REVIEW: Captive in the Dark by C.J. Roberts

(The Dark Duet, book 1)

Caleb is a man with a singular interest in revenge. Kidnapped as a young boy and sold into slavery by a power-hungry mobster, he has thought of nothing but vengeance. For twelve years he has immersed himself in the world of pleasure slaves searching for the one man he holds ultimately responsible. Finally, the architect of his suffering has emerged with a new identity, but not a new nature. If Caleb is to get close enough to strike, he must become the very thing he abhors and kidnap a beautiful girl to train her to be all that he once was. 

Eighteen-year-old Olivia Ruiz has just woken up in a strange place. Blindfolded and bound, there is only a calm male voice to welcome her. His name is Caleb, though he demands to be called Master. Olivia is young, beautiful, naive, and willful to a fault. She has a dark sensuality that cannot be hidden or denied, though she tries to accomplish both. Although she is frightened by the strong, sadistic, and arrogant man who holds her prisoner, what keeps Olivia awake in the dark is her unwelcome attraction to him. 

*WARNING: This book contains very disturbing situations, dubious consent, strong language, and graphic violence.*

BUY: Amazon 

   

"He was my tormentor and my solace; the creator of the dark and the light within. I didn't care that he would undoubtedly hurt me at any moment, right now; I just needed somebody to hold me, somebody to be kind to me, somebody to tell me exactly those words. It's going to be okay. It wasn't of course, I knew that. But I didn't care. I needed the lie." - Livvie

Disturbing. Romantic. Fucked up. Sweet. Heartbreaking. Sexy. How in the hell can all those adjectives describe the same book? I don’t know, I honestly don’t…but somehow they do. If I had to sum up Captive in the Dark in six words, those would be the ones I would choose. I had heard from other readers that this book was intense, so I thought I was prepared when I started reading it; I wasn’t. I don’t think intense is a strong enough word to describe this book! As incredibly fucked up as it was at times, I never wanted to put it down. I would ask what that says about me, but I think that would open up a whole can of worms that I just don’t want to deal with…so I’m just going to skate past that and move on. 

In a nutshell: Caleb wants revenge on the man who took everything from him, and there is only one way to do that; get close to him, earn his trust, and then destroy everything and everyone that matters to him. How does he plan to get close to him? By kidnapping an American girl (because apparently American girls are the bee’s knees) and selling her to him as a sex slave. Caleb just needs to find the perfect girl to kidnap and train into submission, and after secretly watching Olivia for weeks, he realizes she is exactly the girl he needs. 

I loved Olivia and as crazy as it is to say it, I think loved Caleb. Olivia was submissive, yet defiant and Caleb was sadistic, yet loving. Some of the things he did to break Olivia down made me want to punch him in the throat, but there were several instances where he was so sweet to her. When he first kidnapped her, I hated him; when he tortured her, I hated him; then it was like I got Stockholm syndrome and suddenly he wasn’t that bad. Okay, okay, maybe it wasn’t Stockholm syndrome; it was more learning about his childhood and what he’s been through; dude had it rough. Olivia’s childhood wasn’t great either, and my heart ached for her when she was telling Caleb the story of why her mom doesn’t love her. I seriously can’t even describe how much I felt for her throughout the entire book; it was almost emotionally exhausting.

I could never have imagined how much this book would just completely own me emotionally. Maybe I'm a little premature in saying this, but damn it, I want Olivia and Caleb together. There! I said it! I’m incredibly anxious to see where their story goes inSeduced in the Dark, but I don’t think I can read it yet; it would just be an emotional overload and I’m not trying to have a breakdown and shit. I’m going to read a few lighter books and then when I feel like my emotions are somewhat stable again, I’ll come back toSeduced in the Dark and finish Olivia and Caleb’s story. 

Captive in the Dark gets a 5 star rating from me, without a doubt. CJ Roberts somehow makes you love someone as sadistic and fucked up as Caleb, and as scary as that is, it’s also incredibly fucking brilliant. This book will take you on a crazy, whiplashy (yeah, made that word up) emotional rollercoaster, but it’s a damn good ride. 

5 STARS

Reviewed by: