Rachael Ritchey

I know you’re busy reading other books and enjoying them immensely. I’m so glad about that. I’m hoping, though, I could convince you to take a chance on Captive Hope in your next set of clean, no-/low-spice reads!

Would you like to read (for free) and review

Captive Hope,

but haven’t read

The Beauty Thief

and don’t want to commit to a whole series?

Then you’re in the right place!

Swipe through the slides to find out more.

I’m looking for more Reviews for this second book in the series!

I know it’s a time commitment, so I’m giving away FREE copies for a limited time (until 3/31/2025)

with NO actual obligation to review

(even though it would be awesome if you did!)

through Bookfunnel for a limited time.

AND to make it so you don’t have to read the first book in the series to give Captive Hope a chance…

I’m giving a spoiler-filled short version of The Beauty Thief down below!

So, if you’d like to take me up on the FREE book, and maybe, if you want and wouldn’t mind leaving an honest review at your favorite retailer (e.g. Amazon) or site like Goodreads, I’d be forever grateful!

The Spoiler-filled summary of The Beauty Thief is down at the bottom of this post (in case it’s hard to read on the slides), but don’t read that part if you want to read The Beauty Thief, too, or don’t want the spoilers!

What Captive Hope is about:

In the opulent halls of High Castle, Lady Idra seeks to carve out her own path and purpose within the confines of court life. As the dutiful lady-in-waiting to Princess Caityn, Idra is torn between obligation and growing feelings for the chivalrous Sir Ahmad. Yet, just as she begins to untangle the complexities of her heart, the past resurfaces, ushering in a mercenary’s revenge. Kidnapped, Idra finds herself a prisoner aboard a pirate ship and bound for the unknown where she must summon untested courage to escape or forever lose her freedom.

Sir Ahmad, driven by desperation and a love that defies the stormy seas, plunges into a wild race against all odds to rescue Idra from her captors. While on the high seas, Idra encounters an enigmatic pirate whose soul craves redemption. As they forge an unlikely bond born of desperation and hope, the pirate battles his sense of unworthiness and an unattainable desire for Idra, blurring the lines of loyalty and the self-preservation that has kept him alive.

In a tale woven of adventure, redemption, and unspoken vows of love, each must discover their limits and where their true hope lies. Will Ahmad’s unyielding determination, a pirate’s desperate bid for absolution, and the hope Idra carries for them all be enough to secure freedom, or will a mercenary’s thirst for revenge destroy them all?

The idea is that giving Captive Hope a try, you would be willing and want to leave an honest review at your preferred retailer or Goodreads or wherever you can leave a review! If you have questions for me about the books, ask away!

SUMMARY of The Beauty Thief‘s storyline

Here’s a summary of everything that happens in The Beauty Thief. Only keep reading if you want all the spoilers! 🙂 And if you’d rather get the book, it’s $0.99 on Amazon!

Setting: A medieval-inspired world and a kingdom called the Twelve Realms where magic has been forgotten

Main Characters: Princess Caityn & High Prince Theiandar

Antagonists: The Beauty Thief (aka Nox); Roache & his goons (mercenaries)

Supporting Cast: Lady Idra Tenbow (Caityn’s cousin and lady-in-waiting); Theiandar’s 12 guardsmen: Ahmad, Gavin (Caityn’s cousin), Florian, Hanif, Parker, Lieve, Zaccur, Daray, Wade, Jarl, Silas, & Rance; Prince Adair (Caityn’s elder brother); Princess Eliya (Theiandar’s younger sister)

The Story of The Beauty Thief

Princess Caityn and High Prince Theiandar are on the cusp of their union. Their families and many people from the Twelve Realms have gathered in Taisce to witness and celebrate with them, but on the eve of the wedding Princess Eliya, spurred by jealousy and fear, helps the Beauty Thief get to Caityn by slipping a substance into her cup that causes a deep sleep.

In the night, while the castle is quiet and Caityn is defenseless in a drug-induced slumber, the thief sneaks into her room and begins his awful ritual to burn the beauty from her body, both inner and outer. He slinks off into the night, sure he has been successful, and begins traveling to his lair hidden deep in the mountains of Emlyn.

Upon waking, Caityn is surprised but has no deep emotion or feeling about what she sees when she looks in the mirror. It is those around her who become distraught. They want to hide the curse from the kingdom and so a private meeting is held to decided what to do about the wedding and Caityn’s future.

Prince Theiandar is struck by the news, but he refuses to believe nothing can be done for his beloved Caityn. Eliya admits her part in it. Adair has an idea that there might be something helpful at the historic records hall in Conleth. So, they agree to at least try, but Caityn remains unphased and unwilling to cooperate.

Theiandar, Caityn, Adair, Idra, and 12 guardsmen set out. They split up into groups, hoping to find the old man who did this to Caityn while also making haste to the Hall of Historic Records at Conleth, with the desire of finding a cure to the curse in the tomes of their past. But Caityn is ugly and unkind, morose and difficult. Those who travel with her struggle to believe she truly is the kindhearted princess they’ve known.

Caityn falls from the boat into the river, but between her lack of desire to live and the heavy weight of her clothing, she nearly drowns. Theiandar rescues her and in his promises to her at that moment, she begins to change physically and subtly. But, Nox is alerted to her life’s near end when the light of her beauty flickers within the amulet he has trapped it in. If she dies before he finishes the rite under a full lunar eclipse, the power will die with her, and he cannot allow that to happen.

Theiandar, Caityn, and the rest make it to Conleth where Adair uses his status as a prince and his past connections to the neighboring university to gain access to the ancient records room that is usually off-limits. There is an unfortunate acquaintance who now works in the Records. Anger and jealousy toward Adair drive him to do the unthinkable, and he stabs him in the back, leaving him for dead as he flees from his own shocking handiwork.(BOOK 2 HINT)

When Adair is discovered unconscious and bleeding, they find the partially burned scrolls that speak of the Thief.

Caityn’s own brother is nearly killed and she cannot muster up even an ounce of worry or care for him, which draws the stark reminder to why they are even here on this quest. But hope is not lost as they start to notice subtle changes in Caityn’s appearance. The scrolls are not complete because of the burned sections, but they are able to piece together what they believe they will need to undo the curse. And they discover they have little time with the nearing of the total lunar eclipse.

They carefully load Adair in a carriage with the ladies and travel to High Castle to meet up with the rest of the guardsmen and find out if they were able to locate the man who did this to Caityn. When they have rested and Theiandar has been given an ultimatum by his father that if nothing can be done he must give her up and marry another, Theiandar’s resolve is returned as his love is more than a fleeting emotion but a commitment he is willing to stand by.

They again set out and split up to save time on their way. One group takes Caityn toward their end goal while the other heads farther south to buy a gem large enough to make an arrowhead. On the way, mercenaries, hired by Nox, ambush Caityn’s group and abscond with Caityn with the intention that Nox will take her and keep her safe until after his ritual is complete.

The mercenaries injure several and kill Hanif, the youngest guardsman, scarring Ahmad’s heart as if he’s to blame. The mercenaries take both Caityn and Idra, but because Caityn’s youth has been nearly restored and they were expecting an old woman, they don’t know which is which, and the ladies hide their identities from them. Roache and his men were paid to bring Caityn to Nox at his lair in the mountains, so they travel north.

Meanwhile, Theiandar’s party catches up with Ahmad’s group, and they must decide if they will track down the mercenaries or finish the task of making an arrow that will help break the curse. They believe the ladies’ lives are not yet in danger, and they are sure they are on their way to the Thief.

The mercenaries eventually need to cross the Bear River, and it is here that Idra, convinced to do so by Caityn to protect her life, escapes their clutches by plunging into the deepest part of the river where she is washed downstream. Her brave stupidity gets the attention of a man who will not easily forget how she humiliated him (BOOK 2 HINT). But because Idra wasn’t the one they needed, they leave her for dead and continue on their path.

Theiandar and his men get the arrow they need and continue their dangerous journey to Nox and his lair where they hope to get the amulet from him and save Caityn before the lunar eclipse. After the mercenaries hand Caityn over, they stick around to block Theiandar and his men from getting inside.

Theiandar and Ahmad make it through and struggle on.

Because of the love of Theiandar, and Idra, and all of Caityn’s family and friends, the curse has slowly been worn away to the point where she looks like herself again, and she can feel things, if only a little. Because of this she has a flicker of fight in her, but despair is much stronger.

Theiandar & Ahmad are attacked in the lair’s tunnels and left for dead by the Thief who thinks he’s won, but they fight their way free. Theiandar has to continue on his own because of Ahmad’s injuries, but when he finds Caityn, he thinks she’s dead and hope seems lost, but then he realizes she’s not. While he works to free her, the Thief arrives and they battle–the thief unnaturally strong due to his retained magic. Their battle is fierce until, by providence, the thief is caught off-guard and falls from the precipice of the cliff and disappears into the darkness.

The eclipse is nearly complete, and before it can be done, Theiandar must overcome his fear of killing Caityn. While she is wearing the amulet, he must pierce it with a perfectly aimed arrow where it must rest against her heart. He shoots the arrow, the magic amulet bursts with light, and Caityn falls to the ground. But by a miracle she is not dead. She is saved and whole once again. The sacrifices of her beloved and all who she once loved brought her the healing she needed.

And of course, they lived happily ever after!

Want to read Captive Hope now?