Cruel Master

A Dark Captive Romance

By: E.B. Fox

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

I should have known better.

A random guy at the mall promises an eighteen-year-old girl a glamorous modeling job? Classic scam. I should have laughed in his face. Walked away.

But I didn’t.

Now, I’m his.

A captive. A plaything. A slave to my master’s every depraved whim. And the worst part? He doesn’t just want my obedience—he wants my surrender. He wants to break me until I crave his touch. Until I beg for it.

I hate him.

I hate the way he owns me. The way he makes me feel things I shouldn’t.

He might control my body, but he’ll never have my heart.

I have to escape.

But when he threatens the one thing I’ve ever truly loved… how can I?

This is a DARK romance. The hero is an antihero at best. If obsessive, possessive, over-the-top villains who will do anything to claim their woman make you weak in the knees, then you'll love Cruel Master.

A Captivating Struggle for Control

Cruel Master offers a raw exploration of a high-stakes captive dynamic, centered on intense power imbalance.

For readers navigating the darker side of romance, it is important to note that this story focuses heavily on the captive-captor dynamic rather than a traditional master-servant narrative. While the male protagonist possesses absolute control over the heroine's circumstances, the dynamic is notably devoid of non-consensual (non-con) elements. The tension is built entirely on the forced proximity and the overwhelming possessiveness of the hero.

The narrative excels at illustrating the internal struggle of a woman fighting to reclaim her autonomy when her world has been stripped away. However, the emotional weight of the story is tested in its final act. The conclusion, particularly the heavy-handed choice regarding the heroine’s sterilization, felt jarring and significantly shifted the tone of their power exchange. While the rest of the book masterfully leans into the tropes of extreme obsession and "over-the-top" villains, this specific plot point lingers as an unsettling development that complicates the overall trajectory of their relationship.

Ultimately, Cruel Master delivers exactly what it promises for fans of dark, billionaire-driven suspense—it is a possessive, high-intensity read that doesn't shy away from uncomfortable power dynamics, even if its final resolution may leave some readers conflicted.

It's just too short

The idea was decent, similar to other mob type romances. But it was like listening to a cliff notes version of a story. No characters or plots could ever really develop, we just jumped from event to event and then it was over