Secret aspiring comedian Autumn Reynolds is a girl gone…not wild exactly. More like lazy. Since her boyfriend abandoned her in New York City for a bunch of improv groupies she’s had two priorities; sucking the nitrous out of whipped cream cans and making sex comics about her mysterious landlord.
Blake hates people—and sunlight—with good reason. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself lusting after his upstairs tenant, a sunny, Australian people pleaser down on her luck. Turns out his ability to terrify with a single scowl comes with an advantage. Autumn seems to like it. A lot. As evidenced by the prisoner-captive comic Blake was never meant to see.
As they embark on a three-date arrangement the rules are clear; filthy, ground breaking sex, no feelings or commitment required. When chemistry is this strong, though, attachment follows. As Blake and Autumn attempt to negotiate their New York romance, their prior histories and secret dreams come to the foreground. How long can these polar opposites remain Captivated, when all signs point to disaster?
Not sure I’ve read a dirtier or funnier book! Loved it! This writing duo can’t be beat.
I literally laughed my way through this fun, sweet, SEXXXY and warm-hearted story from beginning to end. Autumn is an Australian living in New York City. She followed her former boyfriend there as he tried to chase his dreams of becoming an improv comedian. They break up and she plans to move back home once her work visa expires.
Except that she has some serious fantasies about her big, silent, brooding beast of a landlord. Blake stays cooped up in his apartment and hates people. He is the complete opposite of Autumn: she is funny and outgoing and genuinely likes helping people while he is quiet and can’t be bothered having a civil conversation with anyone. In other words, he is a swoony, sexy hero and he wants to do very bad things to Autumn! Oh, and did mention he also restores old books? Yep. The perfect hero.
Blake’s limp, combined with his abnormal size, made navigating the cluttered apartment difficult. He’d watched in stunned silence, though, as Autumn moved gracefully in front of him, toeing items out of his path, silently making things easier for him. Caring for a stranger without thinking, or asking to be acknowledged. It had annoyed the living shit out of him. Where did this girl get off giving him the assistance he didn’t ask for?
In one of the most awkward introductions ever, Autumn accidentally writes a note to Blake on the back of a porno drawing she created featuring herself and…Blake! The drawing illustrates her deepest fantasies and once Blake sees it, he cannot stop thinking about Autumn.
She turned to him, her eyes the size of hubcaps. “I’m having a Beauty and The Beast moment.” “I suppose that makes me the beast.”
“No.” Autumn laid a hand on Blake’s arm and he held his breath. “No, of course not,” she said. “You’re actually… that is to say… I don’t just go drawing myself tied up for any old landlord, you know?”
Turns out they both share the same fantasy but before they begin their role play, Blake asks to take Autumn on three regular dates so they can get to know each other. He does not want to scare her – his size alone is intimidating! – and so begins the sexy times.
He pulled her flush against him and it was unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Ian was taller than her, pretty much everyone was taller than her, but Blake was enormous. Being held by him was like being held in a cage, a gentle, living cage. With another man it might have felt oppressive, but as Blake kissed her deeply, all she felt was warm and safe and turned the fuck on.
Everything in this book is 100% consensual. I loved the premise of this book and I ADORED Autumn! Funny, smart and exuberant, she was a true original. And Blake: damaged, smart and sexy, he is one of the sexiest heroes ever created by Ms. Tessa Bailey! These two authors tougher are pure gold.
As she drank her drink in that same companionable silence, she realized it didn’t matter because what he said paled in contrast to what he did. He’d taken her to a five-star restaurant, asked her about comedy and come to her workplace to apologize for being a cocklord in person. Those things talked. They said he thought she was special, interesting and worthy of his time. Their sex spoke, too. The connection between their bodies was so fluent, it could have served as a UN interpreter.
‘Captivated’ is a totally kinky but very sweet book that was an absolute pleasure to read! If you aren’t familiar with Eve Dangerfield, give her books a try. They are fantastic.
Love isn’t just saying words, Autumn thought. What we feel is real.
Tessa Bailey
Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school
graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving
cross-country to New York City in under four days.
valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees,
a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her
husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put
herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace
University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force
as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her
attention.
lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of ten years and
six-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is
incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in
love.
