Hello again!
To all the students out there, welcome back to school! I’ve just started my third week of university and it kind of feels like I never had a summer haha. I wish I had had more time this summer for leisure reading, but I’m still pretty happy with what I accomplished. One of the best parts of my summer was when I was contacted by a writer to review her book! Erin, I want to thank you so much for this opportunity, it means so much to me that you wanted my opinion 🙂
Captive Rebel is the story of Marylyn O’Conner, a spy for the rebels, who are more than just a group of people fighting against the crown – they are outcasts, those who were not favoured by the gods Zeus and Poseidon, and who now rely on Hades as their deity. She is captured by Prince Ariston, the heir to the Alliegant empire, and who has been in captivity at the hands of the rebels for years. Together, they both begin to understand that their stories are more than black and white, and that not everything can be boiled down to which god you’re favoured by.
I’m sure its not a surprise to anyone anymore to hear that I LOVE books that have an element of mythology to them. I’m a classics minor (how many times have I said that) and will literally devour any piece of writing about mythology. And so when I read the description and I saw the word gods I was immediately sold. I think Erin integrated the mythology really nicely – its subtle enough to not be the main focus of the story, but also present enough that you know something could be built off of it. I would love it if she explored this avenue more – the more gods the better! (Also the part about gods beginning to wake up?? MORE PLEASE! haha)
I also really like that a main theme of this book was reconciliation, and not just between enemies. There’s reconciling with people who you trusted and wronged, with people who aren’t really present in the story, reconciling with yourself (and yes, also with enemies). Marylyn really went through a transformation in this book, and I think it’ll be interesting to see where this leaves her. It’ll also be interesting to see, given the ending of the book, what they do next and how their situation will change people. Not to stir the pot, but I think the stress is going to be a lot for some people, and this will be a really interesting change in dynamic.
Marylyn herself had some really great attributes, but sometimes I felt that the characters were unconvincing. Like, (SPOILER) how did Ariston manage to catch her by getting in front of her? He had just been in captivity for year, presumably without being giving time to go run 5 miles. That seems fishy to me. And I wish that Marylyn had used some of her skills more – we’re told that she’s a capable fighter but we never see this (granted, the one fight scene shes in she does get stabbed, so I think we can let this pass- I just hope the next book showcases her talents more!). On another note I loved how devoted to her family Marylyn was. No matter what, her main priority was finding her parents and making sure that they were okay, and that is so admirable.
Overall, this book was really fast paced, the characters were interesting and I liked the sprinkling of mythology in it. I think that I would give it a 3.5/5 stars! I’m really excited to see where Erin goes with this series, and where her career goes as well! Head over to Amazon to buy her book, Captive Rebel, and don’t miss the next book in the series, Immortal Rebel!
Once again, great premier Erin!
Have a good day every!
- Mon
Words, Pages, Books 
