A review by lindzy
Captive by Amanda Pillar
4.0
Having thoroughly enjoyed my first novella – even if I need to get used to the style – I thought I would branch out and try another. My next was Captive: A Graced Novella by Amanda Pillar. As introductions to world’s go, this one drew me in hook, line and sinker and I am looking for others in this series.
Laney and Jane are taken hostage by a vampire clan who wish to use them for feeding. Their half-brother, Quin, is an extremely powerful Graced and will do anything to get his sisters back, even an alliance with the werewolves. But when Wolf infiltrates the compound to break the girls out, he finds more than he bargains for. He doesn’t find humans; he finds love. But once free, the sisters continue their work to find a cure for vampires and werewolves alike, preventing them from having to feed on human flesh without a choice.
When I first started reading and realised it was vampires and werewolves, I had doubts. They were soon put to rest by how adult the novella is. There is none of the sparkly, vegetarian vampires that have flooded literature recently, but blood and guts the whole way. The first time a character swore, I knew I was reading something much better than I had anticipated.
The abilities of the Graced were partly what drew me to the book because of what I am attempting to write in my own novel. This were handled and explained well, despite not having read anything else in this world. There was never the feeling of coming to the world late with this novella, partly because there is no time to explore deep and meaningful story arcs in such limited space. But I knew within a short time what each character was capable of, how their power worked and what their limits were.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this and will look for more in this world, even if it is just to continue the story-arc of the characters. The characters were engaging, the plot fast-paced and riddled with tension and romance, the language suitable for both the situation and providing humour and even in the short space of time, more character progression was shown than I’ve seen in some novels.
This worked to further encourage me into the land of novellas and I look forward to finding more of Pillar’s writing.
Laney and Jane are taken hostage by a vampire clan who wish to use them for feeding. Their half-brother, Quin, is an extremely powerful Graced and will do anything to get his sisters back, even an alliance with the werewolves. But when Wolf infiltrates the compound to break the girls out, he finds more than he bargains for. He doesn’t find humans; he finds love. But once free, the sisters continue their work to find a cure for vampires and werewolves alike, preventing them from having to feed on human flesh without a choice.
When I first started reading and realised it was vampires and werewolves, I had doubts. They were soon put to rest by how adult the novella is. There is none of the sparkly, vegetarian vampires that have flooded literature recently, but blood and guts the whole way. The first time a character swore, I knew I was reading something much better than I had anticipated.
The abilities of the Graced were partly what drew me to the book because of what I am attempting to write in my own novel. This were handled and explained well, despite not having read anything else in this world. There was never the feeling of coming to the world late with this novella, partly because there is no time to explore deep and meaningful story arcs in such limited space. But I knew within a short time what each character was capable of, how their power worked and what their limits were.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this and will look for more in this world, even if it is just to continue the story-arc of the characters. The characters were engaging, the plot fast-paced and riddled with tension and romance, the language suitable for both the situation and providing humour and even in the short space of time, more character progression was shown than I’ve seen in some novels.
This worked to further encourage me into the land of novellas and I look forward to finding more of Pillar’s writing.