C. J. Roberts
Great authoress C. J. Roberts was born in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States of America. Noteworthy is that when Roberts was born is not exactly clear.
Dark and Alluring
Still, Roberts is rightly an amazing novelist. Her novels feature quite dark, tenebrous romance tales that twist in a variety of taboo ways. Frequently, the stories are both alluring and disconcerting, which is why Roberts’ fan base adores her novels.
Captive in the Dark Book
Life
J. Roberts was born and brought up in Southern California, where she also graduated from high school. When that was done, Roberts to join the United States Air Force in the year of 1998 – utilizing this date, one can perhaps infer that Robert was born between 1978 and 1980, though the data is inconclusive.
Her time with the US Air Force was for ten years, during which she went around the globe. When she finished with the Air Force, Roberts devoted her time to becoming a full-time author.
Career
Accordingly, her debut novel came out in 2011. It sold more than one-hundred-and-fifty-thousand copies. Roberts was featured on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists, as well. The pseudonym Jennifer Roberts is used for Roberts’ short stories. At the present moment, C. J. Roberts lives along with her terrific husband and their one child, a daughter. With all of that noted, we can now give our book review.
The Dark Duet Series
The debut novel of C. J. Roberts was none other than Captive in the Dark. In short, the novel was a huge success and it launched the career of Roberts to heights she hadn’t expected. It is the first novel in The Dark Duet series, which features two more novels, Seduced in the Dark and Epilogue. The novel was published in the year of 2011.
Unnerving
The novel at hand is nothing short of a genuinely unnerving, worrisome experience. However, knowing this beforehand is what draws the reader in. It’s the need of man to transgress and to try what is taboo that gets one to pick up a book as unsettling as this one, though one finds that the story is more nuanced than what a simple synopsis can lead one to believe.
The reader will find himself or herself casting doubt at his or her own inclinations, sense of morality, and emotions. What new vistas are to be found reading this book we can only hint at with our Captive in the Dark book review. Nevertheless, let’s meet Caleb and Olivia.
A Look Into Two Different Worlds
Caleb, as we come to meet and learn of him, was the victim of an abduction when he was a mere kid. It is nothing short of perturbing and distressing to know that a child was the subject of so fiendish an occurrence. Thankfully, he managed to get away on his own. His life, however, completely changed from that day on as one can scarcely recover from an experience quite like that one.
Now, Caleb lives only with the intent of tracking down and punishing the man that abused him so long ago. For this reason, Caleb delves in abduction, himself. He kidnaps people so that he can train himself with these ‘pleasure slaves’ – the abductees – so that he will be prepared to avenge his afflicted child self.
Far From First
The number of people that Caleb has kidnapped isn’t exactly clear. What is clear is that Olivia is far from being the first. The reason for capturing Olivia is because he sees her being an exceedingly attractive and beautiful female, though impoverished.
Her being in poverty enables Caleb to get away with kidnapping her, as he supposes. He sees her as the ultimate reward that his aim will surely desire. He intends to train her as one of the pleasure slaves we noted already, then sell her off into slavery to the man that once took and tortured him.
Walking Into a Nightmare
When our hapless protagonist Olivia happens to walk out of the drugged slumber she was forced into, she realizes that her life has taken as sharp a turn as she could ever have expected. She is bound to her bed with a rope. In her general proximity is a complete stranger that refers to her as his pet, while he is to be regarded as the Master.
Olivia is sent, not by her own volition, into a dimension of tenebrous, perverted, and frightening happenings. We see as Caleb abuses her in much the same way that he surely was. Whether it’s a whip, flog, the force of his backhand, or whatever gadget proves to be in hand’s reach, Caleb doesn’t prove to be timid one bit.
Confusing Feelings
Olivia, herself, is troubled with all of these things that she has been dragged into. Before she can muster up a proper response or even a proper attitude towards her captor, she finds herself regarding him as not just an abusive, demonic heathen, but as a man. Her feelings, thus ours, are confused and misunderstandings abound.
Whom can we believe when the mind of a young girl is being tainted by a man whose own mind was afflicted so long ago? Is it a genuine infatuation or is it a case of Stockholm syndrome? This novel makes one ruminate and think about the nature of the pain we solemnly and willingly inflict on ourselves. A truly potent tale, without a doubt.
There’s More
The Dark Duet has two more novels in its composition that will satiate whatever dark appetite the reader might be feeling.
Alissa Wynn
Alissa is an avid reader, blogger, and wannabe writer. (She's a much better cook than a writer actually). Alissa is married, has one human, one feline, and two canine kids. She always looks a mess and never meets a deadline.
