Review: Captive by Aimee Carter

Review: Captive by Aimee Carter Captive by Aimee Carter
Published by Harlequin Enterprises, Limited on November 25th 2014
Pages: 304
Format:Hardcover
Source:Purchased

For the past two months, Kitty Doe's life has been a lie. Forced to impersonate the Prime Minister's niece, her frustration grows as her trust in her fake fiancé cracks, her real boyfriend is forbidden and the Blackcoats keep her in the dark more than ever.

But in the midst of discovering that her role in the Hart family may not be as coincidental as she thought, she's accused of treason and is forced to face her greatest fear: Elsewhere. A prison where no one can escape.

As one shocking revelation leads to the next, Kitty learns the hard way that she can trust no one, not even the people she thought were on her side. With her back against the wall, Kitty wants to believe she'll do whatever it takes to support the rebellion she believes in—but is she prepared to pay the ultimate price?

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Well, this series continues to surprise me! I didn’t expect to love Pawn, and I did. I expected a bit of a sequel slump, and there certainly isn’t one. Captive was absolutely as action-packed and horrifying as its predecessor. The story does take a few chapters to really take off, but I was fine with that because I appreciated the little snippets of recap (they were placed well, it didn’t  feel like a recap, but it definitely did the trick!) to help me refamiliarize myself with Kitty’s world.

The Good:

  • Change of location. I was really glad to see the book leave Hotel Hart and take us to the hell that is “Elsewhere”. And this place is bad. Yes, I know it was expected to be awful, but nope, Aimee Carter took it to a whole new level of evil. I did not see a lot of the twists surrounding Elsewhere coming, which was really great in itself. And reading about the history, the people, their lives… it was so worth it.
  • The plot. Yes, the plot was very fast paced, very anticipatory. Lots of twists, and lots of trying to figure out who were the “good guys”, trying to figure out who was even who (if you’ve read Pawn, you know that masking is very shady business, and Captive takes it to a new level). I had no idea. Maybe I still don’t. Guess I have to wait to find out!
  • The new characters. Not even the characters themselves, because Kitty is quite frustrating sometimes, but just all the new people that are introduced. It makes for a really strong book, because you’ll find yourself in sincere empathy one minute, and abhorrence the next. There are a lot of characters to feel for, and a lot of characters to hate, and it makes for a book chock full of suspense.
  • Kitty and Knox. I enjoy them, I do. Even though Kitty is mind numbingly frustrating at times, she really is caring and loyal and has a lot of good qualities. It is easy to root for her. As for Knox,  I have just always enjoyed his character. I love his frustration with Kitty, especially in the beginning of the book when she is refusing to listen to him. They argue like an eighty year old couple, and I find it fun. Of course, Knox is all over the place in this book, and I was never sure if he was trustworthy after a certain point. I think I know where he stands now, but come on, there’s another book, anything can happen!

The “Meh” (Because none of it was bad):

  • Benjy. Oh Benjy, why you here? Seriously, Benjy is one of the most useless characters I have come across. I feel exactly nothing toward him. I almost wished I hated him, because at least there’d be some emotional stirrage. I get that Kitty has known him forever but there is no chemistry, just familiarity. jack-sparrow-go-away
  • Kitty earns her III. Seriously, I know why homegirl didn’t get higher on her test now, because she does some really dumb stuff under pressure. Likely just as she did on her test, because wow. I mean, I know some people freeze up in the heat of the moment, can’t make decisions, make the wrong ones, etc., but she has to get it together if she is going to save anyone, herself included.

Bottom Line: Very good as a book, great as a sequel. I absolutely can’t wait for Queen based on the events of this book. If we could just maybe drop Benjy off at a rest stop along the way? Please and thank you. 4strs

Posted January 5, 2015 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Review / 8 Comments

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8 responses to “Review: Captive by Aimee Carter

  1. I was glad of the recap, couldn’t remember everything that happened in Pawn, glad it wasn’t all clunked together either. Elsewhere was definitely evil, evil, evil, honestly haven’t read a place as bad as that. But Knox! Little devious person. I did doubt him after you know what, but he really is playing the long game, that one. Totally true with Benjy, ha! It’s bad. I do like him, but really, all he has done is cause problems (and holding Kitty back- but he is trying to push her to be a good person) So can’t wait for the finale! 😉

    • Yes, I wish all books would do this! It wasn’t an info-dump, it made sense in the story, AND I didn’t have to try too hard to remember what happened.

      I really hope the finale is epic! I am pretty excited for it!

  2. I think the first few chapters were my favorite; it had been so long since I read Pawn that I really needed that recap! And Elsewhere was freaky O_O Was not expecting it to go that way, or be that dark. But it was a nice surprise in the end – it made Captive stand out.

    I LOVE KNOX!!! Sorry – he’s the best part of the series for me 😀 He’s probably the biggest reason I’ll be reading book three. And perfect gif for Benjy; he needs to go away. DYING at “Kitty earns her III.” YES SO MUCH.

    • I know, seriously, can we petition all sequels to do this? And yes, I love Knox too! He and Kitty should end up together. I think there were small hints that he likes her. I am holding out hope, even though it looks as though it’ll end up being craptastic Benjy.

  3. Knox actually kind of aggravated me in this one a little bit with all his keeping secrets and not trusting Kitty (yes, I know, she was WAY worse – but I kind of thought he caused some of the problems himself by hiding things). Still, I do really like him, and you’re right that Benjy’s just kind of boring. 🙂

    • Well, I agree with you, BUT I think he was probably right not to trust her. I mean, she was so focused on seeing Benjy that she was making such awful decisions. Let’s just get rid of Benjy, then Knox can trust Kitty AND Benjy will be gone!

  4. Andeley

    El primer libro de esta trilogía sí me gustó, pero el segundo…me hizo odiar a kitty como no he odiado a alguien de un libro en mucho tiempo, sinceramente aunque la veo un tanto “valiente” es muy inmadura para mi gusto y culpa de todo a los demás :// su necedad es un fastidio realmente y me doy cuenta que no es capaz de mantener ni una sola promesa en pie y apenas le hacen algo y está de chismosa, por eso no le confían secretos ni nada. .-. Por eso y muchas razones más, aunque me ha gustado un poco la trilogía (Solo el primer libro me gustó demasiado) no puedo terminar de tragar a la protagonista XD es alguien a quien me encantaría partirle la cara por chismosa. Y entiendo totalmente el punto de Knox, de hecho es mi personaje favorito, pero entiendo porqué no le dice nada, ella lo arruina todo .-.

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