Blast from the past reviews - Captured by Erica Stevens

Blast from the Past...! Captured (The Captive Book 1)

What they say: Blood Slave. Captured, taken from her beloved family and woods, Aria’s biggest fear is not the imminent death facing her, but that she will be chosen as a blood slave for a member of the ruling vampire race. No matter what becomes of her though, Aria knows that she must keep her identity hidden from the monsters imprisoning her. She has already been branded a member of the rebellion, but the vampires do not know the true depth of her involvement with it, and they must never know.

Though hoping for death, Aria’s world is turned upside down when a vampire named Braith steps forward to claim her. He delays her execution, but Aria knows it’s only a matter of time before he drains her, and destroys her. Especially once she learns his true identity as a prince within the royal family; the same royal family that started the war that ultimately brought down humankind, reducing them to nothing more than servants and slaves.

Aria is determined to hate the prince, determined not to give into him in anyway, but his strange kindness, and surprising gentleness astonish her. Torn between her loyalties to the rebellion, and her growing love for her greatest enemy, Aria struggles to decide between everything she has ever known, and a love she never dreamed of finding.

What I say: I read Captured back when it was first released, but decided it was worth another read and so it makes it onto my blast from the past post!

The book is set in a dystopian world where vampires rule and humans are basically bagged and tagged for food. A small group of human rebels fight against the viscous vampires, refusing to be bloodbags. The rebels live on the run, in hidden communities. Daughter of the rebel reader, Aria is captured and packed off to auction where she either faces instant death or a slow death as a blood slave. Her brother's friend Max is also captured trying to help her (you can imagine why).

Vampire Crown Prince Braith claims her as his blood slave, yet is surprisingly kind to her. Braith is blind, yet can somehow see when he's with Aria. As a vampire Prince, Braith is startling different to Aria. He's experienced in both sex and blood drinking (although she's his first ever blood slave). Aria is a seventeen year old virgin who has been through a lot, yet remains adorably naive.

I really enjoyed the love story between these two enemies. It was a slow burn, which I appreciated as I'm rather fed up of instant love at the moment. Aria takes a long time to soften to Braith as he's one of the evil monsters she's been rebelling against. She lives in fear of the vampire's discovering her identity. Braith is equal parts annoyed and intrigued by Aria's attitude. Humans are taught to know their place and be submissive to vampire's, especially to the vampire royalty, but Aria's stubborn and very different to what Braith is used to.

Along with Aria, the reader starts to trust Braith. He's not as much of a monster as she expected (or is he?) and he's definitely nicer than the evil King and his brother.

 

Oh boy, the ending! I won't say any more but make sure you're prepared for the ending to shout and cry!

3.5 Stars in my Sky!

May fav non-spoilery quotes:

• She was not cruel and manipulative like him, she would never understand why he had done this to her.He didn't know what it was about this girl, but she fascinated him, intrigued him, and captivated him in a way that no one ever had before.
• Was she actually beginning to have feelings for a monster? Feelings for one of the creatures that she had hated, and fought against her entire life?"
• They're both hotheaded and reckless," Jericho explained further when Braith still did not fully grasp what she was saying. "I personally blame it on the hair.