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Captivity Collection
Never Let Go
The enemy you lie with isn’t always your enemy
I was a snake, and she was the sweet little mouse.
Sure, she could bite, but she was soft enough to soothe the most dangerous beast. Me.
No matter how poised I was to strike, she ripped me wide open. Mackenzie forced me to confront the past I tried to hide from. Once she opened the box, there was no closing it. She changed everything. We may have taken her, but she left us just as scathed.
Benjamin was a thing of nightmares. Something I was taught to fear. I didn’t expect I’d end up letting the monster into my heart. He sank his claws into me and made me realize the only difference between us was my ability to choose when to bite. The moment he showed me his humility, there was no way I could ignore it. He may have made me mourn the life I had, but I resurrected his.
Can I escape captivity? Will I be able to recognize myself once I do?
Never Let Go takes Lauren Biel’s readers on a darker journey this time. If you like broken characters who fall in love in the face of depravity, this story will captivate you.
Order now to find out how much love it takes to tame a beast.
TW: Abuse, abduction, murder, sexual content, non-con-ish (not between mcs), off-page childbirth loss
This contemporary dark thriller romance is highly recommended for adult readers only. Please see my website for more information.
I was a snake, and she was the sweet little mouse.
Sure, she could bite, but she was soft enough to soothe the most dangerous beast. Me.
No matter how poised I was to strike, she ripped me wide open. Mackenzie forced me to confront the past I tried to hide from. Once she opened the box, there was no closing it. She changed everything. We may have taken her, but she left us just as scathed.
Benjamin was a thing of nightmares. Something I was taught to fear. I didn’t expect I’d end up letting the monster into my heart. He sank his claws into me and made me realize the only difference between us was my ability to choose when to bite. The moment he showed me his humility, there was no way I could ignore it. He may have made me mourn the life I had, but I resurrected his.
Can I escape captivity? Will I be able to recognize myself once I do?
Never Let Go takes Lauren Biel’s readers on a darker journey this time. If you like broken characters who fall in love in the face of depravity, this story will captivate you.
Order now to find out how much love it takes to tame a beast.
TW: Abuse, abduction, murder, sexual content, non-con-ish (not between mcs), off-page childbirth loss
This contemporary dark thriller romance is highly recommended for adult readers only. Please see my website for more information.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 30, 2022
548 people are currently reading
9926 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Biel
41 books4,463 followersLauren’s stories are often emotionally raw, with lots of twists and turns. She describes her writing as “where light meets dark”, which represents how her witty humor compliments the darkness in every story. Instead of trying to mold her writing to fit in a box, she chooses to be unapologetically herself. While her focus is on Romance with dark elements, subgenre is no constraint for her. The common theme in every book is finding love when you least expect it. She enjoys putting her characters through tribulations, allowing their triumphs to be that much more poignant. Make sure you have your seatbelts secured. It’s always a bumpy ride.
When she’s not working, she’s writing. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with her husband, her friends, or her pets. You might also find her on a horseback trail ride or sitting beside a waterfall in Upstate New York. She has a pretty normal life, yet her stories are anything but.
When she’s not working, she’s writing. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with her husband, her friends, or her pets. You might also find her on a horseback trail ride or sitting beside a waterfall in Upstate New York. She has a pretty normal life, yet her stories are anything but.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 580 reviews
December 6, 2023
This is a Very Dark Romance, and this book is not for everyone...Please read the warnings about this book before picking this book up. I would also say that this book is only written to be read by Adults readers, and I would not recommend this book to be read by anyone under the age of 18 years old. The characters in this book is very developed, and I felt the characters pain. I loved that you got to really feel the characters, and you could feel their pain and there emotions. This book pulled so many emotions out of me. This is a well written book that I enjoyed reading even though it cover some really dark and gritty stuff. There was some twists in this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher or author (Lauren Biel) via Booksirens, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.
March 31, 2022
Hooo boy. I knew this was gonna be dark. I'm ok with dark (for the most part) if I know what to expect. I knew based on the summary and reviews that this book would have a rapist hero, but that the heroine would be super speshul to him. Which, depending on how it's written, I can be ok with in some dark novels. But no one prepared me for the horror of reading about saggy old hillbilly hag sex with the hero.
Now, I know what you're probably thinking.
Ok, ok, you're not wrong - I'll fully own up to it. While I'm not super keen on the serial rapist hero that finds his one special victim trope, what did offend my delicate sensibilities the most was the vivid descriptions of the hero in somewhat "consensual"-ish??? geriatric sex with a disgusting monster with yellowed and missing teeth. There wasn't really much warning to it and I'm not sure why I assumed this, but I thought this old lady was just gonna be his evil mentor or something. I was gagging when the hero got hard and was like, "hey I'm gonna be getting my dick wet tonight, whether it's with hillbilly hag or heroine!"
Ok, so let's rewind a bit for a basic plot summary. This is the story of MacKenzie (our heroine), Benjamin (our "hero"), and Marcy (old hillbilly hag). Benjamin is the young and handsome rapist attack dog of Marcy. They've become a sort of criminal rapist abuser duo, who go fishing for hot young girls whom they can abduct and keep captive in their house, where Benjamin does the raping and Marcy does the physical and mental abuse. It's an unequal partnership, in that Marcy has the final say and the power, but Benjamin does get to choose the next victim he gets to rape. Their last toy died a horrible death, so now they have to go find their next victim. Benjamin locks on to MacKenzie, who is stranded and walking through the rain, and his dick is attracted at first sight. They lure MacKenzie into the rapemobile and this is the start of MacKenzie's hell. Along the story, it's revealed that Benjamin is also a kidnapped victim that got conditioned into loving to rape women, and he and MacKenzie sort of form an alliance thing? Except he is probably the most useless and passive ally ever.
MacKenzie, the heroine:
This is part of the reason why the "serial killer / rapist falling for that one special victim" usually doesn't work for me. I can almost never understand why the heroine is so special, because usually they don't do anything that makes them particularly interesting or loveable. MacKenzie didn't really make sense to me, and she was kind of brain dead, to put it nicely. The only reasons I got for why she captured Benjamin's dead rapist heart were:
1. She was hot.
2. She was passive and didn't fight, then started yelling sassy things at them after they brought out the torture instruments. Which is the opposite of conductive behavior for survival, but apparently her lack of survival instincts is what made her great? 🙄
3. She was hot.
At first, I thought maybe we were in for a treat with a horror heroine with some brains. She refused the ride from Marcy and noted that the situation was creepy. But then, she proceeded to just give in and get into their van and drink their drugged coffee, like wat.
It almost makes it worse that she thought of all the things wrong with the situation but still chose to make the worst decision. She didn't even have the dead phone excuse, and the walk wasn't far. I feel like the same effect of her getting captured could have been achieved if she didn't trust them, then saw them exiting the car to go after her, then ran through the forest and was caught by Benjamin. At least then she wouldn't have seemed like horror movie cannonfodder.
And then there was the inexplicable attraction of her towards Benjamin. I... guess she has heavy tastes. I know that if I knew this guy was a rapist that did it with tons of random women, and if I was forced to watch as this guy had sex with some disgusting hillbilly old woman, the last thing on my mind would be seeing him in a romantic light. I certainly wouldn't want to have unprotected sex with him, which she proceeded to do willingly and repeatedly.
I suppose that wouldn't be the stupidest thing she does, since she kept pissing Marcy off by mouthing sass at her (which wasn't even particularly clever or funny sass) and then getting tortured, then screaming and crying that she was sorry. Yes, very badass. Very cool.
Benjamin, the "hero":
Holy mother of Freud. This guy was such a sad mess. At least his perspective was entertaining to read, but this is definitely not my type of love interest, even in a dark romance story. I know that he was under the effects of Stockholm Syndrome and thought he loved Marcy (as his "mother"... I dunno what I can say about him thinking it's ok to sex it up with his mommy figure, but yeaaah). But it annoyed the heck out of me that he kept saying there was nothing he could have done, when Marcy takes him outside in a car to go find new rape victims. He could punch her out, take control of the car and gun, and be free. I was yelling at my kindle when both he and MacKenzie didn't even bother discussing a plan to ambush Marcy when she left them alone in the house and would open the door. Naturally, they both get locked up and tortured because they both spent the entire time fucking 🙄. Priorities, amirite? They literally spent more time figuring out how to justify the heroine wearing Marcy's nightie than even bothering to think how to escape.
I also don't see the appeal in someone so broken that they would hold the heroine down while she gets her hand burned, chop off the heroine's hair, and use a knife to scar the heroine's face because they're scared of a fat old hag. He also would've done nothing and just let the heroine get shot and killed by Marcy. The only thing that saved the heroine was that Marcy used blanks. This would have made a lot more sense if Marcy was some secret martial arts expert that would've jiujitsu-ed his ass.
But no. Just some fat old hillbilly who has diabetes.
In the end, Benjamin finally kills Marcy (after he gets tortured, so it really looks more self serving than for the sake of the heroine) and he finds the key to escape. They decide to stay together and have a happily ever after(?).
3 stars for the happy ending, and also to be fair about this being a dark story and me walking into it knowing it would be messed up. Can't really complain too much about that if it had the tags, although I really could have used some warnings about those disgusting sex scenes with Marcy.
Safety:
* Heroine is NOT a virgin. I don't know why they kept calling her a virgin at first, but she was not. Said the hero was the best sex she had out of all the men.
* Hero definitely NOT a virgin, sleeps with Marcy and raped a bunch of women, resulting in one even getting pregnant with his child.
* Cheating in that the hero is shown sleeping with Marcy after falling for heroine, albeit somewhat unwillingly.
* Mentions of child death and abortion (not for heroine, but hero's sister, a girl the hero got pregnant, and Marcy).
* Lots of dub con
* HEA, no epilogue
Now, I know what you're probably thinking.
Ok, ok, you're not wrong - I'll fully own up to it. While I'm not super keen on the serial rapist hero that finds his one special victim trope, what did offend my delicate sensibilities the most was the vivid descriptions of the hero in somewhat "consensual"-ish??? geriatric sex with a disgusting monster with yellowed and missing teeth. There wasn't really much warning to it and I'm not sure why I assumed this, but I thought this old lady was just gonna be his evil mentor or something. I was gagging when the hero got hard and was like, "hey I'm gonna be getting my dick wet tonight, whether it's with hillbilly hag or heroine!"
Ok, so let's rewind a bit for a basic plot summary. This is the story of MacKenzie (our heroine), Benjamin (our "hero"), and Marcy (old hillbilly hag). Benjamin is the young and handsome rapist attack dog of Marcy. They've become a sort of criminal rapist abuser duo, who go fishing for hot young girls whom they can abduct and keep captive in their house, where Benjamin does the raping and Marcy does the physical and mental abuse. It's an unequal partnership, in that Marcy has the final say and the power, but Benjamin does get to choose the next victim he gets to rape. Their last toy died a horrible death, so now they have to go find their next victim. Benjamin locks on to MacKenzie, who is stranded and walking through the rain, and his dick is attracted at first sight. They lure MacKenzie into the rapemobile and this is the start of MacKenzie's hell. Along the story, it's revealed that Benjamin is also a kidnapped victim that got conditioned into loving to rape women, and he and MacKenzie sort of form an alliance thing? Except he is probably the most useless and passive ally ever.
MacKenzie, the heroine:
This is part of the reason why the "serial killer / rapist falling for that one special victim" usually doesn't work for me. I can almost never understand why the heroine is so special, because usually they don't do anything that makes them particularly interesting or loveable. MacKenzie didn't really make sense to me, and she was kind of brain dead, to put it nicely. The only reasons I got for why she captured Benjamin's dead rapist heart were:
1. She was hot.
2. She was passive and didn't fight, then started yelling sassy things at them after they brought out the torture instruments. Which is the opposite of conductive behavior for survival, but apparently her lack of survival instincts is what made her great? 🙄
3. She was hot.
At first, I thought maybe we were in for a treat with a horror heroine with some brains. She refused the ride from Marcy and noted that the situation was creepy. But then, she proceeded to just give in and get into their van and drink their drugged coffee, like wat.
It almost makes it worse that she thought of all the things wrong with the situation but still chose to make the worst decision. She didn't even have the dead phone excuse, and the walk wasn't far. I feel like the same effect of her getting captured could have been achieved if she didn't trust them, then saw them exiting the car to go after her, then ran through the forest and was caught by Benjamin. At least then she wouldn't have seemed like horror movie cannonfodder.
And then there was the inexplicable attraction of her towards Benjamin. I... guess she has heavy tastes. I know that if I knew this guy was a rapist that did it with tons of random women, and if I was forced to watch as this guy had sex with some disgusting hillbilly old woman, the last thing on my mind would be seeing him in a romantic light. I certainly wouldn't want to have unprotected sex with him, which she proceeded to do willingly and repeatedly.
I suppose that wouldn't be the stupidest thing she does, since she kept pissing Marcy off by mouthing sass at her (which wasn't even particularly clever or funny sass) and then getting tortured, then screaming and crying that she was sorry. Yes, very badass. Very cool.
Benjamin, the "hero":
Holy mother of Freud. This guy was such a sad mess. At least his perspective was entertaining to read, but this is definitely not my type of love interest, even in a dark romance story. I know that he was under the effects of Stockholm Syndrome and thought he loved Marcy (as his "mother"... I dunno what I can say about him thinking it's ok to sex it up with his mommy figure, but yeaaah). But it annoyed the heck out of me that he kept saying there was nothing he could have done, when Marcy takes him outside in a car to go find new rape victims. He could punch her out, take control of the car and gun, and be free. I was yelling at my kindle when both he and MacKenzie didn't even bother discussing a plan to ambush Marcy when she left them alone in the house and would open the door. Naturally, they both get locked up and tortured because they both spent the entire time fucking 🙄. Priorities, amirite? They literally spent more time figuring out how to justify the heroine wearing Marcy's nightie than even bothering to think how to escape.
I also don't see the appeal in someone so broken that they would hold the heroine down while she gets her hand burned, chop off the heroine's hair, and use a knife to scar the heroine's face because they're scared of a fat old hag. He also would've done nothing and just let the heroine get shot and killed by Marcy. The only thing that saved the heroine was that Marcy used blanks. This would have made a lot more sense if Marcy was some secret martial arts expert that would've jiujitsu-ed his ass.
But no. Just some fat old hillbilly who has diabetes.
In the end, Benjamin finally kills Marcy (after he gets tortured, so it really looks more self serving than for the sake of the heroine) and he finds the key to escape. They decide to stay together and have a happily ever after(?).
3 stars for the happy ending, and also to be fair about this being a dark story and me walking into it knowing it would be messed up. Can't really complain too much about that if it had the tags, although I really could have used some warnings about those disgusting sex scenes with Marcy.
Safety:
* Heroine is NOT a virgin. I don't know why they kept calling her a virgin at first, but she was not. Said the hero was the best sex she had out of all the men.
* Hero definitely NOT a virgin, sleeps with Marcy and raped a bunch of women, resulting in one even getting pregnant with his child.
* Cheating in that the hero is shown sleeping with Marcy after falling for heroine, albeit somewhat unwillingly.
* Mentions of child death and abortion (not for heroine, but hero's sister, a girl the hero got pregnant, and Marcy).
* Lots of dub con
* HEA, no epilogue
Read
March 30, 2022DNF 40% I can't read this! disgust overpowers curiosity! How did I even last so long? I took three breaks.
July 11, 2022
This is dark dark dark. I almost couldn't finish it. I knew what to expect going into this book but I was still blown away (and not in a good way lol). This hero is a rapist. Or should I call him an antihero? He was redeemable in no way, shape or form. I didn't see any sexual chemistry between the two mains nor did I see any true romance. It's a Stockholm syndrome, twisted, intense, crazy book. I only recommend this if you like true antiheroes and dark dark romance. Heed the triggers! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 7, 2023
@LaurenBiel...
You, Me, therapy NOW!!!!
You, Me, therapy NOW!!!!
July 3, 2024
DNF @ 22% 🤮
It will never cease to amaze me how Lauren Biel attempts to redeem and humanize rapists in her books. Rape is not a trope or a kink. Shock-core and trauma porn are not “dark romance” just because the abducted, abused, tortured, raped young woman gets Stockholm Syndrome and catches the feels for one of her tormentors.
If you enjoyed this, kudos to you, but you should probably seek help from a licensed medical professional.
It will never cease to amaze me how Lauren Biel attempts to redeem and humanize rapists in her books. Rape is not a trope or a kink. Shock-core and trauma porn are not “dark romance” just because the abducted, abused, tortured, raped young woman gets Stockholm Syndrome and catches the feels for one of her tormentors.
If you enjoyed this, kudos to you, but you should probably seek help from a licensed medical professional.
January 27, 2025
Absolutely terrible, but I couldn’t look away. The mmc was a huge mess my god.
Want to read
May 9, 2022Never Let Go is an unsettling dark thriller romance that will leave you saying 'what the heck did I just read.' The dynamics between the male and female captors can be uncomfortable at times. This story is deeply rooted in the human psyche of captivity, and I don't recommend reading it if you have any sensitivities to dark situations.
You have to be able to find light within the darkest of situations. But if you want something unique, that you probably haven't ever read before, this story will hold you captive as well.
All new purchases/KU have the epilogue in it. If yours does NOT have the epilogue, head over to Laurenbiel.com to get it for free!
You have to be able to find light within the darkest of situations. But if you want something unique, that you probably haven't ever read before, this story will hold you captive as well.
All new purchases/KU have the epilogue in it. If yours does NOT have the epilogue, head over to Laurenbiel.com to get it for free!
dnf
June 18, 2024Dnf @ 17%
Not only was he a r/pist but he was a pick-me r/pist i didnt even know what this book was about i should have seen the red flags when i saw his name was fucking benjamin
Not only was he a r/pist but he was a pick-me r/pist i didnt even know what this book was about i should have seen the red flags when i saw his name was fucking benjamin
May 10, 2023
Never Let Go ⭐️⭐️
You know this was not great ahah. I really actually liked the other book I read by this author. I love how dark and twisted her shit is. I just didn’t care for the fmc nor the mmc. I expected more from them. It was still like engaging and I was interested but it was also just not very good. There were good ideas here just a bleh execution. But hey I don’t regret reading it. I still like all the crazy aspects of it. But I just didn’t like a single character and I expected more.
You know this was not great ahah. I really actually liked the other book I read by this author. I love how dark and twisted her shit is. I just didn’t care for the fmc nor the mmc. I expected more from them. It was still like engaging and I was interested but it was also just not very good. There were good ideas here just a bleh execution. But hey I don’t regret reading it. I still like all the crazy aspects of it. But I just didn’t like a single character and I expected more.
April 28, 2022
Dark but very good
This is the third story I've read by this author and she does not disappoint. I've noticed she seems to begin her characters in impossibly bad situations, which progress to worse, yet she logically brings them back around to reasonable happy endings, considering their circumstances.
Mind those trigger warnings: there is a lot of pain and torture. I wondered at first if I would keep going, but I did because the author did such a good job with the characters as well as balancing the awful with the emotionally engaging parts.
If you can handle dark stories, you will not regret reading this to the end. I appreciated the logical yet still fulfilling ending. The author does not pretend her characters are not messed up, but she gives them the right balance of redeemable tendencies.
Overall this was such an engaging read it only took me a couple of days to read because I cared so much about what would happen to the two main characters.
This is the third story I've read by this author and she does not disappoint. I've noticed she seems to begin her characters in impossibly bad situations, which progress to worse, yet she logically brings them back around to reasonable happy endings, considering their circumstances.
Mind those trigger warnings: there is a lot of pain and torture. I wondered at first if I would keep going, but I did because the author did such a good job with the characters as well as balancing the awful with the emotionally engaging parts.
If you can handle dark stories, you will not regret reading this to the end. I appreciated the logical yet still fulfilling ending. The author does not pretend her characters are not messed up, but she gives them the right balance of redeemable tendencies.
Overall this was such an engaging read it only took me a couple of days to read because I cared so much about what would happen to the two main characters.
October 28, 2024
This was dark, traumatic, twisted, and disturbing—oh, and even disgusting at times 🫣. Be aware of the trigger warnings; it’s definitely not for everyone.
Somewhere around 4-4.5 ⭐️’s
Somewhere around 4-4.5 ⭐️’s
January 11, 2024
Goodness gracious, what else can I say 😰
May 5, 2022
(I received a copy of this book for review)
Trigger Warnings include:
Stockholm Syndrome, abuse, abduction, murder, rape, assault, torture, non-con-ish, off-page childbirth loss
This is…heavy. If any of the trigger warnings myself or the author included are actual triggers of yours, don’t even TRY the book. They aren’t light suggestions. There’s nothing light about this book! Writing a proper review for this book would involve including triggers…so I need to tread lightly! We are greeted by darkness on the very first page. Mackenzie is a ball of sunshine and spitfire. How she finds the strength to continue to be that way through everything…I have no idea! My own sunshine dimmed reading her story. These are terrible circumstances. And that plot twist nearly knocked me on my ass! Just thinking about it, my heart aches. Even at 30 I know not to get into a stranger’s car. Repeat after me folks: we do not get into strangers’ cars! Was this a cliffhanger? Or the actual end? Because in my mind we skip off into a field of daisies and live happily ever after. And that is therapeutic enough for me!
(added after posting:) the author reached out and let me know about an epilogue that was not included with the copy I received. I was correct, they do skip off into a field of daisies. Well, it's their own version of skipping off into a field of daisies. And it was perfect! As therapeutic as I had hoped!
My Favorite Quotes:
• “Don’t ever trust me. It’s better if you don’t because I don’t trust myself.”
• “I’m not going to be able to stop once I have my mouth on you.”
• “I could rip you to shred and still get off as I wore your blood.”
• ‘The moment I sank inside her, I knew she wasn’t the goal post. She was the whole goddamn game.’
• “I would still f!ck the almighty hell out of you.”
• “You fuck with my mind, Mouse.”
• “Forcing someone to be with you doesn’t make them love you. You taught me that.”
• “We could be this.”
• “I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done to you, and things I didn’t do for you, but I can’t do this without you.”
10/10 Dark Romance
10/10 Dirty Birdy
10/10 Forced Proximity
Trigger Warnings include:
Stockholm Syndrome, abuse, abduction, murder, rape, assault, torture, non-con-ish, off-page childbirth loss
This is…heavy. If any of the trigger warnings myself or the author included are actual triggers of yours, don’t even TRY the book. They aren’t light suggestions. There’s nothing light about this book! Writing a proper review for this book would involve including triggers…so I need to tread lightly! We are greeted by darkness on the very first page. Mackenzie is a ball of sunshine and spitfire. How she finds the strength to continue to be that way through everything…I have no idea! My own sunshine dimmed reading her story. These are terrible circumstances. And that plot twist nearly knocked me on my ass! Just thinking about it, my heart aches. Even at 30 I know not to get into a stranger’s car. Repeat after me folks: we do not get into strangers’ cars! Was this a cliffhanger? Or the actual end? Because in my mind we skip off into a field of daisies and live happily ever after. And that is therapeutic enough for me!
(added after posting:) the author reached out and let me know about an epilogue that was not included with the copy I received. I was correct, they do skip off into a field of daisies. Well, it's their own version of skipping off into a field of daisies. And it was perfect! As therapeutic as I had hoped!
My Favorite Quotes:
• “Don’t ever trust me. It’s better if you don’t because I don’t trust myself.”
• “I’m not going to be able to stop once I have my mouth on you.”
• “I could rip you to shred and still get off as I wore your blood.”
• ‘The moment I sank inside her, I knew she wasn’t the goal post. She was the whole goddamn game.’
• “I would still f!ck the almighty hell out of you.”
• “You fuck with my mind, Mouse.”
• “Forcing someone to be with you doesn’t make them love you. You taught me that.”
• “We could be this.”
• “I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done to you, and things I didn’t do for you, but I can’t do this without you.”
10/10 Dark Romance
10/10 Dirty Birdy
10/10 Forced Proximity
August 23, 2022
Oh mama. This one was a lot to unpack. So get comfy while we go through this list.
FYI- this lovely author does include a list of tw on her website and a map describing the level of darkness.
Starting off strong with one of my favorites:
-hand necklace
-abduction
-torture/abuse
-heavy s.a.
-non con talk/history
-off page childbirth loss
-starvation
-murder
-stockholm syndrome
Speaking of Stockholm.. three victims to their previous captor. It just became a trickle down effect.
I would say spice was relatively low, due to the nature of the story. Angst was at about 4.5. Plot was 4.
Our main chick, Mackenzie hit the worse case of "wrong place, wrong time" and that's how she ends up in the clutches of Marcy and Benjamin.
Throughout the story you find out how much Benjamin is just as much as a prisoner as MacKenzie is. You are constantly on the fence if you believe Benjamin or not. You also just want MacKenzie to listen to Benjamin and just shut up, but on the other hand, you can't help but cheer on her bravery.
Without giving away too much of the ending, you can't help but feel a teeny tiny bit bad for our main villain. I'm not going to lie to you guys, this was pretty dark. Even for me. If you are comfortable with the list of triggers, I highly encourage you to give this a shot. It might push some of your boundaries, but where's the fun in keeping it save?
FYI- this lovely author does include a list of tw on her website and a map describing the level of darkness.
Starting off strong with one of my favorites:
-hand necklace
-abduction
-torture/abuse
-heavy s.a.
-non con talk/history
-off page childbirth loss
-starvation
-murder
-stockholm syndrome
Speaking of Stockholm.. three victims to their previous captor. It just became a trickle down effect.
I would say spice was relatively low, due to the nature of the story. Angst was at about 4.5. Plot was 4.
Our main chick, Mackenzie hit the worse case of "wrong place, wrong time" and that's how she ends up in the clutches of Marcy and Benjamin.
Throughout the story you find out how much Benjamin is just as much as a prisoner as MacKenzie is. You are constantly on the fence if you believe Benjamin or not. You also just want MacKenzie to listen to Benjamin and just shut up, but on the other hand, you can't help but cheer on her bravery.
Without giving away too much of the ending, you can't help but feel a teeny tiny bit bad for our main villain. I'm not going to lie to you guys, this was pretty dark. Even for me. If you are comfortable with the list of triggers, I highly encourage you to give this a shot. It might push some of your boundaries, but where's the fun in keeping it save?
November 17, 2023
This was exactly what I've come to expect from Lauren's books.And I'm here for it!
Great job once again Queen🖤
Great job once again Queen🖤
June 25, 2022
The book was written very well as were the characters. Objectively the writing style, editing and story were well executed. A lot of this book felt very real (to me) and the author does a good job of sucking you in.
The book is a dark romance kidnapping trope, please pay attention to the trigger warnings. I read them but continued on, much to my own discomfort.
Certain parts of this book felt too real for me and although it was ultimately not my cup of tea, I cannot flaw the writing as the author did do a great job. Moreover, she does reach her objective of writing stories "where light meets dark".
If you're a non-sensitive lover of real dark romance, this is a must read for you!
The only reason this book didn't get 5 stars from me is due to my own discomfort and sensitivity, aside from that this author did a great job.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
The book is a dark romance kidnapping trope, please pay attention to the trigger warnings. I read them but continued on, much to my own discomfort.
Certain parts of this book felt too real for me and although it was ultimately not my cup of tea, I cannot flaw the writing as the author did do a great job. Moreover, she does reach her objective of writing stories "where light meets dark".
If you're a non-sensitive lover of real dark romance, this is a must read for you!
The only reason this book didn't get 5 stars from me is due to my own discomfort and sensitivity, aside from that this author did a great job.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
October 7, 2024
didn’t really care for any of the characters or the story. kinda just made me cringe 😬
February 24, 2024
Let me start off by saying, read those trigger warnings before you enter. I cannot stress that enough. This book is NOT for everyone. If you have any triggers, don't even bother.
The fu€k did I just read? Forget morally gray. This is much darker. I devoured this book. Dear lord this author made me feel ALL the things, and I do mean all. My heart thumped in my chest. I couldn't stop reading. I picked this book up because I forgot my other CR at home. I had no clue what I was about to read, or even the genre. I had an idea that it was dark romance, and it most definitely was. I like to go in blind, the trigger warnings sometimes ruin a book for me. I had previously tried another book by this author, but I couldn't get past the overused word that is "overalls". I may have to try it again, and ignore that word. Who knows, but back to this book. I don't know if I hated, liked, or loved how it ended. I don't know if I'll ever know. The pain and torture that's in this book just sinks it's claws in you. I felt the saddness, and the tiny amount of joy that there was. The relief washed over me multiple times. I found myself so connected to them on an emotional level for totally different reasons. I could go on and on, but honestly it's just rambling at this point. But that's what my brain is with this book, mush with a bunch of words that don't make any sense. I didn't want to give it a five star, but here we are. The characters have so much life in them. The writing is so beautiful, and by beautiful I mean the feelings. I just don't know how I felt so many emotions reading this book. Ok..well I'll stop there, even though my brain is going a million miles a minute saying "write this! Oh dont forget about this". I don't even know that my rating system can go with this. It's not going to live rent free, at least I don't think it will. Who knows. Ok, I'm done now. Bye.
⭐️ could have been a DNF 10/10 don't recommend
⭐️⭐️ It was meh
⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was good but...
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really liked it. Doesn't live rent free but comes to visit every now and then.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Obsessed! It will live rent free in my head forever and always
The fu€k did I just read? Forget morally gray. This is much darker. I devoured this book. Dear lord this author made me feel ALL the things, and I do mean all. My heart thumped in my chest. I couldn't stop reading. I picked this book up because I forgot my other CR at home. I had no clue what I was about to read, or even the genre. I had an idea that it was dark romance, and it most definitely was. I like to go in blind, the trigger warnings sometimes ruin a book for me. I had previously tried another book by this author, but I couldn't get past the overused word that is "overalls". I may have to try it again, and ignore that word. Who knows, but back to this book. I don't know if I hated, liked, or loved how it ended. I don't know if I'll ever know. The pain and torture that's in this book just sinks it's claws in you. I felt the saddness, and the tiny amount of joy that there was. The relief washed over me multiple times. I found myself so connected to them on an emotional level for totally different reasons. I could go on and on, but honestly it's just rambling at this point. But that's what my brain is with this book, mush with a bunch of words that don't make any sense. I didn't want to give it a five star, but here we are. The characters have so much life in them. The writing is so beautiful, and by beautiful I mean the feelings. I just don't know how I felt so many emotions reading this book. Ok..well I'll stop there, even though my brain is going a million miles a minute saying "write this! Oh dont forget about this". I don't even know that my rating system can go with this. It's not going to live rent free, at least I don't think it will. Who knows. Ok, I'm done now. Bye.
⭐️ could have been a DNF 10/10 don't recommend
⭐️⭐️ It was meh
⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was good but...
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ really liked it. Doesn't live rent free but comes to visit every now and then.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Obsessed! It will live rent free in my head forever and always
January 13, 2024
Never Let Go by Lauren Biel 🖤⛓️
This was such a good read! If you want to read Captured but it has too many triggers for you, this could be a good alternative as it’s just ever so slightly less trigger heavy but has some similar elements (still a totally different story) and is still very dark and twisted. This one kept me sucked in, needing to know what happened next. There were so many surprises which I love in a book. Nothing worse than predicting every turn.
I absolutely love the character development in this especially for the MMC, who you want to hate and root for at the same time. The playful banter between the characters was so different for a story about a captor and captive and gave the story a little lightheartedness that it needed at times for my sanity 😅
This book has way more plot than spice so I give it a 3.5/5 for 🌶️spice because there are definitely some spicy scenes even if some of them make you want to vomit a little bit. And I give it 5/5⭐️for the plot and wonderful storyline and just all around the way Lauren Biel writes her characters.
This one is leaving KU so if you’d like to read it while it’s still there, I suggest doing it soon 🖤
This was such a good read! If you want to read Captured but it has too many triggers for you, this could be a good alternative as it’s just ever so slightly less trigger heavy but has some similar elements (still a totally different story) and is still very dark and twisted. This one kept me sucked in, needing to know what happened next. There were so many surprises which I love in a book. Nothing worse than predicting every turn.
I absolutely love the character development in this especially for the MMC, who you want to hate and root for at the same time. The playful banter between the characters was so different for a story about a captor and captive and gave the story a little lightheartedness that it needed at times for my sanity 😅
This book has way more plot than spice so I give it a 3.5/5 for 🌶️spice because there are definitely some spicy scenes even if some of them make you want to vomit a little bit. And I give it 5/5⭐️for the plot and wonderful storyline and just all around the way Lauren Biel writes her characters.
This one is leaving KU so if you’d like to read it while it’s still there, I suggest doing it soon 🖤
July 14, 2022
Other critical reviews capture my thoughts easier than my writing them. I just did not like this book. Not for the darkness, the horror even, but because certain behaviors didn’t add up. Why antagonize your captor when you’re in a position of weakness and then cry and apologize when she has you against the barrel? I can appreciate some push back, but let’s be smart about it. How about seducing the guy that seems into you and having him subvert the old witch? Speaking of, I was physically disgusted with the villain heroine Marcy. Like she was just gross. Great job by the author on that on. And Benjamin, “hero,” while understandably under her influence, who continued to allow his subjection and the woman Mackenzie he began to care for, I couldn't get behind him. Plus.. he was kinda (no truly) a rapist and complicit murderer. Lots of violence, psychological trauma, captivity, and sexual threat in this “romantic” horror. The writing was good, but the storyline was not for me.
March 11, 2022
I have to start by saying this book would have been a 5 star read if there was more to the ending I was so shocked at how abrupt that ending was honestly, I feel there could have been much more to it. However, this was a great book as a whole and I loved it and how the storyline was slowly revealed but all made us love each character in some way.
This book definitely had a lot or raw emotion and sensitive subjects so be sure to read an TW's before hopping into this crazy ride. It will certainly help you evaluate a person and what makes them be who they are, what controls their ever thought and decisions, and it will help you realise that you must never give up keep that strength we all have like Mckenzie and Dylan have.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
This book definitely had a lot or raw emotion and sensitive subjects so be sure to read an TW's before hopping into this crazy ride. It will certainly help you evaluate a person and what makes them be who they are, what controls their ever thought and decisions, and it will help you realise that you must never give up keep that strength we all have like Mckenzie and Dylan have.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
March 20, 2024
This book has taken years off my life. Everytime i think of this book, a tiny piece of my soul is eaten. I no longer get ID at liquor stores because the light has gone out of my eyes. Never in my life did i think a rapist murderer would ever be a love interest. She is chained in a dirty basement, never given a brush or shower and has not one positive relationship. Mackenzie is a basic bitch with no personsality and dylan can kick fucking rocks. after submitting this review i will promptly end my pitiful existence on this curse mortal plane. I cannot give it zero stars, so you get one.
March 8, 2025
I’m in my captivity trope era and this book was freaking amazing! I did the audiobook for this and it was soooo good I literally finished it in a day while at work. The plot was good, I liked the feisty fmc and how the mmc was with her despite being her captor
August 19, 2023
Lauren has either been through some shit or needs to be added to a watch list.
February 21, 2024
My song for Never Let Go: Breathe Tommee Profitt, Fleurie
„He’d done unmentionable things, but I wanted to be the one to wiggle into his heart and stroke the beast inside him.”
———
Disclaimer: Never Let Go is a heavy dark romance/thriller including possible triggers like abduction, SA, heavy non con talk and abuse and more. Please make sure to check the Trigger Warnings before diving into the book!
https://laurenbiel.com/trigger-warnings/
This review contains out-of-context quotes that could be considered spoilers
———
This might be the darkest book I’ve read so far and what can I say… I loved it.
It’s depraved, twisted and morally problematic to say the least and my therapist will most definitely never hear about it.
“You don’t even know the definition of a monster. If you want me to show you, I’ll fucking show you. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to have you. To fuck you.”
I don’t want to dive too deep into the different characters as to not give too much away. They were well written, they made sense and while Mackenzie sometimes seemed a little flat in the beginning, it was the dynamic between characters that mattered. Seeing them through each other’s eyes told me everything I needed to know.
‘I’d be the hurricane while she was the grass weathering my storm. I’d be the wildfire while she doused me until I was unable to burn her. She would be the drug that tamed the beast, leaving him curled up on the floor between us.’
It was also this very dynamic that drove the book – in a restricted environment with a limited possibility of actions, the ever-evolving and shifting relationship between all three characters was triggered by Mackenzie’s arrival. Like a chemical reaction caused by the finally added component and slowly building up to an explosion.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but knowing I am drives me harder. I want you to feel all of it. Pleasure and pain.”
The fact that Lauren Biel made this story work, that she made me feel compassion and love, that I could appreciate the later smut scenes is, in my opinion, a testament to her genius. She even solved the imposing question of how there could be any sort of ‘after’ by offering an epilogue that was no more than the suggestion of an answer.
‘When a wild animal mauls everyone else and then gently licks your hand, you can’t help but feel chosen.’
Fun fact: I picked up Never Let Go because I read Frisky the Snowman on a hilarious whim and ended up being positively surprised by the writing.
In Never Let Go, Lauren Biel proved that she knows what she is doing. It is a short book because she put in exactly what was needed without dragging it out artificially and the dialogues were just as perfect as what remained unsaid.
‘When his body pressed against mine, it felt like home. And I was homesick.’
Never Let Go is, in my opinion, an impressive example of dark romance because it uses the precipices of psychology to create a twisted version of love amidst one of the most depraved scenarios imaginable.
„He’d done unmentionable things, but I wanted to be the one to wiggle into his heart and stroke the beast inside him.”
———
Disclaimer: Never Let Go is a heavy dark romance/thriller including possible triggers like abduction, SA, heavy non con talk and abuse and more. Please make sure to check the Trigger Warnings before diving into the book!
https://laurenbiel.com/trigger-warnings/
This review contains out-of-context quotes that could be considered spoilers
———
This might be the darkest book I’ve read so far and what can I say… I loved it.
It’s depraved, twisted and morally problematic to say the least and my therapist will most definitely never hear about it.
“You don’t even know the definition of a monster. If you want me to show you, I’ll fucking show you. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to have you. To fuck you.”
I don’t want to dive too deep into the different characters as to not give too much away. They were well written, they made sense and while Mackenzie sometimes seemed a little flat in the beginning, it was the dynamic between characters that mattered. Seeing them through each other’s eyes told me everything I needed to know.
‘I’d be the hurricane while she was the grass weathering my storm. I’d be the wildfire while she doused me until I was unable to burn her. She would be the drug that tamed the beast, leaving him curled up on the floor between us.’
It was also this very dynamic that drove the book – in a restricted environment with a limited possibility of actions, the ever-evolving and shifting relationship between all three characters was triggered by Mackenzie’s arrival. Like a chemical reaction caused by the finally added component and slowly building up to an explosion.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but knowing I am drives me harder. I want you to feel all of it. Pleasure and pain.”
The fact that Lauren Biel made this story work, that she made me feel compassion and love, that I could appreciate the later smut scenes is, in my opinion, a testament to her genius. She even solved the imposing question of how there could be any sort of ‘after’ by offering an epilogue that was no more than the suggestion of an answer.
‘When a wild animal mauls everyone else and then gently licks your hand, you can’t help but feel chosen.’
Fun fact: I picked up Never Let Go because I read Frisky the Snowman on a hilarious whim and ended up being positively surprised by the writing.
In Never Let Go, Lauren Biel proved that she knows what she is doing. It is a short book because she put in exactly what was needed without dragging it out artificially and the dialogues were just as perfect as what remained unsaid.
‘When his body pressed against mine, it felt like home. And I was homesick.’
Never Let Go is, in my opinion, an impressive example of dark romance because it uses the precipices of psychology to create a twisted version of love amidst one of the most depraved scenarios imaginable.
April 5, 2022
Firstly, I knew this would be dark, and yeah it was dark. Dark dark. Please please read the trigger warnings for this one. I can’t stress that enough.
We have Marcy and Benjamin who work as a team to kidnap and torture female victims. Marcy is a mental and physical abuser, and Benjamin is sexual abuser. (Who is also a victim)
Mackenzie is their latest victim, after the previous one died.
We have two main characters that are going through the ringer here, both facing mental and physical abuse and forming a trauma bond through it all. They find comfort in each other.
The female MC awakens and challenges the Male MC to change and face what is his reality and not the illusion he has slipped into for survival. I really liked that we got his POV a lot, to show his internal struggles and being able to see him develop through it all.
This book really showed the cycle of abuse and how it continues unless broken.
I’ll be honest I absolutely hated Marcy til they found the diary. I didn’t see that coming at all.
I wish we had more at the end, like it just ended? There wasnt really any closure here after such a story and there should have been especially after all they went through. How it ended did leave me disappointed.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
We have Marcy and Benjamin who work as a team to kidnap and torture female victims. Marcy is a mental and physical abuser, and Benjamin is sexual abuser. (Who is also a victim)
Mackenzie is their latest victim, after the previous one died.
We have two main characters that are going through the ringer here, both facing mental and physical abuse and forming a trauma bond through it all. They find comfort in each other.
The female MC awakens and challenges the Male MC to change and face what is his reality and not the illusion he has slipped into for survival. I really liked that we got his POV a lot, to show his internal struggles and being able to see him develop through it all.
This book really showed the cycle of abuse and how it continues unless broken.
I’ll be honest I absolutely hated Marcy til they found the diary. I didn’t see that coming at all.
I wish we had more at the end, like it just ended? There wasnt really any closure here after such a story and there should have been especially after all they went through. How it ended did leave me disappointed.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 6, 2022
Never Let Go is a story of kidnapping and of an abused young boy/man who finally breaks the cycle of abuse - or does he? Has he found true love or will his monsters rise again?
Benjamin and Mackenzie come together in an abnormal way. Mac is kidnapped by Ben and Marcy. Marcy is Ben’s pseudo mother/abuser. Mac endures innumerable acts of maltreatment by Marcy as does Ben.
In the past, Ben imparted the sexual assault on the female victims. Marcy was in charge of abuse and of giving them their demise.
Mac is different for Ben, he becomes infatuated with her very quickly.
The conclusion is not a guarantee of a HEA. Reviewer does enjoy books without HEA’s. Life is not always a HEA.
This reviewer gave this book 4 ⭐️because it was more of an insta-love story with sprinkles of darkness.
Reviewer did enjoy the following:
1. Character development.
2. The climax,denouement and descriptions of environment.
3. Enjoyed not truly knowing if Ben made the right decision or not in the end. Reader can decide.
❤️❤️Amendment❤️❤️ With reading the epilogue from the Author, I change my rating to 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️s. The epilogue helped shore up the ending. I am still not convinced Dylan (Benjamin) can keep his monster hidden, but I loved the book
Benjamin and Mackenzie come together in an abnormal way. Mac is kidnapped by Ben and Marcy. Marcy is Ben’s pseudo mother/abuser. Mac endures innumerable acts of maltreatment by Marcy as does Ben.
In the past, Ben imparted the sexual assault on the female victims. Marcy was in charge of abuse and of giving them their demise.
Mac is different for Ben, he becomes infatuated with her very quickly.
The conclusion is not a guarantee of a HEA. Reviewer does enjoy books without HEA’s. Life is not always a HEA.
This reviewer gave this book 4 ⭐️because it was more of an insta-love story with sprinkles of darkness.
Reviewer did enjoy the following:
1. Character development.
2. The climax,denouement and descriptions of environment.
3. Enjoyed not truly knowing if Ben made the right decision or not in the end. Reader can decide.
❤️❤️Amendment❤️❤️ With reading the epilogue from the Author, I change my rating to 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️s. The epilogue helped shore up the ending. I am still not convinced Dylan (Benjamin) can keep his monster hidden, but I loved the book
April 29, 2023
I’m really starting to love Lauren Biel’s books! I enjoy her writing style. She’s really good at making me feel immersed. I loved this book! I couldn’t stop listening to it. I had to know what was going to happen. There were some plot twists I didn’t see coming. This book is very dark, but beautifully written. If you haven’t read a book by Lauren, you definitely should. Especially if you like dark romance!
July 12, 2022
Benjamin and 🐭 Mouse
This is a story that is dark and scary also twisted. It a kidnapping and death. A mental situation. With sexual encounter elements. With dark abuse. It a dangerous toxic relationship and love affair.
This is a story that is dark and scary also twisted. It a kidnapping and death. A mental situation. With sexual encounter elements. With dark abuse. It a dangerous toxic relationship and love affair.
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