Lovin' los libros

A book blog dedicated to young adult and new adult novels

Review: Captive by Brighton Walsh

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Captive (Captive #1)
    by: Brighton Walsh

Publication Date: Mar. 24, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC provided via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 288 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

He’s the most dangerous man she’s ever met…and she’s falling in love with him.

Madison Frost is desperate to escape her life. Daughter of a prominent businessman, she has everything a girl could ask for. Except for a family who’s present in her life, and anyone to talk to outside the four walls of the prison she calls home. Madison dreams of one day leaving her life behind. She never thought being kidnapped is how it would happen.

Now she’s being held captive by a man who’s as frightening as he is sinfully gorgeous. Enormous, muscular, and filled with secrets, the man they call Ghost is an enigmatic mercenary, and Madison is trapped with him. She doesn’t know who hired him or why, but the more time she spends at his mercy, the more she realizes he’s not what he seems. Beneath his rough exterior lies an unexpected gentleness and a heart as broken and battered as her own.

But as Madison lets down her walls, Ghost holds tight to his, hiding secrets that could destroy everything.

 
 
I don't really even know what to say except that I loved this one. LOL. I knew I would because it's Brighton, but I will admit, I originally had some hesitancy about it. I wasn't sure I would enjoy the captive/captor relationship. It seems a bit sadistic and I'm not really into those dark, twisted romances. Rest assured my friends. Brighton makes this WORK. There was never a time where I felt uncomfortable by the direction this book was taking. I think this is in large part due to the fact that we get Ghost's point of view as well as Madison's. We get to see his thoughts and what he's feeling in regards to the situation. He is NOT a bad guy at all. Sure, he kidnapped a girl for money, but he has his reasons for doing it. Honestly? I was glad he did it. Madison broke my heart in just the first couple of chapters. She isn't living. Her life isn't a life at all. For being so young (20), she hasn't experienced so many things and I hated that for her. She's a sweet, selfless girl and it wasn't right that she was put in the position she was.
 
While I liked Madison, I did have trouble remembering her age. She seemed so much younger than she was, so when THINGS started happening it almost felt wrong until I remembered she was plenty old enough. She has a backbone though which was awesome. I love that she wasn't some simpering damsel in distress. While Ghost may call her 'Princess', he really couldn't be more wrong. She has steel in her veins and I liked that. She wasn't perfect though. She is human and Walsh does highlight her insecurities, which only ended up endearing her to me even more.
 
Oh Ghost. I am so in love with that man. He is so much more than meets the eye and I loved that. He has depth and I liked watching Madison unravel him. He made assumptions about her and stereotyped her because of her family, so I loved when she showed him who she really was and he started to understand that the two of them might not come from such different worlds after all.
 
Their chemistry is SMOKING HOT. Oh my goodness. I knew Brighton could write sexy scenes, but good grief these were off the charts. The kissing alone was enough to melt me into a puddle. I give mad props to Brighton for crafting such well developed kissing scenes! So many romances just gloss over them and forget the true power a really good kiss can hold.
 
I had a few theories as to who Ghost was working for and one of them was correct, but it was still intriguing to find out the WHY behind it all. The tension between Ghost and Madison was so spot on. I loved it. It was hard to watch Ghost deal with his conflicting feelings, but completely necessary at the same time. I am really excited that the next book will be about his brother Riley! I love the blurb for Exposed already!
 
So, yeah. I definitely loved this one. Oh and for those of you like me who don't like characters with strange names... you do find out Ghost's true identity, so don't worry about that. This is one super sexy read and I already can't wait to reread it!

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14 comments

  1. I loved this one too! Brighton nailed it! Ghost was sooooo hot and I absolutely adored Madison. Can I have Exposed now? I wanna get to know Riley! Great review!

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    1. YES! I loved Ghost so much! He totally won me over! I want Riley too! I think he's going to be the more reckless one! So I can't wait to see how that plays out!

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  2. Woo! I love this review, Jessica! I was hesitant towards this book too because of the subject matter, but you're right, Brighton did a fantastic job with it! And Ghost handled Madison pretty gently and never disrespected her which is what made it work for me.
    OMG yes that chemistry!! *fans self* I kept texting Danielle like the creep that I am whenever there was a sexy time scene. :D
    I looooved Ghost too! I'm so happy we got his POV! I really can't wait for Riley's book!
    Lovely review!

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    1. Aw thanks hun! I feel like my review writing has been crap lately, so that means a lot of you to say. She did do such an amazing job! I loved that he didn't disrespect her! That was such a huge PLUS! Haha! Those sexy times were so hot. I loved them! Yay Riley! I love second chance romances.

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  3. Ooh, I haven't heard of this, but it sounds interesting. I'll be looking out for other reviews of it. :-)
    ~Ailsa

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  4. See, I LOVE dark and twisted romances - so I would have jumped on this one regardless. I am picky though, so *shrug* In any case.

    I am super curious about this one and I am glad to hear you loved it!

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    1. Haha. I know you do love those! I think I need to find the right one to love. If you do read this, I hope you'll like it!

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  5. I loved this book so hard! I've read books with a similar setup before, but this one wasn't nearly as dark as some of those. I've enjoyed both types, but there was just something so much better about this one. I think it was because, like you said, we got Ghost's point of view, too. We knew he wasn't a bad guy. We knew his motives. And, also, Brighton Walsh writes incredible romance... even with the most unconventional setups. I'm so excited for Riley's book!

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    1. Yes! I loved Brighton's writing style so I think I knew it would work. I'm not against dark, but I do like the vibe of this one. Ghost was so dreamy. LOL.

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  6. I've been seeing nothing but great things about this book! I kind of regret turning down a review copy when I was offered. But then I remember that, at the time, I was losing my mind a bit, with school and a boy and a thousand review books :D I will definitely give this book a shot at some point! You and Danielle loved it, so it must be great! This Ghost guy... I'm intrigued ;)

    Fabulous review, Jess!

    Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

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    1. Aw I understand girlie. It's hard to accept all the ones we want, especially knowing it will be too hard on us. I do hope you give it a shot though! It was sexy times for sure!

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  7. Great review, Jess! I agree with everything. It's Brighton so I wasn't too worried, but a captive/captor relationship wouldn't normally be my thing (those dark twisty romances aren't for me either) but it isn't like that at all! I loved Ghost and Madison's romance. <3

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    1. Thanks lovely! xoxo I loved their romance too. Brighton rocked it!

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