Taken Review (and giveaway)

ABDUCTION.
You steal me away to a deserted island, to the one place I’ve dreamed of being—the one place I can’t go.

SEDUCTION.
You’re used to buying whatever you want, but you can’t buy me...how do I resist the magnetism of your body, the longing ache deep inside me? I want you to take me—on my terms.

DESPERATION.
Every attempt you make to love me only hurts me. How can we go on like this?

This is the story of how I was TAKEN.

Rachael DeSalvo cares for those she loves with no regard for what she needs from them in return. When her father dies, her mother’s emotional dependency becomes overbearing. Unable to leave her distressed mother, Rachael turns down her dream job with Rocha Enterprises.

Billionaire real estate mogul, Merrick Rocha, knows what motivates people and what buttons to push to get what he wants. When the perfect project manager candidate turns down his job offer, it drives him mad. Three months of watching Rachael from afar has him more determined than ever to have her—for much, much more than an employee.

Merrick takes what he wants, but can he convince Rachael to give him what he needs?
All I want to say is WOW.  Taken by Kelli Maine is one of those rare books where I loved the plot, the characters, the setting, hell EVERYTHING about the book and let me tell you something that might surprise you - THIS IS A SELF PUBLISHED BOOK and one of the highest quality I’ve seen.  So much so that it might not surprise you to know that it’s now been picked up by a publisher and a paperback version is in the works (I’m soooo getting it for the shelves).   I cannot even begin to tell you how much I loved this book but I’m going to try because y’know...I’m supposed to write a review and all ;)

Taken is an adult novel and as such, it contains mature content and sexually explicit scenes so if that’s not your thing, then don’t read this.  However, if you like a bit of spice with your romance novel, then this is DEFINITELY the book for you. 

One of the first things that will grab you is the writing style.  Taken is written in the second person from Rachael’s point of view and every word is aimed at Merrick as she says things like “you’re dangerous”.  At first, I was taken aback by this as I’ve not seen this technique used before but I actually quite like it. 

The opening scene of Taken hooked me right in and made me think the story might go down a ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ kind of path and in a way it did BUT Merrick never meant any harm, he just got desperate.  He risked everything (which was incredibly stupid and he spends a lot of time throughout the novel feeling guilty about it and rightly so) and you’ll just have to read it to see if his gamble truly paid off.  There’s a reason why a hostage scene is a popular fantasy for women but it has more to do with dominance and submission, about control than actually hurting someone.  Merrick never set out to hurt Rachael and we learn early on that there is no way on earth that he would ever do that.  What he did, he did out of desperation and whilst I don’t condone his actions, I certainly understand where he’s coming from after reading the book.  Rachael quite rightly is very shaken up and upset in the beginning and I liked the way that she stayed true to her character throughout the book.  Just because a hot guy who she’s attracted to is in front of her, It doesn’t excuse what he did and they both know that.  What I will say though is that there is a really hot sex scene at the beginning of the book where they don’t even touch each other and I’d not read a scene like that before but it’s enough to melt your panties right off.  

Which leads me quite nicely on to Merrick who is Merricklicious in all the right ways and I loved how he gave all the power and control over to Rachael.  He had to do this otherwise it would seem like he took her and forced her to do things.  He left the choices up to her; if she wanted him then she would have to take him on her own terms only it’s not going to be so easy as trust has to be earned, something neither of them can forget.  Despite his initial major fuck up and subsequent fuck ups, I’d still like to know where I can get me a Merrick of my own ;)

Taken played out like a movie in my head and the Turtle Tear Resort is definitely a place I’d like to visit but only if I had Merrick to myself and the rest of the place was deserted of course ;)  Rachael made you feel like you were right there with her, touching, tasting, and feeling everything like she did.  The novel is not just about Rachael and Merrick though as there are secondary characters and I just want to say that Joan (Merrick’s assistant) was a bit of a scary bitch but then she has her reasons for being like that and in some ways, I can understand that.

As I mentioned earlier, this book has a great plot which branches off into a few subplots, one of which I think is going to play a major part in the next book and I can’t wait to see how it all pans out.   I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so much so that I’ve already re-read it once and just writing my review makes me want to read it again.  I can’t recommend Taken highly enough and want to buy all my girlfriends a copy! 

Taken was released as a digital novel on 8th August, 2012.  The paperback edition will be available in January, 2013.  A Taken novella entitled No Take Backs is also available now and the next book entitled Taken by Storm will be available by the end of the year (hopefully).

TO WIN ebooks of both Taken and No Takebacks, please leave me a comment with your name, country and email address (note that you have to be over 16 to enter this contest because of the adult content).  This contest is international and the deadline is 1st December, 2012.  The winner will be chosen at random and they have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.  

To find out more about Kelli Maine and her books, please click here to visit her website.