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4.37 AVERAGE
4.37 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
UGHHHHHH SO GOOD!!!! this trilogy has killed me I am dead! the character development!! the ROMANCE!! I didn't think I would love Laurent this much but I dooooo only thing I wish for is more happy times at the end but damn this was hella good would recommend
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
I read this book twice in the last twenty four hours and I have to say it was stunningly perfect. The only thing I could ask for is an epilogue.
Anyway, I'm sobbing. I've been on and off crying all day since I finished this the first time.
Laurent is probably my favorite male lead ever. He is so precious to me and maybe one day I'll be able to articulate why without losing all of my shit.
Spoiler
There was a scene where Damen was describing this estate, with its beautiful gardens, and how he'd like to take Laurent there, and I think that trip would have been a fucking masterpiece of an epilogue.Anyway, I'm sobbing. I've been on and off crying all day since I finished this the first time.
Laurent is probably my favorite male lead ever. He is so precious to me and maybe one day I'll be able to articulate why without losing all of my shit.
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A good conclusion, which could have benefitted from more solid foreshadowing. This would've avoided the clunky reveals of the last 70 pages.
Strengths
The pacing was great, like in the previous book.
The evolution of Laurent and Damianos' relationship was interesting to read, as were the interactions between the two armies.
The growth Laurent and Damianos share, and the solutions they propose in light on them (Damianos entering the palace like a veretian, Laurent fighting Kastor like an Akielonian ) gave a satisfying conclusion to the culture mix they were exposed to in the trilogy.
Flaws
Characterisation fell a bit flat for me, as something that should've happened didn't, which made character arcs too easy.The second book ending with Damianios' identity revealed, only for it to have been known all along truly made it look like the author chickened out of a real and founded disagreement between Laurent and Damianos.
Several story conclusions were only raised up in the last book (the old country of Arte, which existed before the two kingdoms ), but I can get over it as it didn't matter as much in the end.
Several plot-twists that pertained to the regent (Laurent's rape, the regent's assassination of the previous king of Vere ) were interesting, though they were all brought up in the same event, which made it too-much. They were also, unfortunately, very easy to (at least partially) guess from book one - which made the "bomb reveal" fall flat.
On that note, the Council and the Kingsmeet got a clunky execution, where characters behaved almost stereotypically.
the ending was rushed.
Strengths
The pacing was great, like in the previous book.
The evolution of Laurent and Damianos' relationship was interesting to read, as were the interactions between the two armies.
The growth Laurent and Damianos share, and the solutions they propose in light on them (
Flaws
Characterisation fell a bit flat for me, as something that should've happened didn't, which made character arcs too easy.
Several story conclusions were only raised up in the last book (
Several plot-twists that pertained to the regent (
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
8/10 - I have to admit that this one last book was way better ! It was addictive, I wanted to know how it would end and was not disappointed. The first book was horrible in comparison.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Despite all the grief this series has given me as an aspiring author (one day!), I can't help but admire the journey the story took to get ✨️here✨️.
Is it well written? No. Are the characters well developed? Also no. The so-called "romance"? Doesn't really come around until halfway through ✨️this✨️ book, and even then it's questionable at best.
I spent most of this series sending excerpts and crying about them to a friend of mine who writes fanfic (that I, in turn, beta-read) and posts it online. Both of us can't really tell how no-one pointed out the very many areas this could have been improved on during its YEARS in development, and it kind of breaks my heart that so much potential for really, really engaging scenes seemed to have been glossed over to pay more attention to the smut scenes and moments of shock value.
However, neither the story nor the writing was why I picked this series up to begin with, if I'm being honest.
In a way, I see parallells between this series and 'All For The Game' (which I believe was also an online, public work in progress), and it would be interesting to read more books/series that grow and develop from an online platform in comparison to the traditional way of being able to work on the story as a whole, to see if there is a pattern to what kinds of books escape the platform they grew from.
That being said, the FANDOM is really what drew me in to this series to begin with.
I find it fascinating and kind of endearing that the fandom for this series is so dedicated to the work. Every piece of fanart I've seen from 'Captive Prince' have been stunningly beautiful. (I even got recommended this series from a person in ARTIST ALLEY !! I thought their 'Captive Prince'-piece was instead a drawing of Patroclus and Achilles from 'The Song of Achilles', but that's besides the point lmao) The lengthy posts I've seen on tumblr where readers are able to dissect scenes and break down dialogue and foreshadowing, where I was fully struggling to simply figure out what the author meant ✨️to begin with✨️, makes me feel all fuzzy inside.
The fandom around this series is really, truly what MAKES this series, and since the fandom was what made this book a reality in the first place, I can't help but feel kinda good about it staying on my bookshelves, even though I can count its redeeming qualities, writing-wise, on one hand. It serves as a great reminder of what "fandom culture" is, and what fans do for the art they love. And as someone who's been part of fandom for their entire life, it's always nice to be reminded of what we can create together! How we can transform something so incredibly mid and bare to something fruitful and colorful and deep! 🫶
(I am also very excited to read 'Dark Rise', since I have only ever heard great things about it, and I am a sucker for seeing someone's growth and progress of their craft 👏👏)
Is it well written? No. Are the characters well developed? Also no. The so-called "romance"? Doesn't really come around until halfway through ✨️this✨️ book, and even then it's questionable at best.
I spent most of this series sending excerpts and crying about them to a friend of mine who writes fanfic (that I, in turn, beta-read) and posts it online. Both of us can't really tell how no-one pointed out the very many areas this could have been improved on during its YEARS in development, and it kind of breaks my heart that so much potential for really, really engaging scenes seemed to have been glossed over to pay more attention to the smut scenes and moments of shock value.
However, neither the story nor the writing was why I picked this series up to begin with, if I'm being honest.
In a way, I see parallells between this series and 'All For The Game' (which I believe was also an online, public work in progress), and it would be interesting to read more books/series that grow and develop from an online platform in comparison to the traditional way of being able to work on the story as a whole, to see if there is a pattern to what kinds of books escape the platform they grew from.
That being said, the FANDOM is really what drew me in to this series to begin with.
I find it fascinating and kind of endearing that the fandom for this series is so dedicated to the work. Every piece of fanart I've seen from 'Captive Prince' have been stunningly beautiful. (I even got recommended this series from a person in ARTIST ALLEY !! I thought their 'Captive Prince'-piece was instead a drawing of Patroclus and Achilles from 'The Song of Achilles', but that's besides the point lmao) The lengthy posts I've seen on tumblr where readers are able to dissect scenes and break down dialogue and foreshadowing, where I was fully struggling to simply figure out what the author meant ✨️to begin with✨️, makes me feel all fuzzy inside.
The fandom around this series is really, truly what MAKES this series, and since the fandom was what made this book a reality in the first place, I can't help but feel kinda good about it staying on my bookshelves, even though I can count its redeeming qualities, writing-wise, on one hand. It serves as a great reminder of what "fandom culture" is, and what fans do for the art they love. And as someone who's been part of fandom for their entire life, it's always nice to be reminded of what we can create together! How we can transform something so incredibly mid and bare to something fruitful and colorful and deep! 🫶
(I am also very excited to read 'Dark Rise', since I have only ever heard great things about it, and I am a sucker for seeing someone's growth and progress of their craft 👏👏)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes