Captive Prince

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.