Captive and the Cursed

I love a good fantasy story, and this one is fantastic reimagining of “Beauty and the Beast”.

The world ED Martin has created in this book has depth and layers, as any good fantasy novel should have. Her characters are rich and realistic, flawed but strong, and I was delighted by the little tidbits of character development along the way, as she took characters that annoyed me in the beginning to characters I rooted for by the end.

Her leading woman, Nyah, fills that bill to the tee. Smart but stubborn, she’s resigned to the role of caretaker for her madness-ridden father and her younger sister, and her imminent marriage to the town’s chief’s son. Is this the life she wanted? No, but while she’d rather have the life her father promised her – to travel the world and experience the people — she feels more than an obligation to her path. She loves wholeheartedly, and it shows.

So when her sister goes missing, and the town’s leadership won’t help, she takes matters into her own hands, trading the safety and banality of her home for the unknown life among ‘barbarians’, ensuring her sister and father are safe again. But when the barbarians seem less barbaric, and she finds her place among them, her heart changes, too. For not everything is as it seems.

I recommend this fast read — I read it in 3 1-hr stints at the gym — to anyone who loves an amazing story that keeps you wanting to read more. I finished this in my car after I got out of the gym, because I had to know how it ended! And I was thrilled to see there was another book in the series, so I picked that one up this morning, too!

Buy your copy here.

Hope you’re having a great December!

Do you have a book out? Let me know, and I’ll add it to my TBR!