Captured

Dark Empire #1

by Jess Peters

They say curiosity killed the cat. Well curiosity almost killed me. One peek and I was running for my life.
Unfortunately, running didn't save me.

When I was dragged to Ethan Prezello, I didn't expect to walk away with my life.
In fact, I didn't get to walk away at all, but I was lucky to still be alive.
I was captured by the dark, damaged man, and now he won't let me go.

The more I get dragged into his dark world, the more I don't want to leave.
The darkness in him calls to me and I find myself powerless to refuse its call.

He may have captured me, but his damaged soul helped me choose to stay.


This is the first book in a dark, MFM Menage romance.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Menage, Dark, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Ebooks

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 15, 2023

About the author

Jess Peters, a born in Southend-on-Sea, UK, initially honed her skills as an aviation engineer before transitioning into the realms of literature and screenwriting. From an early age, Jess immersed herself in the art of storytelling, evolving from crafting short stories to formally pursuing writing in 2020 with her book, Alchemy Academy. Now, four years into her creative journey, she is set to embark on a compelling new chapter, dedicated to bringing her envisioned series to the screen.

An accomplished author, Jess specializes in contemporary and paranormal romance. Her completed series, "Riverside Docks Crew" and "Alchemy Academy," showcase her narrative prowess, while ongoing projects like the Mafia series, beginning with "Captured (Dark Empire Book 1)," and the dark paranormal series with "Bound by Shadows (The Wielders Book 1)," reflect her diverse storytelling abilities. Notably, her bestselling series, featuring titles like "Explicitly Owned," "Explicitly Found," and "Explicitly Empowered," offers a spicy and captivating reading experience.



Follow me on twitter @J_Peters_author and on Facebook. (Jess Peters author) and Instagram @jesspeters_author

Blog/website:
www.jessreviews.co.uk

https://www.amazon.com/author/jesspeters



Instagram:
@lordlouis_persian
(yes, there for my cats...)
And don't forget the tortoise @hermes_tortoise

Reviews

[Courtney]

DNF @ 34%. The book was sloppy and I was just ready for it to be over by 30%

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

what????

Another unfinished book. The over use of Sweetheart. The grammatical errors. Sometimes I thought I was reading a book written by a teenager. Save your money and time.

[Arabella Auberon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story isn’t bad, and it’s written well, the characters are solid, the plot lines are good, I think I just didn’t care for how fast she fell into their bed. I mean, that’s relative since she had already been there for a couple weeks, but as a reader it felt rushed, and I didn’t really connect with Ashlee like I had hoped I would when she mouthed off the Ethan that first night.
I was hoping for more pushback from her before she gave in.

It is a good book, and I would recommend it to readers who like dark mafia kidnapped bride kinda stories.

5 ⭐️s= Perfect story, exciting, engrossing, well developed complex characters, solid plot with few to no holes, descriptive environments and place settings, great mystery elements, realistic dialogue, believable reactions and behaviors, loved this story so much I’d buy it.

4 ⭐️s= Great story, highly entertaining and enjoyable, exciting storyline, well developed characters and settings, a few discrepancies but nothing that can’t be overlooked. Believable actions and reactions, realistic dialogue, a book I would consider buying.

3 ⭐️s= Good but not great story, noticeable discrepancies, grammatical and or spelling errors, undeveloped characters or unbelievable behaviors but still readable. Nothing majorly wrong with the story, just not interesting enough for me to continue. Would not buy the book.

2 ⭐️s= Not offended by the story, but not interested enough to finish. Unbelievable characters, poor writing, many mistakes, big holes or discrepancies, many spelling or grammatical errors, characters not believable, unlikeable or TSTL.

1 ⭐️= Offensive, extremely poor writing, horrible characters, victimization, gaslighting, blatant abuse, unnecessary violence, child endangerment, or any other highly objectionable behaviors by Main characters. Would never buy this book, and do not recommend it to anyone.

[audiobook_chaos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashlee is on her way home from work she takes a short cut and sees something she wasn’t supposed to see, she runs as fast as she can and manages to get home. However the next day someone forces their way into her house and that’s the last thing she remembers before she wakes up in a strange house. Ethan is the son of a Mafia don he decides when he sees Ashlee unconscious that he can’t kill her so he takes her captive instead. Ashlee soon learns the Ethan and Mags aren’t as bad as she first thought and their relationship turn to more than she expected. I enjoyed reading this and when Ethan opened up about what he had gone through it makes you understand why he is the way he is and why he’s willing to share Ash with Mags.
Jess PetersCaptured

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

“My past had damaged me in ways that she could never know. I didn’t want her to know. I couldn’t bear to let her think that I was weak.”

BOOOOOO. ugh insecure men. YUCK.

(yes ik trauma and whatnot but having it isn’t weak shawty)

Okay overall this book was good. I had originally rated it a 5 but brought it down to 4.5 (then rounding down to 4). And it was honestly for more comments like this, and the CONSTANT use of sweetheart.

Like babe we aren’t below the Mason Dixon Line???

Anyways. Their banter was cute. Probably the most intense “Touch Her You Die” trope I’ve seen in a book. Erm the MMC development was there, but not super standout-ish. I honestly loved that he bought her a cat. It was cute. I liked how the FMC consistently brought up to them how they had horribly gotten her in the situation (kidnapping). I feel like most FMC (in dark romances) fall love-sick and then don’t actually take a step back. She was super in-tuned with gravity of the situation, which is more than most. Even her acknowledging the potential feelings she has but breaking down crying because she didn’t know if she had Stockholm Syndrome. Yes Ashlee!! I’m so glad you still have a rational brain!!!!!

OKAY THE CLIFFHANGER WAS ACTUALLY DECENTLY GOOD.

I didn’t know I was at the end of the book till kindle was asking me if I wanted to buy the second one for $2.99…

Considering most books I’ve read labeled as dark romance have a complete love story but then an underlying plot that’s more intense but so far I haven’t been completely grasped in the moment as much as this book. I guess you could say their love story was completely but imo it’s not quite because of her condition at the end of the book.

[Masha’s Book Dome · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐️
3 🌶️

This is a quick and very traditional read, one that I didn’t really enjoy. It was quite simple and the plot lacked depth.
Quite frankly I feel like this was mainly just smut. Wasn’t into it.

It had potential, but once they jumped in bed it was just awkward. They professed love before they even found out a single thing about each other.

Plus I must have missed the part where she went from being kidnapped and wanting to not be kidnapped, to being really ok with it, and then also quite quickly sucking their dicks. Like alright, slow down there. Can’t have both at once.

I found a lot of the plot weird, and had 0 emotional attachment/ connection to his PTSD/trauma. Which is to say I couldn’t care less. she gave him head once, with her magical sucking abilities, and it magically wiped his trauma away. Plus again, we were told his trauma was so bad that he could’ve tell anyone except his friend/employee about it, and then spilled all of his secrets cause he suddenly wanted to bone. Like alright..

Idk. I’d rather less sex and more tension. At least once the spice does start we would’ve had the characters go through the tension and find a release. makes more sense that way.

[JoAnna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a little bit of a struggle for me. Ash left work and witnessed something she shouldn't have which led to her being kidnapped. Ethan, the youngest son of a mafia don had ordered Magnus (a friend/'employee') to find her and bring her to him. Together they decide to keep her since she'd seen too much and in his instant attraction to her, Ethan told her more than she should've known.

While both men fell in love with her and she fell for both of them I didn't really sense the emotions. Ethan had some trauma that caused him issues when it came to any intimacy and how he overcame that with Ash's help was done fairly well. It was lacking in background as to why Ash's family was so dismissive of her, the simple explanation given toward the end felt thrown in. Her friendship with Hannah and Grace felt awkward and forced.

Overall, it wasn't super dark and the spice level was mediocre so if you want an easy step into a spicy mafia book, then this one is a decent option.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captured by Jess Peters is book one in the Dark Empire Series. I enjoy the books that Jess Peters writes so when I read the book blurb for this one I was immediately in when I saw the word mafia. I flew through this book and it took me less than a day to finish. It is a dark romance with a why choose. Overall I enjoyed this book, I thought it was written well with a steady plot line. It was described to where I could picture the world and the characters easily. Speaking of the characters, they were good even though I haven’t quite connected with Ashlee yet. (But it is only book one) I did really like how Ethan and Magnus fell first for her. But one of my favorite things was the spice in this book, it was so good! I will mention there was a time or two that the conversation didn’t flow for me. (Nothing to take away from the book though. I’m eagerly awaiting to read book two now. I would recommend this book or any other of the books that Jess Peters has written.

Final review:
4 out of 5 stars

[Nicole]

Ashlee sees something she shouldn’t on her way home from work. This places her in a situation to be Captured by Magnus and Ethan…..first they capture her body then her heart.

The main plot of the story is good and I enjoy the depth of Ethan’s character. However I wanted more back story of these characters prior to their involvement.

I was intrigued by the characters, but some of the dialogue fell flat for me. It was just words with not grammar connections between them.

I enjoyed the book and would like to know the rest of the story. Great spice- would have liked to see more action with all of them.

Pet peeves about the book:
It seems to have been written by an English writer based on some of the words used. However the man is supposed to be Italian and live in Chicago. Make it make sense!

The cat always being brought up……let it go!

Stop always bringing up that they will share and that she was kidnapped. We know!

[Amanda Workman · Rating 5 out of 5]

MFM. Dom & Sub. Mafia Family.
After seeing something she was not supposed to witness, Ashlee is held captive by Ethan and Mags. Ethan is the youngest son of a Mafia Don. Due to some past trauma, Ethan has some kinks that make sharing Ashlee with his best friend, Mags, a reality.
This is a dominant and submissive novel, without BDSM. These men crave control, especially Ethan since he is used to having it. Ashlee new to the world of submission but is ultimately a mouthy sub, who enjoys her punishments. If you are not into men who enjoy control and women who learn to enjoy submission, these books are not for you.
The only thing I would have changed was to reduce the number of times the descriptive phrase “the air crackled with” was used.
My introduction to Jess Peters was her Explicit Dom series; therefore, I am familiar with her work. I love the way she writes about doms and subs. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but it is her niche and mine too.

[BusyM3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good start to this series Dark Empire. This is a new author for me and I am looking forward to reading the next installment. This is a dark Mafia romance story. Ashlee is walking home from work and witness something she shouldn't. She thinks she can just walk away, she is so wrong. She is kidnapped by Ethan and Magnus. Ethan knows that he needs to take care of her as she can expose him and his family, but one look at her and he can't. She is held in his house and fights them all the way. The story will leave on a cliffhanger, there are some triggers in this story. The story will hold your attention to see what will happen next. The banter and chemistry between the characters is sizzling.

I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to start out by saying this book has some amazing spice! Man oh man, it was relentless and I loved it!

This was well written with some good character development. I felt that there wasn’t enough back story to Ethan. With the timeline of this book I felt that his development happened too fast for the trauma he had been dealt.

Ashlee is a feisty character who I felt like I didn’t know enough about. I would have liked to have gotten more into her character as well.

I enjoyed all the tropes in this book overall. It was a quick read for me as I just couldn’t put it down. I was hoping for more drama and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with the next book!

[Amber Keehn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author usually has more paranormal titles that intend to shy from but this book appeared to have a more traditional plot so I gave it a shot. I was not disappointed! The book had suspense, action, angst and of course lots of the romance and spice Jess Peters writes. There’s also an element of trauma on multiple sides (both Ash and Ethan) that add to the relatability of the characters. I didn’t anticipate this to end on a cliffhanger but, alas, it does but I am pumped to see how things shape up for the three of them in book 2!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nicole Deanne Veracruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashlee was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She witnessed a murder. Magnus was sent to retrieve her to find out how big of a threat she was after what she had witnessed. What nobody expected was for Ethan to decide to keep her. At first I was a little upset that Magnus was with her first I felt it should have been Ethan. But then as the story developed more I understood why it was that way. And it made it even more special when Ashlee and Ethan finally got together. But can we talk about this Cliffhanger that has me gasping for breath and anxiously awaiting the next book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Marina Pietsch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I AM PISSED! When I saw “book 1” I thought it would be one of a lot of books that were interlinked, not that it had a cliffhanger at the end! I was “it’s finishing the book, how in the hell will it end?” and just like that “see you in the next book”.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind cliffhanger IF the WARN YOU in the beginning of the book - which the author didn’t do.
Really, wtf.
I won’t read the next one because it’s a big no-go for me.

Now, about the book, somethings did bother me. I know she didn’t have choice in a lot of things, but just accepting and the Stockholm’s syndrome vibe, I don’t know. Don’t like it.

[Tracy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captured (Dark Empire Book 1)
Book 1 of Dark Empire
Jess Peters

I absolutely HATE cliffhangers and usually don't read them but this just intrigued me and I am so glad I did, even if I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book. Ethan, Magnus and Ashlee are beautifully written. This is a great start to a new series. I recommend reading this story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ashley Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book by Jess Peters and I loved it! I'm a huge sucker for a MFM dynamic and it was done so well in this book. Mags, Ash and Ethan all bring something different to the relationship and really balance each other out.

The storyline was great - between the development of their relationship alongside the issues with the Volkovs. There was enough drama without it being over the top.

I'm excited for the next part of their story and seeing how everything plays out for them.

[Mel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a weird glorification of the relationship between a psychopath and a girl with Stockholm syndrome who is kidnapped by him. That premise would be fine, except that it’s never really acknowledged as a problem. The friends express minor concern but everyone else seems to think this relationship is totally okay. Instead of acknowledging that this girl has been exploited and forced into an unwanted marriage, the relationship is celebrated as real love.

[Victoria McDonald · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost DNF’d it. The plot was decent and had new approaches to the mafia world relationship. The characters were ok, but I felt like they kept having the same conversation over and and over verbatim. It also has an AI feel to it… lacking emotions or emotions not fully developed.

Although, this totally could be me. I have not read this author before and I tend to be mood reader.

No third act breakup, no kidnapping on w they found each other, and one hell of a a cliffhanger.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting dark nenage romance. It is book 1 and the characters are well written and complex and intense. The plot is intriguing and tantalizing and very complex. World building was fascinating and expertly wielded. I look forward to more from this world. Recommend.

Grab a copy, kick back and enjoy!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Mafia Romance

I really love Mafia Romances and this is a good one. We have sort of cliffhanger at the end, but i am it will work out somehow. There are two Main male characters as this is why choose romance and it starts with the h being kidnapped, but nonetheless everything is consensual, maybe dub-con though if one gets technical about it, but it is Dark Mafia.

[TELA666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start to a new series, hopefully it won't be a huge wait for the next part.
I appreciated the fact of the past trauma was unusual to mafia books as it gave a different element to Ethan than a run of the mill anti-hero.
I'm really intrigued as to what will happen next.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Theresa Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a page turner from the beginning. A why choose dark mafia story that is well written with great characters that are developed well over the course of the story. An excellent read that I highly recommend.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Diane Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. This is 100% a trope TikTok makes fun of.
Girl gets kidnapped in a nonsensical manner? ✅
Do the guys fall in love with her even though she only has the personality trait of “spitfire”? ✅
Does she fall in love with them because they have “hearts of gold” but are also in the mob? ✅
Do they speak British English but it takes place in Chicago? ✅
Did I enjoy this quick read? ✅✅

[SJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steamy Fast-paced read. This is book one of a duet involving the relationship between MFM. Ashlee, Ethan, and Magnus are the MCs. Multi POV.

Ashlee witnesses something she shouldn't.
Mags and Ethan take her and keep her so she won't talk, but they both are instantly attracted to her.

It gets hot and steamy pretty quickly. Looking forward to seeing how they work things out in Book 2.

[Kathleen T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters. Spicy story. Mafia story . Great dialog. I really enjoyed this story and can't wait to read more from this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shasha Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What more can I say. I was hooked from the beginning and finished in less then 24 hours. I am honestly so excited for the second ! Ethan and mags!!!! Wow must I say more lol Ashlee was one lucky girl I won’t spoil anything for other readers, but the spice and emotion in this book was great!

[Amber J. Cunningham-Moorât · Rating 4 out of 5]

NO. NO NO NO NO NO I DID NOT SPEND MOST OF TODAY READING THIS FOR A CLIFFHANGER WHY?????

SERIOUSLY NO ITS BEEN A YEAR AND A HALF I NEED MORE I NEED TO KNOW THAT MAGS AND ASHLEE AND ETHAN ARE GOING TO BE OKAY PLEASE AHHH

[Shaye · Rating 2 out of 5]

The spice was good

The spice was good, but everything else was just ok. The story felt like it was just a copy of 365 Days with bits of Fifty Shades sprinkled in. The dialog felt robotic and they just kept having the same conversation over and over.

[brenda hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book it was well written, and I couldn't put it down It could've been slowed down a bit I felt it was rushed. but it was good.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.