+Amazing and thrilling climax
-Weak narrative techniques
-underdeveloped main characters
+Shifting perspectives
+Attached to minor character–Tiny
-Not that well written; missing active voice and other errors pertinent throughout the book.
+Tragic: strong idea, fails overall on the delivery.
6/10
To summarize, this book is average. Rape and bondage is not a topic that is saturated (yet). Though this book does offer a lot of potential at face value, it fails to follow through. It was too quick in some parts, and slow in others that dried the content.
An undeveloped protagonist is written by the author at best. Roberts chose to rush the exposition of the story, creating gaps in the development of the captive. As a reader, this strategy failed to attach me to the main character. The protagonist reads flat, and rushed; other than an unknown relationship with her mother, she has nothing out of the ordinary stemming from her life during the exposition of this book. More details about Livvie past are revealed later in the book.
It is not until later (the last 90% of the book), where readers learn something “shocking” about Livvie. Advice to Roberts would be to put this information at the start of the text, in order to continue developing Livvie and make readers feel attached. When dark and sinister events start to rain down on our hero, I don’t feel a bit attached to her; I don’t care at all about Livvie.
More pointedly, Robert’s technique and strategy to develop Livvie fails. The author attempts to use dreams to develop the protagonist. A great idea in theory, but Robert’s writing style is far too rudimentary to attempt such a vast task to develop a character, the issue her is a technical one: I cannot understand due to Robert’s poor writing of the inner dialogue. It skips steps, but it makes me miss important pieces of the character’s life.
Ironically, Roberts does an excellent job of developing a minor character– Tiny. I honestly felt more attached to Tiny than I did to any other character in the book. The reason Tiny was developed is because Roberts applies simple story techniques, which suit Robert’s simple writing style. Tiny is developed through his actions, emotions, and adjectives. I believe this is a simple and useful way to develop characters in story telling.
Roberts is not a fantastic writer, she’s not even a great writer. I would say her writing is average. Her adjectives are too many, and she tells more than showing. Its a typical technique that many emerging (including myself) writers struggle with. At times, I felt like Roberts was story telling, not story showing. At times, the book reads as if she is expositing and not narrating.
Captive in the Dark is not worthy of a failing grade; in fact, the most tragic part about this book is not its sinister message, or the themes of rape and violence. The tragedy stems from the concept that Roberts has a strong idea here with potential, but she fails to deliver. As a reader, I see snippets of brilliance, but it does not shine through all the time. Although this review mentions where Robert’s technique of developing a character fails, she does a magnificent job expositing her story through different perspectives.
Roberts tells the story through two perspectives. An applauding audience would meet Roberts on this technique, it works well to inner dialogue each character’s internal struggle. Especially during important conflict moments, it was interesting to read a perspective from the other character and note their internal and external conflicts as the story went forward. It was double interesting when internal dialogue reflected on past conflicts in a previous chapter to show a character’s internal struggle, and then a reader can compare how one character felt towards a certain conflict with the other characte . I loved this technique used in the story, and Roberts writes it well.
An amazing climax meets the reader in this book! Truly, Robert’s expositive writing style really paints the climatic moment(s) in this story. Not only that, the climax will make even the boldest readers feel a sense of sick and twist in them for reading this book.
Upon purchase, I was thrilled to read this book: bondage and rape is a new genre I hoped to dapple in. Unfortunately, Roberts fails to deliver. Her plot outline is amazing. Her perspective shift is brilliant. Her sick and sinister idea is great (at some parts). However, poor character development of the protagonist, and poor writing makes this book tiresome. It is not a narrative, but reads more like it explains. I do not care about any of the characters, except a minor one. Roberts is an excellent story teller, she is not a strong story shower.
As a result of this review, the next novel in Dark Duet will not find a megabit on my Kindle.
