REVIEWED BY CINDY
TITLE: Auctioned
AUTHOR: Cara Dee
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 207 Pages
RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2018
BLURB:
Gray Nolan’s biggest problem in life was the torch he carried for his closeted coach. He was just another happy-go-lucky dude, a college student and hockey player, when his ordinary existence was interrupted, and he became a human trafficking statistic.
He and seven other young men were taken aboard a luxurious yacht where they were to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Gray was beaten, shattered, and almost defeated by the time his buyer stepped out of the shadows in a swirl of his own cigarette smoke.
He was Gray’s new owner.
Darius Quinn had vowed never again to find himself in a situation like this. His days as a private military contractor were over. No more missions, no more risks, no more personal attachments. Yet, here he was, after weeks of searching, face-to-face with his broken prize.
It was time to get the knucklehead back to his family.
Quick and easy was Darius’s plan.
Then everything went sideways.
REVIEW:
Gray is literally the boy next door and when he’s kidnapped, his whole world is turned upside down. It’s one moment of terror after another for this average guy.
Darius has a plan…and there’s so many ways this can go wrong that he stopped counting a long time ago.
The first thing I need to say about this book is that it is NOT a romance in any way, shape or form. There is sex, and people start to care about each other, but there is nothing romantic about any of it. They come together out of necessity and a driven desire to survive.
I had a hard time finishing this book. It’s a definite thrill ride that goes a mile a minute but I like my thrills with a little less pain and violence and a little more humor. I was tempted to DNF it for that reason, but the writing is good and I wanted to know what happened to the people involved.
The author has created a premise that is all the more scary because the news tells us that stuff like this happens every day. People being bought and sold like animals at the cattle market, only with a much more horrible outcome than heading to the slaughterhouse. There really are worse fates than death.
This book is dark and gritty and I spent as much time angry as I did horrified at what was happening to Gray and the other young men being held with him. I also felt sorry for Darius because of the things he was forced to do to keep himself and Gray alive long enough to escape the monsters who took Gray to start with.
If you are squeamish, are easily triggered and like your stories with a light, happy ending, this is not the book for you.
But if you love being dragged along on at a mile a minute, terrified for what could happen at any minute, you are going to love this story. It’s well written and the author has a particular talent for description that almost brings the scene to life in your mind. I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not.
In the end, I had to be honest and give the story the rating it deserved. I am curious though, because the author states that it isn’t a “cliffhanger” ending and I’m a little confused about that after reading it. I might be forced to read the next one just to see what happens.
RATING: 
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