The vibrant colors, the detail on the woman's costume, the glimpse of desert beyond - it reminds me of the original cover on Victoria Holt's Gothic novel, CAPTIVE, which is a compliment, as that cover is gorgeous. Normally, I hate the rereleased versions of these old bodice rippers, but this is the first time I actually like the updated version more than the original. Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest Real talk: that cover. In which case I'll graciously bow to her cunningness and don't even mind having rewarded that with €€€€€ I'll never get back. Instead, I'd like to think that she wrote Captive Bride in malicious delight, assuming that her audience of ladies trying to escape the daily grind and their boorish husbands for a few hours, probably wouldn't know better anyway. I certainly hope the author didn't draw on her own experiences with men.
To think that the hero was supposed to make us women swoon and sigh dreamily. With more than three quarters of the book to go, the rape-y tension was replaced with "will he kill me and when will he do so?" angst, and it just wasn't the same. When she, all too soon, reluctantly submitted to the hardness between his legs, the deflowering this resulted into was so anti-climatic that even she couldn't be bothered keeping up an air of unwillingness and quickly changed her game plan by crying out "Take me, please!" to have the hero's straightforward humping over and done with. I'd put my cards on the hot 'n hairy Arabian dude after all.only to discover that he was a brat who stamped on the floor and stormed out of his tent angrily whenever his 17 year old blondie didn't appreciate his naked desire.
Unfortunately, everything soon spiraled down into long descriptions of the heroine's blond manes, full breasts and otherwise unearthly beauty. How many rapes would she have to endure before they killed her? And there seemed to be several men riding with them. What better place to rape a woman than the desert - where her screams could not be heard.
Of course -they'd be going into the desert. Oh man, for her sake I hope she'll at least be raped gently! Oh God, what is this man going to do with me? Will I be raped brutally first? For example, the author made me squirm with sweet anticipation when she shared the heroine's angsty rape-obsessed train of thought: All the elements for a trainwreckalicious old school romance seemed to be present. This looked so good! Look at all those 1 star reviews luring us in with the promise of dub con/non con, pedo bear drool, an Arabian alpha Dom and what not. I dare not check if any of them has unfriended me. It looks like I dragged my innocent, unsuspecting friends into another painful disaster with me. Well then, all my buddy read partners have bitten the dust, so I'm sure no one objects to me DNF'ing at 65%. V Arrogant, dominant prick (a sheik even!)īuddy read with Jenna, Angelica and Rebecka, with much appreciated mockery moral support from Mammarella. It looks like I dragged m This checks my boxes like you wouldn't believe! 7/1/14: post buddy read gone wrong Well then, all my buddy read partners have bitten the dust, so I'm sure no one objects to me DNF'ing at 65%. This checks my boxes like you wouldn't believe! V A handsome Arabian male V Arrogant, dominant prick (a sheik even!) V Abduction V Humiliation/degradation V Great age gap V Dub con/ non con V Stockholm Syndrome (?) V Wonderful reviews Buddy read with Jenna, Angelica and Rebecka, with much appreciated mockery moral support from Mammarella.