Captive Mate (Mismatched Mates Book 2)
Arik is many things. Shaman, necromancer, a little on the snarky side…no one could ever accuse him of being boring. But one thing he never intended to be was imprisoned by angry werewolves. Maybe casting that love spell on the sexy alpha pack leader wasn’t such a great idea after all.
Matthew Armitage has a problem. Several of them, actually. And the biggest one is Arik. The shaman can’t be trusted. He’s dangerous enough to get the entire pack killed. Matthew knows that. But knowing doesn’t make it any easier to keep his mind (and hands) off Arik. Surely everything he’s feeling is a side effect of the spell…right?
It’s not long before enemies of the pack start circling—including one intent on claiming Arik as his unwilling mate. If they have any hope of surviving, Arik and Matthew will need to work together. And if they want a shot at happily ever after…well, they’ll just have to cross that bridge when they get to it.
If they get to it…
Captive Mate can (sort of) be read as a standalone, but works best when read in order as part of the Mismatched Mates series, beginning with The Alpha’s Warlock. This book contains a vivid memory of a sexual assault, but the assault occurs in the past and off-page and is not between the main characters. This series does not contain mpreg.
Reviews (115)
Snarky. Bit Edgy. Enemies to Lovers.
This book kicks off after the events at the end of The Alpha’s Warlock – book #1 – and follows the shaman, magic user, necromancer, although necromancy isn’t really explored, and shifter who caused some chaos when the Kimball and the Armitage packs fought. Nate’s father was originally trying to cause unrest and bring a new paranormal order into being, and while his demise was good, it still left a degree of turmoil/unrest in the aftermath. Including Arik being held captive by the Armitage pack and a love spell he’s put on Matthew, their alpha, to ensure Arik’s own safety. Arik is more powerful than Nate, the warlock of the first book’s title. Like Nate, Arik has quite a degree of emotional baggage, probably more. It makes for a rough start because Arik is somewhat of a prickly dick. Hang in there. He grows on you. Once you get to know more about him you can sympathise, there is a lot to sympathise with, and you can see that he fits the ragtag Armitage pack. I ended up caring a great deal for Arik, just don’t tell him. There’s a new pack war with the Kimballs, complete with a new agitator, Parker Taft. Parker is the alpha of the Taft pack and he wants Arik back and doesn’t care who he uses or hurts to do that. Arik doesn’t want to go back, with good reason. However, he’s in a quandary with nowhere in particular to go and uncertainty about this pack who are his captors, especially about Matthew Armitage. He seems like the typical alpha… yet he also doesn’t. He’s drawn to him but he “hates” him on principal. Arik can’t trust alphas, wolf packs, and feelings – outside of anger, hurt and confusion. Arik seems an unlikely love interest for Matthew Armitage – another alpha wolf. That aspect started slowly for me, but it grew exponentially throughout. It works in this world and within this group of stomping, snarky, growly, misfit beings. This is about mismatched mates after all, it’s the name of the overall series, and Arik and Matthew fit that description to a tee. Nate and Ian were the same in book #1 so Eliot Grayson stays true to the spirit of the series. There is some violence in this book, there is an overall edge to the writing. But there is also plenty of humour and snarky banter. ‘A little on the snarky side’ in the blurb is a study in understatement. “Where’s your worse half?” I asked Nate. “Off grunting at small animals?” “Ian prefers to grunt at large animals,” Matthew said blandly. “More of a challenge when they grunt back.” I enjoyed unpacking the character baggage. I enjoyed the personal and connected growth of Matthew, who I think is quite the picture of self control and respectfulness, and Arik, who is his own worst enemy at times, but – once you know why – understandably so. There’s romance and there’s use of the paranormal mine, which I do love. Magic is well utilised in Captive Mate in this very shamanic or even Gaia-like way because Arik is connected to the earth when he uses magic. I loved his shifter form, tufty ears and all. Not saying anymore than that 🙂 I like that the respective series book’s fated mates are not interested in being owned or being a possession. I don’t mind a possessive paranormal romance, in fact I’m all about stalkerish obsessive love, but it depends on the story, the characters and the writing. I respect the feelings of both Nate and now Arik wanting to be their own man whilst also allowing love into their life. This, I very much enjoy. This, fits the overarching nature of the storytelling. It was good to see Charlie Fenwick and Dor once more. It was also wonderful to not only see but spend quite a bit of time with Nate and Ian again. Speaking of… Oh. My. God. Nate and his passive-aggressive mugs! I laughed so hard. Terrific reading. 4.5 Stars.
A highly entertaining, character-driven fantasy that balances sex and humor with tense action sequences.
It's strange how enjoyable this series is, perhaps because the author has found her aesthetic sweet spot. Using fantasy character tropes (werewolves, vampires and warlocks), Grayson plays with gender and sexuality while also addressing brutal sexual violence. But since it occurs between creatures whose existence is imaginary, the violence is mostly set at a distance. It's like patrons during the Renaissance, who were able to engage with sexual themes in their art - but only when these were cloaked in the mythical stories of Greek gods and goddesses, under the guise of coded morality tales. Still, escaping sexual violence is the primary driver of the plot, as Arik, a shifter who uses a kind of magic derived from nature, flees two groups of werewolves who have abused him. Grayson makes Arik's terror of being recaptured palpable, but he's no innocent victim, either. He employs control and coercion, too, casting a love spell on Mathew, the alpha of a down and out werewolf pack introduced in the first book, that puts the leader's sanity and life at risk. All of which makes this book sound either dark and depressing, or just plain silly, depending on your viewpoint. Indeed, some of the plot points could be read as a juvenile rationale for writing about sex that borders on S & M. BUT this brings me back to Grayson's aesthetic. She balances all of these elements with a humor that, especially in this book, is sparkling and sharp. Arik, despite his situation and morals, is funny. He's both sardonic and sarcastic, and the humor is usually well timed not just for laughs and for character development, but also to illuminate or reframe important parts of the story. It's sexy, fun, and, what's more, Grayson can write action scenes that keep your attention and keep you guessing. There are three more books in this series, and I'm looking forward to them.
MC is awful...past trauma doesn’t justify hurting people
I wanted to like this book however the main character is awful. He has been through a lot of horrible things, (none caused by this pack). He’s traumatized and trying to survive, I get that. Knowing this, I tried very hard to empathize with him but he continually made choices to hurt others with his actions and words, even after they helped him. He used his trauma to justify his actions and never once apologized. In fact, the other characters apologized to him for the well deserved actions they took against him for his bad behavior. They tried repeatedly to get him to do the right thing but he continued to be selfish and manipulative. If at any point he would have apologized for what he did to the alpha and the pack, it would have saved this story arch. People were hurt and died because of his actions. Actions have consequences. By the time he does something remotely good, I know longer cared what happened to him. Saving someone who’s dying (mostly due to circumstances he created) doesn’t erase the his terrible choices. Mind/emotional rape, deceitful manipulation and manslaughter were basically glazed over by the alpha, for love? Despicable smh.
Very riveting. 🤗💜💙
The story is told through the perspective of Arik (captive shaman and bobcat shifter) and it was very riveting. Arik had put a love spell on Matthew (wolf alpha) and later, much later, Matthew realizes that he loves Arik even after the spell has been removed. This book had me pulled in from the first page to the last. I enjoyed the style of writing and the plot was very gripping, full of (some violence), shamen, enchantments, shifters, passion and heat with a bit of humor. This was a very creative and enthralling read.
Shaman meets his match
This book dragged in parts which is why it’s 3 stars instead of 4. Communication was the missing piece in this story. It would have made the connection between the characters SO much stronger had it been there. Again this is told in single pov. It’s from Airik’s perspective. He was the ultimate unlikeable character. The author did every thing to make you loathe this guy. And it worked. I was meh on him until almost the end. Matthew was pretty one dimensional too. I’m not sure I want to continue this series tbh. I’ll take a break and then reassess. There’s a short Christmas novella next. I do enjoy reading those in the summer 🤔🤔🎄🎄
Love the series
I love this series. The author is great at creating complex characters and plot. This story was great, but for over half the book I really hated Arik. He only looked out for himself and screwed over everyone else. He had a traumatized last, but I never found any sympathy for him. I loved Matthew and what a great pack leader he was, smart and caring. I was glad that Nate and Ian were part of the story and looked forward to any interactions that involved Nate as I fell in love with him in book 1. I look forward to any further books in this series, but hope any new characters are not so difficult to like.
wow
I've read, or tried to read, a fair number of 'deeply troubled antisocial character' romances, but few achieve what this one did. Arik is defensive and distrustful for good reasons he doesn't dwell on, sharp-tongued and always wary, not realizing that those things that kept him free also blind him to some realities. Mistakes are made, serious ones, but there are layers of scar tissue and mistrust between him and reality. And it's serious, but the author still manages to insert humor and snark. I'm impressed. I enjoyed the first book, but this one's better. Richer. And the epilogue is perfect.
Adored it as much as the first book❤
I have really fallen in love with this series. I devoured the first book, and now the second book. I really loved the mismatched pairings. The author has epic-level snark and I'm here for every word. Adored Arik, how his distrust of everyone shaped him, and how Matthew let him take control and how he came into his own as a Sharman. Loved Matthew, loved uncovering all his layers. The writing is brilliant and i can't say enough about how much i loved these characters without sounding gushy and stalkery but whatever. Loved it❤
Great enemies to lovers story
Arik was so perfect for the straightlaced Matthew. I loved that they truly were enemies who were forced into near proximity, and became mates after a very lengthy period of learning about each other. I’m interested to see where things go for the Armitage Pack. They now have both a warlock and a shaman, so will their financial standing start looking more healthy? Will Parker’s pack seek some form of retaliation? Will Colin maintain a peace? Will Nate’s dad’s plans still continue to haunt everyone?
Captive Mate.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was never boring to me. Arik is the shaman who is not to be trusted. He puts a spell on Matthew and ends up being a pack prisoner. As long as Matthew thinks he is in love with Arik, he is safe. Ultimately Arik removes the spell and he escapes. But he soon learns there is more danger facing Matthew and his pack. So Matthew and Arik will have to work together for the sake of the pack and each other. This book is good!
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