember the hero or the heroine's name? :p

I don't remember the names for sure. I've thought of a few "was it this?" heroes names: David, Stephen, Francis. The heroine, I keep thinking of as Julia (or some variant on that). But I wouldn't eliminate a book that you might think of with a hero or heroine's name totally different from these, because I'm really not sure. It's funny, usually names are what I remember most about a romance novel, and that's how I'll think of that book ("Oh, that one's Catherine's and Michael's story," or, "that one's Lucien and Beth's"), but I guess it's been so long since I read this one that I don't remember the names anymore. I seem to think that the hero had a somewhat weak male name to go with his portrayal as initially overweight and a bit weak (even though those changed), but even this I'm not sure about.

I also think I remember something about the heroine wearing a yellow dress in the beginning scene?

No, nobody's PMed me yet. I guess this is a hard one!

Ooh! I found it! "Ride the Wind Home," by Christina Kingston! I need to do some looking into it to see if it's the right one for sure, but a review on Amazon references "When the Duke of Smythington rescues Diana, a baron's very young bride and her puppy from the unwelcome attentions of ruffians, it begins a fledgling love that will haunt the two for years to come. She keeps track of him until he disappears." The hero's name is David, and the heroine's is Diana (okay, I guess Julia was wrong, if this is the book). I'll try to get hold of the book to make sure, but it certainly sounds like the right book. Thanks for your help!

Here's the link for it on Amazon.com .

It has some longer synopsis of the book.

malu