Elaine White's Life in Books

Book – The Captain's Beloved (Captain #2)
Author – Scarlet Blackwell
Star rating - ★★☆☆☆
No. of Pages - 176

Movie Potential - ★☆☆☆☆
Ease of reading – easy to follow, but frustrating
Would I read it again – No.


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine

~

Warning: (from the author): This book contains small ménage scene, exhibitionism, spanking and dubious use of cucumbers.

Warning: (from me): This book also contains a rape fantasy, 3-some, 4-some and low kink, calling partner slut and whore.
(small ménage scene is an understatement)

~

PLOT

To be honest, this story really made me angry. Book 1 wasn't a shining star, but everything that I loved about that is what is missing from book 2. Basically, The Captain's Beloved was all sex and no plot. There was no attempt at any plot except whether Josh and Kane's constant sexual experiences would result in a relationship or not, while there was at least a hint of a plot in book 1.

The story was lost in amongst all the explicit sex. It's basically about Josh and Kane screwing around and arguing whenever and as often as they can, until they break and confess to being 'in love', even when there's nothing to justify the feeling. This book is NOT a romance. It's a one-handed read, with a sliver of plot thrown in. And that's not what I signed up for. The romance is non existent and would have been the one thing to save this story, if it was more present. Instead, it's just a bunch of hot, quick sex and the main characters being delusional enough to believe it means anything.

The Inferno scene was hard to picture, because the transitions between positions wasn't clear. There were times when I had no idea what they were supposed to be doing, because one minute they'd been on a sofa and the next it sounded as though they were moving into positions that were truly impossible on that sofa.

The sex was at least once every chapter, if not more often, and used as a solution to every problem. The arguments were overreacting and unbelievable, while there's never any real conversation about feelings that isn't interrupted by or pushed aside for sex. There wasn't one sex scene that was fade to black and even just hinted at. I mean, by the 30% mark, I could tell when sex was coming from the direction the conversation took, so I began skimming the sex scenes from here on out, which left me with very little story left to actually read. I got sick of the sex really quickly.

I have no problem with kink in stories, as I've read some super heavy ones with BDSM and all sorts. But there is one thing I don't like, that I avoid like a plague – one partner calling the other a slut and a whore. Both of which Kane does to Josh, without ever once asking if that's something he likes. Which is a typical theme of this series – no one ever asks for consent before trying something new, that no two strangers would actually go through with, without discussing it first. Example: the dub/con in both books, the no-condom incident from book 1 and the name calling.

The stuff they do in the bath, all mouths and fingers, sounds disgusting when you know Josh was lying up to his neck in scented bubbles, but there's never any mention of trying to brush them away or douse them with some water. The cucumber incident was also gross. I've never read food play in this way before, but this one taught me that I don't like it.

~

CHARACTER

Kane is just as arrogant as before, as sexually brutal and uses sex as a solution to everything. I still don't like him, despite the moments of 'tenderness' that are sprinkled throughout. Yes, there are times when he is gentle and considerate, but those are few and far between and they don't gel with the character we were introduced to in book 1. He's more childish and peevish than ever. When things get uncomfortable, he turns into a mean, spiteful jerk who is hard to like, as a main character.

Josh is a little more pathetic and love sick, but that fits with his personality and is completely understandable. A lot of reviews have labelled Josh needy, which he is a bit, but this story makes it more obvious why. He was a doormat to Drew, who never understood or supported him, and is lost without someone to give him direction. But, what I see is him growing in confidence and learning to stick up for himself now that he's met Kane.

For me, Josh is the best thing about this series, followed closely by Erik and Freddie. If Kane wasn't a main character, I'd be much happier. He's just not a likeable person, but he's used as a reason to make Josh more sexually adventurous and provoke these multiple exploits.

I was really pleased to see Erik and Freddie back. They had an equal part in this story as they did in book 1, so that was really nice. But, I was disappointed to see that Freddie had this potential story arc that was completely ignored. I would have liked some form of resolution about it.

~

OVERALL

There was too much sex and not enough plot. The writing was a little more erratic than before (though, as this is an ARC the formatting issues may change). POV were mixed, without the usual separation between Kane and Josh's.

I have to say that this author isn't for me. I like plot to come first and be 90% of the story, not the sex. This book was the complete opposite and a let down, after the enjoyable equality of book 1. Unless these two books are the anomaly, I won't be reading any more of Blackwell's work.

At the end of this book, all I had were questions. Where was the romance? Where's the spark and fire outside the bedroom? Arguing isn't spark and romance; not the way these characters do it.

This story just didn't have enough depth for me. It was all sex and no substance. Great foundation, but lazy plotting. Both books could easily have been merged into one if you removed the mountain of unnecessary sex scenes from book 2, that cluttered and hid the plot. Book 1 had so much potential that I wanted to love this one. Now, I wish I hadn't read it. This story ruined the greatness of book 1 for me and has left me really disappointed and sad that these characters have been led to such an end. If there are more books in this series – even if it's Freddie and Erik – I won't be reading them. I can't bear to take the chance on it and have these great characters ruined by a plot that doesn't do them justice. And that makes me really sad.