Monday, November 10, 2014

Review: Captive by Aimee Carter


Captive by Aimee Carter
Book Two of the Blackcoat Rebellion series
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Publication Date: November 25, 2014
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

For the past two months, Kitty Doe's life has been a lie. Forced to impersonate the Prime Minister's niece, her frustration grows as her trust in her fake fiancĂ© cracks, her real boyfriend is forbidden and the Blackcoats keep her in the dark more than ever. 

But in the midst of discovering that her role in the Hart family may not be as coincidental as she thought, she's accused of treason and is forced to face her greatest fear: Elsewhere. A prison where no one can escape. 

As one shocking revelation leads to the next, Kitty learns the hard way that she can trust no one, not even the people she thought were on her side. With her back against the wall, Kitty wants to believe she'll do whatever it takes to support the rebellion she believes in—but is she prepared to pay the ultimate price?

What I Liked:

This book was... interesting. As far as sequels go, it was okay, and definitely functioned well as a sequel. It extended the plot of the series, and raised the stakes, and ended kind of crazily. I don't think it was as good as the first book, but I enjoyed the ride, can't wait to read the final novel.

Kitty wants to do more for the Rebellion, but Knox has been holding her back. When she is caught in a precarious position by Daxton, she is taken to Elsewhere, which is basically like modern-day jail with insane practices. There is a cage where two people who have broken rules fight to the death. The place is dangerous, and so are the people in charge (like wardens). Kitty has been given special privileges to live with the Mercers (wardens), but she refuses. No where is safe and no one can be trusted - so how will Kitty help the Rebellion?

Things in this book didn't really start to get crazy until Kitty was taken to Elsewhere. Then, I was really hooked. It takes a while to get to this point, which is one of the reasons why I gave this one three stars. But once Kitty gets into Elsewhere, I wanted to know how she would escape (obviously, she has to escape), where Benjy was, how Knox fit into everything, what secrets Kitty's past held... so much to be discovered!


Carter definitely raised the stakes in this novel. We find out that Kitty's Masking into Lila was no random act. Kitty's past is significant, and she was not chosen randomly. We find out who really sides with who, who betrays who, who can be trusted. Even in the ending, I was still skeptical of certain people and their alliances.


I like Kitty a lot in this book. She is put into awful situations, especially in Elsewhere, and yet, she holds it together and finds a way to get what she wants, to stay sane, to fight. I liked what Carter did with the romance - in book one, I was worried about a love triangle, but I don't REALLY see one happening... not really.

Overall, this was a good sequel novel! Some things bothered me, so keep reading!

What I Did Not Like:

It took a while for me to warm up to this one. Kitty was sent to Elsewhere - that's when I sat up and took notice. But it took some time to get there, so I was a bit bored in the beginning. I seriously wanted to put the book down and take a nap.

Towards the end, I wasn't entirely sure why Kitty froze up like she did, and didn't shoot, um, certain people. It's not like an execution, where she has the duty to shoot someone. No, she's hiding somewhere, and watching a man hurt someone she cares about... why not just shoot him? Why stare at the scene in the shadows, when it's him, the person, and Kitty? You have a pretty good chance to hitting him, and rescuing the person. Why didn't she think to do so?!

The new setting (Elsewhere) was cool, but it really shut out what was happening in the outside world. This is where dual perspectives could have come in handy... alas.

Finally, I didn't like this one as much as I liked book one, and I gave book one four stars, so this one is getting three stars. If that makes sense.

Would I Recommend It:

If you enjoyed book one, then you'll enjoy this one for sure! It's a good sequel, and I have no regrets - it was definitely worth the time. I want to read on! Too bad the next book won't be out for another year.

Rating:

3.5 stars -> rounded down to 3 stars. Not bad! Hopefully the conclusion to this trilogy is seriously epic. I can't wait!!


Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

16 comments:

  1. happy to hear you enjoyed the book, can't believe the second book is out and i have yet to read the first :D

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  2. Ooh nice review! I plan to read this one this week sometime! I can't really remember much of book 1 so I'm hoping there are those helpful reminders spread throughout! This is what happens when you read sooo much and you read the ARCs! Again, great review though! Looking forward to reading this one!

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    1. That one was of the things that I forgot to mention - Carter did an EXCELLENT job of reacquainting readers with book one's events. I'd forgotten a lot of the events too, so don't worry! You get back into the story with no problem.

      Thank you! Hope you enjoy the book when you read it!

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  3. I'm happy to hear that despite the slow start this one picked up and didn't suffer from a big sequel syndrome! And I'm also glad to hear that Kitty was a strong character in this one!
    Great review Alyssa!

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    1. If you read this one, I hope you enjoy it, Pili!

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  4. Hmm...I actually wound up putting down the first book after a few chapters. I was not a fan of Kitty at all, specifically certain stupid decisions at the beginning that she insisted were "the only way." And they weren't. At all. Anywho, it sounds like the series gets into some fun stuff...but being stuck in Kitty's perspective the whole time doesn't sound appealing. Maybe if it had dual perspectives? Great review!

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    1. If you didn't really like Kitty... hmm, I'm not sure if this book would be much better. She is really pushy and almost pig-headed in this book, but she also takes a lot of abuse. Dual perspectives would have been nice, honestly, to see what was going on outside of Elsewhere.

      Thank you!

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  5. Sounds like this one suffers a bit from second book syndrome. It sounds good but not great. I still havent read my ARC for book one, now I am holding off until book three.

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    1. That sounds like a good idea - I hate the wait! I feel like since this one was a bit mediocre for me, I'll forget everything I read in this one by the time book three rolls around... sigh.

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  6. I forgot that this book was a trilogy (thought it was a duology for some reason haha). Might pick it up sometimes since I did enjoy the first one, too bad it took a bit to warm up to this one, though. Thanks for the review, Alyssa!

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    1. A duology would have been nice - less waiting! You might really like this one then, Cyn! Happy reading - and thank YOU!

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  7. Looks like this one suffers form the middle book syndrome. :(

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  8. Well. Hmph. You say: " but I don't REALLY see one happening... not really." about a love triangle. And now I think there IS a love triangle in this book. How mean, lol :D I'm hoping there won't be one, though. I have yet to read book one, but I am excited about them both, and I have pre-ordered this one :) glad you enjoyed it. <3 thank you for sharing sweetie :)

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    1. There isn't. One girl loves one guy, but two guys like that girl. But it's a linear relationship between the girl and the guy she chooses. So, in the loosest sense, there IS a love triangle (because two guys like one girl), but the girl DOES NOT love both of them.

      Make sense? Thank you!

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