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A review by _isabel_
Captive Mate by Eliot Grayson
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
This was adorable, even though it did make me uncomfortable at times. After the events at the end of book one I was very curious to see what would happen with Matthew and the shaman who put the love spell on him.
I managed to devour this second book in half a day: as the previous novel, this one is quite short and fast-paced, well-thought out, with an amazingly straight-forward world-building and a cast of characters that just beg to be loved.
However it did leave me a bit uncomfortable: I'm okay with nearly all kind of triggers and most of the darker themes (though I do draw the line at some things, mainly taboo stuff), but love-spells and forcing people to fall in love or lust after you is something I don't enjoy in novels. Even though everything works out in the end, it still left be a bit uneasy. I also wasn't the biggest fan of neither Matthew nor Arik: Matthew was a bit difficult to understand at times and since we don't get his POV, he still remains a bit of a mystery in the end; Arik was, fundamentally, an asshole for three quarters of the book, trauma and horrific past aside. I kind of got where he was coming from and I also felt for him, however his "use and abuse or be used and abused" act frustrated be to no end, even though, I understood why he was doing it. He does end up redeeming himself in the end and both he and Matthew together were sweet and hot and hilariously awkward.
I think the main issue was that I missed Ian and Nate frontstage: I can't help it, they were truly wonderful protagonists and I just wish we got a few more books solely about them. I will be continuing this series though: I'm still desperate to see if Dor and Charlie get their story and Colin was kind of intriguing too.
I managed to devour this second book in half a day: as the previous novel, this one is quite short and fast-paced, well-thought out, with an amazingly straight-forward world-building and a cast of characters that just beg to be loved.
However it did leave me a bit uncomfortable: I'm okay with nearly all kind of triggers and most of the darker themes (though I do draw the line at some things, mainly taboo stuff), but love-spells and forcing people to fall in love or lust after you is something I don't enjoy in novels. Even though everything works out in the end, it still left be a bit uneasy. I also wasn't the biggest fan of neither Matthew nor Arik: Matthew was a bit difficult to understand at times and since we don't get his POV, he still remains a bit of a mystery in the end; Arik was, fundamentally, an asshole for three quarters of the book, trauma and horrific past aside. I kind of got where he was coming from and I also felt for him, however his "use and abuse or be used and abused" act frustrated be to no end, even though, I understood why he was doing it. He does end up redeeming himself in the end and both he and Matthew together were sweet and hot and hilariously awkward.
I think the main issue was that I missed Ian and Nate frontstage: I can't help it, they were truly wonderful protagonists and I just wish we got a few more books solely about them. I will be continuing this series though: I'm still desperate to see if Dor and Charlie get their story and Colin was kind of intriguing too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence