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A review by megsbookishtwins
Captive by Aimée Carter
3.0
I received this free from the publishers via NetGalley
“The only thing that really matters in the end is how we choose to live.”
Captive is the second book in The Blackcoat Rebellion series, the first being Pawn.
In Captive, Kitty Doe aka Lila Hart has been betrayed, hurt and accused of treason which lands her in Elsewhere. A prison that no one has ever escaped from. She is surrounded by people she doesn't know if she can trust, she doesn't know who is with her or against her. Kitty is part of the rebellion, but is she really ready to do whatever it takes to win?
If you read my review of the first book in this series here you would see that I was pretty positive about it, but I felt the world building could have been a bit better. Unfortunately, I don't think it was much better. There was a different side of the society shown in the Elsewhere, but that was the only development. It was like we can only see the two opposites - the leaders and the prisoners. While I found the Elsewhere interesting and honest and brutal, much more interesting that the setting in the previous book, it still felt short. I can't really put my finger on it, but I do know for sure that I would like to see other parts of society, not just in the palace walls or the prison walls.
If you also read my review on the previous book you can see my admiration for Kitty, and her selfishness. In Captive, she seems like a completely different person, and while she sticks by her decision she made at the end of Pawn, she seems to put the Rebellion in front of Benjy, which is something she never did in the first one. In Pawn she did everything she could to protect Benjy, yet in Captive she didn't really, it seems like he was a little less important to her in this book. Perhaps the author wanted to make room for Knox? Either way, I didn't like this character change in her, especially as it seems to have came about out of nowhere.
While there were many twists and turns, I felt the pacing was a little too fast in the first half of the book. It seemed so rushed and it all happened so fast, especially with the supposed betrayal. Yet the first half also bored me as well, despite being rushed. I must not have been that invested in the book much. However, by the second half, when we see Elsewhere, it gets a lot better, but I feel like the shortcomings of the first half - perhaps I just got bored of the setting - can't really warrant 4 stars from me.
The romance did not really interest me at all. While I like Benjy and Kitty aka Lila, I just don't see the love there, or much of the chemistry. This may be due to the simple fact is that we have never really seen their relationship develop. From Pawn they were together from the beginning and were already in love. I just feel as though the romance was a little bland and flat for me. Also, I think I see a potential love triangle, but thankfully it isn't exactly there, which is a positive.
Overall, if you really loved Pawn then of course, this is a must read.
“The only thing that really matters in the end is how we choose to live.”
Captive is the second book in The Blackcoat Rebellion series, the first being Pawn.
In Captive, Kitty Doe aka Lila Hart has been betrayed, hurt and accused of treason which lands her in Elsewhere. A prison that no one has ever escaped from. She is surrounded by people she doesn't know if she can trust, she doesn't know who is with her or against her. Kitty is part of the rebellion, but is she really ready to do whatever it takes to win?
If you read my review of the first book in this series here you would see that I was pretty positive about it, but I felt the world building could have been a bit better. Unfortunately, I don't think it was much better. There was a different side of the society shown in the Elsewhere, but that was the only development. It was like we can only see the two opposites - the leaders and the prisoners. While I found the Elsewhere interesting and honest and brutal, much more interesting that the setting in the previous book, it still felt short. I can't really put my finger on it, but I do know for sure that I would like to see other parts of society, not just in the palace walls or the prison walls.
If you also read my review on the previous book you can see my admiration for Kitty, and her selfishness. In Captive, she seems like a completely different person, and while she sticks by her decision she made at the end of Pawn, she seems to put the Rebellion in front of Benjy, which is something she never did in the first one. In Pawn she did everything she could to protect Benjy, yet in Captive she didn't really, it seems like he was a little less important to her in this book. Perhaps the author wanted to make room for Knox? Either way, I didn't like this character change in her, especially as it seems to have came about out of nowhere.
While there were many twists and turns, I felt the pacing was a little too fast in the first half of the book. It seemed so rushed and it all happened so fast, especially with the supposed betrayal. Yet the first half also bored me as well, despite being rushed. I must not have been that invested in the book much. However, by the second half, when we see Elsewhere, it gets a lot better, but I feel like the shortcomings of the first half - perhaps I just got bored of the setting - can't really warrant 4 stars from me.
The romance did not really interest me at all. While I like Benjy and Kitty aka Lila, I just don't see the love there, or much of the chemistry. This may be due to the simple fact is that we have never really seen their relationship develop. From Pawn they were together from the beginning and were already in love. I just feel as though the romance was a little bland and flat for me. Also, I think I see a potential love triangle, but thankfully it isn't exactly there, which is a positive.
Overall, if you really loved Pawn then of course, this is a must read.