The Dark Duet: Book 2
by CJ Roberts
Date read: Mid-June 2013
Length of read time: Two days
Why I bought it: Had to see what happened with Caleb and 'Kitten'/Livvie.
Price: $5.25 (Holy expensive ebook, Batman!)
Pages: 512
Indie or traditional: Indie (or started as indie).
Bonus: Like book one, the cover of this book is so perfect. Also, the author's message in the beginning of the book is heartwarming.
Blurb:
Seduced in the Dark
What is the price of redemption?
Rescued from sexual slavery by a mysterious Pakistani officer, Caleb carries the weight of a debt that must be paid in blood. The road has been long and fraught with uncertainty, but for Caleb and Livvie, it’s all coming to an end. Can he surrender the woman he loves for the sake of vengeance? Or will he make the ultimate sacrifice?
Oh, CJ Roberts. You keep me off-balance, and I'm not sure I like it.
This book started in a very different place than book one left off, leading me to wonder if I'd purchased book three instead of book two. Not so. The author tells this story in flashback form, and scene one/present time shows 'Kitten'/Livvie in a mental facility/government facility, separated from Caleb and not at all happy about it.
Right out of the gate, this was not something I liked. I hated the clawing feeling that I'd missed a significant chunk of time. While it successfully made me read faster, with more frenzy, for me it took away some of what I enjoy most about a good book - the savoring of it. I think if it was book one instead of book two and our story simply began this way, it would have been more bearable, but I started the book eager to find out what happened to Caleb and Livvie, only to 'see' Livvie alone in a hospital, sobbing and telling everyone that Caleb is dead.
In the author's defense, it's not too long before we're flashed back in time, continuing the story right where we left off in book one. (Disclaimer: If you're not an impatient control freak like me, starting a bit forward in time might not bother you at all).
Because the story is told in two different time-frames: one current (forward-time from where book one left off), one a bit in the past (a continuation of book one), there are sort of two different story lines. For me it's easiest to review each one and then share my thoughts on the book as a whole.
The 'present time' story line, with Livvie in the hospital and Caleb supposedly dead, really dragged and kind of drove me insane. It's not because it wasn't done artfully; it was. I personally just hate having to spend this much time in the future without knowing how I got there. Like I said, I'm a control freak. Because of this, and my own stubborn refusal to warm to this part of the plot, I sort of hated the periphery characters in the hospital plot. They were both lovable and I'm aware I should have loved them. Probably many people enjoyed getting to know these two, but I'm not one of those people. That said, when you're reading something written by a talented author, it can never be that bad, so I can't complain too much about this part. Also: This is where some secrets are revealed about the end game, and I really enjoyed how the author dove-tailed that with the 'past time' storyline, the one that starts where book one left off.
The story line that continues where book one left off is, much like book one, fraught with emotional turmoil for both Livvie and Caleb. CJ Roberts nearly sent me over the edge, showing me every step of Caleb's internal struggle over what to do with Livvie. Does he turn her over to be a sex slave, or does he find a way to put an end to his plans - perhaps at great personal cost?
This is where I think the author's talent is really evident. I felt Caleb's feelings so much it exhausted me. It frustrated me. I felt Livvie's confusion, her desire and her anguish, so deeply that at times I thought I hated Caleb. Flashbacks from Caleb's early years with his mentor Rafiq really illuminate the man Caleb has become and sharpen the reader's sympathy for Caleb. There are moments where Caleb wants so much to just be a good man for Livvie, and those moments make you want to cheer. Then, either because he can't reconcile the image of himself as a good man or because he's feeling loyal to Rafiq and their plan (to make Livvie a sex slave), he treats Livvie like she doesn't matter after all, and that just makes you want to cry, or punch him in the nose.
Some of the characters in this story line are pretty abject - or at least they seemed that way to me. CJ Roberts, as always, does an excellent job of humanizing everyone, so you really do care about them...but still, they're abject (not Caleb and Livvie, but the secondary characters). As someone who reads romance to escape, 'being' in this environment, never knowing if Caleb is going to decide to rescue his Livvie or continue being the same 'bad guy' he's always been, I found this maddening. Some of the fluffy bunny enjoyability I get out of most romance novels was missing from this one, but that's also why I loved this series. You go through so much with Livvie and Caleb that, in the end, the reward is really awesome.
I won't say much about the end game because you need to read it for yourself. This was, for me, a hard book to get through, but when I did, I was satisfied, and I was in awe of CJ Roberts' ability to create a truly (deeply) flawed male lead, show every stage of his changed to a less flawed man, and in the end make me love him. Wow!
Stay tuned for my review of Epilogue.
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