What do you think?
Rate this book
Captivation
The first paranormal addition to the Random Romance series, Captivation is an intoxicating ghost story . . . True love never dies.After Juliette lost her beloved husband Danny, she closed herself off from the world, tormented by her grief. But now, just as she is finally preparing to move on, she senses he has returned. Is he trying to come back to her?How can Juliette say no to the man she loves more than life itself? And why would she want to when Danny’s methods of persuasion have her weak at the knees . . . ?Yet there is always a price to pay. And when their passionate love starts to turn sinister, will she find the strength to finally let him go for ever?
109 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Nicola Moriarty
10 books1,323 followersNicola Moriarty lives in Sydney's north west with her husband and two small daughters. She is the younger sister of bestselling authors Liane Moriarty and Jaclyn Moriarty. In between various career changes, becoming a mum and studying teaching at Macquarie University, she began to write. Now, she can't seem to stop.
Hello there people in the world of books,
I Would love to hear from you either here on Goodreads or perhaps at Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/NicolaMoriart...
Hello there people in the world of books,
I Would love to hear from you either here on Goodreads or perhaps at Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/NicolaMoriart...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 7, 2016
I found Nicola on FB and Twitter, I love her blog posts. I absolutely adore her sarcastic humor, she literary makes me lol.
I wanted to read one of her books to have a taste of her writing. I was little turned off by the prices of her kindle books /traditional publishing, author has no influence/, so I guess you can call me cheap I purchased her novella and read it within few hours.
I didn't read the description of the book, and my assumption was to find her humor in some romance novella. It was nothing like I expected! It was deep, emotional, tragic and really well written. It was a slow start and perhaps predictable plot, but she kept me going all the way to the end, very emotionally invested.
It must be the Moriarty gene that left me hungry for more. :-)) I'm a fan.
I wanted to read one of her books to have a taste of her writing. I was little turned off by the prices of her kindle books /traditional publishing, author has no influence/, so I guess you can call me cheap I purchased her novella and read it within few hours.
I didn't read the description of the book, and my assumption was to find her humor in some romance novella. It was nothing like I expected! It was deep, emotional, tragic and really well written. It was a slow start and perhaps predictable plot, but she kept me going all the way to the end, very emotionally invested.
It must be the Moriarty gene that left me hungry for more. :-)) I'm a fan.
January 1, 2024
Having once met Nicola at a joint reading with her two sisters where she give me one of her earlier novels on the night, I will always read and enjoy her books. This one is a bit different in that it was a paranormal read and a short one at that. Even though it took place near my two favourite Sydney beaches, Coogee and Bronte, it did not make for a great read. Just ok, three stars.
July 15, 2013
Not sure why this is being marketed as a romance.
Review
Juliette's husband Danny was a successful novelist, enabling them to live a very comfortable lifestyle. What all that fame and wealth couldn't do, however, was ensure good health, and Danny was struck down young, dying approximately six months before this story is set.
Juliette has, of course, been grieving and has barely left the apartment that they shared, but she has started to find a way out of her grief. One of the ways that she does this through baking, to the point where she couldn't possibly eat everything that she was making, and there is a lovely idea where she decides to deliver baked goods to all her neighbours in the middle of the night so they wake up to a delicious treat. She also likes to read, with a constant stream of new books being delivered to her from the local bookshop, and when the wrong order is left for her, she even manages to go to the shop herself to fix the issue - a huge step forward for her.
To read more head to
http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2013...
Review
Juliette's husband Danny was a successful novelist, enabling them to live a very comfortable lifestyle. What all that fame and wealth couldn't do, however, was ensure good health, and Danny was struck down young, dying approximately six months before this story is set.
Juliette has, of course, been grieving and has barely left the apartment that they shared, but she has started to find a way out of her grief. One of the ways that she does this through baking, to the point where she couldn't possibly eat everything that she was making, and there is a lovely idea where she decides to deliver baked goods to all her neighbours in the middle of the night so they wake up to a delicious treat. She also likes to read, with a constant stream of new books being delivered to her from the local bookshop, and when the wrong order is left for her, she even manages to go to the shop herself to fix the issue - a huge step forward for her.
To read more head to
http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2013...
June 24, 2013
What would you do to be reunited with the love of your life that passed away too soon? This is what Juliette has to decide in the novella Captivation. In this story, Juliette grieving over her husband Danny who died six months ago of a heart attack and she is so grief stricken she is finding it hard to cope with the outside world. She nearly accidentally kills herself and her husband Danny is able to save her from beyond the grave. It appears as though her prayers are answered, but everything in life comes with a price. The author’s depiction of Juliette’s grief is so palpable that it brought tears to my eyes as I read. This book was classified as erotica, but the sex in the book, in my opinion, was no more graphic than your garden variety vanilla romance. I love the author’s concept of the story in Captivation. This is a story about grief, loss, pain and a love that transcends death. I thought the book tool a little long to get to the heart of the story. It is a slow start, but a good first effort into paranormal romance by Nicola Moriarty.
January 12, 2016
This was steamier than the description led me to believe, but the premise was unique and interesting. The ghost story aspect was quite spine chilling and I thought the characters were real and relatable. I think my main complaint would be the length: a little too long to be a novella yet to short for a novel. I would have liked to see the plot developed more fully.
December 6, 2023
This is another example of the easy going, draws you in style or writing I've come to love by Nicola Moriarty.
I love that her books don't feel as though you're reading them, but rather, you feel embraced by the story like you're a part of the characters lived and living the moments with.
Although this is a shorter work, I was still sucked into investing far too deeply on the main male character and was really rooting for him to get his just desserts in the end.
A quick but satisfying read I look forward to reading more of her work.
I love that her books don't feel as though you're reading them, but rather, you feel embraced by the story like you're a part of the characters lived and living the moments with.
Although this is a shorter work, I was still sucked into investing far too deeply on the main male character and was really rooting for him to get his just desserts in the end.
A quick but satisfying read I look forward to reading more of her work.
November 12, 2018
Somewhat engaging novella the final in the omnibus of these stories has a great beginning and when the main lead appears to have gone off the deep end it is great, when the paranormal comes into it, not so much, it would have been better grounded in reality and insanity than to make excuses for people's delusional behaviour.
April 16, 2019
Quite odd, but also quite sweet.
August 24, 2019
This was quite different to what I expected. Not a bad read.
July 10, 2013
Six months ago Juliette lost her beloved husband Danny. Since then, she has virtually become a recluse in their apartment, spending her days and nights baking, finding therapy in the mixing of ingredients. With a freezer full of goods, Juliette knows that she needs to find an outlet for the excess baking or something else to occupy her time.
In the apartment, Juliette feels a strange sense of being watched…a whisper of a touch. She believes that it is Danny, come back to her and the more she concentrates, the more real and powerful these feelings become. She is able to hear his voice, feel his touch. All of a sudden nothing is more important to Juliette than staying at home, in the apartment, devoting her every moment to reestablishing a connection with her husband that she thought was gone, lost to her forever.
Juliette abandons everything that doesn’t revolve around Danny – she neglects to eat, to perform simple tasks, to keep in touch with the few people that had persisted so far. She has sacrificed everything to feel something with her husband once again and she fails to notice just what toll this is taking upon her. She might have to realise that it’s time to break free and say goodbye to Danny forever, for the sake of her state of mind, her very life.
Captivation is a novella from Nicola Moriarty (author of Free-Falling and Paper Chains, both books that I loved) and it’s being marketed as a paranormal romance by Random Romance, Random House Australia’s digital only imprint. To be honest, this is a bit of a misleading classification because I don’t believe that this is strictly a romance and if read as one, might prove a fraction disappointing. However, if it’s read as an exploration of grief, loss and the passionate desire to want someone back in your life so much then it’s quite a clever piece of writing.
Writing about grief is I think, a difficult thing. It’s very hard to capture and explore the devastation of a loss of someone so important, be it a partner, parent or child. Everyone grieves differently and these are not necessarily characters readers like to identify with or easily imagine themselves as. Juliette is truly struggling without Danny, she has begun to leave the apartment less and less, the idea of going outside frightening her. Only a misunderstanding with her regular book order drives her to take those steps and she’s out of her comfort zone the entire time until she can scurry back into her apartment and close the door on the rest of the world. When she believes that Danny has come back to her, I do think that’s the easiest time to identify with her. Who wouldn’t want to believe that? That someone you loved dearly, who was ripped from you too soon, had returned and it was just the two of you, no one else, against the world? Juliette becomes almost manic in her desire to keep Danny with her any way that she can – she doesn’t ever leave the apartment, she stops baking, stops eating, stops doing anything but wallowing in the fact that she can hear him and feel his touch again. She spirals downward very quickly, especially when she comes to the conclusion that anyone interrupting their life together can weaken their connection, so she quickly comes up with the idea to take very drastic steps to fix that.
I think Nicola Moriarty really succeeds in portraying love and desperation with limited word count here and although I’m a skeptic and mostly queried if this was entirely in her head, there is a small part of me that does love a ghost love story! But as I said earlier, I’m not entirely sure that this one fits the bill – the relationship with ghost Danny, be it entirely paranormal and real or in her head is destructive and harms Juliette more than it helps her and because of this, it seems to have some sinister and manipulative overtones. For me there was a scene that redeemed this, that changed what looked like Danny’s overall motive and that was very well done. But I do think that for a romance imprint, this is a bit of a surprising choice, because people will go into it expecting one thing and end up getting something else entirely. I know I expected a very different ending to the one that came about, simply because I believed that the romance was going to be a much stronger part of the story. Instead the journey throughout grief, coming out the other side to some form of healing was the prevalent thread, the direction that Juliette needed to be going in.
In the apartment, Juliette feels a strange sense of being watched…a whisper of a touch. She believes that it is Danny, come back to her and the more she concentrates, the more real and powerful these feelings become. She is able to hear his voice, feel his touch. All of a sudden nothing is more important to Juliette than staying at home, in the apartment, devoting her every moment to reestablishing a connection with her husband that she thought was gone, lost to her forever.
Juliette abandons everything that doesn’t revolve around Danny – she neglects to eat, to perform simple tasks, to keep in touch with the few people that had persisted so far. She has sacrificed everything to feel something with her husband once again and she fails to notice just what toll this is taking upon her. She might have to realise that it’s time to break free and say goodbye to Danny forever, for the sake of her state of mind, her very life.
Captivation is a novella from Nicola Moriarty (author of Free-Falling and Paper Chains, both books that I loved) and it’s being marketed as a paranormal romance by Random Romance, Random House Australia’s digital only imprint. To be honest, this is a bit of a misleading classification because I don’t believe that this is strictly a romance and if read as one, might prove a fraction disappointing. However, if it’s read as an exploration of grief, loss and the passionate desire to want someone back in your life so much then it’s quite a clever piece of writing.
Writing about grief is I think, a difficult thing. It’s very hard to capture and explore the devastation of a loss of someone so important, be it a partner, parent or child. Everyone grieves differently and these are not necessarily characters readers like to identify with or easily imagine themselves as. Juliette is truly struggling without Danny, she has begun to leave the apartment less and less, the idea of going outside frightening her. Only a misunderstanding with her regular book order drives her to take those steps and she’s out of her comfort zone the entire time until she can scurry back into her apartment and close the door on the rest of the world. When she believes that Danny has come back to her, I do think that’s the easiest time to identify with her. Who wouldn’t want to believe that? That someone you loved dearly, who was ripped from you too soon, had returned and it was just the two of you, no one else, against the world? Juliette becomes almost manic in her desire to keep Danny with her any way that she can – she doesn’t ever leave the apartment, she stops baking, stops eating, stops doing anything but wallowing in the fact that she can hear him and feel his touch again. She spirals downward very quickly, especially when she comes to the conclusion that anyone interrupting their life together can weaken their connection, so she quickly comes up with the idea to take very drastic steps to fix that.
I think Nicola Moriarty really succeeds in portraying love and desperation with limited word count here and although I’m a skeptic and mostly queried if this was entirely in her head, there is a small part of me that does love a ghost love story! But as I said earlier, I’m not entirely sure that this one fits the bill – the relationship with ghost Danny, be it entirely paranormal and real or in her head is destructive and harms Juliette more than it helps her and because of this, it seems to have some sinister and manipulative overtones. For me there was a scene that redeemed this, that changed what looked like Danny’s overall motive and that was very well done. But I do think that for a romance imprint, this is a bit of a surprising choice, because people will go into it expecting one thing and end up getting something else entirely. I know I expected a very different ending to the one that came about, simply because I believed that the romance was going to be a much stronger part of the story. Instead the journey throughout grief, coming out the other side to some form of healing was the prevalent thread, the direction that Juliette needed to be going in.
June 28, 2013
Juliette is stricken with grief. Her husband, Danny, passed away six months ago and since then she has become somewhat reclusive, distancing herself physically and emotionally from family and friends and not even venturing out to buy necessities, instead, preferring to use the modern convenience of online shopping. Frequently reading novels and baking to make up for the loneliness in her life she quickly amasses a large selection of goodies which she stores in her freezer, until one day, immersed in her baking, she decides to begin sharing it with the neighbours in her apartment building by leaving little food parcels on their doorsteps. And then there’s the fact that she’s finally ventured out to the bookshop to rectify an error with one of her orders! But just as she thinks she is getting her life back on track and trying to conquer the fear of having to interact with outsiders, the faint smells of Danny’s aftershave begin to linger and sexually intoxicating dreams pervade her sleep leaving her to wonder whether Danny has returned.
A few days after she has recovered from a very bad cold which landed her in bed for three days, feverishly tossing and hallucinating, Juliette is in the kitchen baking when she begins to cast her mind back to some unexplained moments during her illness, when she has the sudden sensation that someone is pressing their body up against her.
Realising that it is Danny, the connection with one another becomes far stronger and, if Juliette hadn’t been a reclusive introvert before, Danny’s entrance back into her life causes her to become even more so, as she spends her time in the flat revelling in the feeling that she has her beloved Danny back, blissfully taking part in the sexual pleasures that she has missed for so long, forgetting about eating meals, ignoring the telephone and her doorbell and surviving only on the bare minimum of sleep, until one day a near fatal event sees Danny making the decision that he can no longer stand by and watch her destroy herself. But, was this all real or imagined?
While this is her first foray into the paranormal romance sub-genre, Nicola Moriarty is by no means a new Australian author, having written two previous full-length novels, Free-Falling and Paper Chains (my review at http://bookmusterdownunder.blogspot.c...), both of which are modern contemporary.
As novellas go, they generally lack the sub-plots and multiple points of view contained within a full-length novel, but Ms Moriarty makes up for this by creating a three-dimensional character in Juliette, whose depth of despair and conflict with the outside world was palpable and had me reading with my heart sitting in my throat.
A quick read with some fantastically steamy scenes and which brought to mind one of my favourite movies of all time, Ghost, I wish to thank Random House for inviting me to read and review this first paranormal addition to the Random Romance series, due for publication on the 1st July.
A few days after she has recovered from a very bad cold which landed her in bed for three days, feverishly tossing and hallucinating, Juliette is in the kitchen baking when she begins to cast her mind back to some unexplained moments during her illness, when she has the sudden sensation that someone is pressing their body up against her.
Realising that it is Danny, the connection with one another becomes far stronger and, if Juliette hadn’t been a reclusive introvert before, Danny’s entrance back into her life causes her to become even more so, as she spends her time in the flat revelling in the feeling that she has her beloved Danny back, blissfully taking part in the sexual pleasures that she has missed for so long, forgetting about eating meals, ignoring the telephone and her doorbell and surviving only on the bare minimum of sleep, until one day a near fatal event sees Danny making the decision that he can no longer stand by and watch her destroy herself. But, was this all real or imagined?
While this is her first foray into the paranormal romance sub-genre, Nicola Moriarty is by no means a new Australian author, having written two previous full-length novels, Free-Falling and Paper Chains (my review at http://bookmusterdownunder.blogspot.c...), both of which are modern contemporary.
As novellas go, they generally lack the sub-plots and multiple points of view contained within a full-length novel, but Ms Moriarty makes up for this by creating a three-dimensional character in Juliette, whose depth of despair and conflict with the outside world was palpable and had me reading with my heart sitting in my throat.
A quick read with some fantastically steamy scenes and which brought to mind one of my favourite movies of all time, Ghost, I wish to thank Random House for inviting me to read and review this first paranormal addition to the Random Romance series, due for publication on the 1st July.
June 15, 2013
NetGalley free read
The story opens six months after Juliette's husband, Danny, has passed. She's just starting to think it's time to get out of the house and get her life moving forward when she start smelling Danny's cologne and dreaming of his kisses start to feel more real. As time goes on, these occurrences start to increase with more frequency and definition to them. She starts feeling his touch, hearing his voice.
At the same time, her penchant for baking when she's stressed or needs to think things through increases. She starts leaving wrapped midnight gifts of her baking endeavor at the front door of her neighbors. At the same time, she notices a man watching each time she's on her balcony, from his the balcony across the court from her. But its usually late at night, and although he seems familiar in a way, its usually late at night and she doesn't stay long enough to figure it out.
Danny's presence becomes more real to the point that she can see him. But they soon realize that if she spends any time away from the apartment, or away from thinking of him and spending time with him, that is strength to be with her diminishes. Soon, Juliette is not eating, sleeping, leaving her place or even answering the phone or door. Danny becomes increasingly concerned about her health. At the same time, her mother shows up and barges in, concerned for her daughter. Her presence in the apartment diminishes Danny's spirit until he's almost gone, causing Juliette to kick her mother out of her place.
Juliette comes to the realization that she needs to end her life in order to be with Danny and keep outside forces from keeping them apart. Danny realizes he's been selfish and that she has a full life yet to live. He convinces her to change her mind and saves her from jumping from her balcony. As she heals, Juliette begins to loose the memory of what happened while she was hold up in her apartment, thinking of it as a mental breakdown, and live again. Until a year later she has a chance encounter with the man who watched her from the balcony asks her about the man she was with and it all comes back to her.
At first this was a very slow going for me as a read. Its tough to read something when the person has isolated themselves and most of what's happening is description or internal dialogue. But the one thing that go me was when Danny was trying to save her from killing herself. I cried for her dispare and her grief. I felt how hard it was for him to let her go and for him to convince her it was time for her to let him go and live her life and try to find another love. That is the reason I've given it the rating I have.
I was sincerely bored at the beginning, but once it was about her desperation to keep him with her and his desperation to let her go, it was heart wrenching. If the author could just have made the beginning more interesting, she would have had a all out hit in this story.
The story opens six months after Juliette's husband, Danny, has passed. She's just starting to think it's time to get out of the house and get her life moving forward when she start smelling Danny's cologne and dreaming of his kisses start to feel more real. As time goes on, these occurrences start to increase with more frequency and definition to them. She starts feeling his touch, hearing his voice.
At the same time, her penchant for baking when she's stressed or needs to think things through increases. She starts leaving wrapped midnight gifts of her baking endeavor at the front door of her neighbors. At the same time, she notices a man watching each time she's on her balcony, from his the balcony across the court from her. But its usually late at night, and although he seems familiar in a way, its usually late at night and she doesn't stay long enough to figure it out.
Danny's presence becomes more real to the point that she can see him. But they soon realize that if she spends any time away from the apartment, or away from thinking of him and spending time with him, that is strength to be with her diminishes. Soon, Juliette is not eating, sleeping, leaving her place or even answering the phone or door. Danny becomes increasingly concerned about her health. At the same time, her mother shows up and barges in, concerned for her daughter. Her presence in the apartment diminishes Danny's spirit until he's almost gone, causing Juliette to kick her mother out of her place.
Juliette comes to the realization that she needs to end her life in order to be with Danny and keep outside forces from keeping them apart. Danny realizes he's been selfish and that she has a full life yet to live. He convinces her to change her mind and saves her from jumping from her balcony. As she heals, Juliette begins to loose the memory of what happened while she was hold up in her apartment, thinking of it as a mental breakdown, and live again. Until a year later she has a chance encounter with the man who watched her from the balcony asks her about the man she was with and it all comes back to her.
At first this was a very slow going for me as a read. Its tough to read something when the person has isolated themselves and most of what's happening is description or internal dialogue. But the one thing that go me was when Danny was trying to save her from killing herself. I cried for her dispare and her grief. I felt how hard it was for him to let her go and for him to convince her it was time for her to let him go and live her life and try to find another love. That is the reason I've given it the rating I have.
I was sincerely bored at the beginning, but once it was about her desperation to keep him with her and his desperation to let her go, it was heart wrenching. If the author could just have made the beginning more interesting, she would have had a all out hit in this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2013
When I first started reading Captivation, I was like great, this is going to read like that movie Ghost. How I was wrong, so wrong. This story is an emotional roller coaster about the grief stricken Juliette who lost her beloved author husband Danny while he was in the United States for a book signing and she was home in Australia recovering from being sick.
I am really having a hard time writing this review. This book was extremely emotional. I read most of it with tears in my eyes. The story starts off six months after the death of her husband, she thinks she is finally starting to return to some kind of normal and then it happens.... A kiss felt while in the shower. She brushed it off. Later she was cooking, and she could feel someone behind her... Danny.
The bond that Juliette and Danny had was so strong that it brought his 'soul' back to her. She however, was slipping more and more into this world of her imagination. People keep trying to connect with her to bring her back to reality. Juliette didn't realize how bad she was until her mom came to visit her...
So much happens after this visit. Tears and more tears. I loved this book but I also hate it. Not hate in a bad way though. I dislike death and this book really pulls at your heart having to deal with the death of your spouse. It really made me think about if you have this strong of a bond with your significant other, could this really happen?
Ghost Danny was kind of selfish, but he redeems himself. Well, in Juliette's head he does. Ugh. I'm getting tears again. Juliette really had to hit bottom before she could heal and that is exactly what this book is about.
4.5 stars out of 5. Why not 5?? The ending, which I love BUT leaves questions....
*I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. These are my thoughts and opinions and no one else's.
I am really having a hard time writing this review. This book was extremely emotional. I read most of it with tears in my eyes. The story starts off six months after the death of her husband, she thinks she is finally starting to return to some kind of normal and then it happens.... A kiss felt while in the shower. She brushed it off. Later she was cooking, and she could feel someone behind her... Danny.
The bond that Juliette and Danny had was so strong that it brought his 'soul' back to her. She however, was slipping more and more into this world of her imagination. People keep trying to connect with her to bring her back to reality. Juliette didn't realize how bad she was until her mom came to visit her...
So much happens after this visit. Tears and more tears. I loved this book but I also hate it. Not hate in a bad way though. I dislike death and this book really pulls at your heart having to deal with the death of your spouse. It really made me think about if you have this strong of a bond with your significant other, could this really happen?
Ghost Danny was kind of selfish, but he redeems himself. Well, in Juliette's head he does. Ugh. I'm getting tears again. Juliette really had to hit bottom before she could heal and that is exactly what this book is about.
4.5 stars out of 5. Why not 5?? The ending, which I love BUT leaves questions....
*I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. These are my thoughts and opinions and no one else's.
June 28, 2013
Do you believe that true love never dies?
I didn't realize that Captivation would be too emotional... and really... I don't mind gut wrenching stories but the lack of romance was a little disappointing. Now don't get me wrong it has romance but it just had too much sadness in it that I found myself in the darkness and feeling too emo.
The story started out slow and feel bored with the book. I wanted to drop it and read something else.. but deep inside my heart, I was hoping it would get better... and in my opinion.. it didn't. It took me awhile to finish the book and even though Captivation is a well written story it was just too heartbreaking for me.
The ending was a bitter sweet and I had mixed feelings with it.
This is my first read from this author and giving it 4 stars... even though I'm not in love with it, I'm pretty impressed that she made me feel sad until the end... heck, after reading this book my heart still feels heavy so I guess I'm off to read something to cheer me up! lol
Captivation is a good book and recommend it if you're into emotional fantasy read.
I received this book from Random House Australia Pty Ltd via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I didn't realize that Captivation would be too emotional... and really... I don't mind gut wrenching stories but the lack of romance was a little disappointing. Now don't get me wrong it has romance but it just had too much sadness in it that I found myself in the darkness and feeling too emo.
The story started out slow and feel bored with the book. I wanted to drop it and read something else.. but deep inside my heart, I was hoping it would get better... and in my opinion.. it didn't. It took me awhile to finish the book and even though Captivation is a well written story it was just too heartbreaking for me.
The ending was a bitter sweet and I had mixed feelings with it.
This is my first read from this author and giving it 4 stars... even though I'm not in love with it, I'm pretty impressed that she made me feel sad until the end... heck, after reading this book my heart still feels heavy so I guess I'm off to read something to cheer me up! lol
Captivation is a good book and recommend it if you're into emotional fantasy read.
I received this book from Random House Australia Pty Ltd via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 30, 2013
This def didn't stir any romantic feelings for me. A very sad story about a couple madly in love and what "may" happen if one is ripped away too soon, from our mortal world. It was a very slow starting book for one that is so short. The rhythm of the book was (IMO) often stalled by unrealistic spouts of activity. For e.g. I would not have expected someone who just realised that they really were a) dancing naked on their balcony b) with the ghost of their husband c) as seen by the bloke who is hitting on her to give him a positive response. That is almost stalking material....and the mother leaving, huh! ....there are many more situations that just seemed to unreal, not even counting the "ghostly" encounters.
I did enjoy the lack of 'panties' and the lack of repetition that most of these "type" of books make us readers endure. It also pleasant that the author didn't go hell bent with a thesaurus and that the language flowed.
Paranormal = yes, romantic = no.
I did enjoy the lack of 'panties' and the lack of repetition that most of these "type" of books make us readers endure. It also pleasant that the author didn't go hell bent with a thesaurus and that the language flowed.
Paranormal = yes, romantic = no.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2014
Actual rating: 2.5/5 stars
At first, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to finish this book. It was really slow to start and I couldn’t really get into Juliette. The only reason I continued the book is because I was interested to see how the paranormal part of the book came about. I don’t really think that this book should be listed as a romance cause really, it’s not. It’s a very sad book and I felt really bad for Juliette, but never did I think that this was a romance.
And ultimately, the paranormal part of the book felt more like a bad acid trip than anything else. I gave the book three stars (since half stars aren't available) because the emotional turmoil that happens towards the end really put it over the 2 star mark, but without that, there wasn’t much that I enjoyed about the book. The characters were weird and difficult to relate to and the storyline did nothing for me, even though it was sad.
Arc provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review
At first, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to finish this book. It was really slow to start and I couldn’t really get into Juliette. The only reason I continued the book is because I was interested to see how the paranormal part of the book came about. I don’t really think that this book should be listed as a romance cause really, it’s not. It’s a very sad book and I felt really bad for Juliette, but never did I think that this was a romance.
And ultimately, the paranormal part of the book felt more like a bad acid trip than anything else. I gave the book three stars (since half stars aren't available) because the emotional turmoil that happens towards the end really put it over the 2 star mark, but without that, there wasn’t much that I enjoyed about the book. The characters were weird and difficult to relate to and the storyline did nothing for me, even though it was sad.
Arc provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review
July 23, 2013
This book started out slow. By the time I was about 1/2 way through I was hooked. I didn't realize it would be such an emotional book. I found myself in tears more than once, but the ending was just the right amount of happiness I was hoping for.
January 3, 2015
This was just silly. Not my cup of tea at all!!
July 13, 2013
I'm not usually into paranormal romance but this one wasn't that bad. I really liked the ending.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews