Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Captive Mate
SERIES: Mismatched Souls #2
AUTHOR: Eliot Grayson
PUBLISHER: Smoking Teacup Books
LENGTH: 207 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 27, 2020
BLURB:
Captured, imprisoned, and…falling in love?
Arik is many things. Shaman, necromancer, a little on the snarky side…no one could ever accuse him of being boring. But one thing he never intended to be was imprisoned by angry werewolves. Maybe casting that love spell on the sexy alpha pack leader wasn’t such a great idea after all.
Matthew Armitage has a problem. Several of them, actually. And the biggest one is Arik. The shaman can’t be trusted. He’s dangerous enough to get the entire pack killed. Matthew knows that. But knowing doesn’t make it any easier to keep his mind (and hands) off Arik. Surely everything he’s feeling is a side effect of the spell…right?
It’s not long before enemies of the pack start circling—including one intent on claiming Arik as his unwilling mate. If they have any hope of surviving, Arik and Matthew will need to work together. And if they want a shot at happily ever after…well, they’ll just have to cross that bridge when they get to it.
If they get to it…
Captive Mate can (sort of) be read as a standalone, but works best when read in order as part of the Mismatched Mates series, beginning with The Alpha’s Warlock. This book contains a vivid memory of a sexual assault, but the assault occurs in the past and off-page and is not between the main characters.
REVIEW:
I know the blurb says it can be read as a standalone, sort of, but if I were you I would discard that. While it does explain some things that happened in book 1, if you don’t read book 1 first, there are a few things that are going to throw you off and you’ll be a bit lost. So definitely read book 1 first.
Next, although there is not an on page detailed description of it, there are possible triggers. One of the MCs has been beaten and raped repeatedly in his life and someone is still after him to do more of that to him, in order to use him for what he is. So be careful with that.
This was a good book, but man was it hard. If you read book 1, then you know Matthew was not in his right mind, which is why Ian was put in the position he was. If you haven’t read book 1, stop now and go do so. Anyway, Matthew was not in his right frame of mind because of a spell put on him and now the one who put the spell on him, a shaman they think is named Jonah, but is really Arik, they have captured and aren’t releasing him until he fixes Matthew. But the problem is Arik doesn’t trust them. And with Ian’s temper alone, who could blame him. But it’s more than that. Arik’s past has been horrific. There are things he’s horrified to even think about that’s happened to them and he’s honestly terrified it will happen again, or much worse. He just knows he has to fight as long as he can until he can find a way out. The problem is, the spell has backfired, so to speak. And Arik can’t figure out why. And he won’t because what’s happening, he doesn’t believe could ever happen to him. But with all that’s going on around them, Arik realizes he has to help to a point. Because the past is coming back for him, and for Matthew’s small pack. But will the rest trust him enough to do what’s right and believe he’s trying to help, or will it backfire even more on him?
Arik. Man, I feel for him so bad. Because he really has had a bad past that just keeps coming back to haunt him. In many different ways. But the hard part I had with Arik, is as much as I felt for him, I almost hated him too. Maybe not hate, but strongly disliked. Because even though he was in a bad spot with the other packs, he did have a choice on what to or not to do. He could have done something different. He did help in a way by making so Matthew was attached to him instead of how the other packs really wanted things. So that was a better decision, but he still could have made some different choices. But then again, we all can. Matthew’s pack could have made different choices as well. There were some bad decisions all around. And the evil that they were all trying to fight, had a way to dig its claws in because everyone was too busy trying to be alpha or top dog instead of working together and finding a solution. So when Arik was captured by Ian and them, I don’t blame him for not being trusting. He knew he messed up. He tried to do the best he could with a bad situation, but for Ian and Nate alone, it was enough they couldn’t trust what he would do if they let him go. Again, bad decisions can bite you in the butt when you least expect it. Granted, Arik more than made up for it. But everyone had to learn from their mistakes in this one. Everyone had to learn sometimes pride gets way too far in the way and that too many alphas makes a pack much worse instead of better.
It’s a good story. It will pull you in many directions, because sometimes you just want to smack them all or shake them and others, you want to hug them and let them know it’s alright. But in the end, it makes for a dang good story.
RATING: 
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