Book Review: Captive by AD Robertson

Captive

By AD Robertson

Release Date: October 22, 2013

Source: Publisher

Summary: The first adult novel set in the world of the New York Timesbestselling Nightshade series, Captive delivers a steamy, forbidden romance between sworn enemies drawn together by an irrepressible desire.

Twenty-five-year-old Tristan Doran enjoys a life of incredible power and privilege. As a direct descendant of the Keepers—witches who have embraced dark magic—he defers to no one but his overlord, Lord Bosque Mar. For most of his life, Tristan has been kept out of the centuries-old Witches War, his bloodline too valuable to risk in battle.

But when a beautiful, young human Searcher named Sarah is captured and made a prisoner in his Irish castle, Tristan’s infatuation with her flings him headlong into the fray. Captive and captor, unable to contain their longing, embark on a passionate, forbidden romance together—only to learn that their love is at the heart of a prophecy predicting the downfall of the Keepers’ ages-old reign.

Captive explores the darker side of the richly imagined Nightshade universe, a fantasy world of powerful dark witches, shape-shifting wolf warriors, and fascinating history. The first of three erotic novels, Captivedelves deeply into the fiery, illicit romance of two young lovers whose very desires invite their doom.

Review: I've never read the YA Nightshade series, but after reading the summary for this book, I knew I had to read it. A forbidden romance between sworn enemies in a steamy adult novel? How could I resist? And I'm happy to report that having no prior experience with the YA series took nothing away from my reading of this spin-off "forbidden side" novel. 

As the direct descendent of the Keepers, Tristan has led a life of extreme power, only answering to one person, his overlord Bosque Mar. Being the descendent of such an important bloodline means that Tristan's life is too valuable to lose, so he's spent the last 7 years of his life living on an Irish island in a castle with servants for his every need. When a human Searcher named Sarah is found scaling the walls of his castle and held prisoner, Tristan is struck from the moment he sees her. While Sarah should detest the very person she's grown up hating, Sarah can't deny the desire and longing she also has when first seeing Tristan. How is Sarah going to escape the clutches a man she's finding she doesn't hate at all? 

Wow. When the summary says this story is a "forbidden, steamy romance," it sure is serious! The romance between Sarah and Tristan was so steamy and the fact that it was forbidden made it even better. What I loved most about their relationship, though, was how it built and there was so much longing that when their relationship actually did go somewhere, it was definitely with much anticipation and build up. 

While this book is a spin-off of the Nightshade series, it was so easy to get into the world without having read that previous series. There is enough background information on the Keepers and the Searchers to understand the basics of who Tristan and Sarah are, as well as what world they come from. Most of this book takes place in Tristan's castle anyways, so any more information on the war between the two enemies isn't really necessary. 

Since most of this took place in Tristan's castle, almost the entire storyline had to do with their longing desire for each other and the progress of their relationship. I loved this part about the book because romance is my favorite, so what more could I want from a novel except for focusing on the two people in a forbidden romance? 

Overall, this book was great and the romance was even better. Now that I've read this one, I definitely want to pick up the Nightshade series and see more about what their world really is about. I know it won't be as steamy and passionate as this one, but the paranormal element of this novel hinted at a world that sounded really intriguing. And I really hope there's a second book after this one because that ending definitely left me wanting more of Tristan and Sarah. Any fan of romance, especially of the passionate forbidden variety, should definitely pick up a copy of this book!