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vagrantheather's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
It feels very strange to have enjoyed this book so much. It opens on violence and sexual assault and gets steadily darker from there.
Captive Prince is set in what seems to be ancient city states, in the country of Vere, in whose culture "bed slaves" are normative. The main character, Damen, is of a warring city state, where he was betrayed - forced out of his country and into slavery in Vere. If it sounds like this leads to a story rife with sexual violence, you're damned right it is. But the development of scene and characters is deep, the writing beautifully rich, and the central storyline compelling.
Frankly, I would never recommend this book. The subject matter is too dark and the portrayal too explicit. But I did feel that it swept me up, engaged my brain, played with my heart, and was a total page turner. Somewhat controversially I would relate it to ASOIAF for the crown politics drama, inability to trust anyone, and dim portrayal of human nature. Book 2 is already borrowed and I'm diving straight in.
Captive Prince is set in what seems to be ancient city states, in the country of Vere, in whose culture "bed slaves" are normative. The main character, Damen, is of a warring city state, where he was betrayed - forced out of his country and into slavery in Vere. If it sounds like this leads to a story rife with sexual violence, you're damned right it is. But the development of scene and characters is deep, the writing beautifully rich, and the central storyline compelling.
Frankly, I would never recommend this book. The subject matter is too dark and the portrayal too explicit. But I did feel that it swept me up, engaged my brain, played with my heart, and was a total page turner. Somewhat controversially I would relate it to ASOIAF for the crown politics drama, inability to trust anyone, and dim portrayal of human nature. Book 2 is already borrowed and I'm diving straight in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
eli_ross's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
As interesting as I found the premise of this book, it's really let down by the writing, which I found was inconsistent and underdeveloped in places. It read more like a YA novel, which is what I expected after reading the first few pages, but some of the content was very graphic. I think that if it had been written in a more sophisticated style, it would have negated the brashness of some of the darker scenes. Check the trigger warnings before reading, as others have said.
However, I enjoyed seeing the relationship evolve between Laurent and Damon. I'll be reading the second book eventually, as I'm invested in where they end up. Overall a good book if you like a quick read, and a dramatic enemies-to-(I'm assuming) lovers story.
However, I enjoyed seeing the relationship evolve between Laurent and Damon. I'll be reading the second book eventually, as I'm invested in where they end up. Overall a good book if you like a quick read, and a dramatic enemies-to-(I'm assuming) lovers story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Classism
cielosiluminado's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
50% confused 50% loving the drama !!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Sexual content, and Slavery
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Incest, and War
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.
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
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Blood, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
ciuli's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Look, I have to say that if you manage to ignore 90% of the story and the plot and only focus on the main characters, then I could probably say that this book was enjoyable.
The whole first part of the book made me wish I could scrub my brain with soap just so I could forget everything that I had read so far. While I do understand that the whole plot of this book surrounds slavery and how they are the slaves are treated depending on the country's culture, I also believe that having people casually rape each other every now and then could have easily been avoided.
I knew what kind of themes I would have encountered reading this book, I had read some reviews here and there, but it felt like reading glorified porn in some parts and that's just something I don't like, but that's my taste and my opinion.
Regarding the characters, boy did I NOT like Damen, AT ALL!
man had me wishing I could slap him irl, and a the time he was supposed to be the one I felt pity for! He is completely disconnected from the real world, thinks his country and people are so much better than everyone else just because they treat their slaves better, while completely missing the point considering how they do have slaves as well ðŸ˜
I like Laurent, I like his scheming mind and how smart he is with everything, I like how he is always 10 steps ahead of you and you don't even know it. Is he a perfect character? Absolutely not, he almost had someone rapes in front of him and almost flogged Damen to death, but we know there's more to it and I'm curios to see what's to come!
The whole first part of the book made me wish I could scrub my brain with soap just so I could forget everything that I had read so far. While I do understand that the whole plot of this book surrounds slavery and how they are the slaves are treated depending on the country's culture, I also believe that having people casually rape each other every now and then could have easily been avoided.
I knew what kind of themes I would have encountered reading this book, I had read some reviews here and there, but it felt like reading glorified porn in some parts and that's just something I don't like, but that's my taste and my opinion.
Regarding the characters, boy did I NOT like Damen, AT ALL!
man had me wishing I could slap him irl, and a the time he was supposed to be the one I felt pity for! He is completely disconnected from the real world, thinks his country and people are so much better than everyone else just because they treat their slaves better, while completely missing the point considering how they do have slaves as well ðŸ˜
I like Laurent, I like his scheming mind and how smart he is with everything, I like how he is always 10 steps ahead of you and you don't even know it. Is he a perfect character? Absolutely not, he almost had someone rapes in front of him and almost flogged Damen to death, but we know there's more to it and I'm curios to see what's to come!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Pedophilia
anghara94's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Trafficking
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
shrikebait's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I checked this title out from my local library as it seems to be a right of passage for lovers of queer fantasy.
I went in expecting a MM dark fantasy erotic thriller based on the blurb. While this is absolutely a fantasy book, I don't find it romantic or particularly erotic, even in a taboo sense. There are quite a bit of NC erotic tropes in the first half, but they never really pay off and aren't a consistent theme later in the book.
Speaking of taboo...A particular ick comes in the form of a child character who is groomed as a s*x sl*ve. Rather than recognizing the horror this concept SHOULD evoke, the story portrays him as a spoiled brat, older than his years. No, thank you.
While I enjoy the attention to detail in the clothing and customs of this world, I feel this aspect falls flat without a cohesive plot. Initially, I thought the plot was supposed to take a backseat to the erotic elements...but when the eroticism didn't pay off, I was left with characters who lacked consistent motivations and a less-than-compelling plot.
With all this in mind, I'm not particularly interested in the next book. I might change my mind if y'all think it's a move in the right direction for the series.
I went in expecting a MM dark fantasy erotic thriller based on the blurb. While this is absolutely a fantasy book, I don't find it romantic or particularly erotic, even in a taboo sense. There are quite a bit of NC erotic tropes in the first half, but they never really pay off and aren't a consistent theme later in the book.
Speaking of taboo...A particular ick comes in the form of a child character who is groomed as a s*x sl*ve. Rather than recognizing the horror this concept SHOULD evoke, the story portrays him as a spoiled brat, older than his years. No, thank you.
While I enjoy the attention to detail in the clothing and customs of this world, I feel this aspect falls flat without a cohesive plot. Initially, I thought the plot was supposed to take a backseat to the erotic elements...but when the eroticism didn't pay off, I was left with characters who lacked consistent motivations and a less-than-compelling plot.
With all this in mind, I'm not particularly interested in the next book. I might change my mind if y'all think it's a move in the right direction for the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Violence
Minor: Blood
miraileah's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3.0. Did not realize the content in this book, definitely check your trigger warnings! I enjoyed the characterization and prose, it was really engaging, but this book only felt like half the story. There’s no real resolution to the plot (nor is there very much of a plot tbh??), but the characters and their goals were compelling enough that I want to read the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Physical abuse
daisymadeli's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book will take some time to process. For being on the shorter side, it is dense with content and requires plenty of trigger warnings. And yet, there is something subtly beautiful about the book and the story, and I am intrigued by the next step for Damen and Laurent. Although I can see the big moments coming, I am not disappointed by that and I know that there will be so much interwoven in the interim. The book is brutal and a bit perverse but there is something special coming.
And war. War is on its way.
And war. War is on its way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Kidnapping
foxfirepages's review against another edition
3.5
This book was an absolutely wild ride. About halfway through I was ready to DNF it, honestly. The entire first half is just introduction to the world and characters, including an insane amount of rape and torture. I have no issue with hard topics in books, but the amount of rape and pedophilia that went completely undiscussed like it was the most normal thing... honestly I could barely stand it. Eventually I did find the plot and once that started and we moved on from the constant rape and torture, I could barely put the book down. I'm very intrigued by the politics going on, and the characters did become a lot more interesting in the second half of this book as well. I'm curious to see if this story is going where I think it is going in the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Slavery, and Torture