Captive in the Dark (The Dark Duet Book 1)

Product Information

If dubious consent isn’t your kink, you should give Tan’s book a pass despite the strong character developmental aspects. However, for those of us who are understandably into that shit, you are going to love this book and should buy your copy immediately. For me, it was the perfect balance of delicious dubious consent, being an object for someone else’s passions, wrapped in the safe, snuggly blanket of a Happily Ever After, without any gratuitous physical torture.* Besides the fact that it was just porn, you only get half a book. Thinking that it might pan out in the end, you reluctantly buy the other half of the book, only to realize, it too is just ridiculous porn. I really don't mind adult themes, if there's an interesting story to go with it. alta la carica di erotismo; le scene di sesso sono esplicite, ben scritte, mai volgari. C'è una componente di violenza che potrebbe disturbare gli animi più sensibili, ma ben presto si comprende la vera natura del rapporto fra le due. A hot love interest. Tan effectively makes the transition from “early book” Hades, who is quiet, sexy, and dangerous, to a more sympathetic, open character later on. This wasn't what I expected, but overall I enjoyed it. The writing and worldbuilding were lush and gorgeous, and it definitely felt more of a dark fantasy novel with a romance subplot than a dark romance.

However, on the other hand, there were many moments when I felt really uncomfortable. I am not referring to the explicit scenes in themselves because, being a romance, they are inevitable. Rather, it was the crudeness of Hades' gestures, whose relationship with Persephone was far too toxic for my taste, beating and punishing her in several points of history. It is known that in mythology Zeus is the first to act without the consent of his countless wives, but every time Hades did the same with Persephone it was as if I was the one to receive the slaps. And, as in any toxic relationship, the goddess of spring has reached a point where she could no longer detach herself from the queen of the Underworld. Hades has repeatedly given an explanation to his attitudes, justifying himself by the fact that the law in the kingdom of darkness was the same for everyone, and not even his wife was exempt from punishment for his "deplorable" actions. C'è poi l'amore. Quello inaspettato e travagliato, che colpisce Ade e Perfone. L'alternarsi di scontri e incontri tra loro rende la storia dinamica e coinvolgente. You stole my heart, and now it beats, fragile and weeping, within your fist. I should despise you for that.” The synopsis for this novel begins: “Ignazio Vitale is not a good man.” And really what else do you need to know? Darhower’s romantic suspense, the first in the Monster in His Eyes series, is about college student Karissa and suspiciously-rich-with-no-known-profession Naz who turns up in her life one day. And he wants her. And she’s drawn to him. And you just know it’s going to be a disaster because the power imbalance is so ridiculously skewed. Sure enough, Naz is basically made of dark and dangerous secrets that put Karissa’s life in danger. Crow by A. Zavarelli

Less Intense Dark Romances

Still, when Hades pulls her into the dark realm of the underworld, Persephone longs for the world above, even if it means an eternity under her mother’s thumb. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-01-01 14:15:57 Associated-names Duverger, Paule Boxid IA40279011 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier CWs: Extreme emotional & physically abuse from a parent, dub-con leaning towards non-con, maybe a few other things but those were the big ones. Also a good percentage of the book is about Persephone’s journey in the underworld and not the actual love story between her and Hades. I felt like this took away SO MUCH from the story because we never got to actually see them fall in love....and I’m still bitter because we didn’t get Hades POV.

Even if you conclude that this isn't your trope. You will have to admit that Tan has a way with words. I really enjoyed her writing style and usage of old words perfectly fitting the ancient Mythology theme of this book. Despite having used my Kindle dictionary to look up some of the ancient words, this novel is easy to read. The storyline and world-building are done very well. Towards the end, I would have appreciated a chapter dedicated to the thoughts and feelings of Hades and how she fares when Persephone is unconscious for such a long stretch of time (for us mortals half a lifetime). But also without that, I had a great time reading this novel. With her tears and pleas for freedom ignored by pitiless Hades, Persephone must learn to satisfy her keeper in all ways, lest she suffer the consequences. The writing style is clear, easy to read, and suitably descriptive for the genre. There’s some lovely prose and sensory details, particularly in relation to Persephone’s ‘dreaming’ of the earth, plants, and flowers. The pacing is tight, which I personally appreciate in a book. However, people looking for massive fantasy worldbuilding instead of a dark romance might feel it’s a bit short.

Truly Twisted Dark Romances

It took some time for me to get a firm grip on Hades’ motivations and feelings, but when I did, I empathized with her greatly. (Maybe because I’m weak for seemingly cold, unreadable characters who are softies underneath for their sweethearts.) Without spoiling too much, the pressures of holding such a formidable position as the Goddess of Death while being born a woman are heavy indeed. Caleb is a man with a singular interest in revenge. Kidnapped as a young boy and sold into slavery by a power-hungry mobster, he has thought of nothing but vengeance. For 12 years he has immersed himself in the world of pleasure slaves searching for the one man he holds ultimately responsible. Finally, the architect of his suffering has emerged with a new identity, but not a new nature. If Caleb is to get close enough to strike, he must become the very thing he abhors and kidnap a beautiful girl to train her to be all that he once was. Reading this book were my first steps into the sapphic dark romance trope. A couple of months ago I did read a M/F dark romance, but that was way more carnal and aggressive than Tan's Captive in the Underworld.

Maybe for others it’s just the titillation of the taboo. Certainly dark romance has enough critics, whose main argument is that it fetishizes violence against women, among other things. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but it’s an opinion and everyone has one. Whatever the reason that readers keep reading, this category has been going strong for years now, and shows little sign of stopping. Tra le tematiche trattate c'è il rapporto difficile tra genitori e figli: Demetra e Persefone vivono una sorta di amore/odio, che si riversa nella loro relazione. Demetra a tratti appare come una madre scrupolosa, a tratti come possessiva ed egoista. Ciò nonostante, Persefone la difende in svariate circostanze. stars. I definitely understand why this has the rating that it does. It’s not going to be everyones thing but because I’m weird and an awful person it totally worked for me. Hades does some terrible, inexcusable things to Persephone that was hard to read about. This really isn’t a romance despite how it ends because so much of the book is Persephone genuinely hating Hades with a passion. She wants her, sure, but she hates that she does for the longest. These two are the definition of toxic but I have to say that I loved this book. It’s so dark and messed up but it was so addicting from beginning to end. I couldn’t put it down once I started it. The road has been long and fraught with uncertainty, but for caleb and livvie, it’s all coming to an end. When our hapless protagonist Olivia happens to walk out of the drugged slumber she was forced into, she realizes that her life has taken as sharp a turn as she could ever have expected. She is bound to her bed with a rope. In her general proximity is a complete stranger that refers to her as his pet, while he is to be regarded as the Master.

The Dark Duet Platinum Edition

Without any knowledge of the dark romance trope, I think I would qualify this novel as an entry-level dark romance. After reading this novel you can decide if you either like it like this, like it darker or this is not your trope.