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Captive Hearts
No one was entirely sure what had started the conflict with the Grey Mountains, only that there was no end in sight.When Danae, one of the Vale’s most powerful Healers, is taken prisoner in a raid, she finds an unexpected Torrin, the Mountain King’s nephew. In fear for her life, Danae is determined to hate the man responsible for her capture, but his kindness and compassion make it increasingly difficult.Torrin hadn’t expected to find himself in charge of a prisoner, especially such a difficult one. He hadn’t expected to find her defiance so attractive either. If only she wasn’t his prisoner...In a tale of intrigue, rivaly and love, duty and reason war with uncertain hearts to form a gripping romance.
182 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 12, 2019
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3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 18, 2019
Captive Hearts tells the story of a prisoner who falls in love with their jailor. As author Natasja Rose has publicly acknowledged, this should be a disturbing theme. Nevertheless, Rose sets out to narrate this tale in a way which preserves a clear focus on both lovers’ rights to make free and emotionally healthy choices about their relationships. To do this, she must subvert certain of the assumptions which appear in other books of this nature.
Rose, IMHO, delivers on her promise. Her MCs are independently-minded. They fight to remain psychologically free, even when physically they are not. Rose holds out the hope that despite the imbalance of power between them, they may somehow manage to achieve a loving relationship as equals – to have, perhaps, both their cake and the file in it too. To find out whether they succeed, one must, of course read the book.
An added bonus is this book’s treatment of magic. Magic is more than a helpful power in this book – it is a lifestyle, and Rose includes details which show how the practice of magic affects the practitioner.
Overall, this is an original book with admirable clarity on the issue of personal freedom. Despite its dark potential, it succeeds at being uplifting.
Rose, IMHO, delivers on her promise. Her MCs are independently-minded. They fight to remain psychologically free, even when physically they are not. Rose holds out the hope that despite the imbalance of power between them, they may somehow manage to achieve a loving relationship as equals – to have, perhaps, both their cake and the file in it too. To find out whether they succeed, one must, of course read the book.
An added bonus is this book’s treatment of magic. Magic is more than a helpful power in this book – it is a lifestyle, and Rose includes details which show how the practice of magic affects the practitioner.
Overall, this is an original book with admirable clarity on the issue of personal freedom. Despite its dark potential, it succeeds at being uplifting.
March 24, 2020
On my continued journey of reading self-published works, March’s book was Captive Hearts by Natasja Rose. Captive Hearts wasn’t a partially long book. I read it in a morning sitting waiting for an electrician to finish putting in a safety switch on my house so I wouldn’t, you know, need to go to the hospital again because I’m just THAT sort of person.
Haha.
Anyway.
I appreciate books I can quickly dive into and absorb in one sitting. They’re like little openings into new worlds you can dip your toe in, enjoy, and then pull back out again without too much hassle. It’s still enjoyable, but it’s not like marathoning a read of Lord of the Rings where you must hunker down for a day by the fire.
Captive Hearts reminded me of a trilogy I read when I was about fourteen, that had a very similar concept (totally different world, totally different genre though) but the concept was similar. The idea of a prisoner falling in love with the jailor/kidnapper and how can you write that without it being, well, you know – creepy. I like the idea of author's trying a challenge, being bold and daring. I really admire those authors.
It also reminded me of one of my favourite Fan Fictions from the Harry Potter “genre”, goodness knows I cannot remember name, nor have I been able to find it again – but it was a very similar concept. And yes, I read Harry Potter Fan Fictions...there are some real gems out there. It was a great fan-fic about Hermione Granger and Theodore Nott. I'm really annoyed I never saved it. XD
Anyhooo...
Perhaps that is why this book felt like I was treading familiar ground. The romance that Natasja Rose was trying to build was not unfamiliar to me, and how she was crafting it came across well thought out and sensitive to an often-difficult idea to explore.
She did not go overboard with the world-building, it was just enough for the imagination to fill in everything else. I would go so far as to say that familiar fantasy settings and names were used to conjure up an image for the reader. The focus of the story was the romance.
There was a twist that I didn’t see coming, and I did appreciate that.
I would have maybe liked a bit more of a focus on the ending resolution, but I am one of those people who enjoys long resolutions. In saying that, I think Natasja Rose tied everything up nicely for a short book.
If she wrote another book in this universe, I would probably like to read it just to see where she’d take the characters and the politics.
Haha.
Anyway.
I appreciate books I can quickly dive into and absorb in one sitting. They’re like little openings into new worlds you can dip your toe in, enjoy, and then pull back out again without too much hassle. It’s still enjoyable, but it’s not like marathoning a read of Lord of the Rings where you must hunker down for a day by the fire.
Captive Hearts reminded me of a trilogy I read when I was about fourteen, that had a very similar concept (totally different world, totally different genre though) but the concept was similar. The idea of a prisoner falling in love with the jailor/kidnapper and how can you write that without it being, well, you know – creepy. I like the idea of author's trying a challenge, being bold and daring. I really admire those authors.
It also reminded me of one of my favourite Fan Fictions from the Harry Potter “genre”, goodness knows I cannot remember name, nor have I been able to find it again – but it was a very similar concept. And yes, I read Harry Potter Fan Fictions...there are some real gems out there. It was a great fan-fic about Hermione Granger and Theodore Nott. I'm really annoyed I never saved it. XD
Anyhooo...
Perhaps that is why this book felt like I was treading familiar ground. The romance that Natasja Rose was trying to build was not unfamiliar to me, and how she was crafting it came across well thought out and sensitive to an often-difficult idea to explore.
She did not go overboard with the world-building, it was just enough for the imagination to fill in everything else. I would go so far as to say that familiar fantasy settings and names were used to conjure up an image for the reader. The focus of the story was the romance.
There was a twist that I didn’t see coming, and I did appreciate that.
I would have maybe liked a bit more of a focus on the ending resolution, but I am one of those people who enjoys long resolutions. In saying that, I think Natasja Rose tied everything up nicely for a short book.
If she wrote another book in this universe, I would probably like to read it just to see where she’d take the characters and the politics.
May 21, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
Overall an easy, interesting and satisfying read. Both male and female characters were strong, compatible and individualistic which is often hard to do/ maintain in romance books. I also liked how characters appearances were not described. This allowed me to imagine them however I wanted (which is a bonus when you aren’t blonde-haired and blue-eyed).
The book however does have a fair few editorial mistakes which did take away from the book. There are also times where the book skips to the next part or description instead of building it up.
Will likely read this author again.
Overall an easy, interesting and satisfying read. Both male and female characters were strong, compatible and individualistic which is often hard to do/ maintain in romance books. I also liked how characters appearances were not described. This allowed me to imagine them however I wanted (which is a bonus when you aren’t blonde-haired and blue-eyed).
The book however does have a fair few editorial mistakes which did take away from the book. There are also times where the book skips to the next part or description instead of building it up.
Will likely read this author again.
July 29, 2020
What I thought was interesting was the love story. How the protagonist fell in love with the person who was keeping her in jail in the first place. What was good about this book was being able to read this in one day no problem. Also, I love how the romance just did not happen with the snap of their fingers that it built up over time. Nice Job! I cannot wait to read more from this author.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews