Auctioned

Where do I begin? This story blew me away. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down. I can not wait for Stranded, the follow up and I hope that the author covers all bases with that book because I really need to know what happens to Cole and Jonas because I am totally vested in both. To sum up the story line, well the preview pretty much tells what its about and I will just say that the author doesn't beat around the bush or just touch on it, she goes full out and tells all the ugliness that happens to these kids. It isn't pretty and not for those with weak stomachs. Your heart will go out to these guys, the story is well told and the authors style of writing will draw you in until the very end. I have read several of the Camassia novels by this author and Gray is one of my favorite characters. He is sweet, lovable, compassionate, a great friend and always wanting to help people. He's no wuss though, he will fight if he has to and is used to taking a hit from playing hockey. I loved seeing things from his perspective. He made appearances in some of the other books and from other characters perspective he is someone who has a big heart and is always there for the people he loves. This book however confirmed that there is so much more to him. Darius was his rescuer, hired by his dad to find him and bring him home. He is strong and hard, but since the author was kind enough to allow us to see things from his point of view we know that many of the things he is forced to do to protect himself and Gray are things that will probably haunt him forever. I loved this book and highly recommend it and the entire line of books that take place in Camassia. Cara Dee is a very talented author and has a gift that should be shared with all, her books all touch on subjects that some might find offensive, but they are so real feeling, Characters should never be perfect, life in general is not perfect and its boring and fake when it is written like it is.Her characters lead realistic lives and have realistic problems, but they find a way to make it thru and eventually find happiness. I look forward to more by this author.

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ 4-1/2-STAR ✩ REVIEW ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ > > Judging a Book by its Cover < < I’ll admit, the cover never would have warranted a second glance for me. It was a “2018 Year-End BEST” nomination that brought me to read the synopsis. It sounded terribly dark and sad but seemed to promise suspense, action, and rescue. I’ve been craving a good Suspense lately so I opted to give it a try! > > Looking Deeper < < POV ~> Third-person. Grey was taken off the streets one evening on his way home. Abducted, tortured, beaten and broken for months before being delivered to a yacht for auction where he and several other young, gay males were sold to the highest bidder. Darius was sent to rescue Grey. Only Grey. Unfortunately, that meant playing the part of some sadistic “shooter” and putting on a show to ward off suspicions. Once Grey learned the truth of his new “owner”, he’d demanded all the boys be saved. How would one man save over a dozen starved and beaten boys from several dozen enemy figures? Yes, as the synopsis clearly states, this story is DARK. It was filled with horrors the average innocent person could not conceive or comprehend. I do not envy the research Cara Dee had to do in order to write this story. It was disturbingly detailed and heartbreakingly painful to read at times. It was NOT a romance. It was a fictional story of a victim and a rescuer, coming together during a crucial point in both their lives and bonding over a hellacious experience. The story itself flowed smoothly and the writing was great. I knew before I was halfway through that I’d want to read more from this author, especially if it fell in the same world and was written in the same style. The cast was well-written and each was given a unique personality that came off well. Dialogue seemed appropriate and their interactions felt natural. Throughout the conflicts, I kept wanting to know how Ryan planted the stuff on the boat. Was that ever explained or did I miss it? I don’t know. The predictability was pretty low but the conclusion, to me, did not feel closed. While it may not have ended on a true “cliffhanger”, I did feel it was more open-ended than not and seeing as book 2 (Stranded) seems as though it will be picking up where book 1 left off, I would not necessarily call book 1 truly concluded and done. Regardless, I’ve already purchased Stranded as well and plan to read it at my earliest availability. . Rating: [R+] ~ Score: 4.375 ~ Stars: 4 NOTE: Contains MANY topics guaranteed to be TRIGGERS to several groups of sensitive readers. Topics include, but are NOT limited to: Rape, Torture, and Abuse of minors and young adults. Slavery, Trafficking, Drugs, BDSM ========================== ⭐ ⭐ **** Disclosure of Material: I purchased a copy of this book from Amazon and am voluntarily leaving unbiased and unsolicited feedback. I was not asked, encouraged, or required to leave a review - nor was I compensated in any way. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising". ***** ⭐ ⭐

I just did my second read of this story, the first time was nearly four years ago, when Cara Dee and MM romance were new to me but man I love this story and series. It’s heartbreaking and soul crushing and you feel these emotions alongside Gray and the other boys he has been auctioned off with. It’s such a horrible and awful fate for people. Gray is a 20 year old guy at the start of this book, when he is abducted and carted off into the world of slavery. He goes through a lot before he’s auctioned off. Darius is his buyer but he’s been hired to rescue Gray and bring him home. But the struggles they face during this process is a lot. This book causes soul deep pain but at the same time, Gray is such a beautiful soul and he just brings joy. This story hooked me in the world of Cara Dee, and I’m so glad because she’s a fantastic author and I love everything I read by her. This story is filled with endearing characters, some whose fate is worse than others. It’s filled with so much pain and heartache, action and love. Gray’s rollercoaster of emotions is quite the ride and this story is just beginning.

I just finished reading Auction by Cara D, and it was honestly such a good read. The storyline lined up so well, and I can’t wait to dive into the rest of the series. What I really loved is that it wasn’t overshadowed by constant sex or forced “slutty” moments—instead, it focused on the characters slowly building a real relationship. Even though the setting was dark, nasty, and dangerous—where people were being killed, children were hurt, and there was so much cruelty—the author still managed to show how the characters found comfort and strength in each other. It was put together in such a well-written and thoughtful way that balanced the harshness of the world with the beauty of connection. This is an M.M. romance, and while it can definitely be read as a standalone, it’s also part of a larger series that I’m excited to continue.

3.75 stars Triggers: human trafficking, bondage, physical, mental and emotional abuse, murder, kidnapping, sexual abuse, drugs and general mayhem. This book goes beyond description. It grabs you from the first page, throttles you mercilessly throughout, then gives you a brief breath before its HFN conclusion. First book of two so far. There is m/m sexual exploits throughout, but most are of the "forced" nature and resemble of a type of damaging abuse. The protagonists are extremely vile... sadistically so. As are the protagonists, but for the greater good. While not what I was expecting, this book turned my world upsidedown. It is loaded with brutality, vengeance, hate, death, love and everything in-between. Be prepared for an absolute carnage filled rollercoaster ride!

I enjoyed this quite a lot, the characters were all fleshed out pretty well for the word count, it was highly depressing in some areas and tentatively hopefully in others. Gray and Darius are a compelling duo and I really hope we get to see more of their relationship develop with the following books.

Wow is the only word I can say about this book. I don’t know even where to start much less end. Gray Nolan is the best friend of Abel in Power Play. We know everyone wants to be loved but it’s not about that. This book focuses on Grey being kidnapped by sex traffickers. With the side characters helping to bring the story together. I won’t go into detail because this book is so filled with Triggers but I will tell you it’s very well written. Throughout the story there are sweet moments but the other stuff rises to the fore front. Be prepared when you read this because this story is truly powerful. I’ve had to take several breaks in reading. With that being said Cara Dee did an amazing job with this book. I give it 5 stars ⭐️. 💜❤️

When Gray gets kidnapped in his hometown, he finds out quickly that he’s going to be sold as a sex slave. What he doesn’t know is his father hired Darius aka Mr. B to find Gray and return him. Plans change when Gray demands that he and Darius save the other enslaved young men. 🔹 It was difficult to read about human trafficking. This book did not skirt around the sadistic things the slave owners did to their “toys”. Darius is a savior- but he has to do some things to Gray to make it believable that he’s a slave owner. In the privacy of their cabin, he shows him tenderness, but in front of the others, he’s more like the others, which messes with Gray’s mind. Gray and Darius develop a kinship and I’m not sure if it’s from the trauma or something else. 🔹 So many triggers!! Be warned! 🔺🔺 But a fantastic read!

Wow! Just... Wow! I'm still struggling to process this and come up with the words to adequately describe how amazing this book was! It was dark - very dark - and dealt with the ugly side of people trafficking. It contains a lot of potential trigger situations so consider that before reading! The writing was just amazing! Flawless even! The characters were brilliantly written - it broke my heart to experience what they went through, and they're fictional characters. Sadly it highlights that these events do happen in the world, and not all of those taken have a Darius to come and save them. I know this book will play in my mind for days, possibly weeks. I'm definitely wanting to read the next book in the series - I need to see what happens next as Gray's journey isn't over yet.

Bücher von Cara Dee setzen sich ja immer mal wieder mit schwierigen Themen auseinander. Bei diesem hier bin ich ehrlich gesagt fast an meine Grenzen gestoßen und wusste vor lauter Zorn und Entsetzen mehrfach nicht, ob ich nun schreien oder heulen sollte. Dabei konnte ich mich noch nicht mal mit der Floskel "es ist ja nur ein Roman" beruhigen, weil genau solche Dinge zweifellos jeden Tag irgendwo stattfinden. Für mich war der Roman also wirklich mitreißend. Und obwohl das Ganze nicht mit einem echten Cliffhanger endet, kontrolliere ich nun fast jeden Tag, ob ENDLICH der zweite Teil erschienen ist...

Sadistic rich men buy young people to abuse, torture, rape and kill. All of the slaves have lost all hope. Gray struggles to believe he’ll ever survive, but Darious is a force of nature the bad guys never allowed for. There’s some grim reading, all horrifyingly believable, but the ending give’s satisfying rough justice to all that deserve it. The abrupt ending is frustrating, clearly Gray and Darious could have a HEA together, but the story stopped suddenly. It needed another chapter to tidy up loose ends.

So I’ve had this book on my TBR for a while now. I’ve enjoyed other books by this author but the content of this book had me a little wary to start. When I saw that it was on audible plus I thought I’d give the audio a try. I am so glad I did. This book was dark, sad, and depicted the worst of society. I couldn’t even imagine going through even a smidge of what Gray had to. This is a single POV story told by Gray who has been kidnapped for human trafficking. Usually I prefer dual POV but found that this story worked perfectly as single and it really needed it as we needed to not know what Darius was really thinking to really feel for Gray and his situation. This was a tough book to read but I was fully invested the whole time. If you can deal with the triggers (definitely make sure to read them if you need to) then I definitely recommend. This is part of a series so their story continues in book 2. I will be starting it today as I need to know what happens to them. This book doesn’t really end on a cliffhanger but their story is 100% not complete.

I'm going to start by saying this is a difficult read that deals with some challenging topics that could be triggering. It's an emotional read that will stay with you for a good while afterwards. There were times I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish but the quality of the writing and the characters kept me going. This is not the type of book you can say you enjoyed and feel right. The nature of the topic just makes the word ‘enjoy’ a hard limit. It is an engaging thrilling story that will captivate your attention & keep you reading. We first met Gray in Power Play, a cheeky, sweet boy but he’s in trouble here, trouble that he can’t get himself out of. Darius is sent to rescue Gray, a retired private military contractor posing as a buyer. Darius has taken the job but gets more than he bargained for. This is the first in a 5-part series following Gray & Darius, which delves into the horrendous trade in humans.