Book Review: Captive (Beautiful Monsters Book 1) by Jex Lane

 
 
Having no sire to guide him, Matthew doesn't even know there is a vampire-incubus war going on until he gets caught in a vampire trap one night by Tarrick, a high ranking incubus general. But when Tarrick realizes that Matthew is special and more powerful than other vampires, he captures him and makes him his slave rather than killing him. But Matthew is torn---he's happy to be learning about his abilities and can't deny the pull he feels to Tarrick, but being a slave leaves him feeling broken, and what he really wants is his freedom.

Book Review: Captive (Beautiful Monsters Book 1) by Jex Lane | reading, books, book reviews, fantasy, urban fantasy, lgbt, m/m, vampires, incubi
Title: Captive
Author:
Book Number: Book 1 of TBA
Pages: 314
My Rating: 4 Stars
More Info: Goodreads, Amazon
 

Review:

*I received a free ecopy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*

If you like sex and violence, man, is this ever the book for you!

This book is full of sex and violence. But it’s also full vampires and incubi, twists and turns, and all sorts of good stuff.

I was immediately drawn in by the writing style because it was simple, but Matthew’s voice came through really well and just clicked with me. He just clicked with me, actually. I didn’t necessarily relate to him, but he was interesting with emotions that made me feel for him and a sense of humor that I loved.

The dynamic between Matthew and Tarrick was interesting right off the bat as well, and I couldn’t wait to see where that would go. I ended up disliking Tarrick for how manipulative and cruel he could be, but that’s not a negative issue with the book, just my feelings about him as a character.

The book was then made even better by this really amazing twist partway through that I just LOVED.

There was also a vampire-incubus war that encompassed the plot since Tarrick was a general for the incubi, but, thankfully, the book always stayed focused on Matthew and his part in things. And I ended up finding the incubi society and military interesting. I felt so conflicted throughout the story though! Even I didn’t know which side Matthew would be better off with, which one was less monstrous, or whom he should trust, so I could only imagine how hard it was for him to figure it out. And then that ending threw me for a loop since it was both terrible and amazing for Matthew.

But between the war, Matthew’s inner beast that reveled in the killing and bloodshed, and Matthew constantly getting beat or tortured in some way or other, there was, as I said, A LOT of violence. Not a bad thing, just a warning to anyone who doesn’t (or does) like that.

Also as I said, there was also a lot of sex, both M/M and M/F, though unfortunately not a lot of sex + blood drinking. The vampires were a nice blend of sexy and predatory, but it seemed like they were more on the predatory side (or maybe we just haven’t gotten to the sexy blood drinking yet in the series).

Last but not least, I can’t not mention that there were also some kickass, terrifying gargoyles!

The only negative thing I can say is that master/slave romance generally isn’t my thing. (Not that this was a romance, but there were feelings and sex, so close enough.) I just don’t find it believable that a slave would be attracted to or fall in love with his master. Vampires and incubi, however, just so happen to be my two favorite paranormal creatures, so there was no way I could resist this book. And you know what? Matthew did feel broken when he was eventually forced to submit, plus he felt super conflicted and confused by his feelings, so this was actually one of the more palatable portrayals I’ve read. Mostly though, this book just ended up being so good that I didn’t even care if that aspect wasn’t entirely believable.

So overall, this book was basically 300-something pages of sex and violence, but a well-written 300-something pages of sex and violence with a twisty story behind it, a great main character, and an interesting incubus society!

 

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22 thoughts on “Book Review: Captive (Beautiful Monsters Book 1) by Jex Lane

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  1. Daniela Ark

    Wow! LOVE it!!! Having been lost in adultland for waaay too long I’ve been totally overwhelmed and uninspired! No reading, no writing, therefore no blogging ?
    Piles of DNFs that are miles long everywhere! Of all genres! So I was just browsing my local library to see if rereading some dark paranormal vampires romance would help when your post came in my inbox!!!

    I think I’ll try this one! Hope to find my way back to bookbloggingland soon! Missed u!

    1. Kristen Burns

      YOU’RE BACK!!! I was going to message you soon if I didn’t hear from you, but I figured you were busy adulting during the summer since you mentioned that in one of your last posts. But yay I’ve missed you too!

      This is definitely a great book if you want vampires and some darkness and lots of bloodshed, haha. I guess I just have perfect timing 😉

      1. Daniela Ark

        Yay! Thanks for thinking of me! I saw the title… Hummm loved it… Then the cover… Loved it more! Then your review… Hell yeah! I bought it right after I left the comment… And my stupid credit card on file in amazon expired lol now I’m stumbling in the dark with the gleam of my iPhone trying to find my purse without waking my husband and my daughter who is sleeping with us after watching a horror movie ?
        Why is the universe trying so hard to get in the way between me and reading??? Lol
        I’m reading this freaking book NOW even if I have to wake up the entire street to find another credit card ?

  2. Ailyn Koay

    I like the cover, but I have read that kind of story too many times. Somehow they don’t deviate very far from each other, it’s nothing negative, except I’m bored of it.

    1. Kristen Burns

      I had never read anything quite like this, so I enjoyed it, but I can understand if you’re tired of a certain type of story. That’s happened to me with certain types of stories too.

  3. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    Huh, this is an interesting sounding read. It’s not something I’d usually pick up but I’m intrigued by the idea of a vampire-incubi war and also by the war. I’m not certain if the abundance of sex is a good or a bad thing for me, though. I mean, I don’t mind sex in books but I’m a bit concerned it may be gratuitous which would be annoying. Considering it’s a book I would never have looked at twice I have to thank you for reviewing it as I think I may read this one and it’s a good review as well because you’ve managed to convince me to read it!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I feel like a lot of sex scenes in books aren’t entirely necessary? But these didn’t seem any more gratuitous than in any other book. Like, they fit, especially since the book is about incubi, and sex is how incubi feed. I think there was more fighting than sex, if that helps your decision lol. I’m glad you liked my review though! It always makes me happy to share books with people they wouldn’t have otherwise noticed 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha I always love your comments because we both share a love of the darker, twisted stuff 😉 I did enjoy the book, and it is always a great thing when we click with the MC! That can make or break a book sometimes.

  4. Greg

    “300-something pages of sex and violence” lol. While I’m not sure the master/ slave sex is my thing, at least it’s got terrifying gargoyles? THAT sounds interesting. But I like gargoyles. And the war does, too. So even though it’s not my kind of read I am kinda intrigued. I do like that cover it’s nice and dark and the blood drops are a nice touch.

    What are my fave paranormal creatures? That’s a good question, and I’m not sure although I do like the idea of really nasty merfolk or sirens- must be something about the water. Maybe werewolves even though I don’t read a lot of those- but I like the idea or maybe the fae.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Lol I figured straightforward was the way to go. Yeah, I mean, obviously I’m not into the master/slave thing since I mentioned that in the review, but it didn’t really bother me all that much in this one. The gargoyles were a small part, they didn’t even really talk, but they were pretty awesome. I would definitely be terrified of them. And yeah, it does have a nice cover. I’m usually drawn to covers that have blood on them, however twisted that sounds lol, since it often means there are vampires involved.

      Damn, I meant to try a book about sirens this year, but I haven’t yet. I haven’t read about any particularly nasty merfolk either, but I do enjoy reading about merfolk sometimes. Fae are good too. Not a big fan of shifter and weres though.

      1. Greg

        Aw, more gargoyles please! lol I think they look so cool I would love to read a story where they play a role. As for merfolk, I’ve been meaning to read Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant- that one looks like it has merfolk of the nasty variety. I need to get to it!

        1. Kristen Burns

          I know there are gargoyle books out there, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some that are high fantasy looking with battles and whatnot, not just paranormal romance with sexy gargoyles lol, but I haven’t read any. For some reason I know the cover of Rolling in the Deep in my mind lol but I don’t know what the blurb is actually about. You get to that book while I get back to my goal of reading about some more new creatures this year!

  5. Lola

    It’s great when you just click with a character like that. And it does sound like a good one. And you make me really curious about the plot twist as it sounds like a good one. Although with all the violence and torture I am not sure if this would be a book i enjoy, but the vampire and incubus war sounds interesting and original. And that’s too bad there’s not a lot of blood drinking during sex.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Definitely not a book for you, what with all the violence and torture, but I enjoyed it! It is great when you click with the MC right away. And it was a good plot twist! At least for me since it’s kind of something I’ve been wanting to read about, in a way, though it seems like authors never do it. I’m still crossing my fingers there will be more sexy blood drinking in future books 😉

  6. AngelErin

    Great review!! This one sounds so intriguing to me. I love vampires and I don’t feel like I’ve read enough books with an incubus in it. I entered in the giveaway on goodreads for this one. After reading your review I’m hoping even more that I win it! ??