Willow Reads (18+ Series): Captive in the Dark- C.J. Roberts

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.


Title: Captive in the Dark (Dark Duet #1)
Author: C.J. Roberts
Page Count: 159 pages
Book Website: http://www.aboutcjroberts.com
Published: July 20, 2011
Source: Goodreads

A few months ago I was on Goodreads looking through book suggestions and this book came up in the Chick Lit section. I read the description and wasn't sure I wanted to go there but I thought it might be interesting, so I put it on my to-read list just in case I ever wanted something different. So that's where I'm coming from with this book. Of course I've read material like this before, it's nothing new. 

I can hear the activists and feminists now. "THIS IS NOT RIGHT. WHY ARE YOU READING THIS BOOK (AND OTHERS) THAT DEMEAN WOMEN?" Well, it's fiction, dears. So suck it up and go away if you don't like this review. Feel free to come back for any of the other reviews though. :)

Anyway, so after finishing the third Beautiful Creatures book two nights ago (which I will not be reviewing because it was so boring and wouldn't be interesting enough to write about), I wanted something new. Something different. I went into my goodreads to-read shelf and here we go. Something different. 

This book was... wow. I liked it but I'm not sure how I felt about it. It was a short book, and half the time I was questioning if I had gone too far. 

Pretty much, the book opens with a lot of description- and then Caleb kidnaps Olivia, takes her away from her life, and abandons her in a dark room. He won't call her anything but "pet," which infuriates her, and she doesn't even know how to handle the situation. Eventually she's able to leave the dark room and such, but she's still held against her will. And that's the battle throughout the entire book. Olivia is like "He's going to rape me and kill me, so I have to escape." and then Caleb acts sweet to her (which I'm not really seeing much of as she's saying it- only one time did I see the sweetness), and she's like "Oh why should I leave?" Caleb literally breaks her down from the strong person she once was. 


But she finally gets the chance to escape, makes plans to get back into the US (she found out she was in Mexico), and ends up right back where she started- BUT with serious injuries. It eventually leads to Caleb telling Olivia that he's selling her into the sex trade. 

This entire book had me at an inner debate, though. All the signs of abusive relationships are there. Being isolated from others, physical and mental abuse, that sort of thing. I was hoping, though, that Caleb would come around and leave his dangerous life for love or something. Totally didn't happen. xD So now that I'm finished with this one and on to the second in the book, you sort of wonder if it's going to happen but you know it probably won't. 

Gave it 3 stars on Goodreads. xD You can read it for yourself, see what you think. :)