Captive Hearts

Rating:
Summary: A Decent Romantic Science Fiction Story, But Unoriginal
Review: Morgan Fontinara, crown prince of Bellariss, one of the last free planets in the universe, was finally ready to start the rebellion. All of his allies were in place and the destruction of the hated Jotnar Alliance, who had enslaved most of the galaxy, was about to begin - when Morgan was betrayed. Captured by the Jotnar, tortured, humiliated and threatened, Morgan still refused to give the Jotnar information about the Bellariss security system and allow them to take over his home planet. In desperation, the Jotnar sent Morgan to Cantara, a Jotnar prison planet, where one of their bloodiest and creative torturers, named Grader, would take up the prince's "questioning"...

Ariana Zoltan was in charge of the Cantara prison, even though she hated the whole idea of slavery. She tried to make the prison a little bit more livable for the slaves and the death toll had gone down quite dramatically, but she made a lifelong enemy of Grader in the process. When Ariana first saw Morgan, she instantly knew that he was Bellarissian with his distinctive bronze coloring and blonde hair, but she had no idea that he was the crown prince and future ruler of that planet. What she did know is that she couldn't bear to allow Grader to mutilate him and kill him so she took him as her own personal slave. Morgan and Ariana immediately clashed, with Morgan refusing to believe that anyone who worked for the Jotnar could abhor slavery and Ariana not understanding why Morgan refused to trust her and let her help him. As they are involved in their own battle of wills, the Bellarissian alliance is moving forward to strike at the heart of the Jotnar empire and Morgan is all too aware that if he doesn't escape soon, he will be killed in the wave of the planned invasion. However, even though he hates Ariana for placing a slave collar around his neck and branding him, he has mated his soul with hers and cannot leave her behind...

I was disappointed in this book because it is essentially a very pale imitation of Justine Davis' Lord of the Storm, which was an excellent romantic science fiction book. Both of the heroes are beautiful blonds with golden skin, both are collared in slavery, both fall in love with the person who owns them, both are rulers on their homeplanets which are threatened by an evil federation, etc. If the story has been original, this book may have been worth 4 stars, but the heroine, Ariana, didn't really ring true to me. I understand that she was forced to serve the Jotnar alliance, but I didn't really believe that she thought of slaves as real people on the same level as herself. One of the opening scenes shows her sending a slave off to be questioned and tortured and she just kind of shrugs it off with a weak excuse that its not as if she knows him. Her attitude didn't match what she kept telling Morgan and, to be honest, I wouldn't have trusted her at all if I was in his situation. Regardless, Morgan was a wonderful character and I tolerated Ariana. If you are looking for a much better book written by Lissa Michaels, read Real Magic, the story of Drake (Morgan's best friend) and stand-alone sequel to this tale. The author still has some issues with creating a likeable heroine - but the hero is literally to die for!

Rating:
Summary: A Decent Romantic Science Fiction Story, But Unoriginal
Review: Morgan Fontinara, crown prince of Bellariss, one of the last free planets in the universe, was finally ready to start the rebellion. All of his allies were in place and the destruction of the hated Jotnar Alliance, who had enslaved most of the galaxy, was about to begin - when Morgan was betrayed. Captured by the Jotnar, tortured, humiliated and threatened, Morgan still refused to give the Jotnar information about the Bellariss security system and allow them to take over his home planet. In desperation, the Jotnar sent Morgan to Cantara, a Jotnar prison planet, where one of their bloodiest and creative torturers, named Grader, would take up the prince's "questioning"...

Ariana Zoltan was in charge of the Cantara prison, even though she hated the whole idea of slavery. She tried to make the prison a little bit more livable for the slaves and the death toll had gone down quite dramatically, but she made a lifelong enemy of Grader in the process. When Ariana first saw Morgan, she instantly knew that he was Bellarissian with his distinctive bronze coloring and blonde hair, but she had no idea that he was the crown prince and future ruler of that planet. What she did know is that she couldn't bear to allow Grader to mutilate him and kill him so she took him as her own personal slave. Morgan and Ariana immediately clashed, with Morgan refusing to believe that anyone who worked for the Jotnar could abhor slavery and Ariana not understanding why Morgan refused to trust her and let her help him. As they are involved in their own battle of wills, the Bellarissian alliance is moving forward to strike at the heart of the Jotnar empire and Morgan is all too aware that if he doesn't escape soon, he will be killed in the wave of the planned invasion. However, even though he hates Ariana for placing a slave collar around his neck and branding him, he has mated his soul with hers and cannot leave her behind...

I was disappointed in this book because it is essentially a very pale imitation of Justine Davis' Lord of the Storm, which was an excellent romantic science fiction book. Both of the heroes are beautiful blonds with golden skin, both are collared in slavery, both fall in love with the person who owns them, both are rulers on their homeplanets which are threatened by an evil federation, etc. If the story has been original, this book may have been worth 4 stars, but the heroine, Ariana, didn't really ring true to me. I understand that she was forced to serve the Jotnar alliance, but I didn't really believe that she thought of slaves as real people on the same level as herself. One of the opening scenes shows her sending a slave off to be questioned and tortured and she just kind of shrugs it off with a weak excuse that its not as if she knows him. Her attitude didn't match what she kept telling Morgan and, to be honest, I wouldn't have trusted her at all if I was in his situation. Regardless, Morgan was a wonderful character and I tolerated Ariana. If you are looking for a much better book written by Lissa Michaels, read Real Magic, the story of Drake (Morgan's best friend) and stand-alone sequel to this tale. The author still has some issues with creating a likeable heroine - but the hero is literally to die for!

Rating:
Summary: Overall an enjoyable read
Review: Morgan Fontinara, son of the rulers of the planet Bellariss, is sent as a representative to assure potential allies of his planet's aid in the revolt against the Jotnar Alliance. Bellariss had previously not taken part in any revolt attempts, their own defences confounding any attempt at invasion. Alas, at the final planning meeting of the allies, they were discovered and Morgan was captured. This is the opening of the book.

Ariana Zoltan is the administrator of one of the slave camps on her home world of Cantara, a member planet of the Alliance, and after some preliminary torturing, Morgan was sent to her camp. In a state of extreme duress, he found himself bonded to Ariana as she instinctively sought to aid him.

I had a big problem with having any sympathy for someone who would work on a slaver world, for all their distaste for it. Ariana not only did so, but rose to a position of authority there. Sure, she made conditions there better for the slaves than under previous administration, and admittedly she managed to save a slave or two here or there by selling them back to their families (first putting up the cash) but there seemed so much more that such a person could do in the same position - set up contacts, and establish an underground springs to mind.

Ariana and Morgan had a lot to work through - she in that due to her horrendous mother and upbringing could not bring herself to trust anyone, and Morgan because of his torture could not trust one of the enemy. Even with the closeness of their bonding, they each hurt the other with their mistrust and behaviour that they each could not change due to their life experiences. This continues well into the book and I found it to be very convincing - Michaels did not change the nature of the characters just because they had bonded.

The plans for the rebellion are in place, and with the help of Ariana, Morgan is able to fee the majority of the slaves at their camp. Their own getaway did not go so well, and Morgan, Ariana and fellow slave Chekron (who has reason to hate Ariana) are stranded in hostile territory on their own...

The story is an original one, tightly written and well paced - there is always something happening in terms of either plot or character development. The secondary characters all have their own parts to play, some large, some small, and are each distinctly drawn. I did find the tone a bit stilted at first but it is worth persevering, as the reader will get drawn into the plot as it develops.

The story of Morgan's `friend' (implied close relative) Drake continues in `Real Magic'.

Rating:
Summary: Overall an enjoyable read
Review: Morgan Fontinara, son of the rulers of the planet Bellariss, is sent as a representative to assure potential allies of his planet's aid in the revolt against the Jotnar Alliance. Bellariss had previously not taken part in any revolt attempts, their own defences confounding any attempt at invasion. Alas, at the final planning meeting of the allies, they were discovered and Morgan was captured. This is the opening of the book.

Ariana Zoltan is the administrator of one of the slave camps on her home world of Cantara, a member planet of the Alliance, and after some preliminary torturing, Morgan was sent to her camp. In a state of extreme duress, he found himself bonded to Ariana as she instinctively sought to aid him.

I had a big problem with having any sympathy for someone who would work on a slaver world, for all their distaste for it. Ariana not only did so, but rose to a position of authority there. Sure, she made conditions there better for the slaves than under previous administration, and admittedly she managed to save a slave or two here or there by selling them back to their families (first putting up the cash) but there seemed so much more that such a person could do in the same position - set up contacts, and establish an underground springs to mind.

Ariana and Morgan had a lot to work through - she in that due to her horrendous mother and upbringing could not bring herself to trust anyone, and Morgan because of his torture could not trust one of the enemy. Even with the closeness of their bonding, they each hurt the other with their mistrust and behaviour that they each could not change due to their life experiences. This continues well into the book and I found it to be very convincing - Michaels did not change the nature of the characters just because they had bonded.

The plans for the rebellion are in place, and with the help of Ariana, Morgan is able to fee the majority of the slaves at their camp. Their own getaway did not go so well, and Morgan, Ariana and fellow slave Chekron (who has reason to hate Ariana) are stranded in hostile territory on their own...

The story is an original one, tightly written and well paced - there is always something happening in terms of either plot or character development. The secondary characters all have their own parts to play, some large, some small, and are each distinctly drawn. I did find the tone a bit stilted at first but it is worth persevering, as the reader will get drawn into the plot as it develops.

The story of Morgan's 'friend' (implied close relative) Drake continues in 'Real Magic'.