Since I’ve joined Goodreads, I’ve been lucky to win quite a few books. I always try to enter contests for books that I would not usually go out and buy. Survival Games is one such book. This book took me out of my comfort zone, away from the paranormal romance genre that I am used to. Survival Games is not an easy book to read; the subject matter is dark and disturbing. This book is intended for adult audiences only. Survival Games is the story of Jessica Connor. Jessica is kidnapped from her life, her death is staged, and she awakens in a hellish scenario. She is held captive by kidnappers who want to “break” her so that she will appear in their x-rated films. She is repeatedly raped and tortured. Jessica’s captor, Ty, begins to take an interest in her. She confounds his attempts to break her and remains defiant and uncooperative. At some point, she realizes that to survive, she will have to play the game with her captors. I did enjoy Jessica’s psychic connection to her seven year old son Eric. Eric never believes for a moment that his mother has died. He has conversations with her, he appears to her, and he has the ability to heal her wounds. This connection with Eric made the story readable. Jessica suffers from Stockholm Syndrome. At one point, she makes the realization that she has fallen in love with her captor. “I love him. God help me. I’m in love with a killer.” At that point, I felt like flinging the book across the room, yet I understood why she said this. Jessica had grown to depend on Ty to protect her from his sadistic brother.I found this book was difficult to read. The captors were cruel, sadistic, and depraved. Jessica was forced into some very horrific scenarios. Yet, the story was compelling and well written. I had to keep reading.
