Captive Bride

Captive Series, Book 1

By: Stella Gray

Narrated by: Aaron Shedlock, Stephanie Rose

Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

I was supposed to get close to him...but Armani keeps his secrets closer.

Everyone knows that Armani is the most dangerous Bellanti brother. No one knows what he’s capable of. I do know there is nothing he won’t do for his family.

For months, I’ve interacted with the dark, broody man. The way he looks at me moves the earth under my feet. His touch makes my skin tingle.

But I’ve had my own agenda.

Then after a night I can’t remember, I wake up naked in his bed. He’s sitting at my side, a cruel smile on his face. Now I'm his captive—and his wife.

We might share his Bellanti name, but I'll never share my heart.

Book one of three in the all-new angsty, sizzling Captive series.

Suggested listening order:

• Broken Bride: Dante (Bellanti Brothers, Book 1)
• Broken Vow: Dante (Bellanti Brothers, Book 2)
• Broken Trust: Dante (Bellanti Brothers, Book 3)
• Forbidden Bride: Marco (Bellanti Brothers, Book 4)
• Forbidden War: Marco (Bellanti Brothers, Book 5)
• Forbidden Love: Marco (Bellanti Brothers, Book 6)
• Captive Bride: Armani (Bellanti Brothers, Book 7)

©2022 Stella Gray (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

Captive Bride

I loved the books of Captive Bride, so it was great to listen to them as well!

Stephanie Rose was exactly how I expected Candi to sound and her inflections were amazing. I always thought Armani would have a deeper voice than Aaron Shedlock's. That being said, Shedlock did amazing work as Armani and pulled me into the story.

One thing I love about audio books, and this one is no different, is how clear the naughty scenes are and how much some characters swear. I knew all this going into the book, but the audio book sure highlights it.

I received listening codes from Paige Press LLC and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

so so good

Ever since I read Marcos' story, I've been intrigued by Armani. He was described almost as the "enforcer" of their mafia shenanigans. His story revolves around figuring out who their mole is. There's been so many things happen to Frankie (Dante's wife) and her sisters, as well as with Karina (Marcos' wife). Frankie reveals to Candi or Cassandra (Armani's love interest) that Armani has always been the one who's made her feel comfortable when she went to live in the house. Now, it's Candi's turn to dragged into the house with these three men and their wives.

Armani wants proposes a somewhat indecent proposal to Candi where she must live in their house and share a bedroom with Armani. Eventually, they find themselves involved in so much more than sharing a bed and warmth. Rings are nested on their fingers. And the mole Armani has been set out to find - well, it's closer than the brothers thought. Armani suspects her. Everything bad that happens to their wine warehouses seems to point to Candi.

Reading and listening to books are different experiences. I don't know why at the time, I felt like I didn't quite enjoy the book when I first read it. Not in terms that I didn't like it but in terms of that I read it too fast. Listening to it now, I feel like I've got a better understanding of what's happening.

As usual book 1 ends in a cliffhanger that will continue into book 2.

Hot Mafia Romance

3.5 ✨
If you’re looking for a hot and smutty mafia romance featuring a delicious and dangerous broody hero, Candy and Armani’s story is the one! As usual Aaron Shedlock didn’t disappoint in his fantastic performance…together he and Stephanie Rose perfectly captured the essence of the story.

Female Narrator is Awful

I love the story, and the male narrator is perfection.
But the female narrator is ruining the entire listening experience.
Her voice for the main female character is nasal and abrasive, but that’s not the worst part. The voice she uses for the male main character (shudder!)
It sounds like a robot-—a bored, slow-witted robot, at that. I’m five chapters in, but I just don’t think I can take anymore. It’s a shame; I was really looking forward to listening to this series. Under the circumstances, I’ll continue reading it on my Kindle.

Who is playing who?

Waking up, married, in Vegas is one way to open a story and when it comes to the Bellanti brothers it is sure fire way to captivate me in the story. This twisted beginning had me captivated to see how things would unfold. It was so clear there was something more between Candi and Armani, but with both being as stubborn as they are it was going to be an explosive ride, and I was not disappointed. The question is who will win and who will lose?
The narrators did an amazing job bringing these characters to life, the emotions boiling over really came through in their voices.

🖤🖤🖤

I was gifted the Audio series. And I devoured this one. The narrators were great. I won’t lie This book was intense, spicy, and kept me on edge. Excited to read more. Definitely recommend.

Great story, Fantastic narration

This is the story of the 3rd brother in the Belanti family (though he is the middle brother). He has decided that Candi, who works for thier vinyard in sales, is a mole for the Bruno family. So he decides to keep her close to him. So he has her move in and tells her that she needs to give him 6 months to make her fall in love with him..... well she does. And her friend thinks that it's great because then she can spy on the Belanti family better if she is living in thier compound.

Well let's just say that it doesn't go the way she plans. Candi starts to fall in love with Armani and begins feeling like she is actually a part of the family..... until she goes with Armai to Vegas..... and that is when things take a turn for her. This is book 1 of 3 and with the slight cliffhanger that ended this book I am chomping at the bit to finish this review so that I can go start the next book!

The narration was great! Stephanie and Aaron were perfection! And I am looking forward to hearing more about Candi & Armani from them. There was a good amount of spice in this book, but kinda lacking in the swoon and angst department. And I am loving the story line. I feel like there will be more swooning later on when Armani starts to fall for Candi and his walls start to come down.... that is probably when the angst will arrive too!!


Story 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spice 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Swoon 😍😍😍
Angst 💔💔💔
Narration 👏👏👏👏👏

Armani and Kandi

Captive Bride by Stella Gray is my first Stella Gray book. I wish I would have been prompted to have read Dante and Marco’s trilogies prior to reading/listening to Armani and Kandi’s trilogy. I would have enjoyed the series a bit more. It took me until chapter 4 to figure out this was a mafia series. The characters needed a bit more back story development. Aaron Shedlock and Stephanie Rose narrate all 3 stories in the trilogy. I had a very difficult time listening to Stephanie Rose as Kandi. Her voice was almost robotic with forced emotion not a natural sound/rhythm. Aaron Shedlock was better but he seemed like he was forcing the sternness because Armani is a mafia boss. I wanted to know the end of the story so I continued and finished the trilogy.

Loved the Story

Loved the story but the female narrator sounded like a robot when she tried to portray the voice of Armani. I will be getting book 2 but the Kindle version if she is the narrator.

Interesting and looking forward to more

Aaron and Stephanie did a phenomenal job with the middle brothers, Armani Belanti’s story. Despite Candi’s reasons for being around him she falls. And the narrators brought their story to life. This first book of their trilogy set things up and showed their chemistry. I look forward to what the next book has in store. Hopefully the angst and emotions will be next level. The performance by the pair was on point and had me so captivated that I jumped right in to the next audio!