Take a photo of a barcode or cover
bookcrushers 's review for:
Captive in the Dark
by CJ Roberts
3.5 dark and twisted stars - ★★★.5
3.5 may seem too low, but I did like this sick, twisted ride. I'd been repeatedly told that this is the standard for dark, erotic romance books. It may have not been all I wanted it to be, but it was still competently written and well plotted. I spotted a few spelling/grammar mistakes but they weren't very noticeable.
Livvie is our heroine, an 18 year girl with a terrible upbringing and an underlying sadness to her. I loved her because she is a survivor, one of those truly beautiful, resilient souls who thrives in the middle of adversity. Her mother was a right nutjob, a woman obsessed with her stigma of being a whore and who's jumped from man to man and had kids with several men. Livvie's incident with one of these shady stepdads lands her in a terrible position with her mother and she must grow up with her neglect, lack of affection and constant reprimands to not become a "whore" herself.
To make matters worse, Livvie ends up kidnapped by Caleb, as ruthless, cold and detached as he is beautiful. He's in the pleasure trade business and is loyal to his "boss", Rafiq, who seeks revenge from one of the world's richest men. Livvie will play a part in this revenge by become this man's sex slave and allow them access to him. Caleb will have to train her, as he's trained other women before her. This time the stakes are higher though, because of who the client is and the ultimate purpose Livvie will serve. To make matters worse Livvie is different for Caleb. She has an undeniable effect on him. He calls her Kitten but by the end of the book it's obvious she's become much more to him. She's become his only exception.
I thought this book was daring and unapologetic and I love that. I love anything that can be constituted as a mindfuck, and this was firmly in that camp. Caleb may have been a villain but he's a villain with depth. There are standards to his monstruosity and because of that Livvie develops a connection to him, a mindboggling sense that she's safe with him, despite him being her kidnapper. I truly felt for him, he suffered so much tragedy early on, it's impossible not to. Parts of Caleb's flashbacks were excruciating to read, so I'd recommend this with huge trigger warnings. Life is rarely black and white and this book is a great example of that.
I can't wait to see what Seduced in the Dark has in store. CJ Roberts' writing style may not be my favorite... some parts were slow. Sections were huge infodumps. There is a ton of inner monologue which is normally a huge turn off for me. Also the constant flashbacks dragged the pace down and it did take a while for me to start believing that a true connection could exist between these characters, not because of their particular situation (kidnapper, kidnapped) but because the writing spent a lot more time in their heads than showing more interaction and dialogue. I'm a stickler for dialogue. So, all in all, I wasn't a huge fan of this author's voice, but I'm curious enough to continue.
3.5 may seem too low, but I did like this sick, twisted ride. I'd been repeatedly told that this is the standard for dark, erotic romance books. It may have not been all I wanted it to be, but it was still competently written and well plotted. I spotted a few spelling/grammar mistakes but they weren't very noticeable.
Livvie is our heroine, an 18 year girl with a terrible upbringing and an underlying sadness to her. I loved her because she is a survivor, one of those truly beautiful, resilient souls who thrives in the middle of adversity. Her mother was a right nutjob, a woman obsessed with her stigma of being a whore and who's jumped from man to man and had kids with several men. Livvie's incident with one of these shady stepdads lands her in a terrible position with her mother and she must grow up with her neglect, lack of affection and constant reprimands to not become a "whore" herself.
To make matters worse, Livvie ends up kidnapped by Caleb, as ruthless, cold and detached as he is beautiful. He's in the pleasure trade business and is loyal to his "boss", Rafiq, who seeks revenge from one of the world's richest men. Livvie will play a part in this revenge by become this man's sex slave and allow them access to him. Caleb will have to train her, as he's trained other women before her. This time the stakes are higher though, because of who the client is and the ultimate purpose Livvie will serve. To make matters worse Livvie is different for Caleb. She has an undeniable effect on him. He calls her Kitten but by the end of the book it's obvious she's become much more to him. She's become his only exception.
I thought this book was daring and unapologetic and I love that. I love anything that can be constituted as a mindfuck, and this was firmly in that camp. Caleb may have been a villain but he's a villain with depth. There are standards to his monstruosity and because of that Livvie develops a connection to him, a mindboggling sense that she's safe with him, despite him being her kidnapper. I truly felt for him, he suffered so much tragedy early on, it's impossible not to. Parts of Caleb's flashbacks were excruciating to read, so I'd recommend this with huge trigger warnings. Life is rarely black and white and this book is a great example of that.
I can't wait to see what Seduced in the Dark has in store. CJ Roberts' writing style may not be my favorite... some parts were slow. Sections were huge infodumps. There is a ton of inner monologue which is normally a huge turn off for me. Also the constant flashbacks dragged the pace down and it did take a while for me to start believing that a true connection could exist between these characters, not because of their particular situation (kidnapper, kidnapped) but because the writing spent a lot more time in their heads than showing more interaction and dialogue. I'm a stickler for dialogue. So, all in all, I wasn't a huge fan of this author's voice, but I'm curious enough to continue.