King's Captive/Amber Bardan/252 pgs

I heard a lot of buzz about this book and decided to give it a try, even though it's not something I would normally pick up. On Sarah's 18th birthday her family party is interrupted by a man named Julius King and a bunch of guys with masks on and guns drawn. Sarah's father, who she knows is involved in some shady business, ends up dead. Sarah ends up agreeing, under duress, to marry Julius so that he can have her inheritance when she turns 21. She does get him to agree to keep his hands off her until that time however. We then fast forward 3 years, to the month before her 21st birthday. Sarah has been held by Julius on a private Caribbean island the entire time.

This is a somewhat unusual book. I knew going in that all was not as it seems but I did not know the big twist in the story. Obviously I'm not going to spoil it here but I will say it was better than the scenarios I was imagining in my head:-) I have to admit, though, that once I knew what was going on (about 3/4 of the way through), my enthusiasm for finishing the book diminished, probably because I no longer had that sense of anticipation. Bardan is a thoroughly competent writer and there is a lot, I mean a LOT, of angst in this book, which isn't really my thing, but if you love angst, it's dialed up to 11 here. Be warned that this book revolves around criminal gangs who are into weapons and drug dealing. Even besides that, there are some very questionable morals running rampant through this story, especially if you think about it for longer than a minute. Still, I'm glad I read it.