Winter's Captive

The Lochlann Treaty Series

By: Robin D. Mahle, Elle Madison

Narrated by: Olivia King

Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

They thought she was a puppet they could manipulate. But this princess is no damsel in distress. 

Or at least she doesn’t want to be....

The black X of the Aramach marked the spot where Princess Charlotte’s life was destroyed. Her fiance has been kidnapped by rebel insurgents and war threatens to crumble her kingdom if he’s not safely returned. Somewhere in the midst of her inner circle, traitors are plotting to prevent their two kingdoms from uniting. Deciding it’s time to take matters into her own hands, Charlie storms from the castle on a mission to save her betrothed. 

But the obstacles are many and her skills are few.

Due to her sheltered existence, she knows nothing of her own kingdom or how to survive in it. But time is running out. The drums of war have sounded. Fighting against rebels and assassins; Charlie must find a strength within herself she never knew existed. But will it be enough to bring her prince home and save the kingdom? 

©2018 Robin D. Mahle (P)2021 Whiskey and Willow Publishing

Critic reviews

"One of my favorite fantasies of the year. Mahle and Madison are an ace duo who created a world that I didn’t want to come back from. The only problem with this book is that it had to end." (USA Today best-selling author M. Lynn) 

"I absolutely loved this book. It broke me out of my slump, and I cannot wait to jump into the next book! Good Points. Beautiful world building without bogging the story down with descriptions. Great characters. Well-written and well-paced. Exciting and kept attention." (Caitlin Haines, Young Adult Books Central Blogger)

Absolutely Fantastic!!

This hooks you from the beginning! Charlotte/Charlie's fiancé, Oli is abducted on their wedding day. 😱 I mean if that doesn't grab you, I don't know what will. 😆
Robin and Elle did a fantastic job with making you fall in love with Oli, even though he's not actively in the story currently. We learn about him through flashbacks.
I enjoyed Charlie's character growth. She gets to see her kingdom in a new light. I'm excited to see who she becomes by the end of the series.

Some tropes..🙌🏼
Only one bed. Arranged marriage but they're actually in love and childhood best friends. (Aw) Friends to enemies to lovers brewing? And there is a cliffhanger but its a complete series so no waiting 😁

Narration:
Incredible! Olivia King is incredible!! Omgosh She brings SO much emotion and life to an already amazing story. She is very talented and you can tell she loves what she does. Highly recommend anything by her! 💙💙

👉🏼 Some Quotes
“It was hard not to when the two o’ you were flapping around like a pair of angry hens tryin’ to keep your skirts in place.”
.
‘Son, there will always be horrors in this world. Ye aren’t doing those who have died any favors by refusing to live.’
.
“You should never be ashamed of your scars. That’s the proof you have of surviving the monsters who thought they were stronger than you.”
.
“Dammit, woman. Can you just do as I ask, this once?”

5***** Must Read

One of my all-time favorite series. Narration truly brings the characters to life.

Packed with humor, wit, banter, friendship, love. Great character development and growth. Intricate world building.

Young Adult, Cliffhanger

Winter's Captive
I’m reviewing the entire Lochlann Treaty series at once (no spoilers)
The reason for this is that I see the series as one story/ book.
The separate books don’t give a closed story or closed story arc. The first 3 all end in cliffhangers and continue in the next book.
I would recommend reading them all or none. Reading less than all 4 books will not be satisfying.
I hope the series will be bundled together for young adult fans!

The series has a strong young adult vibe. It’s in the writing, drama, romance and inner thoughts of the main character.
I wish books that are clearly targeted at young adults would be classified as such, so people like me who don’t care much for the genre can avoid them.
For me the series was missing something (believability, seriousness or humor?), and didn’t fully manage to keep me engaged. If I wasn’t reviewing this series, I probably wouldn’t have read past the first half of the first book.
But I want to be clear, that’s because I don’t enjoy the genre, not because I think this is a bad series.

If you do like the young adult genre, I think this will be a nice treat.
There is action, adventure, romance, great character development and excellent narration.
I liked the main characters and the underlying theme of friendship.
The series is written from the first person point of view of Charlotte, except for the last book where some chapters are also told from Logan’s point of view.

The narration fitted the series wonderfully.
Pacing, character distinction and conveying of emotions were all perfectly done.

I got this Audio Book for free (thanks!). I'm voluntarily leaving this review.
Opinions and ratings are my own and not influenced by how I got the Audio Book.

Great Series Starter

I think what I love about this series starter is that, in retrospect, the hints are there but the direction of the series is not thrust in your face. There is nothing I loathe more than a series that is predictable. This first book sets the stage beautifully.

Will definitely listen to it again!

Loved the narrator! She did such a good job with this story. Charlie is such a great character! She decided to just go along with what people expected of her until her fiance turns up missing. There is so much we can learn from Charlie. Robin and Elle are great at building worlds for us to get lost in, fall in love with great charactersand making us laugh. Now I need to listen to book 2!

YA Fantasy Romance

"Charlie" is a spoiled little princess who has to mature in a hurry to save her kingdom. So, nothing new so far. Her fiance has been abducted by the terrible bad guys. With a hair-brain scheme but much determination, she and her best friend set off and find disaster at every turn. Through a series of events she's then teamed with her fiance's older brother, with whom she has bad blood, to save the day. Then, book 1 ends. It's an OK story but written very much with a YA slant.

amazing

Winter's Captive is an amazing story. the narrated did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life. i cant wait to find out what to happen

I love when a story is brought to life

I absolutely love Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison, and was so excited to see their bringing the Lochlann Treaty series to life in Audio! It was so much fun to listen to these characters come to life. Olivia did a great job changing up her voice for different characters, while also adding brogue and such for the different regions. I can't wait for the next book!

Loved it!

I absolutely enjoyed this book a lot! She is a sheltered princess who is quite incompetent, and when her fiance is kidnapped she decides that she is the right person to save him. I found the concept in itself extremely funny, and the book did not disappoint! I will definitely get the next book!

Captivating

The narration was excellent!
I was instantly hooked by the story! Charlie's life is upended when her fiance is Kidnapped on their wedding day and she finds out there's a mole in the castle. Now she'll risk her life and her bestie's life because no way is she letting Charlie go alone, to get a message to her brother and ensure her fiance is found while also trying to make sure her kingdom stays safe as this has caused a tenative treaty on the verge of breaking if they can't find her fiance and the culprits soon. The girls may be ladies spenting most of their time in a castle but they're resourceful and will do what they must but also get a taste of what living a less royal life is like. And that ending,oh my goodness major cliffhanger, please give me next book now!

Next one, please!

At first, when I started listening, I wasn't really sure about this book. I loved the way the story started, but I wasn't convinced by the characters. I couldn't be more wrong. If Charly started as an annoying, spoiled and childish princess she grows so much during this book... It's a really good construction ^^ And then are the other characters, whom I loved as well!
In the first third of the story, it's a bit slow pace, but when it picks up it goes 'til the end. And that cliffhanger in the end... I can't really wait to get my hands on the second book.

Let's not forget, Olivia King does an amazing job narrating this book. She has a clear voice, and it's easy to know what character she's voicing.

I received a free audio copy from the author for an honest review.

Winter Captive

This was great book loved the story line and the narrator.Then tension between Charlie and Logan kept you waiting to see if he would tell her how he felt but keeps you hanging on. I was disappointed where it ended but it is book one. Looking forward to book two

So so good

I’m already a fan of the series, it’s a GREAT series. So when i found out it was on audiobook I HAD to get it! The narrator did not disappoint. I’ve been laughing, cringing, and shaking my head. I can’t wait for the rest of the series to come out on audio and hope this narrator does all of them.