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A review by xtinaji
Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat
4.0
For this book in particular: 3.5 stars. Great character moments, and an overall satisfying conclusion. Clean storytelling that gave mostly everything a resolution.
For the whole series: 3 stars. The Captive Prince trilogy felt like one giant epic rather than 3 separate books -- so my review below is for the series in its entirety as well. Each book on their own feel lackluster because there's a lot of things happening at the same time without any resolution -- more like arcs than stories on their own. Taken as a whole though: this story is truly a massive undertaking of character development, slow burn romance, and political intrigue. Still, the horrific events of book 1 remains a stain on what would otherwise have been a great enemies to lovers relationship.
In regards to book 3 in particular , I do take issue with the fact that the execution could have been tighter, less conveniently packaged. I would almost call it a Deus Ex Machina except for the fact there is groundwork that's been done to explain how it came about...it's just not quite enough for me to be hand delivered every answer at the end. There's a lot Pacat is trying to tackle in this story: a conspiracy for two thrones, how sex is both a source of pleasure and pain for every character, Laurent's twisting and turning plot to counteract his uncle -- all while also trying to showcase Damen & Laurent's developing relationship and giving us insight to how the different interactions between characters eventually become relevant to the plot. It's a lot, and it's far more complex and content heavy than most typical romance centered fantasy novels (again, looking at you ACOTAR...). I think my complaints all center around the fact that the books are lacking depth, mainly because there's so many moving parts and it's difficult to truly dive into all of them. Damen & Laurent's relationship is an extremely well done enemies to lovers trope, but the book falls short in terms of world building, the conspiracy itself, deeper insight to Damen and Laurent's individual psyches as characters, and exploring how all this tragedy could have been to enlighten more than just an ascension of Kings and romance.
For the series as a whole - stories do not exist in a vacuum, and this series brings up questions of if these books fetishize gay men for the enjoyment of a female audience. The first book throws you into the worst, filthiest part of its world. I understand why people are disgusted by this series and avoid it entirely. The discomfort and criticisms levied against this series are extremely valid. All I can say is that, I interpreted the author's inclusions of such scenes to set the premise of how shitty the world is, and I stayed only to see how the relationship between Damen and Laurent would evolve within the context of this shitty, fictional world. I find that I must say: if any of these events were to transpire in real life, or if a relationship like Damen/Laurent would develop as it did but in reality, it would be completely, irrevocably unacceptable. I just...don't want to make excuses for this book or its triggers - it is so valid to DISLIKE this book - but I also want to acknowledge that the enjoyment of seeing Damen and Laurent become closer companions is through a lens of knowing it's all fiction. And to add, to what extent can we tolerate what is allowed in fiction?
TLDR; Well executed enemies to lovers trope. A romance-fantasy novel that fulfills the romance aspect to a tee, while still leaving more to be desired from the fantasy aspect. The books are explicit, and it's especially, unforgivably bad at the beginning. Just as much as the books were divisive in the book community, so too am I internally conflicted about what worked well and didn't work well for me. This book is NOT a what a good, positive example of LGBTQ+ representation in fantasy looks like.
For the whole series: 3 stars. The Captive Prince trilogy felt like one giant epic rather than 3 separate books -- so my review below is for the series in its entirety as well. Each book on their own feel lackluster because there's a lot of things happening at the same time without any resolution -- more like arcs than stories on their own. Taken as a whole though: this story is truly a massive undertaking of character development, slow burn romance, and political intrigue. Still, the horrific events of book 1 remains a stain on what would otherwise have been a great enemies to lovers relationship.
In regards to book 3 in particular , I do take issue with the fact that the execution could have been tighter, less conveniently packaged. I would almost call it a Deus Ex Machina except for the fact there is groundwork that's been done to explain how it came about...it's just not quite enough for me to be hand delivered every answer at the end. There's a lot Pacat is trying to tackle in this story: a conspiracy for two thrones, how sex is both a source of pleasure and pain for every character, Laurent's twisting and turning plot to counteract his uncle -- all while also trying to showcase Damen & Laurent's developing relationship and giving us insight to how the different interactions between characters eventually become relevant to the plot. It's a lot, and it's far more complex and content heavy than most typical romance centered fantasy novels (again, looking at you ACOTAR...). I think my complaints all center around the fact that the books are lacking depth, mainly because there's so many moving parts and it's difficult to truly dive into all of them. Damen & Laurent's relationship is an extremely well done enemies to lovers trope, but the book falls short in terms of world building, the conspiracy itself, deeper insight to Damen and Laurent's individual psyches as characters, and exploring how all this tragedy could have been to enlighten more than just an ascension of Kings and romance.
For the series as a whole - stories do not exist in a vacuum, and this series brings up questions of if these books fetishize gay men for the enjoyment of a female audience. The first book throws you into the worst, filthiest part of its world. I understand why people are disgusted by this series and avoid it entirely. The discomfort and criticisms levied against this series are extremely valid. All I can say is that, I interpreted the author's inclusions of such scenes to set the premise of how shitty the world is, and I stayed only to see how the relationship between Damen and Laurent would evolve within the context of this shitty, fictional world. I find that I must say: if any of these events were to transpire in real life, or if a relationship like Damen/Laurent would develop as it did but in reality, it would be completely, irrevocably unacceptable. I just...don't want to make excuses for this book or its triggers - it is so valid to DISLIKE this book - but I also want to acknowledge that the enjoyment of seeing Damen and Laurent become closer companions is through a lens of knowing it's all fiction. And to add, to what extent can we tolerate what is allowed in fiction?
TLDR; Well executed enemies to lovers trope. A romance-fantasy novel that fulfills the romance aspect to a tee, while still leaving more to be desired from the fantasy aspect. The books are explicit, and it's especially, unforgivably bad at the beginning. Just as much as the books were divisive in the book community, so too am I internally conflicted about what worked well and didn't work well for me. This book is NOT a what a good, positive example of LGBTQ+ representation in fantasy looks like.