Customer Reviews

Captive Dreams

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

by Amy L. Turpin

Celeste and Corinne Carson are writers of science and romantic fiction, respectively. Both have created alpha type male heroes and both feel a special connection to their characters. What they don't realize is that their writings are coming true in their hero's universes, a fact they are about to find out in a most alarming way . . .

Jarred Varrain and Mykhayl Rhodyonovich are the tormented characters of the sisters' fantasies. Trapped in a kind of limbo when the girls are brainstorming, and then helpless to change the eventual outcome once back in their own lives, the men have had enough! For ten long years they have had to watch as their lives are plotted and executed with malicious precision, and now the men finally have a chance to take revenge on their tormentors by kidnapping the women and whisking them off to their individual universes.

Mykhayl's dimension is one of magic and fantasy. As he spirits Corinne away from her home, he can think of nothing other than punishing her for his years of suffering. After completely consuming her, he finds she has possession of him as well, a fact that does not sit well with him. He knows her for the sorceress she is, and after the things done to him by another sorceress, he can not trust her--especially with his heart. Corinne knows he can never love her, but the least she can do is to use her newfound skills to reverse the damage she caused in one of her stories. But will her courage and determination be enough to give this mighty king the queen he needs and the son he deserves?

Jarred's universe is one of science and technology. When Celeste finds herself face to face with the gadgets she invented, the reality is more alarming than she could have ever imagined. Especially her ultimate creation--the brawny, sexy, cyborg/human glaring down at her with malice. She knows him as well as he knows himself and when the look she has described a thousand times, the one associated with that of the executioner-Jarred, she is more terrified than she can ever remember being. His intentions, however, are not as grim as her impending death, but he will use her then throw her away . . . so to speak. The sex they share is unlike either of them has ever experienced. Just when it seems Jarred's icy exterior is melting in Celeste's favor, her special powers are revealed to him. He realizes then that she has kept this secret from him for almost the entire time of her stay with him. Knowing Jarred's life will soon be jeopardized, Celeste is determined to keep him from harm--knowing he will never love her. But the danger comes from the most unexpected source and it's up to Celeste to neutralize the threat before it's too late.

Two fabulously written tales, two fabulously written romances! This anthology is written with humor, imagination and a generous amount of love. The beginning grasps the reader's attention immediately and the ending is in no way predictable, but perfectly logical. All the parts in between--well, you'll just have to read it for yourself!

In a plot straight out of an erotic version of The Twilight Zone, sisters Celeste and Corrine Carson have reached the pinnacle of success as authors. Corrine writes historical fantasy romances featuring Mykhayl Tibronson, the High King of Torhtremer, and his family, while Celeste is the author of a futuristic/sci-fi series starring Jarred Varrain, an enforcement officer. Mykhayl and Jarred have each gone on many dangerous adventures through the sisters' books. What Corrine and Celeste don't know is that somehow, some way, what they've written has become reality in two alternate universes. Worse yet, Jarred and Mykhayl know about them and plan to take their revenge. In a bold move, Jarred and Mykhayl penetrate our dimension and kidnap the sisters (while they're in the middle of trying out lingerie, no less). Now it's payback time for Corrine and Celeste as they each face a furious and handsome (not to mention well-endowed) warrior.

In Diane Whiteside's BOUND BY THE DRAGON, Mykhayl Tibronson, the High King of Torhtremer, has brought back his tormentor for punishment. Thanks to Corrine, Mykhayl has been imprisoned and tortured numerous times by his enemies. Worst of all, she caused an ice serpent to bite him and render him sterile. An intolerable situation for a king. Mykhayl intends to make sure that this sorceress will no longer be able to make his life hell, even if he has to shackle her to his bed.

Bewildered, bemused and definitely aroused (after all, she's very familiar with every inch of that physique) Corrine finds herself accused of being a sorceress and being eyed as a tasty snack both my Mykhayl and the imperial dragon, Khyber! Wanting to make amends for all that she unknowingly put him through, Corrine is determined to cure his sterility and help him fight his enemies, even if it means being stuck in this universe forever.

In Angela Knight's BOUND BY THE DREAM, Jarred Varrain finally has his chance to avenge himself on Celeste. Because of her he'd been betrayed by the woman he loved, tortured by alien reptiles and, worst of all, had watched her plot his best friend's death but was powerless to stop it. Yet for all she's put him through, Celeste has also been his obsession for years. To ensure she will wreak no more havoc in his world, Jarred plans to give Celeste to his friend De'Lar as a new sexsub. But first, Jarred is going to torture her slowly, exquisitely, on his specially made pleasure rack. He was going to rid himself of his fixation once and for all.

Once she realizes that everything she's written has truly come to pass, Celeste expects Jarred to kill her. Instead, she's tortured with pleasure and Celeste slowly realizes a truth she's hidden for a long time. She's never been able to have a real relationship because a part of her has always been in love with her hero, Jarred. Now he's real, but her days with him are numbered unless he can forgive her and she can convince him they belong together.

CAPTIVE DREAMS wraps itself around that eternal question "What if?" and the result is raunchy and a lot of fun. Corrine and Celeste make fabulous heroines who, after learning to believe in the improbable, immerse themselves in their new worlds and find a way to adapt and relish their new roles. Mykhayl and Jarred evolve from men bent on vengeance to heroes worthy of their unusual heroines. Erotically charged, lushly romantic, and yes, slightly kinky, this delicious anthology may not be for everyone but it's a Perfect 10 in my book.

TheSchemer

Celeste and Corinne Carson are sisters and both are writers who are having problems with their characters: Corianne with Mykh the King of an alternate Earth and avatar of the dragon Khyber one of the kingdoms two protective deities; Celeste is having problems with Jarred and interstellar law enforcer from the far future. The book is in 4 sections a prologue then Bound by the Dragon dealing with Corianne with Mykh and their problems and then Bound by the Dream dealing with Celeste and Jarreed. Then finished with an Epilogue.

In Bound by the Dragon Diane Whiteside does an excellent job of writing erotic fantasy. Character development is largely limited to the principals with the others being largely spear carriers except for the huge black leopard Mazur who is overjoyed to have someone to talk to (Corianne is the only living sorceress and so can talk to animals) but this is the major stalling point as Mykh was held captive and tortured by the Gray Sorceress so he hates and fears any sorceress. The plot is nicely convoluted and well done and there is some humor as when Corianne realizes that Khyber is real and when Mazur dumps Mykh in the pond. The erotic scenes are very well done with some BD but mostly Ds and over all an outstanding job.

In the second half Angela Knight does an outstanding job of dealing with the conflict between Celeste and Jarreed. Jarred is very attracted but also annoyed that she has killed off his best friend. Some humor along with the erotic as with the Rekan Torment Rack as modified by the Kirystari to be a sex toy, and then there is an innovative use of VR as well. More humor in the case where Celeste is dressed as a sexsub (sexual submissive) at De'Lars palace on Kirystari and uses her telekinesis to dump an offensive palace guard. Over all nice characters, well written BDSM and Ds erotica with a good threesome as well. The plot is a little light but overall outstanding.

Not a 5 star home run but a truly great read.

I read the summary of what this book was about and saw that it had such a high ratings...I thought to myself why not? The whole sisters who were writers both being sucked into 2 very different imaginary worlds by their leading male characters that they both had created intrigued me.

Once I opened the book and started to read about the first sister Celeste ...the intrigue was gone. The plot is easy enough to follow, there wasn't one. Ms.Whiteside tried to shove so much detail about a mystical world into a 60-page story that I have already forgotten what the mystical world was called. This story was one far-fetched bedroom romp after another. The dialogue is so weak that the author might has well wrote "Me Tarzan... You Jane" and have been done with it. It was definitely a let down. Actually I wouldn't even say a let down, it was just plain ol' bad.

As for the second story by Angela Knight written about the other sister Corinne, while it was better written than the first, it too was another Alpha-alpha male trying to bend the helpless female to his will. Although I liked Jarred better and thought Corinne had some substance to her, I was waiting for that substance to come out. But it never did. However, given the first story of the book I wasn't surprised.

All in all...I have no clue what the other reviewers where thinking about giving this book 4 and 5 stars. If I could I would rank it with 0 stars...but the Amazon ranking system apparently doesn't let you go that low. Don't waste your time or your money on this book...unless of course you like to read crappy stories. Then by all means this book is for you.

The Plot: Two sisters who both happen to be writers are kidnapped by the characters they created. It's a really interesting premise.

Bound by The Dragon by Diane Whiteside
The good points: The author pulls you into a fully developed world rich in history and color. Her hero was most attractive really tall and handsome with waist length red hair. And he's a king! The characters were likable and honorable. By the end, I felt liked they truly knew each other and loved one another.
The negative points: This book is so steeped in magic, spells, talismans, etc. that many times I felt like I was reading a sequel and I badly needed the first novel to explain what was going on. After a while, I just didn't care and only wanted to finish it so that I could move on to the next novel.

Bound by the Dream by Angela Knight
The good points: This one is more straightforward and crisply written than the first novel. The love scenes are hot. I breezed through this one.
The negative points: I would have liked to know more about his world than just a vague description of his ship and a trip to one planet. Jared's form of revenge is turn Celeste over to his friend so that she might become a submissive. Can't say that that endeared him to me very much. Even when he realizes that he cares for her, he sticks to this plan. He doesn't want her getting hurt by staying by his side. Evidently in the future, there are very few job options for women since he couldn't come up with any better alternatives. My main complaint is about a sex scene between the heroine, the hero, and his friend. It's something I would have liked to know about before I purchased this book. I probably would not have bought it especially from amazon since I wouldn't want them recommending this type of book to me again.

I gave this book 4 stars because despite my complaints, I really did enjoy both adventures.

If you like fantasy romantica with a warrior then this book is for you. And if you like science fiction romantica with a military hero this book is for you. Throw in a cocksure dragon and two fiesty heroines and what do you have ... a book you don't want to put down. Each of the heroines is quickwitted and strong - neither of them are passive and take on both of the heros-with many quick verbal parries thrusts and counter thrusts. Not to mention very well written sex scenes-that are guaranteed to bring the characters and you to a quick boil. this is a book that is readable not once, not twice but many times.

Captive Dreams by Diane Whiteside and Angela Knight starts with two sisters, both authors, discussing how they are going to end their respective series. Corinne and Celeste Carson are trying to get their creative juices flowing by trying on sexy lingerie, when two towering barbarians appear before them, spitting mad. What the....? Is that the characters from their books? The two men each drag away their AGs (author goddess) and jump back to their worlds, determined to get their revenge.

Diane Whiteside: Bound By The Dragon
Well, this is my first by this author....and I didn't like it. It was boring I thought. The sex was boring. The hero was boring. He was one of those He-Man's who can't get past his own prejudices, and doesn't want to want the heroine. Diane Whiteside rambled on and on about the world and the war and since I knew nothing about it, I didn't care. Just...didn't like it.

Angela Knight: Bound By The Dream
Damn, I think I'm still blushing. This story was hot. The hero, Jarred, has been hurt terribly over the decade, all because of his Author Goddess and her stories. He's got quite a bit of anger bottled up and he can't wait to start once he's got her. He's part cyborg? and as such has implants in his brain which can tell him when he's causing her pleasure or pain, an advantage he uses to the fullest. He plans to train her to be a submissive sex slave and pass her on to a friend of his. In doing so, he begins to realizes how much he enjoys being with her and in her (grin) and doesn't know how he's going to let her go. They make it to his friend's home, a place Celeste is convinced is housing an assassin, to present Celeste as the newest sexsub. There the three of them engage in a menage a trois and Jarred has to make his decision on whether to keep Celeste or leave her behind.

If this short story by Angela Knight was this good, count me in for more! Her story was hot. It was erotic, full of sexual tension and some inventive scenarios that add to the fun factor. Her world building was also seamlessly created, I didn't feel like I was getting exposition like I was with Diane Whiteside's short story. I highly recommend this anthology for Angela Knight and can't wait to read more from this wildly talented and inventive author!

I am a big fan of Angela Knight's and was a little disappointed when it came to her story.
As for Diane Whiteside, I was very impressed with her story in the beginning more so than Angela's.
Great read none-the-less. Stayed up all night reading the first story..

This book was entertaining and memorable. If you are looking for a turn on this book will do it. I consider this book to be an erotic fantasy.

I bought this book because I like Angela Knight. But, I couldn't get over some of the phrasing the author of 'Bound by the Dragon used...'woman's jewel', 'yoni's petals'. AAagh! It drove me nuts. And Angela Knight's contribution to this book is about 1/4 the length of the other author's. Boooooo!!! This book did have a really neat concept & plot line though.