Dark Duet Platinum Edition

by CJ Roberts

  Livvie had grown a lot in this book. I loved her in book 1, but she blew me away in book 2. Her inner strength and the depth of her understanding and compassion was absolutely beautiful. Her uncrushable spirit was what got me through reading some of the darker scenes. She saw Caleb for who he really was. And she knew what she really felt for him. She saw the man behind the monster and was perceptive, forgiving and caring enough to understand why he was the way he was.

  “I wanted Caleb. I knew it was stupid. I knew he was a terrible person, who’d done terrible things. I knew he didn’t deserve me or my love. I didn’t care. During the course of our time together, I’d fall in love with my captor. I’d fallen in love with his smell and his taste; his smile, kindness, and yes, even his cruelty because I knew it was a part of him.

  I wanted him to know. I wanted him to know everything and I wanted it to mean something to him. I wanted him to choose me and accept me. I wanted him to leave everything behind and love me.”

  Caleb, Caleb, Caleb… the “monster with a heart of gold” … He is pretty much the epitome of a conflicted, deeply tortured character with possibly one of THE most horrific and heart breaking back stories I’ve ever read. He was cruel, but yet kind; brutal, and yet caring… and his journey was him finding out which side of him was more dominant – the man inside, or the monster he showed the world?

  “He had told her he wasn’t her Prince Charming, but what he hasn’t said, was he wished he could be. Once upon a time, he may have been… normal. Before he had been stolen, before the beatings and the rapes and the killing – he could have been something different than what he was.”

  “He didn’t like the feelings running through him…. trying to find the exact moment in which he’d lost control and fallen under the spell of the woman who was supposed to be his captive.”

  There were many, MANY times when I questioned whether or not anything he could ever do could possibly redeem him in my eyes. There were times I hated him, utterly and completely, with every fiber of my being. But then his tenderness would hit my heart so deep, I knew I just couldn’t stop myself from loving him.

  His journey in this book was heart breaking as he struggled between being true to his heart and being true to the intense loyalty he felt for the man that raised him. I got caught up in his struggle – at times I wanted to believe in him and he made me fall in love with his humanity – with the tender, caring, side of him that he couldn’t hide from Livvie despite his best efforts, but then the harsh, brutal switch from that to cold hearted trainer would rip my heart out and I’d spiral back into confusion, betrayal and uncertainty.

  Its hard because you find yourself genuinely, honestly, full-heartedly sympathizing with someone involved in human trafficking and murder. But at the same time, you have to consider that he too was violated, for years. It was what he grew up with and the only world he knew. Nothing of what he does is out of outright cruelty. But the tricky part is that that isn’t a justification, but it still makes you question everything you are feeling. Its very thought provoking. Can there ever be redemption for violation? There is no black and white answer.

  “Every time I think you’re coming around, every time I let myself hope, you crush me. You rip everything out! Sometimes I think I fucking hate you. Sometimes I know I hate you. And Still! Still, Caleb – I love you. I put my faith in you. I believe you when you say its going to be alright.”

  “Live for me, Kitten. Be all those things you’d never be with me. Go to school. Meet a normal boy and fall in love. Forget me.” *SOB*

  There were times when I’d swoon over how much I wanted them to find a way out of their horrible situation and just end up happily together, and then at other times, the reality of their world, of what was actually happening would just jolt into me and make me sick to my stomach. And yet… against every piece of sane judgment in my mind, I desperately, with all my freaking heart, wanted them to be together.

  CJ Roberts is an absolutely BRILLIANT and phenomenally talented author. Her words just seep into your soul dragging you right into the story. They make you question everything you thought you were sure about and leave hungry for more. The writing style is captivating and enthralling, and the flow of the story is perfect. It opened my mind more than any book I’ve ever read and I know this is one of those stories that has left a mark on my heart and will not be forgotten.

  If you can maintain an open mind, this is one of THOSE amazing series that will stay with you long after you close the pages of the book.

  This is absolutely NOT a stand-alone. YOU MUST READ BOOK 1, CAPTIVE IN THE DARK, FIRST!!!!

  ***

  Review of Dark Duet Series by Mr Aestas Guest Review

  Hi guys and gals.

  Well, I’m guessing mostly gals.

  I’m Aestas’ worser half. You can call me “Mr. Aestas”, but that makes me feel like I should be cutting my perfect little green lawn with scissors. So maybe let’s decide on a new name for me.

  Anyway, I’m very grateful to you all for being so nice to my girl, even if you do steal her away for long periods of time. It’s worth it, because when she’s doing her blog thing or reading the books for her blog thing, she’s so happy. And that makes me happy, so thank you.

  As surprising as this might sound, I do actually read some of these books. I even enjoy them! I’ve read Fifty Shades of Grey, Twilight, Beautiful Disaster, Bared to You, Thoughtless & Effortless, and a bunch of other stuff.

  I know, I know. They aren’t really “man-books.” Well, actually, they are definitely “man-books”, but not books FOR men. I mean, a lot of the time it’s just good old fashion hot & sexy, and I’m just fine with that. But other times… Well, you know what I’m talking about. I won’t lie; I’ve had moments where I just put down the book for a while because I can’t stand to read another steamy description of someone’s soapy, rock-hard…abs. And stuff.

  But why I am writing this, instead of doing whatever stuff I normally do?

  It’s a bit of a long story. I accompanied Aestas to the Book Event in Boston, and I had the pleasure of meeting several authors, including CJ Roberts. CJ and I had a long and fascinating conversation about writing and characters and all sorts of stuff like that, which I really enjoyed, but I came out feeling really chagrined. You see, I hadn’t read her books!

  So I made a promise, and kept it. I’ve now read Captive and Seduced. I had to take a break of a few days between the two, but I started Captive at 2:00am and finished at 7:00am. Yeah. It’s one of those books.

  Anyway, ever since then Aestas has been bombarded me with the same question, over and over: What did you think?

  Here’s the answer.

  Wow.

  It’s hard to put it all to words. The story CJ has put down here is unlike anything else I’ve ever read. It’s rough and raw, often painfully so. I don’t think I can describe this book. I don’t feel like it can be summarized. It’s one of those books where all you can say is “Just read it.”

  And you know what? I really liked it.

  CJ’s work is powerful, it’s merciless, and it really just gives no fucks. It will punch you in the gut, again and again. It doesn’t try to glamorize or whitewash the evil and the wrong, or try to justify anything with sob stories and hand-waving. It’s got so much grit between its pages I think you could probably tear out a few pages and use them to sand down a hardwood floor.

  But for some crazy reason I really liked it.

  I really meant it when I said these books are honest. These books make the *reader* honest. They really make you face the fact that there are no moral absolutes. They make *you* realize that the things you thought you’d never be okay with – well, that you actually might be okay with them sometimes. Given what happens in this book, there are troubling realizations. They force you to come to terms with the fact that love doesn’t always make sense. They also force you to respect the truth, make you understand that every detail of a person’s past and character is important. T
hese books are shocking because they show how truly cruel and disgusting people can be, but they’re also uplifting because they show that anyone can change. So, just as I’d advise you to leave your expensive jewelry at home if you’re going to tour the world, you may as well leave your moral absolutes at the door. One way or another, you won’t have them when you’re finished with this book.

  I was so impressed with Olivia. This girl has fire. She never stopped fighting for what *she* wanted. She went through all kinds of hell, and came up swinging every time. But at the same time, she never lied to herself. She saw Caleb for who and what he was, the good and the bad. At times, she made me feel like the weak one, reading the book. When I wanted to jump into the story and beat the shit out of Caleb, she’d find some way to make me want to give him a hug, or at least not punch him. Other times, I started to feel like maybe Caleb wasn’t so bad, she’d slap me back down and keep his action in perspective with some scathing observation about his general assholery.

  Caleb is a guy who is so fucked up, twisted and broken that you’d never think he’d ever be anything other than a monster. He doesn’t have a dozen sports cars, or a private jet, and he isn’t wildly famous (finally, a male character I could relate to!), aaand he’s a complete monster (or not :/ ). He’s the worst he could possibly be, in fact, and what CJ does with the character is incredible – one of the highlights of the book. I can honestly say that I’ve never had my opinion of a character change so much.

  And here’s where I tip my metaphorical hat to CJ. A lot of books try to do that kind of stuff, but they fall short for two reasons. First, they aren’t believable. Oftentimes, a bad guy becomes good with the flip of the page. The author just snaps their fingers, throws words like “love” at you, and poof! Count Dracula has become Edward Cullen, and you’re just sitting there wondering WTF just happened. Secondly, a lot of these *bad guys* aren’t convincingly bad enough to begin with to really make you impressed at their transformation. They’re all like “Well, I got a tattoo with my parent’s permission once…”, or “Please stay away from me, because I’m very likely to hurt your feelings and treat you badly” or like “Yeah, I ran over a puppy. It was by accident, but I’m a monster!” This is not what bad guys do! Bad guys hit you in the face and take your car!

  But Caleb isn’t one of these wannabe bad guys. Not even close. He’s got “bad” down pat. He’s really a horrible, evil guy. And yet, by the time CJ was done, he had become a totally different man, and more importantly, I could actually believe it. It was profoundly moving to see him change, by slow and painful degrees, into a better person. Not an amazing, Disney-esque prince charming. He was just…good enough.

  As a man, reading this book was especially unsettling. I mean, Caleb –is- a bad guy. I won’t go into the details since some of you may not have read these (If so, shame! Shame! SHAME! Now that I’ve read it, you have no excuse!), but he’s essentially a predator, and Olivia is his prey. He does what he wants with her, and he’s often quite brutal and cruel. I’ve got certain protective instincts, and I found myself gritting my teeth or clenching my fists at certain points.

  You just *don’t* do that shit.

  But it made sense that he would, and somehow CJ made it make sense that Olivia could come to terms with it. It wasn’t perfect, but who the hell has, or wants, perfect? They were a believable couple, and I breathed a sigh of relief at the ending. It was inspirational, in a very special way, to have watched two people overcome so much, in a way that felt real. I felt like, if they can do that for each other, then so can anyone else. All you have to do is risk everything for the other person, and be willing to tear yourself down and build yourself back up if it turns out that you’re the problem.

  This is getting long, so I’ll wrap this up.

  This book is good. Really good. It’s got an amazing central story and a powerful romance, with some thought-provoking stuff in there and lots of hot sex (yes!). Even better, it’s got a unique world populated by interesting characters complex enough to warrant their own books. I really enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it.

  And that concludes my first…review? I guess it was. I hope you enjoyed reading it, or just gawking at the curious case of a Guy Who Read a Dark and Gritty Romance Novel and Liked It. Either way, thank you all, and keep reading!

  Mr. Aestas

  ***

  Review of Dark Duet Series by Katiebird – Bookish Temptations

  I honestly don’t know where to start with this review. I need to talk about it, and share it, but how… CJ Roberts. Is. A. Genius. Even though, I knew that this last book was going to be coming from Caleb’s point of view, it still surprised me.

  If you haven’t read the first two books in this series, Captive in the Dark and Seduced in the Dark, you might not want to continue with this review. It would be difficult to not talk about what happens in this book, because it is full of references to what happens in the others. So, this is my SPOILER ALERT… Also, Neda wrote amazing reviews on these books. Check them out here and here.

  Caleb haunts me. I’m STILL thinking about him. He’s just so…I can’t even describe what I’m feeling. I can say that my heart is beating faster. He affects me. His story affected me.

  Everything that Caleb describes about himself is true. He has done some truly horrible things. To survive. To take revenge. To protect Livvie. To hurt Livvie and himself.

  At the end of Seduced in the Dark, we get to see Livvie and Caleb reunite. What we get in this book is what happens after that. Did I honestly believe that it was happily ever after for them? With their history, it’s debatable. What is interesting about Caleb is his struggle. To live normally. To be honest. To love. He wants everything with Livvie, but doesn’t know the first thing about getting it or keeping it.

  Here’s the thing. Caleb has always had the upper hand with Livvie. This is where he makes changes. He slowly learns to give up some of himself to her. She in turn figures out what she really wants from him and their future.

  There are times when it is easy for them to reprise their roles. Livvie the submissive. Caleb the dominant. Not just in bed. *fanning self* Let me tell you, it’s seriously hot though. Down to my bones hot. Maybe because of the emotions involved now. *gulp*

  It’s baby steps for them. Not only do they have to figure out how to move forward, without the FBI finding out. They also need to deal with the past. Their own pasts individually and when they were together.

  I should say, that it’s not all angst and make up sex. There is lightness and humor. In fact, of the three books, this one is the lightest. Caleb’s inner dialogue with us, the reader, is quite hilarious. He calls us out on our own issues with him. There isn’t much violence either other than in flashbacks.

  Caleb doesn’t make it easy on Livvie’s friends. She wants them to know him, as she does, but there is a line that can’t be crossed, because of their past. It is funny though, when she invites her two closest friends to Thanksgiving dinner. Seeing Caleb interacting with people who are closer to Livvie’s age is pretty funny. His perspective is so different, because he was sheltered from everyday things like movies, television and music. I do appreciate the fact that he doesn’t take these experiences away from Livvie. He just has to let go of her. Let her live and grow.

  CJ gave us so much more than just Caleb’s point of view. She gave us HIM to accept or deny, love or hate, judge or forgive. He is not an easy character. People can say that Christian or Jesse were harsh and cruel men, before they found love. They are still not as dark as Caleb. He stands alone in my eyes. I fell for him like Livvie did, in the first book, and haven’t looked back since.

  THANK YOU

  FOR READING

 

 

 
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