Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Captive Soul
SERIES: Saint Lakes #6
AUTHOR: April Kelley
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 249 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2018
BLURB:
A human who doesn’t like prejudice vampires. A prejudice vampire. And a warlock torn between the two of them. With everything stacked against them, can they find a way toward love?
Jules has two mates. One is prejudice against most of his family and the other goes along to get along. He does a good job of resisting their advances but when he gets injured in a battle with a vampire coven, he has to fight the mating pulling even harder.
Hacen and Thomas want to bond with Jules. Three mates might get complicated, but they’re determined to make it work. With Hacen hanging on to his prejudices and Jules not giving them an inch, Thomas feels pulled in all directions. When danger knocks on their door, only their connection can save them.
Captive Soul is the sixth book in the MM Paranormal Romance Saint Lakes series. If you like sassy humans, torn warlocks, and a hard-shelled vampire, you’ll love this adventurous novel.
Buy Captive Soul to see if Jules can soften Hacen’s hard edges and put Thomas back together.
REVIEW:
Jules knew his mates were the Vampire, Hacen, and the Warlock, Tommy. Though, at the evil hands of Nicolono, they were not allowed to bond. This resulted in Hacen and Tommy giving Jules another mission. Then they left him behind. The Saint Lakes Dragons rescued Jules, and through them, Jules found a family he loved and needed. Then his mates returned to claim him. Quite rightly and, unfortunately for them, Jules is no pushover. Another obstacle was that Hacen didn’t care for most humans (except Jules) and hated shifters – precisely the makeup of the family Jules had found.
Captive Soul is the sixth book in the Saint Lakes series. The story is necessary for the overall dynamics of who, where, when, and why. For those reasons, it was an interesting read. However, I found other books in the series more to my reading tastes.
The story is told in the third person, mainly from the viewpoint of Jules. The voices of Hacen and Tommy are heard to lesser degrees. The timeline is reset to just before the Saint Lakes battle in book five before it is realigned and taken a touch further forward by the end of the book. The imagery throughout continues to be good, and this story adds to the overall world.
Hacen has prejudices that need to be overcome, and although Tommy tends to be the peacemaker, he has flashes of frustration detrimental to the burgeoning triad. Given the origins of the meeting between the three men, I understand that relations will be strained. To that end, conflicted confrontational interactions between Jules and his mates are akin to a tennis match – one minute, he’s having a snuggle and then telling them to go away. All three seem to have differing agendas, and for much of the story, none are on the same page at the same time. But the constant bickering got to a point where, as much as I got it, I found it irritating to read.
Among other things, the journey the three traveled was learning the difference between protection, and isolation, and that one shifter is not the same as another. There were some sweet times, including Hacen showing his softer side, braiding Tommy’s sister’s hair. Dramatic events spurred some clan action and revelations, which was good.
Captive Soul is an integral part of the series’ bigger picture.
RATING: 
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