Captive by A.J. Grainger Review

Captive by A.J. Grainger

“Words are a powerful weapon. A single one can change a destiny.”

The plot with Captive didn’t go the way I planned. It was much lighter than I expected – the focus was more on the romance and the kidnapping was only about a third of the book. After a while the plot did turn repetitive with Robyn and Talon escaping numerous times and also Robyn saving Talon many times.

The main character, Robyn was okay she did get annoying at times but mostly she was strong and smart. She literally survives a kidnapping and torture and remains positive throughout and she asks a lot of smart questions.

I really liked how the book was around the UK Prime Minister’s daughter – it was pretty unique for a YA book and showed how although the person in power might be your family (father) it doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of horrible things. In the background the plot idea of international leaders covering up for each other was interesting and delved into well.

The theme of family is highly important to the novel. Not just Robyn’s family and the effects of living in 10 Downing Street and the scandal but other families. Feather and her brother were separated which led to the entire kidnapping thing and similar Talon and his brother’s death led to the kidnapping too. It showed how different families were affected by trauma.

The romance was between Robyn and Talon and it was instant love. From the first meeting Talon was pitched as the good guy in a bad situation and it would have been annoying but Talon knew he wasn’t the good guy and his actions proved that. The romance was build way to quickly and the rushed feeling of the story made the second half terrible. Also the ending was really awkward between them.

I enjoyed the message behind the story of how no matter your good intentions (animal rights) going to extreme methods is never the solution.

The reason I gave this book 2 stars was that it was badly written – it was just so boring. It didn’t have an interesting start which led me to think it was going to be a boring book and it was. Plus the flashbacks were pointless and annoying – the conversations between most characters were also useless and annoying!

“It takes a lifetime of decisions to make us who we are”

★★☆☆☆