The Captain's Dowry is a sweet fantasy romance by author Christie Valentine Powell and takes place in the The Spectra Universe.Rosalind Doyen "Sal" lives two lives, one as a proper lady, and one as The Cabin Boy. Both are upended when her father The Captain sells his ship and her hand in marriage. The new captain is attempting to free both of them from economic slavery to his manipulative older brother. The book follows their ship around the continent, past pirates and griffins, in a retelling of William Shakespeare's As You Like It.
The Captain's Dowry contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Sal claims that she can out shoot, out climb, and out work all of her male colleagues, and she's probably right.
- Arranged Marriage: Sal's father and Roland determine to have Roland marry Sal in order to clear both of them from debt.
- Big Bad: Roland's brother Oliver is a banker who has a huge influence on the entire continent even when he's not present.
- Big Brother Bully: Oliver to Roland.
- Continuity Nod: Sal's father and their ship, the Arden, appear in the end of the first of the The Spectra Crown Tales. The ship's healer, Alstin, is the son of the main characters from that book.
- Death by Adaptation: Corin
- Easily Forgiven: As in the play, Roland to Oliver
- Healing Hands: The ship's healer, Alstin, has this ability.
- Missing Mom: Sal was raised onboard ship after her mother's death.
- Mistaken Identity: Sal for her fictitious half-brother.
- Our Griffins Are Different: Griffins are glimpsed throughout the book and play a part in the climax. They have four limbs, with the wings folding down for walking.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Sal's father taught her to disguise herself as a boy at a young age to keep her safe on his ship.
- Wooden Ships and Iron Men: The setting is in its own world but based off of the 1800s United States.
