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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Captive is an intriguing creation. I found myself exhausted before I'd finished the first 80 pages. In one night beginning at 11pm for the reader, Kitty (Lila II) has multiple fights with her handler, tries to seduce her boyfriend, attends a secret rebellion meeting, sneaks into her arch nemesis' office, has another fight with her handler, and watches someone she loves get killed. Am I missing anything? Oh! She also has a mini break down at a party. I felt like I needed a nap. Thank goodness the last two thirds of the book calmed down. Slightly. I think the whole book takes place over maybe 48 hours. Perhaps you can add another day to that. I don't want to say any more about her weekend-long adventures, but it's a lot. Kitty needs a counsellor and a very long holiday. Instead, she insists the rebellion she's involved in needs her. She's arrogant, self-absorbed, and refuses to ever do what anybody else suggests, asks, demands -- people who actually know what's going on: "Please, Kitty, get us the codes!" Not a chance in hell. "Don't you dare try to find those codes." How fast can she get there?
Despite always going against her trustworthy-ish companions, she will blame them when they don't get her out of trouble. Even after they have told her they WON'T get her out of trouble if she does... whatever she's planning to do next. And then they save her anyway. And she's still mad at them. I don't like Kitty. If I was in her rebellion, I would assume she was a mole and shoot her, she's that destructive to their cause. And yet. Everyone close to her thinks she's all that. I don't get it.
I couldn't put it down. For all Kitty's faults, the story sucked me in after the first 80-page marathon. Must be well-written? Or maybe it's the on-going question: "What's this idiot gonna do next"? I'm not sure.
Despite always going against her trustworthy-ish companions, she will blame them when they don't get her out of trouble. Even after they have told her they WON'T get her out of trouble if she does... whatever she's planning to do next. And then they save her anyway. And she's still mad at them. I don't like Kitty. If I was in her rebellion, I would assume she was a mole and shoot her, she's that destructive to their cause. And yet. Everyone close to her thinks she's all that. I don't get it.
I couldn't put it down. For all Kitty's faults, the story sucked me in after the first 80-page marathon. Must be well-written? Or maybe it's the on-going question: "What's this idiot gonna do next"? I'm not sure.
I really liked book one but book two was a little bit of a let down. Hopefully, its just a set up for something interesting.
For a second book in a series, I guess this book was fine.
Captive follows Pawn, and as far as a series, that is a success, as Cater adds in details on the main character's backstories and embellishes the settings extremely well.
The settings alone make this a book that deserves a strong rating. Too often these teen/YA dystopian stories leave too many questions when it comes to the back story and setting. Luckily this is not the issue here.
The issue seems to be surrounding Kitty, masked as Lila. She just doesn't seem to mature any. For a character that has lived on the streets and had to fight for the life she wants, it's hard to read her as such a whining child.
Over all this book was fine for a second in a series - it answered some questions from the first book and left many unanswered for the next book.
My full review can be found on my blog Reading List
Captive follows Pawn, and as far as a series, that is a success, as Cater adds in details on the main character's backstories and embellishes the settings extremely well.
The settings alone make this a book that deserves a strong rating. Too often these teen/YA dystopian stories leave too many questions when it comes to the back story and setting. Luckily this is not the issue here.
The issue seems to be surrounding Kitty, masked as Lila. She just doesn't seem to mature any. For a character that has lived on the streets and had to fight for the life she wants, it's hard to read her as such a whining child.
Over all this book was fine for a second in a series - it answered some questions from the first book and left many unanswered for the next book.
My full review can be found on my blog Reading List
Okay so. Where do i even begin? Kitty, Kitty, Kitty...needs to grow up and stop trying to rebel so much. Knox is just wasting his breath with her half the time. Don't even get me started with Knox who aside from Greyson is my second favorite character. It was definitely more adventurous than Pawn but still as whiney if not more. I kind of leapt for joy at in the beginning chapters. But Knox doesn't get the credit he deserves, everything he did and is still doing is for her sake and the rest of the country. In Pawn at the club he looked at her and saw her not Lila, he kissed her, not Lila. Even Hannah pointed it out to her that he loves her. He's kept every promise to her one way or another but she keeps screwing it up for herself. As much as I want to be happy with her adoration and commitment to Benji, I feel completely cheated out of their relationship. I don't want to start a series where the characters are already together, I don't feel the emotions she feels towards him when bad things happen because he's just a minor one thrown in out of the blue like "Oh hey, by the way, I grew up with him and I love him" Okay but how did you guys form a real relationship? Where's the chemistry other than you trying to either live or die together and sacrifice everything to stay together when I don't even know where anything is stemming from?
Rant aside, the action was better, I had feeling about Kitty in Pawn that was answered in this one and I await Queen to know how it ends. And for once if Kitty dies in it, I will not be sad at all, just still cheated.
Rant aside, the action was better, I had feeling about Kitty in Pawn that was answered in this one and I await Queen to know how it ends. And for once if Kitty dies in it, I will not be sad at all, just still cheated.
I liked this book, but didn't quite love it for a few reasons. 1: Benjy. I just cannot get aboard that train. #sorrynotsorry Knox is my bae and should most definitely be Kitty's. Benjy has more of a brotherly feel than a romantic feel for me. Knox on the other hand... come on Kitty. Right there. I feel there were a lot of hints to something being there between Kitty and Knox, but Kitty was just being her and ignoring it. THAT annoyed me. 2: the ending. The ending was really slow and dragged out for me. I don't know why either. I just didn't like it. Those were my major concerns. Oh! I also didn't like how Benjy came back to life. I wanted him dead, but I guess you can just read reason #1 for that. Otherwise there were twists and things in here that not even John Green would do. (Amart I had to. It's too great not to.) Liked it, not loved. Hopefully next book becomes greater.
Captive by Aimée Carter is the second book in the Blackcoat Rebellion trilogy, following on from Pawn, which I reviewed about a year ago. This review (and the blurb) contains some spoilers for the first book in the series. This is my first review of 2015, but the fifth book I've finished this year.
I really enjoyed this book. It does not suffer from middle book syndrome and takes some unexpected turns along the way. Things seeded in the first book are developed further, most notably the rebellion of the series title. Captive takes the story to the next level, shows us more of the world (well, more of the dystopic US, no word on what's happening in the Rest of the World) and sets up the last book for the dramatic conclusion.
I like Kitty. She does have a tendency to rush headlong into danger without a huge sense of self-preservation, but it does certainly push the plot forward, even if things don't always turn out the way she hoped. She can be a little too trusting — and there's one point in particular that really drives that home — but given that she has so few people that know who she is, let alone anything else, I found it understandable. I still cringed when her actions led to bad things. But then, if you live in a world that doesn't give you access to accurate history books (and forget about subversive dystopian novels), I can see how you might grow up without immediately understanding your own social context.
In Captive we also learn more about the ominous "Elsewhere" which was introduced in stages in Pawn. It turned out to be part less bad than what I expected, and part worse in some aspects than expected. I know that's pretty vague and sort of requires mind-reading to make sense, but I want to avoid spoilers.
Captive was a captivating read (sorry, couldn't resist) which made a good reward/break book in between some heavier stuff. And whenever I say things like that, I always have to pause and wonder how oppressive regimes, torture and war can feel like a "light" read. I think it must be in the writing style and pacing. Anyway, The Blackcoat Rebellion trilogy is a great read and I'm looking forward to the last book which is not coming out until November, alas. Highly recommended to all fans of YA and dystopias.
4.5 / 5 stars
Read more reviews on my blog.
I really enjoyed this book. It does not suffer from middle book syndrome and takes some unexpected turns along the way. Things seeded in the first book are developed further, most notably the rebellion of the series title. Captive takes the story to the next level, shows us more of the world (well, more of the dystopic US, no word on what's happening in the Rest of the World) and sets up the last book for the dramatic conclusion.
I like Kitty. She does have a tendency to rush headlong into danger without a huge sense of self-preservation, but it does certainly push the plot forward, even if things don't always turn out the way she hoped. She can be a little too trusting — and there's one point in particular that really drives that home — but given that she has so few people that know who she is, let alone anything else, I found it understandable. I still cringed when her actions led to bad things. But then, if you live in a world that doesn't give you access to accurate history books (and forget about subversive dystopian novels), I can see how you might grow up without immediately understanding your own social context.
In Captive we also learn more about the ominous "Elsewhere" which was introduced in stages in Pawn. It turned out to be part less bad than what I expected, and part worse in some aspects than expected. I know that's pretty vague and sort of requires mind-reading to make sense, but I want to avoid spoilers.
Captive was a captivating read (sorry, couldn't resist) which made a good reward/break book in between some heavier stuff. And whenever I say things like that, I always have to pause and wonder how oppressive regimes, torture and war can feel like a "light" read. I think it must be in the writing style and pacing. Anyway, The Blackcoat Rebellion trilogy is a great read and I'm looking forward to the last book which is not coming out until November, alas. Highly recommended to all fans of YA and dystopias.
4.5 / 5 stars
Read more reviews on my blog.
Mweh. At least it was better than the first book. 2 stars.
I'm not really sure what to think about this. At some points the book was very fast-paced, but at other points was the story just pretty boring and repetive.
Holy crap, I just got approved to read this on Netgalley! Thank you Harlequin!!!
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I quite enjoyed this! Sometimes the drama seemed a bit much, and I wasn't sure what to think of the main relationship in the book, but overall this was a solid sequel to the first novel. The plot actually developed and deepened in this book, enough to hold my interest and have me invested in what was going on - if not in the characters, then in the world that I had gotten to know and was developed throughout the pages.
Kitty is an interesting character - at times I wanted to shake her, which I suppose has certain positives itself - it says something when you're invested enough to want to reach through the page and shake a fictional person! She's not perfect but that's something I really like and respect in books, the courage to take a character and make them real, with their own quirks and downfalls and - yes - annoying moments.
I also appreciated the intensity of the plot - the author clearly wasn't afraid to make sacrifices for her story, and while I quite often have a problem with this sort of thing, Aimee Carter makes it work. it's also more realistic than some books that would have you believe that war and revolution have everyone walking away unharmed.
Overall a solid sequel to the first and worth reading.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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I quite enjoyed this! Sometimes the drama seemed a bit much, and I wasn't sure what to think of the main relationship in the book, but overall this was a solid sequel to the first novel. The plot actually developed and deepened in this book, enough to hold my interest and have me invested in what was going on - if not in the characters, then in the world that I had gotten to know and was developed throughout the pages.
Kitty is an interesting character - at times I wanted to shake her, which I suppose has certain positives itself - it says something when you're invested enough to want to reach through the page and shake a fictional person! She's not perfect but that's something I really like and respect in books, the courage to take a character and make them real, with their own quirks and downfalls and - yes - annoying moments.
I also appreciated the intensity of the plot - the author clearly wasn't afraid to make sacrifices for her story, and while I quite often have a problem with this sort of thing, Aimee Carter makes it work. it's also more realistic than some books that would have you believe that war and revolution have everyone walking away unharmed.
Overall a solid sequel to the first and worth reading.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.