The End

Deadly Captive #3

by Bianca Sommerland

Deadly THE END


A taste and then it was gone. Lydia sacrificed her body and her very sanity, surrendering her freedom to protect those she loves. Within the grasp of the evil she fought to escape, she risks losing all that she is in order to spare herself endless suffering. Death would be mercy.


Death would make her sacrifice meaningless.


Cyrus is more than willing to play with his old toys, leaving Lydia with no choice but to endure his twisted games. His kindness is worse than his cruelty, warping everything she once believed. When the only salvation is in the arms of her tormentor, her cage becomes a welcome place to hide.


Love isn’t to be trusted. But the chains will hold her, strong and sure. Agony becomes the sweetest relief.


Pain is a language she understands.


“Sometimes I almost wish I didn’t want to hurt you so much. But just almost. You’re most beautiful when you’re fighting to stay alive. I want to keep you this beautiful forever.”~Cyrus

Genres: Dark, Paranormal, BDSM, Erotica, Menage, Vampires, Romance

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 24, 2017

About the author

Tell you about me? Hmm, well there's not much to say. I love hockey and cars and my kids…not in that order of course! Lol! When I'm not writing—which isn't often—I'm usually watching a game or a car show while working on promo. Going out with my kids is my only down time. I get to clear my head and forget everything.

As for when and why I first started writing, I guess I thought I'd get extra cookies if I was quiet for awhile—that's how young I was. I used to bring my grandmother barely legible pages filled with tales of evil unicorns. She told me then that I would be a famous author.

I hope one day to prove her right.

To find out more about me, swing by my website: www.Im-No-Angel.com

Reviews

[Rosebud · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to contemplate that Lydia would voluntarily surrender herself to Cyrus but that's exactly what she did to free Alrik.

A life for life exchange that returns Lydia into the hands of a sadistic psychopath vampire who has an unusual obsession with her.

Cyrus has gone to extreme measures to reacquire Lydia making his intent suspect as his actions go way beyond the need for revenge. Is it possible that Cyrus's feelings are of the romantic persuasion which would be even worse as his form of love usually results in torture, agonizing physical & psychological pain, humiliation, blood letting, and scars. And that's only if he's in a good mood. No, better to believe that he wants his pound of flesh and hope and pray Daederich & Elah save her before it's too late.

The one thing Lydia, Daedrich, and Elah don't seem to remember is that Cyrus never plays fair nor is he predictable.

* * * *

Warning: This is a dark DARK paranormal (vampire) fantasy story that contains extreme BDSM elements including humiliation, D/s sadism, impact play, dub/non consent, public sex scenes, and more. It should only be read by those who appreciate this form of adult literature and all others should proceed with caution understanding that premise. Look at the tags and trigger warnings before reading this book as it has the potential to stretch comfort zones and may be found to be offensive. There are also bisexual and same sex scenes that some may find disturbing. Consider yourself warned.

The author has returned with one last installment in the Deadly Captive series giving fans closure. Closure with Cyrus. Closure with Lydia. Closure with .... well, you'll have to read the book to find out all the closures the author provides. Gentle words of wisdom: the previous installment Collateral Damage (Deadly Captive, #2) came out Dec/2011 so it might be a good idea to get up to speed on the ENDING of that story before delving into this one; this story cannot be read as a stand alone so don't even try if you haven't read the previous installments.

Cyrus is a master vampire who is hated and despised by all as he has no soul or conscious. No redeeming qualities at all. Nadda. What he does have are wealth, skills, vampire strength, and the ability to read minds thus making him invincible, or so it seems. I do feel that the entire fan base of this series have been waiting to see his final demise or know that he is burning in the seven levels of hell for eternity. Yup, he's hated that much.

Lydia. The girl who Cyrus has had an unusual obsession with from the start. Readers were mystified as not much was known about Lydia's past as she had amnesia. Light bulb moment in this story as readers FINALLY find out .... the rest of the story regarding her past. No spoilers. No teasers. The information is there if you read the story.

Daedrich & Elah. This is the reason I recommend skimming through the last installment to get updated on the lay of the land and how these two factor in on current events. A lot of emotionalism from me as the story progressed and I'm still not sure I'm over the trauma of how the author broke me emotionally regarding how things played out.

I know I'm concentrating more on individual characters and my feelings regarding them vs providing any concrete thoughts on the story line itself but this is one of those times I don't want to spoil the reading experience by leaking any parts of a story that should be experienced without outside influence or knowledge. Well, outside of expecting dark DARK scenes that maybe disturbing.

This would have gotten a five star rating except for a minor flaw (my own personal opinion which might not be shared by others) regarding the climatic last scene and ending to the story itself. I really can't comment on the final scene without spoilers so will go the very very vague route by commenting that the buildup didn't live up to my expectations. My issues with the final ending come from a thought (personal opinion) that the author wasn't ready to let the story go and so extended it with fluff vs filler content. I believe dark or thriller stories should end on a high note so this sort of thing is a turn off. Others may have appreciated it though.

Bottom line. If you've read the previous installments of the series (which means you as a reader appreciate dark fantasy for the artistic art form it is) it's almost mandatory to grab this end of series installment. If for no other reason than to find out whether Cyrus gets what's coming to him ... or lives on to potentially show up again in the future somewhere, somehow.

[Dar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book, let out the breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding, and softly said "wow". Then it proceeded to invade my dreams all night!

This is The End, the final book of the Deadly Captive series, and it has been a long time coming. This isn't a serial series, but a series about the same characters, Deadly Captive has the same characters as this book, Collateral Damage brings a new couple, but the same characters are important in that story, and this brings it all together for the end. To fully appreciate this book, you should read the previous two, though, you could get by without it, but you'll want to by the time you finish this one

This book is dark, twisted, and a thriller every sense. A review can only be about emotions, because the story line, what happens in the book, will give too much away

Lydia sacrificed herself to the monster she had escaped from to save an innocent. She knows Cyrus is evil incarnate, but the more she is with him, the more she slips into his world. He is a master of manipulation, but he is her only comfort. Somehow, someway, she gets lost, and even she doesn't understand why

Daederich was Lydia's only comfort, before, and now. Cyrus knows this, and as much as he wants Lydia to be his, she still holds onto to Daederich. In order to get his way, Cyrus has a plan for everything. As Elah and Daedrich scramble to save Lydia, all seems to be lost.

The story, oh the story, it was wonderful, and hopeless, and painful to read at times. I cringed, and gasped, and at two points, sobbed uncontrollably. It was sexy, and gross, but sweet, and evil. The peak of the story brought it all together, when you figured there was no way with all the fractures. They were fractures, so they cut, they hurt, and it wasn't neat or clean, and it hurt, a lot

The bow to tie this together is soiled, limp, and shredded, but it had been through a lot, and it ended as it began, with the determination of spirit to survive

[Erin Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Star Review of The End (Deadly Captive #3) by Bianca Sommerland

This is book three and the final book in the series and wow what a way to end the series. I have been not so patiently waiting for the conclusion to the Deadly Captive series and Bianca Sommerland did not disappoint me in any way.

Firstly please be advised that you need to have read the previous two books Deadly Captive and Collateral Damage prior to reading The End to fully appreciate the story.

I have been trying to think about what I could write in this review to ensure that I don’t accidentally include spoilers.

The End is dark, extremely dark and yet I absolutely loved it. I was riveted from page one and actually stayed up all night to read this book; I couldn’t put it down. The plot is gripping and a real page turner as you anxiously read on (at times in fear) as to what will happen next.

I fully admit I had to stop and re read paragraphs a few times over to ensure that what I was reading was correct, such was the angst and emotion brought to the surface not only from the books’ characters but what was drawn out in me as I read the book; I actually woke my husband with my crying on a couple of occasions

At the heart of this story is love, a convoluted and at times twisted love, but love none the less. Lydia has given up her hard won freedom and voluntarily returned to the evil Cyrus's lair, fully knowing what her fate will be; all for the love of Daederich and his son.

The cost to Lydia’s sanity and those who love her as they work against time to try and rescue her will be high. Will they survive the torture and pure evil? Or will they shatter and disappear?

The End is a raw, emotional, gritty and amazing book, a fitting conclusion to one of the darkest series I have read and one I highly recommend. I congratulate Ms.Sommerland on an outstanding and totally fitting conclusion to the series..

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh holy hell! This book...wow... left me with a serious book hangover. I did not want to put it down. It was seriously dark and deadly and oh I cried so hard during parts. The ending was perfect. This book is the third and final book and MUST be read in order and is NOT a standalone. In book 2 Lydia gave up her freedom in order to save Daederich's son. Now that Cyrus has her, it is pure torture again and she must fight to stay alive. Elah and Daederich are trying to rescue her, but at what cost? There are new players involved and they must all dealt with. This is an emotionally gripping book and yes, it gave me nightmares as did the first two in the series so it is not for everyone.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

[TrulyDeeplyBookishly_708456 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so I finished the last book in the “Deadly Captive” trilogy. I was sat here, in front of my PC when my boyfriend came home and asked why I was annoyed. So, I went into a detailed explanation of each book and how much I felt, that this grand finale had let me down. While I was explaining it all to him, I was very self-righteous in my annoyance and I could feel myself getting worked up about it all over again. At the end I looked at him and said “can you believe it?” where to he cheekily laughed at me and calmly said “I think you’re mixing your frustration about what Cyrus did to Lydia, instead of focusing on what that would actually do to her”. So, I sat there dumbfound when I realised that he is right. My boyfriend actually managed to sum up my own feelings about this book way better that I could. That’s how much Bianca managed to twist everything for me in this book. And I loved it.

The previous two books were solely from the first person POV, Lydia and Nicole, which only gave us very limited knowledge of what was actually going on. I found myself stumbling through both of them, because there was so many things that weren’t explained. However, Bianca certainly changed things up here. We do get the first person POV from Lydia, but not only that, we also get a third person POV to keep up to date with Cyrus, Daederich and Elah. For me this was most welcome and it helped me connect with everyone involved. Though a fair warning, just because the POV is changing, doesn’t mean we get to know everything ahead of time, which just helps the suspense.

There’s so many layers in this book that it’s almost impossible to provide an overview, without either spoiling everything, or just giving random facts just for the hell of it. But as underwhelmed as I was with the second book in the trilogy, I’m just as overwhelmed and in total awe of this grand finale.

In the end of Collateral Damage, we learn that Lydia is giving herself back to Cyrus, in order to save Alrik. Yes, that is a bit cliché with a life for a life, but it serves its purpose. At first, I was struggling a lot with Lydia’s choice, I get that she wants to save the boy, but she barely knows him and yet, she willingly surrenders herself to the inevitable torture, physical pain, psychological mind games and humiliation that being with Cyrus will bring. That’s not only mind blowing, it’s such an unexpected move that it’s hard to say whether it’s ballsy or stupid.

Before long I was getting pretty fed up with Lydia. She went back to Cyrus, willingly. Yet, she spends the first few chapters disobeying him at every little turn.

“He’s in an agreeable mood. Putting in some effort might spare you some pain.”
“Blush isn’t going to keep him from torturing me if he gets the urge.”
“Probably now.” Elah cockked his head. “But consider how much easier Daederich has it when he cooperates.”
My eyes narrowed. “Yes, he’s a very good dog.”
Irritation flashed across Elah’s expression. “Think, Lydia. The rules might change any moment, but for now, you’re being kept healthy and whole. If putting on fucking lipstick would give me the opportunity to gain my strength so I could get the fuck out of here, I’d be the prettiest goddamn bitch you’d ever seen.”

I get that Lydia’s instinct is to fight Cyrus and his gang of psychos when it matters. But why on earth, after everything she’s been through, she’d chose to show defiance on a matter of whether or not to wear makeup, that just didn’t ring true to me. As the story progresses and introduces new players in the mix, it all makes a lot more sense, and I started to not only understand Lydia, but at the end I admired her. We also get to learn about Lydia’s past including how she came to suffer from amnesia.

Personally, the most fulfilling part of the book was learning more about Cyrus. About his past and his present. I think it’s safe to say that Cyrus is so rotten to the core, that Dante would need to add another circle of hell for him alone. And yet, Bianca Sommerland has managed to make him one of the most interesting villains I’ve ever read about.

“I almost forgot… Sometimes I almost wish I didn’t want to hurt you so much. But just almost. You’re most beautiful when you’re fighting to stay alive. I want to keep you that beautiful forever.”

Even after all the physical and psychological torture the one scene that's staying with me, and my arachnophobia ridden brain, is one from the first book, where Lydia is put in a coffin with some not so friendly snakes and hairy spiders. Yikes! I honestly don't know, if I'll ever be able to forget that one.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my!!! Wow!!! I finished this book/series last night and I'm still trying to find the words! This is book three in the series and CAN NOT be read as a stand-alone!!! You MUST read books one and two first. But this series is a definite must read for fans of the dark side!

First, I LOVE Lydia and Daederich!!! And Elah!!! Lydia has given up EVERYTHING to protect Daederich's son, putting her faith in Daederich and Elah to rescue her. But, as has often happened in this series, things don't go as expected!

I have so much I want to say about this book, but I don't want to give any spoilers. Suffice it to say, The End had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to END. I felt a whole range of emotions, from love to hatred, from fear to rage, so many feels!!! Bianca Sommerland has once again written a fantastic series!!!

[Cozen · Rating 2 out of 5]

After seven years, I expected something stellar. All that I got was a book that had unrecognizable characters and dialog discussing how these characters weren’t behaving like they use to. To me this book felt as though Sommerland was trying to finish a series that she long abandoned years ago.

Overall, unless you re-read the first two books all over again, this story loses its original brilliance.

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is the conclusion to the ‘Deadly Caltive’ series. I fell in love with the books since book one. It was my introduction into dark romance novels. What an introduction it was. So it’s onkynfitting that the The End, be just as amazing. In this series we see a different side to Cyrus an more humane one. He’s still the sick bastard we love, just a little softer.

I love the arc Lydia took in this series she still impresses in this one as well. Still fierce and strong as she ever was. She keeps strong to save a kid and that makes her a forever bad ass.
Daederich made me upset in this book, but I like that because it means I’m invested. He almost lost Lydia because he couldn’t get out of his own way. Men.

There’s a big component to this book that I can’t tell because it’s a spoiler. But I read it and I needed to use my angry eyes. Bianca always finds some way to break my heart. She usually puts it back together but I can recall three times where she’s broken my heart and left it broken. This is one of those times.

You won’t be upset with the book, but you will be upset that it’s over.
Amazing 5 star read.

[Raquel Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for all the books in the trilogy. There might be spoilers.
Overall this are good books, well written, fast pace, interesting story that makes you want to keep turning the pages until the end.

So where to start, this is a "supernatural" dark romance book, I did not know this until I was halfway into the first book.
At some point in the book, the story is all about saving a small child, and me, being childfree and hating kids could not connect with the purpose of the characters.
One of the main female characters has severe trust issues, yes it's one of those, that no matter how many times the guy shows her his love, she still doubts and goes to the enemy for love...

SPOILER!!!


The author makes you like and feel empathy for one of the bad guys only to kill him afterwards. Don't get too attached.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death would make it easier right? Just to let go and have him kill her in place of the child? Not so fast.

Lydia still has some will to live, and giving herself to Cyrus to save the child might just be enough. Will she make it out alive or even sane when Cyrus is done with her? Only time will tell.

This is a super dark conclusion to the Deadly Captive series. Each had their own story, but they needed to be read together. Confusion is not what you need when dealing with the psychopath that Cyrus is, and probably, imho, has always been.

The author ends this story for us so we can move on, so her characters can too. I expect that this might have been cathartic for her, as well.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the final instalment of the Deadly Captive Series, Lydia, Daederich and Cyrus come to the end of their journey as they know it.
As closure finally comes to these main characters, we see the love that some of these characters have and exactly what they will do for those they do love.
Again, without giving anything away this series was a complete surprise to me as I didn’t know exactly what it would be about but I was brought in from the first page of the first book. Bravo Bianca.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

WARNING: If you have triggers don’t read this book

OH MY GOD! This was the darkest most twisted entry to this series. What would you do for love? What indignities would you suffer to see a child kept safe? In this conclusion we find out just how strong Lydia is. We find out just why Cyrus is obsessed with her. This book had me in tears but left me with a smile.

[Tee Prinzo Bilgore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating

All the twists and turns, the good, bad and ugly that you could want. Great story line, very well written and awesomely complicated characters. A great end (hoping for a spin-off series...hint hint) to and great series. I laughed, cringed and most definitely cried throughout the entire series. Well done Bianca. You're one of my favorite authors.

[Patty Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great conclusion to a magnificent saga. I didn't think she could introduce a more hateful villain than Cyrus, she did. I didn't think she could make me love another character, she did. I didn't think she could break my heart over and over, she did. And through it all, she gave me HEA. Thank you for a wonderful conclusion Bianca Sommerland.

[Maria (Ri) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fight comes to the end.

I'm impressed with the wHy this author tied everything together and have her readers their epic battle they deserved. This was a rough fight. New characters, old characters, and showing me more of why these species were never meant to be sparkly and cute.

This is Buffy meets the Hunger Games only with triggers and way more violence and depravity.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely not a holiday book. But since I’ve been waiting five years for this, I was willing to read it anyway.

Very dark and disturbing, but sexy at the same time. Not a book for everyone. But if you like dark erotica paranormals, then give this trilogy a whirl. I’m glad I did.

[Dana Dara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a Cop Out

This book is much different from the first two. It’s not as dark and feels pretty rushed. I understand changing Cyrus, but it felt forced and the ending just didn’t sit well with me.
Idk I’m going to have to read all three books through and see how I feel later.

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I read this for the conclusion to book one, but this book really just dragged on the story for no apparent reason. Not much made sense, although I did enjoy the end after the revenge happened.

[Zen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of the three.