Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - El príncipe cautivo

In one hand I absolutely despise the amount of sexual assault that was portrayed in the pages. In the other, I kept thinking of the book when I wasn’t reading, and I found the reactions of Damian coherent to the over wall word building.
But one think that I could not get past was how some of the tropes used were deeply uncomfortable to read. The use of barbaric to describe Damian always reminded me of racist ideals and stereotypes, and it doesn’t help that every single white blond character is worshipped by him. It just felt uncomfortable to read this in slave/master dynamic, even if they didn’t technically engage sexually.

I always saw myself as a tough reader (believe me, I have read some nasty problematic shit in my ao3 days), but to see this tropes articulated in such seriousness, without an recognition of the racial undernotes made me take this read from a solid 4 to a 3.

This is all to say that I wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone, but I do intend to finish the series.

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shadowspinner's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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meepmeepmia's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I have read this series a few times, I always think this is the lowest of the three. Just as how it is written you don't really get a full picture till you have read everything, so while this may be gritty and certain character may be down right un readable for those who like a good pay off keep going!

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knowh19's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

lo que me gusta de esta trilogía es el cambio de enemies to lovers, se me hace lo mejor pero en este primero solo hay... enemies

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violetlunablossom's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

For years, I had put off reading Captive Prince, partly because I had other books higher on my TBR list and partly because of the ever pervasive controversy of its handling of certain subjects. And honestly, I can completely understand why people are put off by this book. There are definitely scenes that are hard to get through and language used to describe what's happening doesn't make it much better. To most, this does seem like a book that fetishisizes such subjects, and I wouldn't blame people for thinking this. But it gets a little easier to understand certain world building decisions that Pacat made, in my opinion, when you view them through the historical inspirations that they come from. Akelios and Vere are very clear based off of two different cultures from the past, so things kind of click into place when you realize the context.

That being said, I did find the political intrigue and world building to be surprisingly strong, and the way that deceit and the abuse of power is displayed is incredibly engrossing. Damen is a protagonist that I was immediately endeared to and watching him navigate Veretian society and politics while trying to keep his identity a secret was very engaging. Conversely, Laurent was a compelling secondary protagonist, with all his brutality and wit. Every time him and Damen shared a scene, I was glued to the page because of how unpredictable everything was. The two of them are obviously being set up as a slowburn enemies to lovers and I couldn't be more excited to see how their relationship grows.

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