It was the biggest day of my life. I know most people say that about something joyous; a graduation, a wedding ceremony, the birth of their first child. My situation was a little different. Sure, it was my eighteenth birthday, but it was also the day that I was sold. Sold to a man with hair like a crown of gold and eyes blacker than the darkest pits of Hell. He bought me to own me, to control me, … me, to control me, and to use me as a means to an end.
I was his tool and his weapon.
And through it all, somehow, I also became his salvation.
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After finishing the Fallen Men series multiple times I really wanted to give the enslaved duet a try and oh boy it was a lot darker than I expected but I loved it so much.
We follow Cosima who we also see in the The Evolution of Sin Trilogy.
Cosima gets sold when she turns 18 because her dad as some money issues, the reason why she doesn’t put on a big fight is so that she can protect her family. Cosima gets sold to Alexander Daveport, he is a strong alpha kind of male.
The age gap between Cosima and Alexander is 16-17 years.
From the first chapter I knew this would be a dark story, a lot darker than I first thought it would be. I do recommend that you go into this book with a open mind. It’s definitely not for everybody. But I was definitely something for me. I love when both characters are strong characters. Cosima is determined not to let Alexander break her, she is determined that he has nothing on her. But there is a moment where Cosima wants Alexander’s touch and she isn’t sure how to feel about it.
As I said before I liked this a lot. I liked the fact that I was dark that Cosima was the way she was that we slowly but surly see a different side of Alexander. In a weird way it all made perfectly sense. Every touch, every look, every words said to each other it just made perfect sense.
Giana Darling shocked me in the best way possible. I love me a dark romance and Giana served it on a platter for me.
Enthralled was dark, sexy, sad, and captivating. The characters were so complex which made it even more enticing.
Cosima was sold as a slave on her 18th birthday. She was a model who was trying to make enough money to help her family. She paid for her father’s debt by being sold to Master Alexander.
Although she knew this new life wouldn’t be easy, she had to learn how to be submissive, learn about her sexuality and being comfortable in her body, and above all pleasing a man who was twice her age.
Alexander was a strong, powerful man who loved to dominate. It’s all he knew and had been taught to be a Master since he was a young boy. When he met Cosima, he had a plan. He was not supposed to develop feelings for her.
I give Enthralled 4 stars. This is not a traditional romance but I think it’s mystery, sensuality, and enticing writing made it work. I’m excited to read more in The Enslaved series.
DARK, INTENSE AND STEAMY
This book was one of the very first books that I’ve read from Giana and i honestly can’t put into words how this duet affected me.
first and foremost it brought to my attention about what’s really hapenning as many would say ‘behind the curtains’ in this world. For which i’m grateful to be aware and help at any level i could to prevent it from happening to many young ladies out there.
Second, what gripped my heart and twisted it was the pride that i felt for the main female character, Cosima. She was strong in her own sense of way, without being physically advantaged at many times during the book yet never letting that over rule her voice or choice over the matters. There were many scenes in which i sat and thought to myself ‘how the fuck didn’t she lose her shit entirely at this point?’. that was the most admirable thing among other attributes she has in herself which ultimately pushed the main male character, Alexander, to fall in love. and i might say he was pushed to see her for the strong person she is but the fall part was definately willing although unexpected.
The scenes were dark and often times left me with painful squeeze to my chest, but that’s the main reason why i loved it so much. I loved the rawness of the story. I loved how Giana took the risk to dive in headfirst with her characters to danger and darkness of the world both when they were on and off the bed.
that is ultimately why i gave this book a high ranking, because it kept me on my toes with whats to come in the next chapter and it is with no surprise i say that i finished it, more like devoured it, in one sitting. with my heart in my throat, no less.
I also loved how i would get frustrated with characters like the experience was firsthand and how Cosima seemed to manage to crack Alexanders concrete walls to let us see the glimpses of human feelings in him. Basically this brooding and calculating man brought to his solace in a form of a woman he intended to break just right for him to have for himself. And maybe he managed it a little, breaking her just for him, but it only made her stonger when she taped herself back together, and the breaking might have happened in both ends.
IF YOU LIKE DARK SUSPENSEFUL ROMANCES THAT THIS IS A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR YOU!
I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I started this book. I just knew that I trusted this authors words because I read and fell in love with them from her previous books. I also don’t know what held me back for so long from reading this book. I think a small part of me knew that this book was going to affect me in ways I wouldn’t be able to comprehend.
I consider myself somewhat of a dark romance expert and it’s been a while since I’ve read a dark romance that truly embraces darkness, that truly forgoes society’s sensitivity to certain subjects and just goes for it. And while that is in no way saying that this is a situation to make light of, this book really is a dark romance with all the horror, triggers and violence you’d expect. It has exceeded all my expectations and I found myself lost in the world of Alexander and Cosima. I did find in some parts that the story dragged for me and lost me in other parts, but that is my only qualm with this book.
I can’t wait to dive into the next book and see what else this author has in store for us.
Ok, I have to admit. I’m an easy target. A sitting duck. As a reader, I’m easily drawn into a good and old cliché romance plot.
But don’t get me wrong: I don’t enjoy predictability. I love having to wonder what’s gonna happen on the very next page. And that’s exactly what @gianadarlingauthor does to the reader on the Enslaved Duet.
For starters, her prose is unbe-FREAKING-lievable. Her writing style is so immersing that it’s a struggle to stop reading it. I found myself so lost in the story that I would forget the world around me. In addition, I don’t think there are many books that I’ve highlighted so many passages as in the ones in this duet.
(…)
::: full review on the second book of the duet – Enamoured :::
I’ve been reading a ton of new authors to me that have been hitting it out of the park. This was one that blew me away for sure. That ending!!! Cosima is a whole new breed of badass, submissive women. I was head over heels for her sassy Italian attitude and her overwhelming desire for Alexander. Her duty to family as well as to that internal voice that spoke to her when she was in the arms of Xan had me falling in love with her. I also found her personality to be extremely relatable. Though she is young, vain and at times can be naive, she is a warrior who stands tall even after she is knocked down.
Alexander… cold, calculating, controlling. But he is also a fierce protector of his girl. He is the master to his beauty, she is the savior to his soul. His character could be infuriating at times but I was team Xan out of the gate and knew there was something bigger at stake than his need for a human slave and submissive.
Truly a great start to this duet and gave me a taste of Giana Darling’s capabilities as a writer.
This duet was recommended to me by a friend who know it would call to my dark side and boy was she right.
I inhaled every word from start to finish and couldn’t put it down. My heart broke so may times for Cosima but she was such a strong character you just knew she would find a way through the hell she landed in.
There were times I wanted to kick Alexander were it hurts, but his protectiveness of Cosima saved him the pointy end of my shoe.
So if you love a nail biting, twisted story so dark at times you’ll wanna run and hide then I highly recommend this. It does end in a cliffhanger but your lucky like me that I could jump straight into the next one. And here I go. See you all on the other side.
RAW, TWISTED , DARK AND WICKEDLY BEAUTIFUL”. This book left me BREATHLESS!!!! Giana writing is so Poetic through her words she show you how beautiful the dark can be.
This power dark chilling romance will have you on the EDGE The EXECUTION of this book was MASTER FULL! And Downright BRILLIANT! this is one of the most DECADENT DELICIOUSLY-DARK EROTIC BOOKS of 2019! Hands down one of my Favorites of 2019!”
The way this story FLOWS is just PERFECT I can’t wait for more!!
“6 DECADENT STARS!”
Wow, this is one dark, hard read that totally consumed me. Be aware, this is no hearts and flowers romance. This is a story of pure male dominance.
Reading this you may think that it’s a bit slow, but I liked the way Darling split up and told the story, letting us get to know the aspect of the master/slave relationship and the submission of Cosima and how with time she craved Alexander’s touch.
I loved Cosima, for everything she had to go through she was still gracious, strong and had a true sense of family, the reason she was in this predicament was due to her making a sacrifice for her family.
Alexander, oh he is a beast in a sense. Strong, dominant, powerful, no one would mess with him. It took me a while to like him, he was so cruel breaking her in, but my heart started to thaw around half way. I loved the care and respect he gave Cosima and how he protected her. As much as he was in charge, Cosima ruled him.
There is a lot of BDSM in this book, so if that’s not your things I would probably pass on this book as there is a lot of scenes with master/slave and a scene that could be classed as rape.
If your open minded I urge you to read this, you will not be disappointed, flawless writing, intriguing story line and hot hot scenes that will leave you wanting a master of your own !
Hurry up book 2, I cannot wait to see where this story goes!
*ARC received for an honest review*
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Overall Ratings;u2063
First Sex Scene @ 34%
Hero –
Heroine –
Story –
Angst –
Steam –
Chemistry –
Dark, and Depraved!!
This is my first time reading anything from this author, and I’m happy to have found a new author to add to my list. This is the first book in The Enslaved Duet, and the story of Alexander, and Cosima. When Cosima turn 18. she is sold to Alexander, the Earl of Thornton, for payment of her fathers debt. Alexander makes her his slave, and submissive. This was a dark, depraved, and sinful read, the characters are well written, have explosive chemistry and their story captivated me. This book is a roller coaster, intense, raw, gritty, twisted, suspenseful, emotional, and dramatic. This is a must read for all dark romance lovers. I look forward to reading book 2.
I admit I purposely didn’t read this story until the second book in the duet came out. Having read the Sin series and the Fallen man series I knew Giana Darling would have me going crazy for the conclusion of the story. I wasn’t wrong. I read both books in less than a week. Cosima’s story is dark, twisted, thought provoking. Absolutely nothing is what you think. No one is what you think. The story is haunting it will stay with you forever. Like all Ms. Darling’s books the characters are so incredibly vivid. This is not a read for the faint of heart. It’s twisted, sexy, graphic, violent, romantic, and heartbreaking all in one go. If you love Giana’s writing or a romance novel with some real thought in it you will love this book and this duet!
Book one in the enslaved duet, Enthralled by Giana Darling is my first read by this author. I kind of went into this book completely blind only reading a few reviews on this book just because it sounded like it something that I would really want to read. And I wasn’t wrong. This book is extremely dark and pushed me to my limits a few times. I don’t even know if I would categorize this as romance, to be honest with you, I mean I see that technically yes it is, but this book gave me more Stockholm syndrome then romance.
Our main characters are Alexander and Cosima. I’m going to get right into it and say that Alexander is an absolute dick and I still don’t know if I actually like him or not. He is just not my type of hero by any means. Alexander is mean, deceitful, in some ways unruly, cold, and vicious. Yet he’s actually really perfect for this book. No matter my feelings of him I can’t really picture anybody else in his place. Cosima, our poor Cosima. Anytime it was Cosima’s point of view I was ready to rip her out of Alexander’s world and make sure that he’s never able to find her ever again. She is strong, determined, understanding, curious and overall compassionate. She’s forced into this life with Alexander just to protect her family which is very precious to her and in the end, her feelings for Alexander may have changed from where they were at the beginning of the story.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It’s definitely not one of my favorite dark Romance is but it’s also not the worst that I’ve ever read. Giana Darling’s way of writing was a little hard for me to get into at first but once I did, I wasn’t able to put it down. This book is not for the faint of heart, so if you are truly not into dark romance I don’t suggest reading this book. There should be, I’m not really sure if there are many trigger warnings at the beginning of this book. Please be wary before reading. If you are into dark romance I would take this book by caution. There are some very intense scenes in this book and I honestly didn’t think I would make it a few times.
Did not like it much
Wow! What a powerfully written story! Cosima and Alexander will ingrain themselves into your very heart and soul. I’m still emotional and it took me a bit to gather myself to review this incredible story. So much goes on that your head will be spinning. Secrets come to light and questions are answered, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, more secrets come out! I adore Cosima. She was made to be a pawn but still maintained her fierceness. And Alexander, while troubled, is all alpha! These two belong together but there are so many outside forces against them. Can they be together? Will Alexander find out the truth? Please do yourself a favor and read this phenomenal book! Yes, it does end in a cliffhanger, but the 2nd book is now out so I can get all my answers!!!
I’ve read all of Giana’s books and I’ve loved each one, but Enthralled just blew everything out of the water! This book is much more than I expected and is everything I didn’t realize I missed about dark romance. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a captive trope of this magnitude and I just forgot how much I love it. This book made me uncomfortable, which is no easy feat. It had me questioning morals I’m not even sure I have. It’s. Just. That. Good.
Enthralled is easily one of my top reads of the year. It’s brutal and ugly, beautiful and sexy. My heart was pounding the entire time. I never wanted this book to end and now I will be on pins and needles waiting for Enamoured. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you drop everything and read this book. It is absolute perfection!!
This is a book about mentally disturbed men who think women are animals. I have read some BDSM, but this is way beyond that. I kept reading, thinking there HAD to be some kind of redeeming aspect to the story, but NO! It kept getting worse. Please don’t spend your money or waste your time on this garbage!!!!
I loved it!! Literally couldn’t put it down but it does end in a cliffhanger with no release date for the second book. I hope it comes out soon because I’m dying to read it
Wow! Amazing! This book is a 5+ stars. This book is beautifully written with a complex twisted plot and storyline, amazing characters and super hot sex scenes. It’s such a fabulous rollercoaster ride, I didn’t want it to end. There are many surprises and a definitely a few unexpected twists. I can’t wait to read the next book.
This book is another example why this author is among my favorites. She’s one of the best for sure!! Fabulous!!!
“In your thrall”
I found this to be a richly woven story which dovetails from an earlier series about Cosima’s, the heroine in Enthralled, sister Giselle, “The Evolution of Sin: The Affair (The Evolution of Sin Trilogy, #1)”, “The Secret (The Evolution of Sin, #2)”, “The Consequence (The Evolution of Sin, #3)”. I find the writing of Ms. Darling to be very descriptive and flowing for the most part. Although there are mistakes in grammar and in word choice that do not seem quite apt for the character speaking or words used out of context.
Cosima is a fiery and extraordinary beauty who is sold on her 18th birthday by her own father to the “Camorra” in Italy for gambling debts. They then sell her to an English Lord, Alexander Davenport, who is a sadist and member of a secret order which involves the ritual abuse of women as slaves.
The first part of the book deals with the breaking down of Cosima into the perfect slave for Alexander. The story gradually builds with the blossoming of the relationship between these two main characters by adding complexities and mixed motivations creating suspense.
The reader begins to understand Alexander and while he initially comes across as a despicable and cruel monster, we see him gradually morph into this beautiful vulnerable conflicted man holding strong against a tide of enemies. A perfect foil for the lover of the dark romance!
I was left breathless and heartbroken at the end. However…I do remember a few scenes from the earlier series and I am hoping the time lines coordinate between the original series and this duet. If so, then I am still very much intrigued and curious to know how it all ends.
I am a super softie when it comes to rating books. I will tell you this, it is worth the cost and your time. Overall, it is entertaining and Ms. Darling is a worthy romance writer. I just wish she would put down the thesaurus and employ a better editor, then she would be awesome.
Favorite Quotes:
“Hatred was more powerful than fear. One was a shield and an armament I could utilize while the other could only be weapon[s]ed against me.”
“Watching a man struggling to govern himself against the force of his attraction to you was a heady thing.”
“I find myself as much in your thrall as you are in mine. The taste of you lingers in my mouth, the echo of your giggle in my ears, and the feel of your satin skin haunts my fingers, so in strange moments, I feel I could manifest you in my hold from out of thin air.”
“If submission had taught me anything, it was that it was the submissive who was the most revered and the most vulnerable, and that it was that exact vulnerability that held the Dominants so much in their thrall.”
Enthralled had me glued to my Kindle from start to finish. It’s not for everyone, there are a lot of elements of the story that are shocking, but if you like your romance on the darker side then this is the story to read. CLIFFHANGER for sure.