Captive in the Dark by C.J. Roberts

Captive in the Dark by CJ Roberts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not sure anything I write in this review will explain how much I loved this book and why. To say that this story is complex is a massive understatement. If you're looking for a light easy afternoon read, a book with love, hope, and a happily ever after, keep looking. If you want raw emotion, pain, dark terror, a page turner that will captivate you from the first word to the last and then leave you wanting more, this is the book for you.

Caleb is a slave trainer, and Caleb wants revenge. When he sets his sight on Olivia he thinks she is the means to the end. His goal is to kidnap her and train her to be a pleasure slave so he can sell her and ultimately use her as a tool for his revenge. However, Olivia turns out to be not quite what he had expected.

Olivia is a high school senior just trying to get through her last year so she can get out of her life and start new. She has no one at home she can turn to for support, with no father and a mother who doesn't seem to like her. When she is kidnapped, her first instinct is to fight. She is not the quiet submissive Caleb was looking for. Rather, as the days pass, she struggles to hold onto the person she was, no matter the cost.

The characters in this story are amazing. We really don't know a lot about Caleb's revenge, why he wants it, etc., but just that it is more important to him than anything else he has ever known. His character is so complex. The author did such an amazing job, with both him and Olivia, at showing emotions, feelings, and conflicts. As Caleb gets to know Olivia, he begins to feel sorry for the things he must do to her, but feeling sorry is not quite enough to make him stop. Olivia is so confused about how she is supposed to feel about Caleb. One minute he is hurting her worse than she could have ever imagined and the next he is holding her and comforting her, something no one has ever done before. She is torn between the two sides of him and her feelings of hate for him and her need to be loved by him.

I love that we got both Olivia and Caleb's point of view in this story. I don't think it would have made half the impact if it had only been one sided. We got to see not only what Olivia was going through and her inner turmoil, but also Caleb's, and that is what, in my opinion, really made this story so great. I am amazed at the emotions and feelings captured in this book. And both characters are so likable. Yes, even Caleb who is supposed to be the monster here. As I was reading my emotions followed Olivia's…one minute I loved him and felt sorry for him, the next I hated him. In the end, my love for him won over and I couldn't help but hope there would be a happily ever after for him.

And holy cliffhangers! I finished the book at 1:30 in the morning and immediately hopped on Amazon praying and hoping the second book was out! Turns out I have to wait a couple of months. Two months for me to imagine ways the story could end, to figure out how Caleb and Olivia's lives are going to play out. But, no matter what I imagine for them, I know it will not be nearly as good as what the author will do…so now I will wait patiently and try to get these two out of my head. Wish me luck.


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