Taken by J.C. Owens

[reviews_and_ramblings]

There are various points of this book I liked, it has an high impact on an emotional level, it has a good pace in the thriller sub-plot and the supporting characters are good, sometime even better than the main characters (the relationship between Enzo and Marcello, even in the way it’s ended by the author, is probably the most original side of this novel). What probably nagged me most is that I read this novel more as a “contemporary” fantasy than a real thriller-romance novel: the way the romance between Landon and Kirith starts, the sudden stop of the thriller plot to the as much as suddenly starting sometime later, with even more rage and violence, all the mafia-drugs family plot, it was a bit too much.

Landon is an unwilling mercenary, forced by his older brothers with violence and coercion; already here to me was a little too much, but soon after, in the aftermath of a failed mission, Landon is captive of Kirith, the second heir of a drugs lord, who wants to take his vengeance against the man who sent enemies in his home, and danger near his daughter, having Landon raped and enslaved. Of course, being this a romance, and romance cannot be born from rape, Kirith will change his mind, and Landon will become a willing pawn in a very mild claim: 3 months of Landon acting as Kirith’s boy toy and he will be free. I will not go further in the plot, enough to say that there is another sudden turn that, in a way, will help Landon to rebalance his relationship with Kirith and, even if it can sound harsh, will give deepness to Kirith: until then Kirith was too “stylish”, too perfect, even a bit boring.

As I said, I found probably more interesting the supporting characters more than Landon and Kirith: above all Enzo, who, in his multi-facets personality, gave deepness even to the villain, Marcello. Another character that was interesting, even if not one that many will like with his pretty face and his lack of rebellion, is Chase: I think that a story centred around Enzo or Chase, even not among them, would be a good one.

I advice the future reader of this romance, that this is a type of romance that not all will like: rape, violence, BDSM that is more a punishment than a different type of relationship between lovers, these are all side of the story that will alienate many readers. But if you want a story were the bad are badder and the good are not so good after all, than this is a good example.

http://www.etopia-press.net/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=17&=SID

Amazon Kindle: Taken
Publisher: Etopia Press (January 14, 2011)

Reading List:



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Comments

[harbor4t.livejournal.com]

Actually I read this story as soon as it came out and I loved it.
I'm a big J C Owens fan. I've read almost everything she's written and enjoy her stories immensely.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

as I said it has many points I liked, above all the supporting characters of Enzo and Chase. Probably I'm not enought into the violence (and I'm not meaning violence as sex, in this novel there are different shades of violence) to really loving it. But I plaud the author to be able to write original characters, with their faults and all.