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A review by hannibalhamlet
Captive by Avery Duncan
5.0
Five amazing starts for this "captivating" book! (See what I did there?)
First let me start off with my ratings. I rated this book 5/5 stars because the story line was so much fun to read, the characters were great, and the writing style was easy to read and enjoyable, and the author had such an adventurous tone throughout the book. I was going to rate 4/5 at first just because there were A LOT of grammatical errors, and no I am not being the Grammar Police (for I am sure there will be small errors in my review as well). There were errors in many sentences, some sentences just cut off or the wrong pronouns were used, or sometimes It seemed the author was going to write the sentence one way, but decided to change it last minute but forgot to delete what she already had. While this was pretty annoying, I didn't dwell on it for too long because it really was a great story.
Now to the nitty gritty!
The characters...
They were great! Fun and each one was different. Not one of the characters were alike, which I enjoyed because it gave a new taste to the story each time you read another page. I love a good variety of characters and think characters are what make the story intriguing and hold it together. Think of them as the glue. Without them, everything would fall apart.
Mari:
Mari is the leading lady, and I really liked her! She had a very young and spunky personality but was never too immature. She had her moments where she acted a little less than her age (Like where she kept demanding Ambrose tell her if mermaids fart) but it was mainly just her quirky personality. Mari was so hilarious with her one liners and she was so strong minded which I loved. Mari was thrown into the Atlantean world not by choice, but by a devastating thing that happened to her and she took it pretty well! She stayed true to herself. While she had to adapt to a new world, new lifestyle, and new people, she never changed who she was to please any of them. That earned her a great deal of respect in my eyes.
Ambrose:
You couldn't help but love Ambrose. From his looks, to what he had suffered and endured thanks to the minor goddess Ceto, to him overcoming every obstacle thrown at him, he was perfect. My heart wrenched for him just minutes into the book when reading the scene of him laying helpless in the cave. The author had such a way with words, and she really knew how to use them to get the readers to feel sympathy for the Exiled one. Ambrose was a great character because he wasn't just this strong, dominant, former Atlantean-King, but also because he had a soft and caring heart. Ambrose still cared about the well-being of his people of Atlantis even after they had all turned their backs on him. Ambrose had a lot of patience with Mari as well. He didn't have to change her or take her with him. She wasn't his responsibility, but he did it out of the kindness of his heart. He didn't want anyone to suffer what Ceto had put him through. He was all in all, an honorable man.
The storyline:
The author kept me intrigued during the whole book. I love mythology, even if it isn't the classic Greek mythology. It is one of my favorite things to read, and I love when supernatural/fantasy books include them into their plot. I felt like I had been growing up learning about these Gods and Goddesses after reading D.K. Combs stories about them. I really liked how she tied them all together in an easy to understand way. I do wish she had went into more detail about the two sisters though.. they were very interesting. How they had no emotions and had to teach themselves feelings? Very sad but I would love to see them get their own book. But back to the main story. I liked how the author introduced the Atlantean life. I don't feel like she rushed into anything and each chapter transitioned smoothly. One of my favorite scenes is when they are at the F-Inn and Mari is still adjusting to everything and the Atlanteans are freaked out by her tail. And of course the part where Ambrose kicks all their asses without breaking a sweat. I just think we learned so much about the Atlanteans in that chapter. Another thing I found important to mention is that the author didn't just forget about Mari's life before the shipwreck and her being introduced to the underwater world. The author mentions her past constantly in the book reminding the reader that she isn't quite done with Mari's past and her family yet. The ending is great because the author once again ties everything back together.
This was a great book and if you love merpeople as much as I do, I suggest this for an enticing, quick read about an Exiled King who is saved by a young woman who miraculously survived a shipwreck in the middle of the ocean. You will get romance, laughter, and adventure all in one!
First let me start off with my ratings. I rated this book 5/5 stars because the story line was so much fun to read, the characters were great, and the writing style was easy to read and enjoyable, and the author had such an adventurous tone throughout the book. I was going to rate 4/5 at first just because there were A LOT of grammatical errors, and no I am not being the Grammar Police (for I am sure there will be small errors in my review as well). There were errors in many sentences, some sentences just cut off or the wrong pronouns were used, or sometimes It seemed the author was going to write the sentence one way, but decided to change it last minute but forgot to delete what she already had. While this was pretty annoying, I didn't dwell on it for too long because it really was a great story.
Now to the nitty gritty!
The characters...
They were great! Fun and each one was different. Not one of the characters were alike, which I enjoyed because it gave a new taste to the story each time you read another page. I love a good variety of characters and think characters are what make the story intriguing and hold it together. Think of them as the glue. Without them, everything would fall apart.
Mari:
Mari is the leading lady, and I really liked her! She had a very young and spunky personality but was never too immature. She had her moments where she acted a little less than her age (Like where she kept demanding Ambrose tell her if mermaids fart) but it was mainly just her quirky personality. Mari was so hilarious with her one liners and she was so strong minded which I loved. Mari was thrown into the Atlantean world not by choice, but by a devastating thing that happened to her and she took it pretty well! She stayed true to herself. While she had to adapt to a new world, new lifestyle, and new people, she never changed who she was to please any of them. That earned her a great deal of respect in my eyes.
Ambrose:
You couldn't help but love Ambrose. From his looks, to what he had suffered and endured thanks to the minor goddess Ceto, to him overcoming every obstacle thrown at him, he was perfect. My heart wrenched for him just minutes into the book when reading the scene of him laying helpless in the cave. The author had such a way with words, and she really knew how to use them to get the readers to feel sympathy for the Exiled one. Ambrose was a great character because he wasn't just this strong, dominant, former Atlantean-King, but also because he had a soft and caring heart. Ambrose still cared about the well-being of his people of Atlantis even after they had all turned their backs on him. Ambrose had a lot of patience with Mari as well. He didn't have to change her or take her with him. She wasn't his responsibility, but he did it out of the kindness of his heart. He didn't want anyone to suffer what Ceto had put him through. He was all in all, an honorable man.
The storyline:
The author kept me intrigued during the whole book. I love mythology, even if it isn't the classic Greek mythology. It is one of my favorite things to read, and I love when supernatural/fantasy books include them into their plot. I felt like I had been growing up learning about these Gods and Goddesses after reading D.K. Combs stories about them. I really liked how she tied them all together in an easy to understand way. I do wish she had went into more detail about the two sisters though.. they were very interesting. How they had no emotions and had to teach themselves feelings? Very sad but I would love to see them get their own book. But back to the main story. I liked how the author introduced the Atlantean life. I don't feel like she rushed into anything and each chapter transitioned smoothly. One of my favorite scenes is when they are at the F-Inn and Mari is still adjusting to everything and the Atlanteans are freaked out by her tail. And of course the part where Ambrose kicks all their asses without breaking a sweat. I just think we learned so much about the Atlanteans in that chapter. Another thing I found important to mention is that the author didn't just forget about Mari's life before the shipwreck and her being introduced to the underwater world. The author mentions her past constantly in the book reminding the reader that she isn't quite done with Mari's past and her family yet. The ending is great because the author once again ties everything back together.
This was a great book and if you love merpeople as much as I do, I suggest this for an enticing, quick read about an Exiled King who is saved by a young woman who miraculously survived a shipwreck in the middle of the ocean. You will get romance, laughter, and adventure all in one!