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The Dark Veil #1
Captive
There is something strange in the air, something calling Emilia away from the safety of her home, her life, and her fiancé. That something, a tall, grey-winged man, with an angelic look but a cruel, devilish nature. With a species that keeps human women as slaves for pleasure and breeding, Emilia is both relieved and disappointed to discover her captor has other plans.
Determined to keep her home safe, Michelle and her team of Gatekeepers set out to shut down the convergence between Earth and Elysium. As if handling her own rag-tag team wasn’t enough, now she has to contend with a silver fox Captain Matthews, and his military team also. The only thing that could make things worse is the convergence closing and leaving them all stuck in Elysium, with no one but each other and the hostile natives angels.
Determined to keep her home safe, Michelle and her team of Gatekeepers set out to shut down the convergence between Earth and Elysium. As if handling her own rag-tag team wasn’t enough, now she has to contend with a silver fox Captain Matthews, and his military team also. The only thing that could make things worse is the convergence closing and leaving them all stuck in Elysium, with no one but each other and the hostile natives angels.
211 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2023
3 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 30, 2023
This book is a really interesting start to a sci-fi romance series. I didn't read the blurb before I started because I love going into books blind. I was almost fooled by the intro! This definitely isn't a typical college romance.
It has tons of worldbuilding and a really interesting system for the angels and travel system. Definitely very interested to learn more about the history of the thing... (No spoilers! if you read it, you'll know what I mean).
The only thing that reduced rating for me is that I almost always read romance genre, but it felt like the main couple took up only half the book. This is because the book has seven POV characters and also follows two other groups who are learning about the angels. Because there were so many POV characters all with their own arcs and stories, it just left not as much room for the main romance couple.
However I did see that in these other side-groups of characters there *were* romantic and steamy aspects. So I think potentially the author is shooting for a very expansive romance with multiple ongoing couples. I would definitely like to see more of the main couple, since for me that was by far the most interesting and compelling aspect of the story.
But if you are the kind of reader who gets bored with books that only have main characters and no side characters, this book is definitely for you, because there is a big character cast with tons of POV changes so you are never with one person for too long.
Also have to say... that one steam scene made the whole book worth it. You'll know exactly which one I mean.
It has tons of worldbuilding and a really interesting system for the angels and travel system. Definitely very interested to learn more about the history of the thing... (No spoilers! if you read it, you'll know what I mean).
The only thing that reduced rating for me is that I almost always read romance genre, but it felt like the main couple took up only half the book. This is because the book has seven POV characters and also follows two other groups who are learning about the angels. Because there were so many POV characters all with their own arcs and stories, it just left not as much room for the main romance couple.
However I did see that in these other side-groups of characters there *were* romantic and steamy aspects. So I think potentially the author is shooting for a very expansive romance with multiple ongoing couples. I would definitely like to see more of the main couple, since for me that was by far the most interesting and compelling aspect of the story.
But if you are the kind of reader who gets bored with books that only have main characters and no side characters, this book is definitely for you, because there is a big character cast with tons of POV changes so you are never with one person for too long.
Also have to say... that one steam scene made the whole book worth it. You'll know exactly which one I mean.
August 18, 2023
This is the first published book in a series. It is a dark, erotic book. If you like your sex with an overtone of horror, you will like this book. There is quite a bit of fighting, killing, sex, and torture in it.
I didn’t notice any glaring problems with the story except that it changes point of view frequently. I understand why and overall don’t have a problem with it. But it seemed there were too many changes too fast. Jumping to another person in another place can be confusing if you expect a continuation of what happened in the previous chapter. This happened more often than may have been necessary, or I liked, due to interrupting the flow of the story.
Overall, a very interesting premise with dark angels, shifting between strange universes, and an ongoing battle of some sort. It has humans from our universe being somewhere between pawns and slaves in a much bigger story than they realize. There is also a problem with how much damage some people can take, even with magical healing. It does not cover the psychological side of that as much as I think it should or could do.
Most of the book read fairly quickly, then I hit a spot about halfway through where I had to put it down for a while. That is not something that usually happens with me. When I came back to it, I went through it without that problem. This rarely happens to me in books I read. It may or may not happen to someone else.
I'll wait for the release of the next book in the series to see how it goes.
I didn’t notice any glaring problems with the story except that it changes point of view frequently. I understand why and overall don’t have a problem with it. But it seemed there were too many changes too fast. Jumping to another person in another place can be confusing if you expect a continuation of what happened in the previous chapter. This happened more often than may have been necessary, or I liked, due to interrupting the flow of the story.
Overall, a very interesting premise with dark angels, shifting between strange universes, and an ongoing battle of some sort. It has humans from our universe being somewhere between pawns and slaves in a much bigger story than they realize. There is also a problem with how much damage some people can take, even with magical healing. It does not cover the psychological side of that as much as I think it should or could do.
Most of the book read fairly quickly, then I hit a spot about halfway through where I had to put it down for a while. That is not something that usually happens with me. When I came back to it, I went through it without that problem. This rarely happens to me in books I read. It may or may not happen to someone else.
I'll wait for the release of the next book in the series to see how it goes.
August 1, 2023
“Captive: The Dark Veil Book 1,” by Marlene Vidal, is not a complete story arc. This book is very grim, and ought to be avoided by readers who may be triggered by violence, rape, murder, and the like. It tells the tale of a happy college student, Emilia, who finds herself plunged into a nightmare-away from her family and friends and everything familiar to her-with no apparent means of escape. At a college party, Emilia and others play with a Ouija board. Afterwards, she falls into a sort of trance. Her fiancé, Jonah, is concerned and puts her in a cab back to her dorms. But along the way, she feels ill and tells the driver to stop. She exits the cab and begins to follow a strange man. She is unable to resist his pull. Many others show up and they, too, follow him. He leads them through a portal to another dimension, where eerie winged creatures await. Although they resemble angels, they could not be more different. The next thing Emilia knows, she is locked up in a cage with other people, and it gets worse!
I found this to be a compelling dark fantasy with an imaginative and complex plot that goes beyond predictability. Some of the scenes were difficult to read, and I found it odd that a possible dire consequence to an action Emilia takes is never contemplated. The story is competently told with good pacing, and effective descriptive language to show the desperation Emilia feels for her plight. I would recommend this book to readers of dark fantasy.
I found this to be a compelling dark fantasy with an imaginative and complex plot that goes beyond predictability. Some of the scenes were difficult to read, and I found it odd that a possible dire consequence to an action Emilia takes is never contemplated. The story is competently told with good pacing, and effective descriptive language to show the desperation Emilia feels for her plight. I would recommend this book to readers of dark fantasy.
August 3, 2023
"Captive: The Dark Veil Book One" entices readers with a unique mix of romance and sci-fi, pulling them into a universe where human women are enslaved by an angelic species, and where Earth's convergence with the otherworldly realm of Elysium is at stake.
The narrative takes an unexpected and intriguing turn from the typical college romance, venturing into expansive worldbuilding. The concept of the angels and travel system is fascinating and leaves you eager to uncover more.
Though the seven-point-of-view characters enrich the story with various arcs and threads, it can also make the narrative feel overcrowded, at times overshadowing the main couple's romance. For romance enthusiasts, this might detract from the expected focus, but it also brings unexpected depth and complexity to the story. Moreover, the additional romantic and steamy aspects within the side groups hint at an overarching romance theme that may further develop in the series.
As the first installment in a series, "Captive" succeeds in delivering a mostly self-contained story while setting up intriguing possibilities for future exploration. For those who enjoy a rich character cast, detailed worldbuilding, and an enticing blend of romance and sci-fi, this book promises you an enjoyable and rewarding read.
The narrative takes an unexpected and intriguing turn from the typical college romance, venturing into expansive worldbuilding. The concept of the angels and travel system is fascinating and leaves you eager to uncover more.
Though the seven-point-of-view characters enrich the story with various arcs and threads, it can also make the narrative feel overcrowded, at times overshadowing the main couple's romance. For romance enthusiasts, this might detract from the expected focus, but it also brings unexpected depth and complexity to the story. Moreover, the additional romantic and steamy aspects within the side groups hint at an overarching romance theme that may further develop in the series.
As the first installment in a series, "Captive" succeeds in delivering a mostly self-contained story while setting up intriguing possibilities for future exploration. For those who enjoy a rich character cast, detailed worldbuilding, and an enticing blend of romance and sci-fi, this book promises you an enjoyable and rewarding read.
August 8, 2023
This book really caught me by surprise! I haven't read dark fantasy for a while (no particular reason, I just haven't), and the writer's description of this book really intrigued me. Plus it's the first book in a series and I'm always looking for new series and characters to be obsessed with! This is a great first book! I don't want to say too much about the plot (don't want to reveal any spoilers), but there are some really...ahem..."interesting" scenes as other reviewers have pointed out, so just be on the lookout for those! When Emilia is first drawn to the the grey-winged man (her Master), so much of the initial description reminds me of the characters in Anne Rice's masterpiece Interview With The Vampire (one of my favorites) and the comparison sent a shiver down my spine (in a good way). The writing is great and compelling, the world-building truly unique (especially with the idea of portals these beings can somehow travel through) and the additional romance really adds elements I wasn't expecting. Honestly this book is sort of multiple genres together (but it works!) Really great read, can't wait to read the next book in the series!
July 24, 2023
Not super romancey, and not nearly as smutty as I expected, though there is sex in it.
Though the story is told from multiple perspectives, it seems to mostly follow Emilia, a uni student from Earth who is lured into another realm by angels. Not the kind angels of our mythology but nasty (though still tall and muscly) creatures who use humans for breeding, fun and food. I'll leave details there as I don't like to post spoilers.
I was hoping for more smut to be honest, after having read Royal Harem, but I found I actually really enjoyed the story, and am a bit of a sucker for a silver fox. Writing style wise, it was pretty good. Much like in the other stuff I've read, she does not go into a ton of detail about scenery and stuff like a of fantasy does, but enough that you get what's going on and your mind can fill blanks. She tends to go for the action, which I generally like.
It is a series, you can by the way it ends, though it's not a cliff-hanger. Looking forward to the next one.
Though the story is told from multiple perspectives, it seems to mostly follow Emilia, a uni student from Earth who is lured into another realm by angels. Not the kind angels of our mythology but nasty (though still tall and muscly) creatures who use humans for breeding, fun and food. I'll leave details there as I don't like to post spoilers.
I was hoping for more smut to be honest, after having read Royal Harem, but I found I actually really enjoyed the story, and am a bit of a sucker for a silver fox. Writing style wise, it was pretty good. Much like in the other stuff I've read, she does not go into a ton of detail about scenery and stuff like a of fantasy does, but enough that you get what's going on and your mind can fill blanks. She tends to go for the action, which I generally like.
It is a series, you can by the way it ends, though it's not a cliff-hanger. Looking forward to the next one.
August 11, 2023
Marlene Vidal took your standard slave/master romance and flipped it on its head. The synopsis gave hints of this, but the book doesn’t show it’s true potential until a few chapters in. Still, the tension is there from the end of chapter one. It was enough to suck me in and keep me reading, and sometimes skipping through the book to get to the parts I needed to read the most, only to back track to fill in the gaps.
Which leads me to the only real gripe I had: when I take on reading a new book, I want to follow the main characters as closely as I can. They’re usually the most interesting, and when I need to derail to follow other characters, I often find myself skipping sections just to get back to my favorite characters. Though I did enjoy the other POVs in the story (can you say steamy?), I was disappointed by how many people this story followed. I hope in the future books, there will be a little more focus on the different characters and story lines, and greatly look forward to following them.
Which leads me to the only real gripe I had: when I take on reading a new book, I want to follow the main characters as closely as I can. They’re usually the most interesting, and when I need to derail to follow other characters, I often find myself skipping sections just to get back to my favorite characters. Though I did enjoy the other POVs in the story (can you say steamy?), I was disappointed by how many people this story followed. I hope in the future books, there will be a little more focus on the different characters and story lines, and greatly look forward to following them.
July 29, 2023
Captive: The Dark Veil Book One has a slow start, but that is fine for the type of novel that it is. This story focuses on different worlds converging and how the people from both different worlds impact each other. I personally enjoyed there being more than one protagonist and I thought the author did a great job at breaking up the viewpoints by chapter and always making sure to keep the reader informed about what is going on and who is talking. Unfortunately, the different protagonists aren't vastly different from each other in terms of the prose. The author did a great job with making the characters different in their descriptions and in the way they perform their actions throughout the tale, but the prose didn't reflect this in any memorable ways for me. For a first novel in a series, this novel still tells a mostly complete tale while giving the reader something to look forward to in the future. Don't miss out on a wonderful read and download this book!
August 1, 2023
The book started out with protagonist, Emilia. She is abducted and taken to another realm and held captive by some Angel-like creatures with wings. Then we are introduced another protagonist, Captain Owen Matthews. Thirdly, the point of view switches to Michelle and finally Dante. Owen, Michelle and Dante are trying to go into the other realm to free the captive people, including Emilia. The story switches from the world where Emilia is to the others who are waiting to try to enter.
The plot moved along at at fast pace and kept me wanting to keep reading. The author keeps the dialogue easy and natural, despite the supernatural theme. There is one explicit sex scene, I was not expecting. Overall, a good read with good description and interesting and believable characters, all doing their best under trying circumstances.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
The plot moved along at at fast pace and kept me wanting to keep reading. The author keeps the dialogue easy and natural, despite the supernatural theme. There is one explicit sex scene, I was not expecting. Overall, a good read with good description and interesting and believable characters, all doing their best under trying circumstances.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
August 3, 2023
Captive – The Dark Veil book 1 by Marlene Vidal is a dark fantasy romance told through multiple points of view that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
Emillia is captured by a winged creature and whisked away to another realm – Elysium - where she discovers these angel-like creatures enslave women for breeding. There is no escape for her and, while she feels an attraction of sorts to the creature, she is terrified of his cruel nature.
Michelle is a gatekeeper and she leads a group determined to protect Earth by shutting down the portal to Elysium. However, they become trapped in this other realm, and so begins a story that will keep the reader engaged to the end.
The characters are realistic, despite some of them having wings! and the reader easily comes to care for them. The steamy scenes are deliciously steamy, as befitting a dark and steamy romance and the overall story is well-written with action, great dialogue and great themes.
Emillia is captured by a winged creature and whisked away to another realm – Elysium - where she discovers these angel-like creatures enslave women for breeding. There is no escape for her and, while she feels an attraction of sorts to the creature, she is terrified of his cruel nature.
Michelle is a gatekeeper and she leads a group determined to protect Earth by shutting down the portal to Elysium. However, they become trapped in this other realm, and so begins a story that will keep the reader engaged to the end.
The characters are realistic, despite some of them having wings! and the reader easily comes to care for them. The steamy scenes are deliciously steamy, as befitting a dark and steamy romance and the overall story is well-written with action, great dialogue and great themes.
February 12, 2024
Adventure
Here is a trigger warning: This story contains references to rape; Stockholm Syndrome and contains constant violence.
This is a dark supernatural adventure anthology. There are many characters and many povs. After 50%, it did get a little confusing.
It contains angst, humor and a little heat. The author hints at things that will keep you guessing. Some of the humans are not what they appear to be, even if they don't know it. Zacheriel, Emilia's master, is a grey character.He is aware that his people are evil, but is helpless to do anything about it. What his position is among his people, all men, is unclear.
There are "rescuers, consisting of two small groups: the military and the gatekeepers, who get stuck in this different realm.
The adventure is on....trying to open a gate that will take them back home, Novus.
This is not a standalone.
Here is a trigger warning: This story contains references to rape; Stockholm Syndrome and contains constant violence.
This is a dark supernatural adventure anthology. There are many characters and many povs. After 50%, it did get a little confusing.
It contains angst, humor and a little heat. The author hints at things that will keep you guessing. Some of the humans are not what they appear to be, even if they don't know it. Zacheriel, Emilia's master, is a grey character.He is aware that his people are evil, but is helpless to do anything about it. What his position is among his people, all men, is unclear.
There are "rescuers, consisting of two small groups: the military and the gatekeepers, who get stuck in this different realm.
The adventure is on....trying to open a gate that will take them back home, Novus.
This is not a standalone.
August 18, 2023
I do love me some erotic romance with a dash or horror and Captive delivers! This book is great in that instead of one romantic couple there was the main couple plus some others that you get to enjoy too. On the reverse side of the same coin, this book had a lot of POVs that kinda made it hard to track some times, but that is a minimal complain. Like I’d take off half a star for that, but a specific naughty fun time scene made up for that half a star all by itself.
I also loved the world building done in this book and can’t wait to read the rest of the series to see how all this wold building effects the story(s). Marlene Vidal clearly put so much love and devotion into her world and it shows.
Five giant stars for Captive by Marlene Vidal.
I also loved the world building done in this book and can’t wait to read the rest of the series to see how all this wold building effects the story(s). Marlene Vidal clearly put so much love and devotion into her world and it shows.
Five giant stars for Captive by Marlene Vidal.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews