Title: Auctioned
Series: Auctioned: Book One
Author: Cara Dee
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 207 Pages
Category: Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
At a Glance: The book, as a whole, is well-written. It’s dark, it’s angsty, and a lot of the time it’s difficult to read, but the hard scenes aren’t described in great detail, and that’s what made it bearable.
Reviewed By: Ky
Blurb: Gray Nolan’s biggest problem in life was the torch he carried for his closeted coach. He was just another happy-go-lucky dude, a college student and hockey player, when his ordinary existence was interrupted, and he became a human trafficking statistic.
He and seven other young men were taken aboard a luxurious yacht where they were to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Gray was beaten, shattered, and almost defeated by the time his buyer stepped out of the shadows in a swirl of his own cigarette smoke.
He was Gray’s new owner.
Darius Quinn had vowed never again to find himself in a situation like this. His days as a private military contractor were over. No more missions, no more risks, no more personal attachments. Yet, here he was, after weeks of searching, face-to-face with his broken prize.
It was time to get the knucklehead back to his family.
Quick and easy was Darius’s plan.
Then everything went sideways.
Review: Are you a fan of Cara Dee’s series Camassia Cove series? It doesn’t really matter one way or another, because this book is so different from what we are used to getting from that little fictional town. While the characters are from there, and we’ve met them in previous stories, the theme of the book is nothing like we got in the past.
For me, this series of five books—yeah, eventually there’ll be five in total—reads as more a spinoff of the original series rather than as an addition to it. It’s dark, it’s angsty, and a lot of the time it’s difficult to read. The hard scenes aren’t described in great detail, and that’s what made it bearable to read. Many times things are left to the reader to realise what had happened, or mention of the result that an evil act had on someone without focusing on the act itself. It was still difficult to read about so much cruelty and what these boys went through, so please read the warnings before you dive in (I know there aren’t any in the blurb, but there are reviews out there to give you an idea of what to expect). This story with sweet Gray takes place in a dark world that hides in plain sight.
The book, as a whole, is well-written, but there were some plot holes. For example, it was mentioned in the beginning that in Gray and Darius’ cabin there were cameras, yet later they acted freely while alone in there, as though no one was watching. At first, they were supposed to keep up appearances, even while they were in their room, but that was completely forgotten after the first night. Other than small things like that, the plot was a good one, and I can’t wait to see what else awaits Gray, Darius, and the rest of the characters until they are able to get back home to safety. Provided, of course, that a happy ending is in the cards for them.
I liked Gray and Darius both together and separately and I liked the connection they formed between them. They were only together for three days, but under the circumstances it’s understandable and completely believable that they grew this level of trust between them. We only get Gray’s point of view, so Darius is still somewhat of a mystery, but I liked that we didn’t get all the details of his life yet. It’s something to be expected and anticipated in the next books.
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