Sweet Captivity: Dual POV Edition by Julia Sykes

Sweet Captivity was my first book by Julia Sykes and I was pleasantly surprised by her writing and story. I liked that it made me uncomfortable because just like Samantha, the heroine of this story, I was wary of Andrés and disgusted by his actions. Not only was he was unpredictable and possessive, Andrés was a dangerous man who wanted to make Samantha his in every way. I commend the author for trying to redeem this anti-hero because there were times where I hated him. I appreciated the addition of his POV because without it, I would not have accepted his romance with Samantha so easily. Nevertheless, the book was still difficult to read because it focuses on the captive and captor trope with the hero trying to "tame" his heroine. I wasn't completely convinced of their relationship until the very end because Andrés spent most of the book trying to mold Samantha into his perfect pet. It wasn't until he made the decision to let her go because he couldn't protect her that he finally earned my respect.

"She might have driven me close to madness with her defiance, but her sweet contrition had threatened to shatter me."

In the end, the relationship between Samantha and Andrés has been a fascinating and riveting ride. I experienced a range of emotions while reading this book—shock, anger, sadness, and pity. While it wasn't my favorite, I still enjoyed it the nonetheless. I felt incredibly sorry for Samantha because her situation wasn't something a normal person would ever go through. I would even argue that she experienced Stockholm Syndrome while she was under captivity because she ended up falling in love with Andrés. I am also curious about the fate of Valentina, Andrés' younger sister, who had been sold by Cristian to another man. We were given a brief glimpse of her situation and relationship with Adrian, someone she fell in love with, in Stealing Beauty. Fans of dark/captive romance will be sure to enjoy this book because it features steamy scenes with BDSM elements and the opposites attract trope.

*This ARC was generously provided by the author for an honest review*

Rating: ★★★★☆