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divine529's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
chaptermaggot's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, and Trafficking
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Drug use, Incest, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
lauwbinx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Drug use, Rape, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
natnat_7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Slavery, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Pregnancy
zeppelinnyx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This is at least the fourth time I’ve read this series. I’m positive that number is higher, but not by how much. I genuinely wish so badly that I’d done some kind of review for this series when I’d originally read it, especially for the first installment. But, that’s was years ago, so now I can only read this book again already knowing everything there is to know about the characters and their true natures and motivations. Still, this series holds strong in its position as my favorite. It’s most definitely not something that I would recommend to everyone and not even something I feel comfortable sharing with a lot of people, because I understand the troubling nature of some of the content. Arguably, most of the content in the first installment. It’s very troubling though, to see so many people that only read the first book criticizing the entire series as if it’s all the same. I can only believe that those people read the first book, decided it wasn’t worth finishing the series and then spew vitriol about the entirety of it. There is valid criticism to be said of the series, but it’s rarely what people talk about. My ratings of this book will probably be higher than deserved, but I don’t know how to remove my bias as a person that’s reviewing based on a revisit of the series.
Quality of Writing: 10/10
Pacing: 10/10
Plot Development: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Enjoyability: 10/10
Ease of Reading: 10/10
Ending: 8/10
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Torture
Minor: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
madzcp's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Incest, Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
samchase112's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have to say that this book very strongly reminded me of The Foxhole Court, from the strained relationship between Laurent and Damen, to the very tone (dark, tense, and very gay), to the way the book itself was written. We weren't given much backstory for Damen - the novel opens on the new predicament he finds himself in - and there seems to be no real divide between this and the second book. Nonetheless, I am now OBSESSED. Fans of AFTG would definitely enjoy CaPri.
So...I can't stress enough how much this pulled me into the world of warring nations, 24/7 courtly sexual pleasure, constant threat of violence, and political intrigue. I am ready for MORE, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!!!
Reread: September 2021
I love rereading series like this, because you pick up on so many little hints and details that were missed the first time, after having read the entire throughline of the trilogy and knowing how things resolve. Damen and Laurent are such interesting characters, and I will happily just watch them interact with each other as many pages as possible. The sexual tension is just so freaking good, especially when you know how things will end up. As always, I love how clever this book is; so many details and schemes, it intrigues and interests me so much. I have also grown to appreciate C.S. Pacat's clear, concise writing style, and how each word contains little hints. Highly, highly recommend this superb trilogy!
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, and War
Minor: Confinement, Incest, Death of parent, and Pregnancy