Captive: Beautiful Monsters Vol. 1

I rarely ever just give up on a book, though I thought about it more than once while reading this.
The main character, Matthew, starting by about page five, is imprisoned, beaten, stabbed, starved, humiliated, subjugated and raped. This punishment continues throughout the whole book.
When he saves all his named captors from almost certain death, he is then punished for not having permission to do so.
Once the sex scenes start, there are many of them. Gay sex and straight sex.
If the book had just devoted the last chapter or two to Matthew getting his revenge on his captors, I would have given this book a better review.
This is first in a series, that I will not read any more of. Just by reading the previews to the two sequels, I see nothing really changes, and, no doubt, Matthew will make a life with his main tormentor.
I don't know who this book is for.

Congrats, Jex Lane! You wrote the BEST book ever! What do you win: the knowledge that you made me HATE myself fot wasting a tremendous amount of time on absolute dribble full of the weirdest descriptions, awkward prose and terrible sex scenes BEFORE READING YOUR BOOK. This book loves its beautiful characters. All bisexuals are confident and free spirits, according to the book. It's all emotion twisting, hormone teasing, intense chemistry made into a complex web of torture and romance. So, I guess if you like to squeal, yell, cheer and giggle at your books, then this is the book for you, otherwise stay clear and don't hateraide when you don't understand what we're yelling about after book 4 is released 😊

This book is actually a 4.5 for me, but I can't rate it like that on amazon.

Captive is a book for a mature audience. There's violence and there's sex... Lots of sex. Am I complaining?

No. The sex actually serves a purpose here. A major purpose. I loved how that was weaved in with the rest of the plot. There's also some variety as there's guy on girl action and also guy on guy action.

And this book isn't just about sex.

We are introduced to two main distinct non-human races and the possibility of meeting a God and a Goddess in later volumes (oh, and there's a kitsune; I love kitsunes!). Each race has their own customs and their own abilities and we get to explore those alongside Matthew in his journey to self-discovery.

Even better: the races are at war so we are treated with a rather enjoyable doze of action, ranging from small fights to a battle with hundreds of warriors on each side.

I found the scenes ranging from okay (the sex scenes) to I-really-don't-want-to-put-this-book-down (pretty much everything else).

I like the characters and I connected with a lot of them, especially with Matthew.

Throughout the book, he battles with his desires and obstacles that enemies and supposed friends throw at him. He never knows who he can trust and neither does the reader. As circumstances change, so does his opinion on the rest of the characters and along with his - yours.

Jex Lane plays with Matthew's mind, making him one of the most sympathetic characters I've come upon, someone that I want to read about.

I'd recommend Captive to a mature audience of Fantasy lovers, seeking (or at least not minding) LGBT content.

PS: I read and reviewed the ARC of this book.

Captive by Jex Lane seemed very similar to the Sookie Stackhouse series at first, but quickly gets you hooked and hanging on every page to learn more of this world. Every twist that Matthew encounters surprised me and kept me hungry for more. I hated what was happening to Matthew at times, but as his emotions changed mine would as well. The contrast of the vampire and incubus sides fighting, both beyond and inside, Matthew kept me hooked.

Matthew is alone. He was orphaned as a child and turned to a vampire as an adult. Most of his life he has spent feeling rejected and unwanted, that is, until Tarrick shows up and captures him. Tarrick hunts and kills vampires as the Lord General in the incubus-vampire war that has been raging for centuries.

“You aren’t going to try to kill me?” Tarrick asked; surprise laced his words.
Matthew looked back at him and smiled. “Why would I do that? Tonight was the best night I’ve had in a long time.”

Tarrick plans to use Matthew as a weapon in their war. He locks him into a cell where he starts to train him and ready him to fight for the incubus.

My favorite character was Rosaline. Her demeanor and kindness made me instantly like her, well maybe not instantly, but she did become my favorite character quickly. She always seemed to speak her mind honestly whether the people surrounding her were friend or foe. I enjoyed the power she held over Tarrick, and was intrigued how she was able to hold power over the Lord General.

I found the master/slave dynamic a little hard to read at times which was the only thing that kept me from my 5 star rating. Overall, I enjoyed the relationships Matthew formed and enjoyed his perspective.

Jex Lane is such a talented writer and makes every scene come alive! Some scenes were so real, and I felt such emotion for them, that I could hardly stand to read them. Others I loved so much I read them a few times through! By the second chapter Jex Lane takes off sending you on a wild ride keeping you guessing about what will happen next. I enjoyed this book to the very last word, and once I finished I needed to know more. I can’t wait for a sequel to come out to find out what happens to Matthew next!

I was provided with an ARC copy for my review.

Move over Sookie Stackhouse ! "Underworld" for Open-Minded Adults.

This was SOOOOO GOOD! I received an ARC copy from Instafreebies in exchange for an honest review.

This book takes place within the context of a long running feud between the Incubi and Succubi against the vampires.

Jex Lane creates an intense world in which Mathew, a vampire unlike any other, longs to find his place after being abandoned as a child and again as a newborn vampire. He becomes a prisoner of the Incubi/Succubi and learns how to survive and love- only to be betrayed and abandoned again. He is such a great main character- I am rooting for him to find his people!

This book is a 5 out of 5 star read and is top-notch for a debut novel. It is well paced and thought out and feels like a completed novel, unlike many first novels that show talent but lack polish. It has substance and stands alone like a proper novel- not like so many of the serialized Amazon novels or mass produced romances which feel like prequels.

I would consider this to be an adult paranormal suspense novel with explicit sex scenes. And those scenes are delicious. These are incubi and succubi. . . It is kind of what they do.

This book is as good as the early Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) novels and much better than the Amazon serialized "Touch of Blood" series. I will definitely follow this series!

Cannot believe this was a debut book. This read like a seasoned pro penned this baby! It was a totally original & Fresh look @ a paranormal plot as far as I'm concerned. I was not @ all happy with the ending. It was a "for now" ending more than a cliffhanger for me, that ending just did not make me happy. Cracking open book #2 because I don't want to leave Matthew hanging there overnight. So many theories, so many questions!

My first time reading book one was on Halloween last year and since then I've done 3 re-read's and every time I've had different feelings about Tarrick. Matthew is one of the best written characters I've ever read, he's so real all the time and in my opinion he's perfect because of it. Everything about book one was just beautiful, sometimes I love what's happening and other times I want to throw my book away and just be done with it. Overall, if you have the smallest interest in reading this I'd say do it and stop putting it off!

I absolutely love this series. I've bought the 1st two books on Kindle, and then ordered the paperback because I wanted a physical copy. The series is one that just keeps on surprising you and craving more.

This book and series did exactly what it says in the title and held me totally captive! I devoured the first two books time and time again whilst waiting for the third instalment. Since reading Captive for the first time I have had a really hard time getting into any other books as I just want to be back in Matthew's world. I fell hopelessly in love with Matthew and despite everything he endures in this and subsequent books he is one of he strongest characters I have read in a long time.
Jex Lane hooks you in from the very first word. Her writing is magical and takes you places you could only have dreamt about.
If you have never read any m/m before then give it a go, yes there is plenty of sex but it's never gratuitous and always central to the story.
Warning though if you read Captive be prepared to binge read the whole series and lose yourself for days!

I'm new to the m/m paranormal genre. I haven't read a lot of it, but i gave this book a try. I wasn't disappointed. I loved it. From the beginning to the end i was captivated.

Ms. Lane did a brilliant job by letting her characters develop throughout the story, especially Matthew. I loved Matthew. He struggles at the beginning but comes to accept what he's become. He's a vampire but still has heart, if that makes any sense.

Lots of hints were thrown out there about what's to come and i cannot wait for the next book!
*ARC given by author in exchange for a honest review*