“They conquered my city, but not me.”

After her city-state is conquered, his loyal captains take Ilya, the born-to-be ruler, captive to the emperor’s palace. To survive alongside other captives, Ilya must hide her hatred for the cruel emperor to protect her people. Still, when an opportunity presents itself to help the growing rebellion, Ilya decides to do whatever it takes to fight for freedom, even at the cost of her growing feelings for Lucien, the captain who took her from her home and who she quickly realizes is not who she thought him to be.

I really liked the main character, Ilya. She is so strong and always willing to fight for what she believes in her freedom and for her people. I didn’t always agree with her decisions, and I thought she often acted recklessly, never seeming to learn from her mistakes. However, this aspect can make for a great character, allows for lots of growth, and makes me interested in her journey in future books. Lucien was our MMC, and his journey was to discover the truth. He’s struggling with what he’s been taught and learning for himself. It was written so realistically, and I liked how he had always been there for Ilya since their first meeting. He can be insecure, which makes sense for his character. I really enjoy that these characters are flawed, which is unique in books.

Ilya and Lucien had a fantastic slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance. There were so many great moments between them, and I loved all their scenes together. Everything felt so organic. I also really liked the secondary characters, found family trope was well written here, and it would be great to see some of them get their own stories in the future. The plot is exciting and fast-paced, and the writing style makes it easy to digest. There is plenty of everything - magic, political intrigue, hidden identities, found family, emotional experiences, and unforgettable characters.

*An e-ARC was provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ilya Valerious was born to rule the city-state of Sorrena in her mother’s footsteps—until the tyrannical emperor conquered her homeland.

This was a fairly straight-forward romantasy, but a well done one. Good characters, good world-building, good plot. Very solid all around.

This story has all the makings of a great adventure. The setup is fantastic, with 5 orphans with magical powers somehow (we don't know yet!) found and adopted by a mysterious emperor who trains them and raises them. Each orphan, now adult, has a unique power and a helm to match. Now the emperor is having them slowly overrun the smaller city states, taking hostages (referred to as "honored guests") as insurance against future uprising. But one "guest", Ilya, finds the First Captain, Lucian, alluring and the feeling is returned. This captive-prisoner situation isn't grotesque or weird, and the story follows these two as rebellion surges. The setup is great; the love story has the makings of a fine one.

Captive of the Stolen Empire by Megan Van Dyke pleasantly surprised me. I love the world building in this series and I cannot wait for more.

Ilya’s kingdom has just been conquered by the emperor in his ever expanding rule, and she’s been taken to the capitol as a sign of goodwill - and insurance that her people won’t attempt to rebel. Together with the other heirs to the kingdoms, Ilya attempts to help the rebels, all the while trying to evade notice and weasel information from his first general.

This was pretty predictable but it was still good. As soon as Gabriel mentioned *the thing* I knew. I feel like there was also a somewhat rushed delivery at times. Lucien’s descriptions about things that happened off page left something to be desired. The dual POV was nice though. I also wish we got a better look at the diary and knew where everyone was from. I’m not sure if this was a standalone or not - if it was it should’ve been longer with an epilogue to account for Lucien going home, the trial, etc and if it wasn’t a standalone I’m not sure how much more plot can be squeezed out. Would still read a sequel though.

This novel was an enjoyable read for a standalone novel. The captor and captive fall in love with each other, like an enemies to lovers romance. Ms. Van Dyke weaves an interesting tale, filled with intrigue, action, romance, and betrayal. Some have been blessed with powerful magic, and groomed to do the emperor's bidding, which involve conquering all the city states and bringing them under one rule, for a united empire. However, the city states do not see it that way, and plot a rebellion in secret, with the help of those taken as "guests" to the emperor's home. Ilya would do anything for her people and family, even if it meant seducing the enemy. Lucien desires Ilya and keeps her close, knowing she cannot be trusted, but wanting to protect her at the same time. One can be blinded and avoid the truth, for facing the actions you committed can be more difficult, for many are unforgiving. I received this novel from net galley and the publisher. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this book as it had such an interesting plot! I felt like this book has a lot of promise but it just wasn't quite there yet. I found that the characters had a tendency to state their emotions rather than the emotions actually being shown which took me out of the story a bit. The ideas for the characters and the story were amazing but the writing lacked the flourish to bring it to its full potential. I would have loved to see more in depth into Lucien and Ilya's story as it felt a bit rushed at times. Despite my criticisms, this book did keep me entertained and I did enjoy reading it!

I adore Megan's writing, and I think this is her best yet!
I loved everything about Captive of a Stolen Empire. It is a true enemies to lovers, not "enemies for 20 pages," and I really loved Ilya's stubbornness and resolve to do everything she could to help her people. Lucien is another new trophy on my shelf of book boyfriends. I love him! And special mention to Warren for being a complete cinnamon roll! I really liked the element of magic and the way it was done. I almost wish this was a continuing series, but I also think it was well paced, and the ending was satisfying.

Fans of Hurricane Wars, ACOTAR, FBAA and basically any fantasy romance will enjoy this one!

The storyline and romance are pretty good. But something felt off about the book. The way it was written just wasn't too believable. I really, really wanted to love this book




Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of the book for my honest option

*side note that I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This book had good story building, plot, and romance! I enjoyed the world that was built, and the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading until the end- author set up for a second book nicely, and I would honestly read it to continue the story.

With that said, I will say that I wish there was more character development- I’m all for a female lead character needing saved by a live interest, but I felt that our main girl this time was always a “damsel in distress”. Another this was I felt there was a lot of things that could’ve been GREAT plot points that were just vaguely summarized or barely skipped over, and it had be going back to re-read the prior page to make sure I didn’t accidentally skip a page or something.

All in all- pretty decent book, I wouldn’t re-read, but I would read a second book to continue the story line where it left off!

This was just okay, and I give it 2.5 stars. I liked how there was an enemies to lovers trope as it is my favourite, however I did find that the main characters relationship was a tad rushed, I think it could have been drawn out a bit more, as it didn't make me feel as invested in their relationship, as I wanted to be. I also found that this book would tell the reader what was going on a lot, rather than show them. It would have been nice if more was shown to the reader, and I think it would have made the story flow better.

I liked how the reader gets both POVs from the main characters I love when books do this, because you can better understand the characters. Overall this was just okay for me, but I will check out more from this author in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and City Owl Press for the ARC!

The overall plot seemed incredibly interesting to me, a rebellion love story set in a cool fantasy world. However as much as I wanted to love it I ended up having to dnf as the writing was making it difficult to get through. The main character could’ve become more interesting and exciting however seemed to suddenly go from a non fighter to wanting to bring the empire down with not much character development to lead to this besides the obvious take over of her city. If the writing had flowed better it would’ve got a higher rating as the plot was actually very good

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book is perfect for enemies to lover’s trope, and that is my favorite one.

You have Ilya that is taken to the emperor because her city state has been taken over by the emperor and now, she is his “guest” in her house along with the other city state residents. However, with the help of the rebels who want to overthrow the emperor and bring the nation back to the way that it used to be, that will be a little harder than it looks with having the emperors’ knights. They can weld magic and have been trained in how to do so since a young age. Maybe just maybe with the help of a certain guild named Lucien, they might be able to do it.

I enjoyed the plot and the twist in the book, I thought the author did a great job with world building. I thought the characters were interesting and well thought out. I, however, did not really like Ilya. I can understand her want and need to do things to make a change in the empire but dang girl really you should listen to pay more attention to the little details. I did love Lucien a lot! I can understand the way he thought, the reasons and I found myself understanding him more and more through the book. He also had the most character growth in the book. I know that Ilya did as well. However, hers did not measure to the same amount as his. I loved the side characters the most because they really helped to bring the MC together more and I mean who couldn’t love Wren.

I would have loved to learn more about the magical powers that the characters had, the whys and whose and where they came from, and I do wish we could have had more of an understanding of what happened with the emperor in the ending. What I did love about the book was the romance. I thought Ilya and Lucien's relationship was done just right. You can see the hate and just know that it's going to be so good when they finally give in to each other. This slow burn romance mixed in with the enemies to lovers’ trope was great for the book because when you finally get to see them put their titles aside and just be themselves you really get to see them shine and be something more.

Overall, I thought the plot was interesting. The author will keep you engaged throughout the book and wanting to know what will happen next. If someone will be caught, or killed or if a certain character will finally put aside everything and be together. You will be wanting to know everything and when the book comes to an end you will be wanting more because you liked it so much.

I recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy, romance, enemies to lovers, dual POV, magic and so much more.

I want to thank NetGalley and City Owl Press for the opportunity to review this book.

3.5 stars! I'm a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope, and dual POVs have my heart forever.

I feel like this has the makings of a compelling story, but it needs more development and support - especially when it comes to building the plot and the characters through action and feeling rather than telling the reader everything. Regardless, I did enjoy the book and will definitely read more by this author. She is creative and has a solid grasp of the fantasy genre.

I really enjoyed this book.

Loved the characters and the world building. My favourite trope is enemies-to-lovers which this book has. Will definitely be reading more by Megan Van Dyke.

Thank you for the ARC of this book. I enjoyed it so much I bought the kindle version

Thank you to Netgalley & the author for this arc. All thoughts are my own.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and so I knew I had to read this book as soon as I read the blurb. We got the POVs of both of our leads, Ilya and Lucien, which I really liked. It allows the reader to see and understand their motivations and the conflict within them as they start to fall for each other.

However, I found that the book had a tendency to tell rather than show me what was going on. So much time would pass between each chapter and we don’t get to see all that happened. It was just summarized in a few sentences at the beginning of the chapter. It made the progression of the plot and the romance feel jumbled and stilted at times. There were also some moments that were missing for me in order to believe that Lucien and Ilya had developed feelings for each other. Their relationship happened way too quickly for me to be fully on board and invested in them as a couple.

I've enjoyed this author's other books, and overall I did like this one too.
I just wished the story flowed and it wasn't so tell more than show. I like it when we experience with the characters, it allows us to connect to them more.

The magical system was interesting, and I would have enjoyed seeing more of how the empire cultivated such magic and trained it. It was one of the things that was talked about but not shown nearly enough, and I would have loved to learn more about how the magic worked over a longer period of time.

Overall, I commend Van Dyke's attempt with a high-fantasy story. There are some good plot devices and storytelling moments in here that, with some further experience writing in this sub-genre, could lead to something special.

Not for me. I'm not interested in the romantasy as a sub-genre, and this cemented the why for me. It felt so bland and boring.

4.5 Stars!

I absolutely loved the journey that was Captive of the Stolen Empire! Heir Ilya must leave her city-state under the watchful eye of First Captain Lucien to be an "honored guest" (aka captive) of the conquering Emperor in the city of Zhine where she finds allies, love, and a new future she couldn't have imagined.

This book had (almost) everything I was looking for in a romantasy novel (missing a map!): first-person dual pov!! plot twists that make sense and had good foreshadowing for those looking for it!! a love beyond titles and sides of the upcoming war!! a fun mix of side characters ranging from guncle to sweet precious bb girls to found brothers!! a solid ending that could mean standalone but with a door open so it could continue if the author wants!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the opportunity to read this ARC. Captive of the Stolen Empire came out yesterday, November 14!

Captive of the Stolen Empire begins with Ilya being taken as a hostage to her city-state’s good behavior by the captain of the Emperor’s guard. The Emperor has been slowly crushing and conquering the disparate city-states, and her land joins the others in being under his boot. As heir to Sorrena, her fury knows no bounds, but her hands are tied. She focuses that fury on the Emperor’s First, a guard named Lucien, who is intrigued by her fiery nature. When an attack along the road reveals to her hidden rebels rising against the Emperor, she becomes determined to do her part and aid them. Setting her sights on Lucien as her best bet for information when snooping fails. With the other heirs of her neighboring city-states assisting, she sets about finding a way to free them from the Emperor’s lust for power. And hidden secrets about Lucien and the other guards may be the key.

I loved how Ilya came into the Emperor’s castle and immediately was able to galvanize the other heirs stuck there. Lucien was able to see this right away. She’s a leader by both nurture and nature, fiery and confident. The game Ilya plays of trying to find out information is stressful for my anxiety at her getting caught, but was great. She’s incredibly obvious at times, leading to her ending up staying with Lucien to be monitored. But she learns to be a bit more covert. Unfortunately for her, she begins to have feelings for Lucien, complicating everything for her. Especially when the others are able to see it, and think she’s turned against them.

Lucien, on the other hand, is the epitome of a loyal soldier. He doesn’t question the Emperor, believing in his mission of bringing the city-states together into a peaceful and prosperous empire. Ilya comes into his world and begins to shake things up. He’s never been distracted by a woman like this, as the Emperor has forbidden attachments. But he’s unable to stay away from her. He’s torn between his growing feelings for Ilya and his dedication to the Emperor. Wanting to believe she’ll turn to their side and see what he sees. But the more time he spends with her, the more barriers she breaks down, the more he sees the flaws in the Emperor and his plans. Especially as the Emperor grows increasing erratic and his orders more wretched.

And then there’s the secret Ilya discovers. The Emperor forces his guards, who all wield magic, to always be hidden by armor. Never allowed to reveal themselves to others. But Lucien ends up breaking this for Ilya. And when she sees a certain mark, she puts the pieces of the Emperor’s misdeeds together. This plot point was really interesting. Especially as they go to Trale, where Lucien begins to see the truth in what Ilya is telling him. And he’s not the only one. Unraveling this and seeing his reaction to it was great. He’s so conflicted and you really feel that pain of being torn in two directions at first, and then as that becomes the pain of finding out the truth and dealing with all that brings up. There’s a lot of complicated emotions for him!

The story is a standalone, so I expected the romance to be the focus, but more was given to the overarching plot of the Emperor than I expected. From Ilya’s rooting for information to the truth of the guards to the confrontation at the end. I really enjoyed the story and while I sort of wish we got a conclusion with the Emperor himself, I really liked what we got! The romance between Ilya and Lucien was really cute. Both of them discovering what it’s like to put their title aside and live for themselves for once. Both of them had, in different ways, become their titles, and had nothing outside of it of worth to them. Finding one another, they finally have the chance to discover who they truly are as well. Literally in Lucien’s case! But I loved seeing them two of them finding their way together through their differing ideals and beliefs, and figuring out that their love was the most important thing to them both!

I loved the beginning of this book and the plot was compelling. Lucien was complex and I enjoyed reading from his pov a lot. The middle dragged a bit for me but I am looking forward to more from this author. Thank you for allowing me to read an arc!