Captured by the Pack

by Elle Lacerta

Abigail, una maga in erba che preferirebbe disegnare i ragazzi del paese piuttosto che studiare rune arcane, vede il suo mondo frantumarsi quando scopre che sua sorella è stata venduta alla spietata dinastia di vampiri - i Caeds. Determinata a riportare a casa Iris, intraprende una missione per infiltrarsi nel prestigioso Castello di Caedwyn, il tutto con un po 'di aiuto dai suoi nuovi. . . amici. Esiliati dalle terre di Veridian da generazioni, i bracconieri locali di licantropi non si dispiacciono di avere Abbie al seguito, ma le cose non vanno esattamente come previsto. Nello specifico, un licantropo Alpha ha sviluppato un interesse particolare e vuole reclamarla - così che quando prenderà il trono per sé, avrà già al suo fianco la compagna perfetta. Nel frattempo, uno shifter corvo dallo spirito ribelle, che si occupa di armi arcane, pensa finalmente di aver trovato la sua compagna destinata - e farà di tutto per assicurarsi che lei sia sua. Peccato che lei sia già caduta per il "cinnamon roll" del gruppo, ma perché scegliere? Un letto, Compagni destinati, Harem Invertito, Alpha Maschio, Bondage, Romanzo Paranormale Gotico Medievale, con un pizzico di Odio-Amore lungo tutta la serie!

Genres: Paranormal Romance

160 pages, Paperback

Published December 22, 2023

About the author

Hi! I'm Elle, I'm a bestselling author with a PhD in nerdery. I've been writing ever since I stole my bestie's favorite pen in fourth grade, but besides hoarding hard-earned inkwells, I play games when I can! Rimworld, Pokemon, Palworld, and other coffee-filled shenanigans.

Reviews

[Amy Jane]

Rating - Not posted as < 3 stars

(⭐️⭐️ - It was okay)

Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶 - She's spicy

Overview:
Abigail's sister Iris has been taken by the fearsome vampire dynasty, The Caeds. Unable to stomach what they could be doing to her, Abigail sets out to save Iris. Along the way, she meets a curious band of shifter outcasts and gets entangled in a web of lust, emotion, and possessiveness. They all want to claim her for their own, but what does Abigail want? Will she choose?

Thoughts:
I want to start by recognizing the effort the author, Elle Lacerta, put into this one. The premise really has promise, and this book was longer than the other two - an effort to add more characterization that hasn't gone unnoticed.

However, I did struggle with this one. I'll try to explain..

I was a huge fan of DBZ when I was younger and would wait every week for a new episode to come out on cable. Sometimes, they would have these filler episodes where the main plot wouldn't pick up until the end, leaving a massive cliff-hanger and me seething with rage until the next episode.

This book felt like that for me...

I want to read what happens next, but I'm also a bit bummed that there wasn't more in this one. The main storyline re. saving the sister is dropped in favour of a kind of awkward, rushed romance between Abigail and the 3 shifters she runs into. It doesn't pick back up until the end of the book, where it's left on a cliffhanger - to be continued in the next installment in the series.

Chemistry between the MF + the MMCs felt forced, making the spicy scenes a little uncomfortable for me. Pace wise, there were some really well written parts, but those being intertwined with rushed sections made everything feel a bit jarring. I also found I was a bit confused about the customs of this world as it did not follow what I am accustomed to with Wolf Shifter smut. The Beta was treated pretty poorly by the Alpha, and there also didn't appear to be a wolf pack. The author uses shifter and werewolf interchangebly, though, so these beings may be different, and as such have different customs, attributes, etc, than those common in the wolf shifter smut genre. I do wish there was more information about their way of life (and also the bird shifter) so that I could maybe grasp the story a bit more.

Summary:
A filler novel centered around a why choose love triangle between 2 werewolves, a raven, and a human.

Clear tropes: Bondage, Reverse Harem, why choose.

Tropes that didn't quite meet the mark: Enemies-to-lovers, fated mates, cinnamon roll MC.

Disclaimer: I received a free Advanced Reader Copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abigail was an easy going girl who tried her hand at mage runes just like her sister but she was happiest sketching the attractive boys in town. Then suddenly Abbie’s life was turned upside down when her father sold her sister to the Caeds, the vampire princes that have ruled over Fyrean kingdom for generations. What might vampires be doing with her sister?

Abigail was determined to get her sister back no matter what the cost, when fortune smiled on her and she found one of the prince’s horses abandoned. What’s a girl to do, should she leave the poor horse alone? No she would take the horse on her quest to find a weapon with enough magic to take on vampires.

At the blacksmith’s shop she came upon two young men who seemed suspicious, but then kindly told her where she might find such Arcane steel. The man was very handsome, and also just a little frightening and Abigail soon found out that he was also a friend of the two men at the smithy’s. It seemed they had someone to rescue at Caedwyn Castle as well, and invited her to join them. Little did Abbie realize there was an attraction brewing between herself and all three men who happen to be shape shifters, two of them werewolves.

Abigail and the shape shifters turned out to be the most fun out of the series of the three books, and I can hardly wait to see what happens in four!

Thanks to the author for the free arc of this book!

[Cheryl_cajun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC read, I voluntarily give this book an honest review. Abigail was about to storm the castle in order to get her sister back. Because she to make matter's even more a bit hairier, she has sparked a wee dominating battle amongst them with her as the winning prize. There's just one small issue, now she after joining forces with  a group of men on their way also. She finds she has landed in with the crowd of shifter's in sheep's clothing. Simon , Jett and Tamsen was about to be sidetracked from the own mission for the creatures that have taken over. Namely Abbie and claiming her for their own. What one was to save jus Iris has now turned in to a multiple rescue attempt.

[sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

honestly i have no clue what this book was about EL EM AY OH. WHAT WAS THE PLOT IM SO CONFUSED

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thing I noticed was that this might actually be a full-length story. I liked the author's previous character development, but the story needed longer. We'll see how this one does.

Abigail cares about her missing sister Iris, and with her now hometown in ruins, she goes on a daring adventure to the castle of the Caed. The author's writing is almost poetic in nature with a historical vibe to it.

The author throws in this love triangle between shifters, and it is a little out of nowhere. Their connections aren't established enough for love or even jealousy. Wow, Abigail is promiscuous. Is this going toward reverse harem?

The intimacy is a hot mess as this rag-tag group of misfits all want Abbie as their mate. However, Jett's dom/subroutine and anxieties are out of place.

The story ends on a cliffhanger after all the dominance and alpha fighting for the girl. All combined, they tell an actual sorry from other POVs, but so far, I'm not overly thrilled. Like the others, this story concentrated too much on intimacy and needed to be on what would have been a much better read with less intimate scenes and more on the main character's thoughts and actions, not what happened in the bedroom.

Then we get to more steamy scenes and sharing in a love-hate fashion. The style of stories I get wrapped into differs, and this is an arc read at the author's request. The blurb fits the interest list, but I need more than the overall quality and quantity of the story. I like reading indie authors and appreciating their hard work, but I won't be reading any further in this series.

Constructive criticism: this story needs a lot more backstory on the secondary characters. More adventure bonding interactions before the steamy parts happen. More simple moments to form dialogue and deeper connection. This almost read like a beta story that needed more filler. The outline was good, but it was missing some key elements that would have added to the appeal of reading it. It requires the tag historical fiction as it reads much more in that genre than paranormal. The concept is good, but the abrupt ending before the good stuff happens could appeal more to me as a reader.

I received a free copy of this from the author and I am leaving an honest review.

[rose ☕️&#x1f4d6;&#x1f331; · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Elle Lacerta for sending me an ARC of this book :) Below is my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the series! We were briefly introduced to Abigail in the first couple of books, but this one centers around her story as she’s making her way to rescue her sister Iris. I loved getting to know Abbie more and seeing her encounter with the werewolves, who are incredibly attractive and possessive of her. The spice is great as it has been in the other books of this series, and I can’t wait for the next story when Iris and Abigail’s paths get to cross again!!

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.