Review: Captive Hearts by A. E. Ryecart

17 March of 2018 by ButtonsMom2003

Reviewer's Rating: 5

5.0Overall score

A great start to a new series!

Captive Hearts By A. E. Ryecart

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Released: February 23, 2018

Publisher: Self-Published

Series: Deviant Hearts, Book 1

Synopsis

“Too young, too blond, too skinny. Billy Grace was everything my head told me I didn’t want. Too bad my heart had other ideas.”

When Dashiell Slater uses his fists to stop a vicious assault, the last thing he expects is to be offered a job as reward for being a Good Samaritan. Out of work and short of cash, all he has to do is chauffeur Billy around. It’s easy money so saying yes should be a no-brainer. And if the offer’s not quite legal, so what? Dashiell’s smart and savvy, and knows how the world works. But there are strings attached, and Dashiell doesn’t want to get entangled. He’s ready to say no and walk away – until he sees the fear, despair and fathomless sadness in Billy’s jade-green eyes.

“He was everything I wanted, but couldn’t have. What was the use in dreaming when I was already bought and paid for, the property of another man?”

Billy’s life is a daily round of fear and abuse. One wrong word or one wrong look can mean a beating, or worse. Dashiell’s everything Billy’s heart craves – a man who’ll love and protect him, who’ll keep him safe and catch him when he falls. But Billy can’t have what he yearns for, because to give in to his heart means breaking a promise he’s vowed to keep at all costs.

A soul-searing kiss, a whispered promise, and the chance of a future together is there for the taking. But life is never that simple and danger surrounds them at every turn. Imprisoned by devotion, duty and obligation, Billy’s heart is captive, but can falling for Dashiell finally set it free?

Captive Hearts is a full-length novel of approx. 79,000k words and is the first in the Deviant Hearts series.

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

A great start to a new series!

Captive Hearts is the first book in a new series by A. E. Ryecart. The story is told in first person POV (something new from this author), alternating between the two MCs (main characters): Dashiell and Billy. I liked how the author incorporated the pronunciation of Dashiell’s name into the story.

“Haynes. Frankie Haynes. Dash—what? What sort of name is that?”

I got this all the time, and I smothered a groan.

“Dashiell. DASH-uhhll. Emphasis on the first syllable. My mum had a thing for hard-boiled crime novels. Dashiell Hammett? The author?” I added, but Frankie just looked blank.

“I’ll call you Dash.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.” My shoulders stiffened. I hated being called Dash. I wouldn’t even let my closest friends called me that, and Frankie Haynes didn’t, and wouldn’t, come into that category.

First person POV isn’t my favorite but it worked perfectly for this story. The blurb/synopsis for the book is great so I won’t retell it here. I liked how Dashiell was such a strong character; he wasn’t afraid to stand up to the bad guys and yet he knew when it was in Billy’s best interest to back down.

Billy’s situation just about broke my heart. The reason he is with Frankie is revealed in small bits and it takes a while before we learn exactly why he is willing to take the horrific abuse that Frankie deals out to him. This was a good thing in my opinion. It wasn’t a case of dragging the story out, rather it was a great way to keep this reader in suspense and on the edge of my seat nearly from the get-go.

As far as the romance goes, I liked how the sex between Dashiell and Billy wasn’t the main focus of the story. (What Frankie does to Billy is entirely different, and painful to read, but necessary for the story.)

I found the characters to be very interesting, with one secondary character a particular favorite, and I learned that he will be getting his own book. Yay!

As a huge fan of this author’s Barista Boys series I was happy to see the café featured as a location in this story. If you enjoy a bit of suspense along with your romance this might be a good one for you. I’m looking forward to reading more books in this series.