Captive Prince

I've heard so much about this book so I was super excited to finally get my hands on it (Thanks EJ!). And I have to say this book was not what I was expecting. It was very slow and methodical as we came to know the world and the characters. I am a huge fan of political intrigue and politics especially at court, so the majority of the plot was fascinating to me.

However, I feel like I did not get to know the characters as much as I would like. Laurent is still a huge mystery to me and there is so much more I want to know. The one thing we do know is that Laurent and Damen are both strong-headed guys who are beyond snarky. There interactions were spot on and constantly had me smiling to myself. We all know this is a romance and it is clearly a very slow-burning one. They still have so much to learn about one another and have only made a small dent in their relationship.

I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of this trilogy, especially with how this one ended. I also have heard that Prince's Gambit is even better than this one which is exciting.

Interesting story set in a Romanesque fantasy world from the POV of a disposed prince, sent as a slave to an enemy territory by a half-brother that took his throne by coup. Damen (Prince Damianos) is “given” to Prince Laurent of Vere who is seen by everyone as cold and calculating but the more Damen learns about him, the more complex Laurent seems to be.
In this first book, there isn't romance or sex between the main characters making this more a historical fantasy than in the romance genre. There are a lot of references to rape/sexual torture with one scene of two male slave characters having public sex after fighting in an arena as part of Vere's preferred brand entertainment. There is also some scenes of regular torture, such as Damen getting severely flogged. Obviously, this book isn't going to be for everyone because of the violence but I enjoyed it and it didn't feel romanticized at all (Damen himself criticizes and refuses to engage in rape and pedophilia more than once, despite it being more-or-less demanded of him by people of higher rank). Though this first book is very short, the world of Vere seems very complex and interesting and I look forward to continuing on to find out the fates of the characters.

Side note: Not sure if it was the copy I got but there were a lot of weird grammar and sentence structure “errors”. The author is Australian so maybe it's that, but some paragraphs were hard to read and I had to backtrack more than once to understand what was happening.

Review of all 3 books is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1720533543?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I'm having trouble writing this review because I have so many conflicting feelings about it. Though this book doesn't have a lot of hype surrounding it currently, I knew going in that lots of people love it but it also has it's fair share of haters. I also knew enough about the triggering content, so I went in with an open mind and I think that definitely helped.

This is a world where all kingdoms have slaves, the only difference being how they are treated by their masters. Pleasure slaves are the norm, with their ages being as young as thirteen. Rape is used as a performance for the entertainment of the nobility. Court intrigue is at it's finest. Every word has layers beneath it. There is no loyalty and betrayal seems to be lurking everywhere.

The best part of the book are the two main characters. Damen is very much out of his depth initially, a prince betrayed by his half-brother and gifted as a slave to the enemy. Being the personal pleasure slave of Prince Laurent is not easy, considering he hates the kingdom of Akielos and it's prince Damianos more than anything. Laurent is also very cunning, brutal, selfish, an expert at wordplay and always three steps ahead of everyone. Throughout his enslavement, Damen has to navigate this pit of vipers, keeping his identity a secret and figure out any possible opportunities for escape.

Both these characters are very captivating to read about. None of them are really good but Damen has some empathy towards his people and definitely displays some morals when forced to fight or violate others younger or weaker than him. Laurent frankly has no redeeming qualities but his scheming mind is just so fascinating. The development of their relationship from brutal enemies to reluctant partners who need to keep each other alive for the sake of their kingdoms is very engaging and I can't wait to read more of their interactions.

The writing throughout the book is very gripping. The plot is intriguing, very fast paced despite there being no action sequences. Sometimes, the author tries to use very obscure and complicated words which didn't really enhance the experience for me and I was able to enjoy the story better once I stopped googling them. I also feel guilty for liking this book which has so much violence, gore and inhumane treatment of people but I also can't deny the fact that I finished it in a single sitting, without once getting up from my couch. And I'm so looking forward to see how the romance angle will be established because currently, it's difficult to picture Damen and Laurent as anything other than possible friends.

I felt that slavery was very romanticized here. See, I didn't dislike this book, but this... issue kept me from loving it. Reading about a main character who thinks slavery is great and acceptable in his country is kinda revolting. It doesn't seem to be a race thing, though, which is... less bad? I don't even know.

At some point, I was in doubt whether the main relationship was an abusive one, but I don't think it is. So far, it's barely a relationship at all.

That was f*cked up but I couldn't stop reading. I'm a sucker for books that are really character driven, and this didn't disappoint.

2019 reread: Had to come back to my number one fictional couple. My darling Laurent is so cold, and calculating. I'd almost forgotten how this series starts. Messy, brutal, and with Damen and Laurent completely repulsed by on another. I love.

This book series is a weird choice for me considering all the trigger warnings. I've been curious about it ever since its glory days when it was really popular and I thought I can always DNF it if it gets too much.

I don't like to read explicit scenes in books, most are usually cringy to super cringy. Even more so, non-consensual events are revolting. Which is why I had to fast-forward through the questionable scenes in this book. Luckily there were not that many, despite the overall atmosphere in these kingdoms.

But the overall plot was intriguing. I was pulled into finding out how things would wrap up for Damen (Damianos) who suffered one of the most frightening fates imaginable. As a future King to be, his throne was usurped by his brother who came from his father's illegitimate relationship, he gets captured and sent as a “gift” to the neighboring Kingdom, Vere.

We soon find out that Vere is a very effed up place. Which is where I would have handled things differently. The whole "pets" angle was unnecessary. For many reasons. For example, the context of Damen and Laurent's relationship would have been less repulsive. I don't get why it was needed to gross out the reader by having a kingdom where individuals lived in constant fear of being molested or raped. There could have been tension around Damen's situation without all of that. Vere could have still had the characteristic that they permitted extramarital affairs but because they were so obsessed with not having illegitimate children they allowed taking lovers only of the same sex. The context of the "pets" in Vere was also contradictory. In some parts, they were described as slaves in others they were described as "employed" meaning they got money and status out of it. The whole slavery subplot was kinda poorly done, in general, in this series. On one hand, it was shown that the "pets" and slaves were subjected to abhorrent treatment, abuses, and on the other hand, it was implied that it could be a joyous thing when presented with a good "master", see Erasmus's chapter and Damen's thoughts in the beginning. Nicaise was also used to villanize Laurent's uncle but the Regent was never directly confronted about being a pedophile. I would have preferred a more clear cut approach to denouncing the detestable practices in these kinddoms. In a way, I do understand the choice of having Vere, Akielos, and the others like this because the intention was to build on the fact that Laurent was a better man than the rest and that he was the right choice for King. Because when everyone there enjoyed being a pervert with all the "pet" and slave lifestyle, he personally did not keep or use a slave until he was "gifted" Damon. It's implied he does not support this practice. But he "keeps" Damen with him for a reason we find out in later books. He also did not personally do anything to Damen but at the same time, he does have one of the court "pets" do it so it's just as bad. That scene did not need to happen. It was never addressed and it just taints their relationship way more than the lashing does. The image of the "potentially better man Laurent" is in total contrast with the Laurent present in this first book. Because in this first book you can't see how Laurent could ever become redeemable. He's beautiful, smart, cunning but ruthless. He has Damen flayed by having him receive lashes until the brink of death. His intention is really to kill Damen (because of reasons that will be revealed later on, in case it's not obvious already) but he survives by miracle or well, plot convenience. But besides that, something even worse happens. He has one of the "pets" molest Damen, non-consensual engagement is still rape. So it's nearly impossible to see how he can come back from that. Other readers have complained about the lack of romance in this book but I was thankful because I don't want to see romance when this is so fresh in my mind. Let's face if it were real life and Laurent and Damen were real people I would never ship them no matter how much atoning was happening in the future. In the context of Vere and Akeilos, I could see it, maybe. The one compelling aspect was Damen's fate, from the beginning. He was the force that kept me going to find out how things will wrap up for him. Betrayed by his brother, with everybody but the traitors believing he was dead and shipped off to be a slave by non-other than the future King of the neighboring Kindom, whose brother he had killed on the battlefield. So not only did he have to live stripped of his former life but also in fear Laurent would discover who he is and that he killed his brother which will lead him promptly to execution. He also felt guilty about Auguste's death which made him too compliant for my taste. Laurent's treatment of him is very inconsistent, at times abominable, at times quite humane which is a choice.Their relationship takes a turn when there's an attempt of murder on Laurent and Damen saved him even though he had no reasons to. It might be his principles, it might be his guilt, but he saves him. Laurent also saves Damen back when they try to pin the attack on him and there's an understanding that maybe they can rely on each other when things go awry. Damen is also a gray area character. On one hand, he was naive enough to not see the danger coming from his brother because he cares for and looks up to Kastor, he gets involved and tries to improve the life of some of the slaves, once he's in Vere, he saves Laurent's life though it's not clear that it's not in self-interest, he refuses to participate in the rape of Govart when he wins on the ring during one of their disturbing games. On the other hand, he doesn't think that the kind of slavery they have in Akielos is wrong until he becomes one of those slaves.

So I'm torn about this book. It did have elements that are hard to digest but it also had a gripping political plot with high stakes and some intriguing characters. Even though I enjoyed the plot and characters overall, I still can't ignore the shady aspects of this book, it did prevent me from complete immersion in the story.

The plot is interesting, the whole idea of the book. But this book is not for everyone and I'm not even sure if it's FOR ME.
I don't know what to say about it or how I truly feel about it. I liked some parts of it, I absolutely hated other parts. There are some intense descriptions, some rape scenes, a lot of talk on slavery which can be really disturbing if you're sensitive to this subject.
I liked Damen's character and even Laurent sometimes and I really want to get to know them better, maybe I will like them more. I despised Nicaise (was that his name or have I butchered it, who knows).
I don't really feel like reading the next book right now, but at the same time I want to know if I will end up liking the series.

Update 6/6/2016:
Characters: ★★★★ I am not sure who to trust anymore
Plot: ★★★★★ AMAZING PLOT TWIST
World Building: ★★★ it could have been better
Writing: ★★★★ it was a little repetitive sometimes but overall the author knew how to build a constant pace and keep me hooked!
Fun/Enjoyement: ★★★★★ It read it like it was candy !
Overall Rating:★★★★



OMGGGG review coming soon! tho I had some issues with it this book was so addicting god

I wasted enough time on this. I hate it.
And It freaking hurts my eyes every time I try to read it.

Reread it because last time I didn't get around to read the third book, so I needed a little refresher. Enjoyed it just as much as last time. It's a great book, a quick read. Admittedly, not the best in the series, but a fine introduction to a new world. Can recommend.

Captive Prince was a mystery to me. I had seen it praised for its eloquent writing and fantastical characters, but never had I had the desire to read them. It's thanks to my friend that I was finally persuaded to purchase the trilogy and start this book.
I want to say that it takes a lot to startle me and this book came close. Though I was unfazed for most of the latter half of the book, the arena scene really shocked me. The idea that there was a civilization that thought that rape was entertainment appalled me and frankly, turned me off for quite a bit. The rest of the book however, was glorious. C. S. Pacat doesn't glorify sex or rape. Doesn't make it a kink to have /forced/ sex. She writes it as how it is in black and white. Here are these Veretians that take sex as not an act of intimacy or one that should be enjoyed in the privacy of one's own room but as a “performance” and feel no guilt or shame for enjoying it. It was quite interesting to see the whole world-building take place from the perspective of one that is wholeheartedly against these people.
There is little romance in this and for once, I am quite grateful. If Damen and Laurent had suddenly become great lovers and confidants, I would have felt that this was a cheap book with only surface-level enjoyment. That is definitely not the case for Captive Prince. Damen still has his reserves of the Prince and the Prince still regards him as dirt (but near the end, he is high-quality dirt). This is a slow-burn relationship and I cannot wait to start the next installation of this series.
/Review for the additional story - The Training of Erasmus/
Oh gosh. That was so cute. So adorable. So. Ugh.
Erasmus, you angel.

How do I begin to rate this book?First, a summary of my experience:My reading journey in percentages:0-30%: Did I stumble upon a fetish thing? What is happening? Why is everything so vulgar?30-50%: Oh, ok, there's more to it than just debauchery. There's actually an underlying court intrigue.50-80%: Hooray for politics! This is getting juicy.80-100%: I can't put this down. How. Why. I don't understand how this happened.In a nutshell, it was violent, crude, not much happened plot-wise, and yet, here I am, having read it in two days and finished it at 4 am... I don't understand how, but this was really addictive. Another thing that I don't understand is how Laurent became my favourite even though he is quite objectively the worst person in this world. Now that these feelings are out of the way, onto the real review!REVIEWThe story is set in a pseudo-European world that has similarities with our own. The two main countries are Vere (I read this as a mock 18th century France) and Akielos (a Graeco-Roman society during the Alexandrian age, or there abouts). There are other countries/regions, but they aren't widely discussed in this book, so I can't pinpoint their resemblance to our world.Damen and Laurent on the cover of the Japanese edition of [b:Kings Rising 17158532 Kings Rising (Captive Prince, #3) C.S. Pacat https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1454160767l/17158532.SY75.jpg 23581990] (vol 3).Damianos is the crown prince and rightful heir of Akielos, but his half brother Kastor usurps the throne after their father's death and conveniently has his brother removed by ways of shipping him off to enemy territory to work as a slave (or pet in Vere). Damianos, now known as Damen, tries to navigate the strange and debauched world of the Veretian court while also dealing with his psychopathic master Laurent, the crown prince of Vere. In a similar position as Damen, Laurent is also promised the throne following his elder brother's death, but he finds himself under the control of his uncle who acts as regent until Laurent is ready for his duties. However, much like Damen's treacherous brother Kastor, Laurent's uncle holds fast to a power that is not rightfully his. Laurent and Damen have an incredibly rocky start: Damen's position as a slave means that his life is in constant danger, and he is bound to the whims of his master without any possibility of retaliation. Naturally, Laurent doesn't know who Damen truly is, but his widespread hatred of Akielos and its people means that he automatically hates Damen to his core. Laurent is a violent, despicable, spoilt brat who takes pleasure in publicly shaming and torturing Damen. However, as time passes and they get to know each other a bit more, Laurent eases up on the hatred and, against all odds, they develop a tacit understanding of one another. There's no love loss here, but at least they're not at each other's throats.Make no mistake: this is a dark, dark world filled with horrible characters who do horrible things to their fellow humans. There are threats of r*pe on the regular, public SA, violence, torture, etc. The Veretians are a strange bunch to say the least, with very questionable tastes in entertainment. That being said, the grittiness of this society adds to the atmosphere of the book. Some things are hard to read and downright disgusting (everything related to the underaged Nicaise, for example), but it all serves as a stark contrast to the supposed “barbaric” nation of Akielos who are seen as little more than animals to the so-called refined Veretian nobles.Around the halfway mark, the political intrigue really kicked in and was the focus of the story until the end, which was a nice reprieve from all the horrible business between masters and pets.I'm looking forward to the rest of Damen and Laurent's adventure now that they'll be on the border, away from court.

I read this online years ago, so I am really glad to get to pick it back up now it has been published. It was a great, quick read and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

The prince of Akielos is captured and sent to a rival kingdom as an unwilling slave. To protect himself he must keep his royal birth a secret while trying to find a way to return home. The characters are interesting to read, there are multiple layers to the movements of the plot and it was a genuinely well crafted novel. It was rather short, but surprisingly I didn't feel anything was lacking from the world. I do tend towards longer books, so I wish it had been longer to develop the atmosphere and world further.

An old favourite, and one I'm glad I read.

The plot of the book, its writing style, the characters...It all sucked me in from the beginning and I couldn't stop reading until I reached the last page.
The development between Damen and Laurent was slow, and fit their roles perfectly and not rushed at all. It made me incredible curious as to how the author intended their relationship to become more intimate without making it seem out of character (after having read the second book I can say she managed to do that fabuously).
If you like a great story plot with unexpected turns of events and an interesting relationship between chracters I can wholeheartedly recommend this book!

Really fucked up, but just intriguing enough for me to keep reading.

I don't know. It felt short? As in, nothing really advanced? I really don't know what to feel. after a time I knoe what to feel. Disgust. Why is this trilogy so well loved? I cannot understand it.

I'm still forever in love with this story and even though it's the slowest of the three book, it does so much set up that I can forgive it

HELLO HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT OUR LORD AND SAVIOR DAMIANOS OF AKIELOS

—

The first time you read this book, you start off a little unsure. ‘Is the master/slave dynamic really for me? It's not something I usually have any interest in' you might think. This book goes hard, right from the start. It is not for the faint-hearted. It includes all the elements of the master/slave trope that would usually make me run the other way screaming ‘NO THANKS, SATAN.' Sexual slavery, rape, abuse, torture, pedophilia...it's all there, permeating the background of this story. But—this is the important part—absolutely none of it is glorified. Captive Prince takes the typical master/slave trope and flips it on its ugly head, challenges it to be something else, something better. And oh boy, does it succeed.

My first read of this book was a back-and-forth of two constantly battling emotions. Emotion 1: appalled—by the world and the characters' actions and wondering What The Hell Is Happening. This works because you know you're supposed to feel appalled. Pacat writes that feeling into every negative encounter, and she manages to do it in a way that feels natural, rather than heavy-handed. Emotion 2: completely engrossed—in the world-building and the characters' interactions and wondering What The Hell Is Gonna Happen Next. This works because you stay up until the wee hours of the morning flipping pages and glaring at the clock as if you could stop time by sheer force of will (Laurent probably could).

My rereads went much the same way: equally APPALLED and ENGROSSED. But there's a new level of appreciation to take away from book one after you've read book two. Everyone and their librarian agrees that book two is superior, but part of that is because book two begins to reveal the many hidden layers of book one that you didn't even know to look for the first time around. And once you go back and reread, you realize there's a whole lot more to book one than you initially thought. More plotting and scheming. More brilliant writing. More investment in the characters and their relationships. More pain.

Other thoughts (nowhere near an exhaustive list): Gorgeous writing. Gorgeous. Pacat can write a simple phrase and make you fall in love. Or cut your heart out of your chest, still beating. Every single page is packed with action, emotion, deception, and intrigue—every time I finish this book I think ‘there is no way that was less than 300 pages.' And every time, I am wrong. Fascinating, unreliable narration, by a lovable narrator. Witty, clever dialogue. Tension so thick you could turn it into stew. Some of the most interesting and engaging character and relationship development I've ever read. In short: I LOVE! THIS! BOOK! I LOVE! THIS! SERIES!

But listen, I was doomed to love it from the moment I found out the main character was a bisexual prince with a big ol' heart of gold. So. That's where I stand.

Picked this book up on a whim because I'd seen it in a window display of “adventure stories” (next to Treasure Island and the like) at the American Book Center in Amsterdam. I knew nothing about it, but I'm always on the lookout for new adventure stories and swashbucklers and I like a surprise.

Because I am apparently a very innocent person, it took me about a third of the book to realize I was actually reading gay bdsm fantasy (to make clear how much of an innocent I am, this was far beyond the point in the story where there is a naked wrestling match that ends in the victor penetrating the other guy while the onlookers in the stadium are being pleasured by slaves - at which point I was like “gosh, I don't think that's really necessary”. But you know, after that there was a fight, so I took a swig of my morning coffee and on I went...) And really, I don't have anything against this kind of literature (you do you!), and I guess all of this is more the fault of the American Book Center than of this book, and technically I did get my surprise, but I can't get over the fact that there are no pirates, not even naked ones, there is no adventure except, I guess, naked adventures in unexpected pentration, and swashes were only being bucklered in a way I was not really looking for. Also the writing was quite bad.

So that's the story. dnf and this book gets one star.

Me traumó de por vida (en el buen y en el mal sentido). Tiene una trama atrapante y unos personajes nada aburridos.

I picked up Captive Prince knowing it has some questionable themes. I knew going into it that there's rape, pedophilia, torture and much more. Truth be told it made me excited! I've not tackled a book with such themes before and I wanted to see how it'll be handled.

Well, the two stars probably tell you enough of my opinion. It was handled poorly. While the narrator thinks of the horrific acts as disgusting, which is a word far too weak for the depravity on display, the focus is more on that rather than on the barely-existent plot.

My expectation was that this is a fantasy story with horrific elements. Instead this is a gallery of torture with a sprinkle of fantasy hidden in some dark corner.

The plot barely moved anywhere. Some court intrigue took place, and it wasn't all bad, but when it's constantly interrupted by yet more talk of rape, pets (a strange choice of words for sex slaves) then I have hard time being invested.

I will read the next two books but this was not good, not at all.