Lily by Alaska Angelini

Lily by Alaska Angelini

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



To understand how much I enjoyed this book, I feel I should explain that I have put off reading it until the last minute because I haven’t really been in the mood for a truly dark read in the past couple of weeks. Not being in the right mood made me hesitant to begin it because I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to fully appreciate the author’s work. Ms. Angelini proved my worries unnecessary. Yes, Lily is a dark read, but the author manages to infuse enough hope and love into Lily and Zain’s story that the light kept the darkness from taking over.

As this is the first book in the series that I have read, I do not know how much of Lily’s abduction and time as a slave played out in Slade (her brother’s book), but the author does an excellent job of setting the stage for Lily in the Prologue so that a new reader to the series will know what is what from the beginning. That, combined with Lily and Zain’s nightmares and flashbacks throughout the novel, allowed me to understand the horrors that Lily endured, the PTSD she now deals with as a result, and the battle she faces each and every day as she strives for normalcy. Because the book is told from the dual points of view of Lily and Zain, the reader is able to see just how effective Lily’s armor is, not only when we are privy to her thoughts, but also when we can observe her from Zain’s point of view and the differences he sees in her public persona and the woman she is when she is home alone. Being aware of the internal battle Lily wages against the intellectual belief that she should not want her Master back in her life and her actual love for him left me anxious to see how their reunion would play out and I’d say it’s safe to say that my imaginings of it were nowhere close to the actuality of it. I was shocked at the twists, turns, and obstacles that Lily and Zain encountered as they fought for a future together. Each time I thought it couldn’t get any worse, Ms. Angelini proved me wrong. And when Saul actually showed up in the book, I was seriously worried with how things would play out – the collateral damage potentials were astounding.

As noted above, I have not read the prior books in the Captive to the Dark series and read Lily as a standalone. While I do not believe that hindered my enjoyment of Lily and Zain’s story at all, I do believe that fans of the series will enjoy catching up with Slade and Mary, Blake, and Gaige. As I actually own all three of the previous books and find myself intrigued by each of these men and the women who love them, I hope to rectify this egregious lapse in my reading experience as soon as I can. Lily was an intense read for so many reasons and I encourage potential readers to take note of the author’s warning because it is not for the faint of heart. However, if you like your romance with a heaping helping of dark, murder, mayhem, and seriously hot Master/slave sex, then you may want to give it a go.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

Check out the Lily (Captive to the Dark, #4) by Alaska Angelini blog post on Crystal's Many Reviewers.


View all my reviews