Rating: 
Summary: one out of four isn't that great!
Review: I knew what I was getting into when I read this collection of stories--and what I was getting into was not the usual romance tale! I have to say that having read other reviews of "Captivated", I'm in agreement with most of the other reviewers. "A Lady's Pleasure" by Robin Schone is far and away the best of these novellas--the motivations behind the two main characters were very well explained, and a reader would care what happened to Abigail and Robert. As for the other novellas in this collection, they ranged from the ridiculous to the loathesome, to the just plain "who cares". In the "ridiculous" category, I put the Bertrice Small story--at one point, I thought that if I read the term "love juices" one more time, I would upchuck the last meal I had eaten! Just plain old bad writing, and I didn't care what happened to anyone in that story. As for "loathesome", the Thea Devine story, which features two characters whose main ambitions seem to be to see how much each could hurt the other, is not my idea of a fun read! Susan Johnson's novella was just "blah"--I've read a couple of her novels and I know she's written better stuff than this. Read "A Lady's Pleasure"--skip everything else!
Rating: 
Summary: four different stories four different flavors
Review: This is not a romance novel. I didn't read it expecting one. With that said I really enjoyed this book for what it provided. Four different erotic fantasies. Each with is't own individual feel and take on captivity. Not all the stories will appeal to everyone. However if are open minded and honest to yourself a least one will spark the flame in your brain.
Rating:
Summary: I was disappointed in this book..
Review: ...I am a HUGE Bertice Small fan..and her story in this compilation was my least favorite of all the stories. It was not romantic at all, and I found myself skipping over more and more just to find something 'more' happening in the story. A LADY'S PLEASURE was definitely my favorite story, too, as with so many of the other readers. I wish that Robin Schone had expanded this into a full novel ! But, if you're buying this book JUST to read Bertice Small's work, I'd skip it and re-read Skye O'Malley instead !
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Robin Schone's A LADY'S PLEASURE is the only good story in this compilation of romances. A nice romance and lots of sizzle, well up to Schone's usual standards. For this reason alone, I recommend this book.However, the other stories ranged from ok to disgusting. Small's book had lots of sizzle, but it was lacking in the romance department. I wasn't able to get through more than a few pages of the Johnson and Devine stories. Johnson's hero was a boar from the first paragraph. Devine's hero was the worst of the bunch, as he was disgustingly abusive to his bride. Skip both of these stories.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to par for these authors
Review: This is not the best work of any of these authors. I really like Robin Schone especially, and took a chance on this book because of the good reviews on her story "A Lady's Pleasure". It is the best story in the book, but not up to her usual talent. "The Ladys Tutor" and "The Lover" are far superior. My suggestion is to pick another work by these ladies if you want to truely enjoy their writing. KCS
Rating:
Summary: A mostly miserable mix
Review: This book gets three stars for the Schone novella. The rest did not impress me all that much. It is always hard to review a compilation, so I really should do the stories one by one.
Small's story doesn't not even deserve two stars. I still cannot get past the fact that the hero's main attractive feature was the size of his penis. *sigh* Not that the rest of the authors forgotten that particular ploy. Maybe one of these days they will right up a hero with a four-incher. Right, and the sun will set on the East. The rest of the first tale is complete tripe. It has a lot of sex (discussed in great technical detail), but I am still at a loss as to how the whole love thing came about. Plus, the sex might be explicit, but the mood is distinctly missing.
Susan Johnson's novella rates at about 3.5. The development of love between the characters is a complete mystery and frankly it was wrapped off extremely quickly.
"Dark Desire", Thea Devine's tale has hot sex aplenty, but the hero is in no way suitable for a romance. We are supposed to feel sympathetic with him, when he is a totally unlikable man, who is frankly abusing his wife? And once again, where on earth did that _LuV_ come from?
Robin Schone is always good. I am glad I bought this book, if only for her contribution.
Should you spend for this? Frankly, it depends on how much you like Schone.
Rating:
Summary: Schone - good; the rest - tedious to horrible
Review: ...Without Schone's input, this anthology would have been atotal loss - a bunch of erotica without any heart. In fact I deductedone star per author with the remaining two stars entirely for Schone'scontribution. Comparing Small's, Devine's and Johnston's contributions to Schone's is like comparing a bicycle to Ferrari. You do get from point A to B but that's just about it.
One of the things which amazed me was the manner in which Schone managed to create two such well-rounded and believable characters in a few pages. Schone always seems to take the challenge of the older woman on board, something which few other authors are willing to do especially in such an erotic context as this. Abigail and Robert Coally come across as relatively believable characters who have their defects and foibles, but who are sympathetic, passionate and good for each other. Susan Johnston's contribution was fair although nothing out of this world, with the story petering out in the end as if real life was not up to expectations. The general line of the story reminded me of Johanna Lindsey's "Prisoner of My Desire" but the quality was nowhere near the same. The premiss in Thea Devine's story (as in Bertrice Small's) was good but the methods of the "hero" (if one can call him that) weren't exactly the stuff of romance, even erotic romance. And the end, as other readers have mentioned, was not at all believable. After about a hundred pages of hate, whining, abuse, bondage and thrall collars, can we really believe that the main characters fall in love, literally from one paragraph to another?
Small's novella was absolutely horrible - I've read some of her books and they were all much better. "The Love Slave" comes to mind - erotic but still essentially a romance. This novella was just an orgy of sex which often personally offended me. Three in a bed is not what you expect in a romance. It is offensive... And the sex, in most cases, was not that exciting and often seemed simply mechanical with no emotion involved at all. Sex scenes linked by a tenuous story line do not amount to much.
Back to Schone: Since reading her novella, I've decided to start collecting her...
Rating: 
Summary: Poignancy and sensuality intertwines in Captivated
Review: Merely a sensual romance book, Captivated is engaging and is surprisingly poignant with 4 solid stories in one book. Out of the 4 authors, Robin Schone emerges as the most outstanding with her passionate story of a lady denied of pleasure and learning the truth of passion at its core. Robert Coally and Abagail make strong characters; one is trapped by the scars of battle and the other has her desires suppressed. Susan Johnson has proved herself to be the queen of erotic romance, with her engaging story of a desperate Princess Marko finding The Marquis of Crewe to bear a child of fine breed. Thea Devine and Beatrice Small is both avant garde in their writing, mixing the dark recesses of erotic romance as well as the strong love between the characters.
Captivated is dazzling, excruciatingly beautiful and propels romance to a new height. Under the mastery seduction of their writings, you will find yourself staying up all night to finish the book. A definite must-buy.
Rating:
Summary: Thea's is the best
Review: Thea Devine's story in this book is the hottest next to Robin Schone's. I think Thea just does better in the short stories. I've tried her longer books and they aren't as good. Her story in this book is one of the steamiest you will ever read.
