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A review by nitzanschwarz
Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
C+ | 3.5 ★ | More than Satisfactory
I finally did it. I finally read this book! And boy, do I have some thoughts.
I'll start by saying that I will be reading the rest of the series—I pretty much need to know what happens next. How does this develop? When do they realize some of the hidden truths about each other? And how do they deal with them whenthey're only just tentatively becoming allies ?
But despite this, I must admit that this was not an easy read on multiple fronts. First of all, just the rampant sexual abuse alone made this rough. I definitely don't think this is a book for everyone, as sexual violence and exploitation are themes that carry on from the first pages to the last, alongside many other forms of violence, mental and physical alike. This is not a pleasant world to be in, that's for sure. I understand, theoretically, why Pacat spent so much time on all of this, but there were definitely moments where I wondered if it was even worth getting through all of that, or should I DNF it?
I decided to continue despite this puke-inducing horror because of the characters and their relationships. We mostly get to know Damen, as the story is told from his point of view (albeit in 3rd person POV). And I like this man. He is courageous, cares for his people quite a bit, and is quite smart but also a bit of a hothead. He also tends to miss some of the more glaring things in front of him, but I'll let it slide because he has a very strong image of both Laurent and Vere, and some of the underlying truths of the Court seem to clash quite heavily with both.
Laurent is more of the cunning and deceptive side of things. He is playing 3rd Chess with the court and Damen, but unfortunately his main opponent also happens to be a chess master. While Luarent is the brain to Damen's brawn, he also sins at projecting an image unto Damen instead of seeing him for who he is.
For both these men, it'll be interesting to see how that develops.
I do think the relationship between Damen and Laurent is rather fascinating and can't be easily defined. I am not sure that calling what these two have a relationship is even apt at this point. They're enemy princes, but they're not. They're master and slave... but they're not. They despise each other but are also confused by each other, and I rather think neither quite knows to anticipate what the other might do next.
There is nothing romantic about it at this point, and I am still uncertain how Pacat will make it so, considering the things Laurent has done to Damen thus far, but I am willing to see if she can convince me. If she does, then I think this series will definitely qualify for an "enemies to lovers" tag .
There are a lot of questions surrounding these two that I am curious to see explored and revealed in future installments.How would Laurent react when he finds out Damen's true identity? When he realizes the true gravity of Damen's "punishment." How will that align with what he thinks he knows of the Akielos?
And what about when Damen realizes Laurent's past "relationship" with the Regent? Pacat has not explicitly told us about it in this installment, but I feel the hints were so massive that it'd be shocking if it wasn't the case--a prince who is "frigid" and refuses sexual company? A prince who reacts with surprise when Damen refuses to rape a child? A cunning, ambitious, pedophilic regent who "spared" his nephew when he was a "boy," only going into the offensive when he is on the cusp of becoming a man? One who laments about Laurent having been such a "good boy"? One who has a "pet" who looks similar to Laurent? And Laurent, who is almost affectionate, apologetic, and worried for that pet? Yeah, no. Everything about that, from head to toe, screams that Laurent has previously received his uncle's perverse attention.
So, yeah, I'm in.
Aside from the events of the book making this a hard read, the writing itself was not an advantage for me. I am not a native English speaker, but I have read over a thousand books in English, often with little to no problem. Yet, with this one, I had to switch to my kindle copy fairly early on because I realized that Pacat loved using "big words," and Kindle would make that less painful. I mean, kudos to Pacat for always having an obscure word that perfectly meant what she wanted to, but it made the reading experience very difficult, especially when she chose a rare word that had a well-known and equally befitting alternative. I'm sure it adds to the setting of the novel or something, but it detracted from my personal enjoyment of the book.
Plot - 17
Characters - 17
Relationships - 17
Writing - 13
Reading Experience - 13
Final Score: 77
I technically read between June 14 and July 11, but in truth, I only read 12% on June 14 and the remaining 88% between July 9 and 11 lol
I finally did it. I finally read this book! And boy, do I have some thoughts.
I'll start by saying that I will be reading the rest of the series—I pretty much need to know what happens next. How does this develop? When do they realize some of the hidden truths about each other? And how do they deal with them when
But despite this, I must admit that this was not an easy read on multiple fronts. First of all, just the rampant sexual abuse alone made this rough. I definitely don't think this is a book for everyone, as sexual violence and exploitation are themes that carry on from the first pages to the last, alongside many other forms of violence, mental and physical alike. This is not a pleasant world to be in, that's for sure. I understand, theoretically, why Pacat spent so much time on all of this, but there were definitely moments where I wondered if it was even worth getting through all of that, or should I DNF it?
I decided to continue despite this puke-inducing horror because of the characters and their relationships. We mostly get to know Damen, as the story is told from his point of view (albeit in 3rd person POV). And I like this man. He is courageous, cares for his people quite a bit, and is quite smart but also a bit of a hothead. He also tends to miss some of the more glaring things in front of him, but I'll let it slide because he has a very strong image of both Laurent and Vere, and some of the underlying truths of the Court seem to clash quite heavily with both.
Laurent is more of the cunning and deceptive side of things. He is playing 3rd Chess with the court and Damen, but unfortunately his main opponent also happens to be a chess master. While Luarent is the brain to Damen's brawn, he also sins at projecting an image unto Damen instead of seeing him for who he is.
For both these men, it'll be interesting to see how that develops.
I do think the relationship between Damen and Laurent is rather fascinating and can't be easily defined. I am not sure that calling what these two have a relationship is even apt at this point. They're enemy princes, but they're not. They're master and slave... but they're not. They despise each other but are also confused by each other, and I rather think neither quite knows to anticipate what the other might do next.
There are a lot of questions surrounding these two that I am curious to see explored and revealed in future installments.
And what about when Damen realizes Laurent's past "relationship" with the Regent? Pacat has not explicitly told us about it in this installment, but I feel the hints were so massive that it'd be shocking if it wasn't the case--a prince who is "frigid" and refuses sexual company? A prince who reacts with surprise when Damen refuses to rape a child? A cunning, ambitious, pedophilic regent who "spared" his nephew when he was a "boy," only going into the offensive when he is on the cusp of becoming a man? One who laments about Laurent having been such a "good boy"? One who has a "pet" who looks similar to Laurent? And Laurent, who is almost affectionate, apologetic, and worried for that pet? Yeah, no. Everything about that, from head to toe, screams that Laurent has previously received his uncle's perverse attention.
So, yeah, I'm in.
Aside from the events of the book making this a hard read, the writing itself was not an advantage for me. I am not a native English speaker, but I have read over a thousand books in English, often with little to no problem. Yet, with this one, I had to switch to my kindle copy fairly early on because I realized that Pacat loved using "big words," and Kindle would make that less painful. I mean, kudos to Pacat for always having an obscure word that perfectly meant what she wanted to, but it made the reading experience very difficult, especially when she chose a rare word that had a well-known and equally befitting alternative. I'm sure it adds to the setting of the novel or something, but it detracted from my personal enjoyment of the book.
Plot - 17
Characters - 17
Relationships - 17
Writing - 13
Reading Experience - 13
Final Score: 77
I technically read between June 14 and July 11, but in truth, I only read 12% on June 14 and the remaining 88% between July 9 and 11 lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse and Pedophilia