littlepanda's review
3.0
It was an okay read. I was not really blown by the story and I only bought it because of the dragons . I was disappointed that it was not at the center of the story but still it was a good way to pass time.
dreamerfreak's review
4.0
I'm always up for a good fantasy, and [b:Capture|20717776|Capture (Torsere, #1)|Annabelle Jacobs|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391691516s/20717776.jpg|40072975] is definitely that. Political intrigue, dangerous enemies, and just a hint of a cinderfella story, I couldn't stop reading until I knew that Nykin and Ryneq were going to finally get some happiness. Plus, dragons. Of course, this does end on a strong HFN, so now I must read the rest of the series!
cmira2027's review
4.0
3.5 Stars. Enjoyable fantasy tale of Kings and Princesses, Dragons and Dragon Riders. Action and adventure - on to book 2.
wendylynnm's review
3.0
I liked this book, I think due to it being the first book in the series and being a Fantasy book we had to go through the world-building before we can actually get into the romance. I'm okay with that, we need to know who is who and what everyone does throughout the series.
Dragons! A dragon rider and a king, what can be better than that? I liked Nykin right out of the gate, I think he states what he wants and loves his job. Ryneq, he took a little while for me to like, I'm not sure what it was that held me back from liking him at the beginning of the book.
All in all, it was a good read and I look forward to book two.
Dragons! A dragon rider and a king, what can be better than that? I liked Nykin right out of the gate, I think he states what he wants and loves his job. Ryneq, he took a little while for me to like, I'm not sure what it was that held me back from liking him at the beginning of the book.
All in all, it was a good read and I look forward to book two.
lainy122's review
3.0
The writer put a lot more thought into the world building of this story than in the sentences which described it, which was a bit off putting at first. Still, though some of the phrasing made me roll my eyes, I enjoyed the lore and plot and characters enough to keep reading.
I'm glad I did. I became quite invested in the story of the dragon rider and his king (although I wish the author knew the difference between a highness and a majesty because I winced every time), and I enjoyed the whole caboodle enough that I plan on picking up the next one.
I'm glad I did. I became quite invested in the story of the dragon rider and his king (although I wish the author knew the difference between a highness and a majesty because I winced every time), and I enjoyed the whole caboodle enough that I plan on picking up the next one.
see_sadie_read's review
DNF at 33%
This is where my commitment to review everything (except big trad sellers with 4 gazillion reviews) is really hard. I always feel so darned mean. But I couldn't take anymore of Capture. In order to explain why I chose to give up on it, I'm going to cut & paste my somewhat free-flowing, grammatically questionable, definitely not pristine notes below. (At least I tend to write my notes in complete thoughts.)
Writing really stiff. It uses names and pronouns constantly. There were whole lengthy passages in which almost every sentence either started with a name or 'he.' And that doesn't even account for the use of 'he' within the sentence itself. It made for very staccato reading. It got to the point that I was literally nodding my head as if jostled everytime I had to read the word 'he.' You know, like, there's one, there's another, and another and another and another. Even if I'm not doing it on purpose, if I'm that distracted by the repetition of a word you can guarantee I'm not sunk into the story at all.
I also have to use my least favorite literary critiscim here. I hate it because it's so common that it's almost become would-be reviewers' automatic critique phrase, but here it's use is also appropriate. There is a lot of telling in this story. Had the story used more show then it wouldn't have allowed for all of the HEs in the first place. I hate to say it felt amateurish, but it kind of did.
OMG, the names! For one, there are far, far too many named characters. Many seem to play no significant role in the story so the flood of names was merely a distraction. Plus, all the names were the crazy fantasy type names that are all but unpronounceable in real life. They may look good on paper, with all the Ys and Rs but are still ridiculous.
instant and unexplained lust for one another on meeting. Nykin is at least supposed to have had a crush on the king from afar, so I understand him. But Ryneq lays eyes on Nykin, doesn't even know him and instantly starts getting proprietary and jealous of any man coming near Nykin. He's instantly smitten, thinking of Nykin, etc. There was no build up, no getting to know eachother, no anything really.
The cursing seemed out of place. I generally have no problem with characters cussing up a storm. But here 'fuck' was just randomly thrown in on occasion. It didn't fit the tone of the book at all. Thus, it felt out of place each and every time it was used.
OK, so there it is. I'm cringing for my own honesty, but I didn't see a lot of likelihood that this book would improve for me. So, I'm letting it go. Such a shame too, I LOVE dragons and hot dragon riders and sexually open kings (Plus, it wasn't even a freebie. I paid for it.), but this was not going to be a winner for me. I'm sure others might love it. I encourage you to give it a go and see what you think.
This is where my commitment to review everything (except big trad sellers with 4 gazillion reviews) is really hard. I always feel so darned mean. But I couldn't take anymore of Capture. In order to explain why I chose to give up on it, I'm going to cut & paste my somewhat free-flowing, grammatically questionable, definitely not pristine notes below. (At least I tend to write my notes in complete thoughts.)
Writing really stiff. It uses names and pronouns constantly. There were whole lengthy passages in which almost every sentence either started with a name or 'he.' And that doesn't even account for the use of 'he' within the sentence itself. It made for very staccato reading. It got to the point that I was literally nodding my head as if jostled everytime I had to read the word 'he.' You know, like, there's one, there's another, and another and another and another. Even if I'm not doing it on purpose, if I'm that distracted by the repetition of a word you can guarantee I'm not sunk into the story at all.
I also have to use my least favorite literary critiscim here. I hate it because it's so common that it's almost become would-be reviewers' automatic critique phrase, but here it's use is also appropriate. There is a lot of telling in this story. Had the story used more show then it wouldn't have allowed for all of the HEs in the first place. I hate to say it felt amateurish, but it kind of did.
OMG, the names! For one, there are far, far too many named characters. Many seem to play no significant role in the story so the flood of names was merely a distraction. Plus, all the names were the crazy fantasy type names that are all but unpronounceable in real life. They may look good on paper, with all the Ys and Rs but are still ridiculous.
instant and unexplained lust for one another on meeting. Nykin is at least supposed to have had a crush on the king from afar, so I understand him. But Ryneq lays eyes on Nykin, doesn't even know him and instantly starts getting proprietary and jealous of any man coming near Nykin. He's instantly smitten, thinking of Nykin, etc. There was no build up, no getting to know eachother, no anything really.
The cursing seemed out of place. I generally have no problem with characters cussing up a storm. But here 'fuck' was just randomly thrown in on occasion. It didn't fit the tone of the book at all. Thus, it felt out of place each and every time it was used.
OK, so there it is. I'm cringing for my own honesty, but I didn't see a lot of likelihood that this book would improve for me. So, I'm letting it go. Such a shame too, I LOVE dragons and hot dragon riders and sexually open kings (Plus, it wasn't even a freebie. I paid for it.), but this was not going to be a winner for me. I'm sure others might love it. I encourage you to give it a go and see what you think.
prgchrqltma's review
4.0
Fluffy with dragons and elves. The romance is pretty insta. Since this goes on for a few books, I hope there will be more depth in the romantic arc.
filipa05's review
3.0
2.5 stars
I wanted to like this, I really did. The world building needed a lot more fleshing out and so did the characters, desperately so. There were many details that just didn't make sense, and the way the plot developed was just too easy. It really bothered that everyone referred to the king by his first name more often than not, and that we aren't even told of a family name. He's just Ryneq, occasionally his majesty, and along with a great lack of detail the character just did not feel kingly at all. The romance wasn't very good either and, in my opinion, didn't add anything to the story. That being said, the book wasn't completely horrible, but i'm pretty sure I won't be reading any of the sequels.
I wanted to like this, I really did. The world building needed a lot more fleshing out and so did the characters, desperately so. There were many details that just didn't make sense, and the way the plot developed was just too easy. It really bothered that everyone referred to the king by his first name more often than not, and that we aren't even told of a family name. He's just Ryneq, occasionally his majesty, and along with a great lack of detail the character just did not feel kingly at all. The romance wasn't very good either and, in my opinion, didn't add anything to the story. That being said, the book wasn't completely horrible, but i'm pretty sure I won't be reading any of the sequels.
cadiva's review
4.0
The first book of a fantasy series always takes a bit of bedding in as world building sits alongside the main plot lines.
However, for most of this opener in Annabelle's high fantasy, the two intermingled quite nicely together without needing a lot of exposition.
I loved the dragons in this, the idea of bonded riders isn't new but the restriction on time served together was a cool twist to the trope.
Both main characters had interesting personalities, I also loved the Princess and the brief glimpses of the elves.
There's clearly a series long story arc going to run through all three books but this particular plotline wrapped up suitably for me.
There's a sort of cliff hanger for the overall story but I'd expected that and it didn't feel like things were being pushed over to drag it out.
However, for most of this opener in Annabelle's high fantasy, the two intermingled quite nicely together without needing a lot of exposition.
I loved the dragons in this, the idea of bonded riders isn't new but the restriction on time served together was a cool twist to the trope.
Both main characters had interesting personalities, I also loved the Princess and the brief glimpses of the elves.
There's clearly a series long story arc going to run through all three books but this particular plotline wrapped up suitably for me.
There's a sort of cliff hanger for the overall story but I'd expected that and it didn't feel like things were being pushed over to drag it out.
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