Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Captive Prince

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

5 reviews

divine529's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I don't even know where to begin talking about this book. I really didn't love it, but it was very engaging and intriguing, so that kept me reading. It's essentially a specific kind of "book candy" (it's not a good book, but it's compelling in a way I'm not sure I fully understand and makes me want to keep reading).

This follows our main protagonist, Damen, a prince from Akielos whose father was killed and his half-brother sent him off to be a slave in a neighboring kingdom. His master is the cruel and cold prince of Vere, Laurent. What follows is a story of cruelty, survival, pain, political intrigue and cultural clashes.

As I said above, I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I really enjoyed my time with it because of the plot and the politics. The characters aren't that loveable and I feel like we really don't know much about them by the end of the book. Plus the things Laurent put Damen through? That's a kind of trauma that doesn't sit right with me for any kind of relationship they form, even if it were to be resolved later.

The amount of rape, CSA and torture is a lot and was really rough for me to read.

Some people have said this is a sort of gay GoT and I can sort of see what they mean.

All in all, I didn't love this, but it's intriguing enough for me to want to continue on. Definitely "book candy" for me.

Content Warnings

danteeeh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Content Warnings

diana_raquel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

[The following review contains descriptions of content warnings that can be triggering and spoilers. Those descriptions are hidden as spoilers.]

“A golden prince was easy to love if you did not have to watch him picking wings off flies.”

Around 2018-2019, I was looking for fantasy series that would have LGBTQIA+ characters and ended up finding this trilogy. I remember that, at the time, I started reading and was immediately hooked. Captive Prince was the book that made me love Pacat but also explore less-known authors. So, when I finally got my hands on physical copies of this trilogy, I decided to read it again. And although I knew what was going to happen, I found that I still loved this trilogy as a whole.

However, over the years, I also read a lot of negative reviews about this trilogy, especially about this book. And although I understand part of the backlash, there was this particular recurring argument that never made much sense to me, and lead me to think that the person using that argument only read the first book without giving the benefit of the doubt and continue reading. Which is totally fair - I also have abandoned series that I didn't like. What I didn't understand was that even when other people would defend the book and the trilogy as a whole, the first person would accuse the other of being a horrible person for not thinking that the trilogy was worthless trash with no value. So allow me to defend this book and this trilogy.

Make no mistake, this book is what people would call "problematic". It's a really hard reading, full of themes that can be triggering, such as slavery, rape, sexual harassment, pedophilia, physical and emotional violence, torture, etc. It's really bad. I completely understand why people may dislike/hate the book and why it can be triggering. I'm in no way dismissing that. What I don't understand is why some people say that the book romanticizes these elements, because the book never romanticizes these elements.

Look, you are entitled to your opinion, and I will respect it, however, in my opinion, just because a book contains darker and horrible elements, doesn't mean that the book is problematic. Just because this book contains horrible elements that doesn't mean that it romanticizes those elements. Yes, slavery and rape are accepted parts of the culture of Vere, however, the book never gives the impression that this is in any way acceptable. Yes, Laurent also takes part in this, however, we later discover that this is a way to revenge his brother's death (it doesn't excuse his actions but it does provide some needed context). And don't even get me started on Damen. Yes, he is a victim. And, no, nothing that happens to him in this book is in any way excusable. However, he isn't a damsel in distress with Stockholm syndrome (side note: Stockholm syndrome isn't considered a mental disorder, so can we stop it using it?). He never accepts what's happening to him and he resists every step of the way.

I think that when using this argument people forget that the slave culture is also a part of Akielos culture (Damen's country) (although there are differences, it's still a slave culture). And this is important. Although Laurent is against any type or form of slavery, Damen isn't because he sees the culture of Akielos as a more acceptable form of slavery. However, after being subjected to slavery, Damen starts to see that his own culture isn't acceptable. That's why this book is so hard to read. The main character has to experience slavery and the violence that comes with it to understand that no form of slavery is acceptable. At its core, this is a story about dismantling power structures and understanding why those power structures have to be dismantled.

Another argument used to prove the "romanticization" of this book is that, from the first chapter, is clear that Laurent and Damen are endgame. And yes, they are. However, it should be mentioned that they are mortal enemies, from enemy countries (yes, it's very Shakespeare, I know), and their relationship is one of hate, at first. However, the romanticization of their relationship only starts when they start to trust each other. With time, Damen is no longer Laurent's slave, he is a friend, and that's when feelings start to appear.

So, as a first book, this is quite a difficult book, due to its subject matter (that's why I decided to give it a 3 stars rating). However, it's a well-structured book, with well-developed characters and an intriguing plot. The pacing is perfect and the narrative flows in a very natural way. I guess that the only thing that I ask is this: if you are willing to read this book (and have read the content warnings list- seriously, do it), please, give this book the benefit of the doubt to this book and read the second one. I promise that its worth it.

Content Warnings

louisa_pennyfeather2021's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

afi_whatafireads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Personal Ratings: 3.65/5🌟

I went in expecting more romance but I got more politics instead 😌
I mean, not that I hated it. I would think the politics in here are actually quite well written and the I can see that the romance would be the SLOWEST. BURN. EVER.

𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙚-𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙋𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙖, 𝙍𝙖𝙥𝙚, 𝙂𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝, 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙀𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙆𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙎𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙪𝙡𝙩

Short Summarys
Damen is the rightful heir to Akielos and when his stepbrother pulled a coup d'etat on his family, not only he was stripped of power, but he was sent as a slave to the neighbouring country, in which, the current prince harbors a deep, deep, hatred , especially for him. Sold as a slave, Damen had to keep his identity in order to survive and to at least gain his strength to save his country, whilst having to work with his now-master that loathes him to his very core.

Personal Thougts
I would say this makes a VERY slowburn romance, with LITERAL, enemies-lovers. The way Damen and Prince Laurent LOATHED each other, its to a point that you felt sorry for Damen sometimes on how he was treated.

Writing-wise, this is my first book from Pacat and I have to say, its not bad. Its straightforward, with a hint of lyrical writing but its not too-overly done. Its pitched as a romance fantasy, and I can say, for the first book, there's not much romance (which I don't mind) because I enjoyed the court politics.

The Politics in this book was well-written. For something that is pitched as romance fantasy, the politics in this book is something that I enjoyed. Everyone here is scheming something and I like that Damen did not lose himself even he had been beaten down. As much as Laurent is cold and cruel in this book, I also like his character. He exudes a persona that just bows down to people but has his own plans up his sleeves, which I can't wait to find out in the second book.

Pacing-Wise I think one of my problems with the book was the pacing. I was okay with the idea but it got a bit tedious and repetitive when Damen was CONSTANTLY tortured. I mean, I get it, you hate the guy, but I felt that Damen's torture scene got boring at some point. There was also parts that I felt was a bit unnecessary and the plot can progress faster.

Overall
I went in not knowing much about the book but I am surprised to say that the book kinda grew on me and I'm anticipating how it will turn out in the second book. Please come in with precautions as this book consists very gory scenes, but its one that I'd say I'm actually looking forward to? I'm curious on Laurent's and Damen's relationship so , yes, I'll continue with the second book to see how it goes.

Content Warnings

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