Series Review: Criminals & Captives by Skye Warren & Annika Martin
I downloaded the Prisoner audiobook on a whim mainly because Jacob Morgan narrates it and I was looking for a darker romance to read. This is a two book series that is a passion project for Skye Warren & Annika Martin. The two books were released 4 years apart, the second came out in 2018. I really hope they write more because each of the guys in the gang would make for a great hero! Note that these are dark romances. There are definitely content warnings and contain captive/prisoner/hostage plot lines. Reader beware!
Synopsis:
He seethes with raw power the first time I see him—pure menace and rippling muscles in shackles. He’s dangerous. He’s wild. He’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
So I hide behind my prim glasses and my book like I always do, because I have secrets too. Then he shows up in the prison writing class I have to teach, and he blows me away with his honesty. He tells me secrets in his stories, and it’s getting harder to hide mine. I shiver when he gets too close, with only the cuffs and the bars and the guards holding him back. At night I can’t stop thinking about him in his cell.
But that’s the thing about an animal in a cage—you never know when he’ll bite. He might use you to escape. He might even pull you into a forest and hold a hand over your mouth so you can’t call for the cops. He might make you come so hard, you can’t think.
And you might crave him more than your next breath.
Synopsis:
I NEVER KNEW WHEN HE'D COME TO ME. ONLY THAT HE WOULD.
I’d never even kissed a boy the night I met Stone. The night I saw him kill. The night he spared my life. That was only the beginning.
He turns up in my car again and again, dangerous and full of raw power. “Drive,” he tells me, and I have no choice. He’s a criminal with burning green eyes, invading my life and my dreams.
The police say he’s dangerously obsessed with me, but I’m the one who can’t stop thinking about him. Maybe it’s wrong to let him touch me. Maybe it’s wrong to touch him back. Maybe these twisted dates need to stop. Except he feels like the only real thing in my world of designer labels and mansions.
So I drive us under threat, until it’s hard to remember I don’t want to be there.
Until it’s too late to turn back.
My Review:
Prisoner: 4/5 stars, 3/5 steam
Hostage: 4/5 stars, 3/5 steam
I really loved these books. There is definitely elements of this read that will make you feel a bit squeamish… kidnapping, violence, dubcon, etc. With dark reads such as these I always like to see a redemption story arc for the antihero. In this case, it is done so well. The authors spin a heartbreaking tale of how these men came to be how they are as adults and what they are fighting for. The romance was really fulfilling to read & I definitely cried listening to these!
