Review : Captive by Brighton Walsh

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Captive (Captive #1)
Author : Brighton Walsh
Publication Date : March 24th 2015
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

He’s the most dangerous man she’s ever met…and she’s falling in love with him.

Madison Frost is desperate to escape her life. Daughter of a prominent businessman, she has everything a girl could ask for. Except for a family who’s present in her life, and anyone to talk to outside the four walls of the prison she calls home. Madison dreams of one day leaving her life behind. She never thought being kidnapped is how it would happen.

Now she’s being held captive by a man who’s as frightening as he is sinfully gorgeous. Enormous, muscular, and filled with secrets, the man they call Ghost is an enigmatic mercenary, and Madison is trapped with him. She doesn’t know who hired him or why, but the more time she spends at his mercy, the more she realizes he’s not what he seems. Beneath his rough exterior lies an unexpected gentleness and a heart as broken and battered as her own.

But as Madison lets down her walls, Ghost holds tight to his, hiding secrets that could destroy everything.

Personal Thoughts

I read Brighton Walsh's Caged in Winter last year, thanks to book-pushing from Danielle at Love at First Page and I fell in love with her writing and her male-protagonist. When I read the blurb of Captive, I was a bit unsure. This isn't really the kind of forbidden-romance I enjoy, but oh man, this book was so good. I buddy read it with Danielle and basically devoured it within a few hours. Brighton Walsh is seriously talented and there is just something about her writing that pulls you in.

Madison was a character that I instantly connected with. She had insecurities regarding her weight that made her so relateable to me. I felt for her because I am that girl. I was initially worried that I might get tired of her depressing past story-line, but the way Madison handled everything just made me respect her and admire her. She took care of her alcoholic mother while her father slaved away at his company, putting aside his family. Throughout the kidnapping, Madison just continued to impress me. From the very start, she kept on a brave face and refused to lose hope. She kept trying to escape even though her escape attempts wound up being futile. If I were in her place, I would probably have multiple breakdowns, but Madison was a much more resilient character than I ever will be. Then, we have Ghost, whose real name I will not reveal for spoilery reasons. I was very very wary of him and I kept telling Danielle I really needed him to grovel for me to want to swoon over him at the beginning, but like you might have guessed, it didn't take too long for that to happen. I don't condone kidnapping, but I understood where he was coming from and why he did what he did. Seriously guys, the chapters written in his POV were a gem. I loved getting to know him so personally and his thoughts when it came to Madison were so swoony - It made me jealous that of her! Ghost was certainly top book-boyfriend material.

As far as the romance goes, it was handled with delicacy by Brighton Walsh. It's hard to get the dynamics between a kidnapping victim and her kidnapper to come across as anything other than abuse, but Brighton Walsh did it. Throughout the whole book, Ghost treated Madison with respect and other than tying her up to prevent her from escaping, his behavior never bordered on violence and aggression. I loved that he was able to see the vulnerability inside of her and treat her with the gentleness and the affection that she lacked in her childhood. Theirs was a relationship that started off as a little bit of "I-hate-you", which developed into genuine affection for each other and then to more. Ghost and Madison really get to know each other on personal levels in Captive before they get into a sexual relationship. And oh man, the chemistry between these two! Phew! It was nearly enough to burn-up my e-reader. These two were super sexy together! I also loved how they pushed each other to see the best in themselves. Plus, Ghost and Madison are a couple that really grow together as their romance progressed. The mystery/plot was also intriguing and Brighton Walsh managed to surprise me with her main twist about who Madison's kidnapper was.

If you haven't tried a Brighton Walsh book in the past, you should definitely try out her books because there is just something magical about her writing that draws you in and prevents you from abandoning the book. Captive was a fantastic novel that made me feel all the feels! NA fans who aren't too afraid of the kidnapper/captive story line should definitely give this book a shot! I can't wait to read Exposed, the next book in this series. It's bound to be amazing!

Also be sure to check out Danielle's review for Captive here.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC of Captive.