Maybe I didn't see what everyone else saw in the book. I wasn't quite as drawn into the characters as everyone else seemed to be. I thought it was odd that a 27 year old felt such a need to escape from her dad. I guess I think that by that point you should be living your own life. Maybe it would have worked better for me if she'd been 23 or something.

He just seemed weak or maybe poorly drawn. What the devil could have convinced a man who had had the upbringing he did, who seemed to have always lived on the up and up, who was very well educated and who was not insane or a sociopath to have hidden the first accident and then decided to ransom the girl they ended up with? The author totally did not convince me that these were the actions that the man she eventually revealed would have taken. The characterization didn't match up.

Then there was the whole rape thing. The author lacked the courage of her convictions there. He starts out to rape her then half way through he stops and treats her more gently. That's not particularly a bad thing just that is he raping her or not? The author didn't write the scene as emotionally as they could have so I felt that the heroine's getting over it was not that problematic. Again this all just adds up to inconsistent characterization.

It was ultimately not very compelling for me although I was interested in the story line, the execution didn't work for me.

The best part of the book was the letters at the end. ( )

I liked it a lot.

Keeping in mind that dark and light are, I think, in the eye of the beholder, I would say this is one of the 'safer' reads available in the kidnapped/captivity/stockholm syndrome genre.
Yes, there is a rape scene and another yucky scene (that I would consider rape if they happened to me) as well, plus there is a constant fear of worse happening, but all in all, and considering the genre is not 'light' by definition, I would recommend this to any reader interested in the Stockholm Syndrome genre without reservation.

There's a number of things I found interesting and liked in this story.
- There's three captors in this story. All of them different characters, and crazy, but none of them kinky (in the bdsm sense).
- Her capture was not premeditated.
- There's lots of insight into how she endures her capture and what kind of state her mind and body is in.
- There's lots of insight into the state of mind of her captors as well. They are people, not cardboard figures, and I very much appreciated that.
(Kaden did not charm me btw, for all his 'gentleness' and 'protection', he scared the hell out of me btw, as he is volatile and dangerous, and falling for his dreamy, green eyes, boy next door smile and gentle demeanor is insane!... I guess scary people come with the territory. But again, he is definitely not the scariest one I've read about, just scary, and insane, and dangerous and volatile. :D )

I liked the emphasis on Raleigh's dependency on Kaden, and the way the development of empathy/sympathy between these two was handled.

What I also found interesting is that Kitty Thomas' novel Comfort Food was published in the same year, 2010.
I was wondering about which came first while reading the text. At several points in Screaming in the Silence, I was strongly reminded of Comfort Food, for reasons of comparison. Several elements are handled very differently, yet are key elements and/or play key roles in both stories. Interesting to see how similar ingredients treated quite differently produce very different results.

In short I very much liked it! ( )

Can love be found in the arms of your kidnapper? The lines between right and wrong get incredibly blurry as the book progresses. My heart was continuously turn between was I knew should happen and what my heart was secretly hoping for. Kaden is difficult to discribe because my emotions were constantly changing when it came to him but ultimately you have to give him props because he did the right thing even though it was hard and you have to love him for it. Raleigh is inspirational.. somehow so strong and yet so weak at the same time. She endures so many emotions in this book and yet comes out on top.. which to me is beautiful. Kaden and Raleigh's love story is infuriating because I want I don't want them together because honestly Kaden does not under any circumstances deserve Raleigh but when they're not together I'm sad because you know deep down that Kaden makes her happy. Completely conflicting emotions the entire read but all in all a great book.


“If a tree falls in the forest when no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?
If I scream in the silence, will anyone be around to hear it?” -Raleigh ( )

THE COVER
I'm not a big fan of this cover, but I think it really embodies the story, with the crying girl - who is, obviously, Raleigh - and the lake which is quite a big part of the main characters' relationship.

THE STORY
This is the first "girl gets kidnapped" book that I've ever read, so I was really curious when I began reading it. The pacing was really good; I just couldn't stop reading. And it took an unexpected twist towards the conclusion, and that ending has permanently taken a piece of my heart.

THE CHARACTERS
The story started off with Raleigh running away from a life she didn't want to live. It's good that her kidnapping changed her for the better, gave her the courage to voice out what she really wanted.

A surprise came in the form of my love for Kaden; he's one of the kidnappers, for heaven's sake! But how could I not? He's a French-to-English manuscript translator, and in the book - if my memory serves me right - he's working on Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Raleigh asked him why he's translating it when it's already been translated, but unfortunately, since I read this book last March, I can't remember his answer. My apologies.

I just have a thing for broken, complicated characters.

MY FAVORITE PART was the last scene with Raleigh. So much hope. In my head, I love continuing the story from there. ( )

Not sure how I stumbled across this book, but I'm glad I did! This book was difficult to read at times not understanding how someone could love someone who has hurt them, but I am glad I stuck with it because it was well worth my time. The ending left things up in the air and although I wish I knew more it somehow fit with the book. Excellent story, nice change of pace from typical romance novels, and i would definitely recommend! ( )