A Kinky Beauty & the Beast Romance! Captivated by Tessa Bailey & Eve Dangerfield [Book Review]

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Don’t want to read the whole review? Click to jump to the Skinny Review.

Captivated is one of my most anticipated releases this year and I was not disappointed! I love this kinky Beauty and the Beast retelling featuring a gentle giant and dark fantasies!

Captivated is about an Aussie named Autumn who dumped her boyfriend who cheated on her. After she mistakenly hands her landlord a naughty/kinky cartoon she drew of her and hi, they decide on a proposition. Her landlord, Blake, has been attracted to Autumn since he first saw her and he sees this as his chance to finally have her.

This book basically caught me by surprise! I can’t believe that this book actually features kinky/taboo scenes! But you know what, it was done really well, that I really didn’t mind! Captivated has captured the Beauty and the Beast trope to a T and twists it for adults to love! And did I mention that there is a library?!

The characters, Blake and Autumn were a surprise. I thought Autumn was so damn endearing and Blake was so damaged that he touched my heart and basically had me falling for him, too! Blake is a hairy hermit (i.e. the Beast) who had his heart broken by his high school sweetheart and fiance at a time where he was very vulnerable. He retreats into his cave for about 10 years until that fateful day when he saw Autumn’s drawing.

This starts their awesome relationship! I love the chemistry between Autumn and Blake and the subtle way they fell in love. I also love that Tess and Eve wrote Autumn, a foreigner, that had trouble adjusting to a new country – the no friends, no family situation, which mimic my own experience. So, I immediately related to Autumn. I understand how hard it is to fit in a new country without friends and family. I love how Autumn didn’t immediately choose the obvious thing in the end. Also, Bake is such a sweetheart, even if he has alpha tendencies!

Let’s talk about the kink. While I like reading erotic romance, I normally stay away from kinky and taboo stuff. I think my eyes basically widened when I was reading certain parts because – taboo, but again, it was done really well! Mind you, I’m not a prude but BDSM does make me cringe. So, while there are light BDSM and playacting involved, it wasn’t too much that I was cringing while reading every sexytime scene.

I would definitely recommend Captivated to everyone who likes a little bit of kink and taboo in their romance. I hope we see more books written by these two authors soon!

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