“Captive Hope,” a Review of the #Magicalrealism Novel by Author Rachael Ritchey

Captive Hope
—Rachael Ritchey

Genre: magical realism / speculative fiction / fairytale

Story contains: some violence, action.

After the events of The Beauty Thief (book 1 in the Chronicles of The Twelve Realms series), Captive Hope follows the journey of Idra, the Lady-in-waiting to the princess, as she is kidnapped and taken far from her country by a powerful man with a grudge. I also wrote a review for The Beauty Thief, which you can read HERE.

Idra is an interesting character. She has a lot of doubts about herself and those around her, and inner struggles. It becomes such a problem that she doesn’t even realize Ahmad has feelings for her until it’s too late and she’s kidnapped. I liked her inner conflict, and how it reflected real life struggles that you and I can easily fall into. She’s relatable, and throughout her ordeal she must come to terms with these flaws in herself.

There was a bit of a love triangle, though not in the way you’d expect. It felt more realistic than triangles in other stories I’ve read, and it made sense. Another good thing is that it’s resolved by the end of the book!

Although Captive Hope has a classic fairytale feel to it, there are events that take you be surprise, tragedy, and perhaps best of all: the knight in shining armor is not the main hero. That role goes to a mysterious pirate Idra comes across—but I won’t say more or risk spoiling the story for you. 😉

The climax took a twist I wasn’t expecting! Who doesn’t like a good twist? And there wasn’t a “happily ever after” end, but a satisfying end that took on a more realistic approach, if heartbreaking. We are shown the new person that Idra has become and how she plans to move forward with her life, which was a nice final touch. The story is left with room for a sequel, and I’ve heard Rachael is already working on it: The Treasonous!

Intrigued yet? If you enjoy fairytales, classical tales with a Jane Austen feel, a touch of tragedy, and true-to-life romance, then I recommend you pick up Captive Hope and The Beauty Thief!

(I received a copy in exchange for my honest review)

I give Captive Hope 4/5 stars

Amazon / Goodreads / Createspace / B&N / Smashwords

Be sure and check out Rachael Ritchey’s website and the first book in the series: The Beauty Thief!
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