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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
This book was an absolute mind-twister. It’s written in letter format which I wasn’t sure J would like but flowed so nicely I barely noticed! It’s captivating and will emotionally wreck you!!!
Wow just wow. I could not put this book down! The way the author wrote this book making you almost fall in love with the kidnapper is just *chefs kiss* I love a good book that makes me question my morals.
Oh wow. This book. I just loved the whole thing so very much and I never wanted it to end. Going off of the blurb and reviews from people that I follow I already had high expectations for [b:Stolen: A Letter to My Captor|6408862|Stolen A Letter to My Captor|Lucy Christopher|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1311064295s/6408862.jpg|6597789], and by the end of the story those expectations had been both met and exceeded.
Gemma is just your average sixteen year old girl wandering around the airport while waiting for her connecting flight with her parents. She goes to grab a quick coffee and has no way of anticipating that things are about to go terribly wrong. Enter Ty, the tall and ruggedly handsome man that most people wouldn't think twice about except to swoon over. He's got eyes that pierce right through Gemma and pull her in. When she doesn't have the proper currency to pay for her coffee he takes care of it and they sit down to have a seemingly casual chat. Yet before she even knows what is happening she is slipping into a drug induced hazy and confusing state and Ty is taking her away.
Right from the moment that Gemma wakes up in that little house in the middle of the desert she knows that things will never be the same, and we know it too. To me things felt like they were progressing at a pretty real pace. It wasn't like Gemma was upset for a few days and then magically came around to the idea. She never once gave up her will to fight and survive, and that is what made her such a fantastic and believable character. It would have been so easy to turn this into the kind of fantasy story where the girl falls madly in love with her captor and eventually forgets he'd ever done anything wrong. Despite those times where we start to see Gemma softening a little towards Ty, where she starts to feel like maybe she understands him some, she also never loses sight of what he's done to her.
As much as I loved Gemma, it's Ty that I'm really wanting to talk about. I have so many feelings about him that I almost don't know where to begin. Let's start by establishing that Ty truly is, sweet as he can be, a criminal. At no point in this book did I ever think "oh, well he thought he was doing a good thing" or "his heart was in the right place". Nothing excuses the fact that he kidnapped a girl and proceeded to hold her against her will. There will be people that read this book and forgive Ty because he took care of Gemma and seemed to genuinely care about her. They will look past the wrong that he's done and only see the romance because he is charming.
Now, all that being said, I also have to say that I don't think Ty is evil. Gemma's mother and the rest of the world clearly thought that he was, but I didn't see him that way. Ty was a young man that was very, very misguided. There had never been anyone in his life to teach him how to express himself and love appropriately, so it isn't any wonder that he wound up being that messed up. I honestly don't think that there was any malice in his heart. He didn't steal Gemma because he wanted to hurt her or anyone else; he was just a boy that thought he was saving a girl and made some horribly wrong choices with his life. As I said before, the fact that he thought he was doing a good thing for Gemma in no way excuses what he did. He very much deserved punishment. I just don't believe that he was the evil monster that some people thought him to be.
I've already rambled on for too long so I'll wrap this up. This book was just so great and so real that I honestly wished it had gone on longer. I'm really curious as to what would have happened if Gemma Would she have chosen to stay in the end? Would he have let her go before that? Would that hint of a romance we saw actually turn into something? As much as I would have enjoyed finding out the way things could have been had the ending gone a different way, I thought that the actual ending was fitting. I won't say that it was a happy ending exactly, or that it was tragic, but it was fitting for these characters.
Gemma is just your average sixteen year old girl wandering around the airport while waiting for her connecting flight with her parents. She goes to grab a quick coffee and has no way of anticipating that things are about to go terribly wrong. Enter Ty, the tall and ruggedly handsome man that most people wouldn't think twice about except to swoon over. He's got eyes that pierce right through Gemma and pull her in. When she doesn't have the proper currency to pay for her coffee he takes care of it and they sit down to have a seemingly casual chat. Yet before she even knows what is happening she is slipping into a drug induced hazy and confusing state and Ty is taking her away.
Right from the moment that Gemma wakes up in that little house in the middle of the desert she knows that things will never be the same, and we know it too. To me things felt like they were progressing at a pretty real pace. It wasn't like Gemma was upset for a few days and then magically came around to the idea. She never once gave up her will to fight and survive, and that is what made her such a fantastic and believable character. It would have been so easy to turn this into the kind of fantasy story where the girl falls madly in love with her captor and eventually forgets he'd ever done anything wrong. Despite those times where we start to see Gemma softening a little towards Ty, where she starts to feel like maybe she understands him some, she also never loses sight of what he's done to her.
As much as I loved Gemma, it's Ty that I'm really wanting to talk about. I have so many feelings about him that I almost don't know where to begin. Let's start by establishing that Ty truly is, sweet as he can be, a criminal. At no point in this book did I ever think "oh, well he thought he was doing a good thing" or "his heart was in the right place". Nothing excuses the fact that he kidnapped a girl and proceeded to hold her against her will. There will be people that read this book and forgive Ty because he took care of Gemma and seemed to genuinely care about her. They will look past the wrong that he's done and only see the romance because he is charming.
Now, all that being said, I also have to say that I don't think Ty is evil. Gemma's mother and the rest of the world clearly thought that he was, but I didn't see him that way. Ty was a young man that was very, very misguided. There had never been anyone in his life to teach him how to express himself and love appropriately, so it isn't any wonder that he wound up being that messed up. I honestly don't think that there was any malice in his heart. He didn't steal Gemma because he wanted to hurt her or anyone else; he was just a boy that thought he was saving a girl and made some horribly wrong choices with his life. As I said before, the fact that he thought he was doing a good thing for Gemma in no way excuses what he did. He very much deserved punishment. I just don't believe that he was the evil monster that some people thought him to be.
I've already rambled on for too long so I'll wrap this up. This book was just so great and so real that I honestly wished it had gone on longer. I'm really curious as to what would have happened if Gemma
Spoiler
hadn't been bitten by the snake.
All I can say is that I liked this book. Liked. Not loved, not hated. It was just okay for me. I felt it had so much unreached potential. I would have loved to know more about both Ty and Gemma's personalities. In my opinion there could have been so much more. I found myself being able to connect or care about the characters as much as I would have liked because I didn't get a lot of info about them. I will say that the last 50 pages of the book were really fantastic. If the entire book would have been that gripping, I certainly would have given it 5 stars!
My full review is at www.murbybooks.blogspot.com
My full review is at www.murbybooks.blogspot.com
This book was an odd book, I was conflicted on who I should be rooting for. I desperately wanted Ty and Gemma to end up together though, their were many tears shed while reading this book.
After a fight with her parents at a Thai airport, Gemma spies a good looking guy who appears to be checking her out. Lucky for her (or so she thinks), the guys comes over and they start talking. He buys her a drink, and Gemma starts to feel weird. A little too late Gemma realizes this guy is up to no good and he kidnaps her, taking her to the Australian outback. Gemma plots to escape but the harsh wilderness and isolation threaten to kill her.
At first I wasn't sure how an entire book could be about a girl who is kidnapped without getting dull, but this book is a page-turner! Teens will eat this up.
Ages 15+.
At first I wasn't sure how an entire book could be about a girl who is kidnapped without getting dull, but this book is a page-turner! Teens will eat this up.
Ages 15+.
Here’s the thing - if you’re going to make this feel like such a guilty read, just make it erotica so I know what I’m getting into. I thought this would feel more like a thriller but it was written like a fucked up love story. Ty is written so you’ll want him. (He’s a kidnapper who looks away from her naked body, refuses to touch her if she doesn’t want it, has a hot bod, is kind to animals etc. all just to try and make you want it. Classic everything around the sex, except the sex.) That’s fine, but don’t make it a YA novel just embrace filthy kinky story you actually want to write.
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Stalking
Moderate: Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts
The first book that wanted to make me cry! The best book ever! Stolen should be made into a movie but with a better ending... Ty and Gemma need to end up together. The book doesn't tell you what happens to them...