Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Captive Prince

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

41 reviews

mspilesofpaper's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

Pinterest sold me the book as enemies-to-lovers with a gay/bi couple. I was aware that Damen would be a slave but everyone praised it as beautiful romance.

It isn’t. It is a glorification of sexual violence. Endless abuse (mental and physical) as well as rape. Also: paedology since the boy was a sex slave since he was 10/11. The fact that the sex slaves in two kingdoms give up their free will (WHICH IS WHAT MAKES US HUMAN!) for a life in luxury is sickening. The more demure and submissive they are, the higher their worth. Like wtf? W t f.

I don’t understand how a publisher allowed this book to be printed because the editor should have told the author a strict „no“. There’s no plot, no world-building, no character development. It’s just written glorification of sexual violence and I feel utterly sick.

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aeden_a_m_0520's review

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dark medium-paced

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

3.5

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_mineru's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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20sidedbi's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

This book is sexual violence posing as plot.

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nolimalumsedheroa's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense

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

4.25

Who doesn't like a slowburn enemies to lovers?

Side note: I'm currently lacking in sleep, so this review might be a hot mess

I'm not really a fan of some of the sexual interactions, but I really loved the characters. This book was great, because it got me out of one of my biggest reading slumps yet.

DEFINITELY NOT FOR EVERYONE
In contrast to the overall smuty/eroticay vibe, the book almost doesn't feature sexual content, HOWEVER when it does, it might be a little triggering to people.

Here are my personal TWs/tags: Master/slave kink, CNC, Rape, Pedophilia?(I'm not entirely sure if this is the correct tag here. On the one hand, one of the people involved in the relationship is a minor, however they're very much consenting to everything and if the story said they were 20 instead of 13, it wouldn't really change a thing since they don't act infantile at all... I guess a main question is if they're able to consent), also I found allusions to familial SA; Voyeurism could be also argued, Public play

As I said, I loved the characters. Himbo and 🐍 are so complimentary of each other when you truly observe them, it's fascinating.

If you're in the mood for a smuty and horny book low on sex displays which would make a Christian woman clutch her pearls and start crossing, I feel like this book fits the bill.

Also, it did better than FSoG with explaining the contract relationships, so there's that.

There were some... choices made here, which made me quote one of the most iconic lines Jenkins (from The Librarians) has ever said:
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Overall, I liked the book 4.25/5

Now off to the next one since the insomnia isn't going away 🙂

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alb_pa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

1.75

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afi_whatafireads's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Personal Ratings: 3.65/5🌟

I went in expecting more romance but I got more politics instead 😌
I mean, not that I hated it. I would think the politics in here are actually quite well written and the I can see that the romance would be the SLOWEST. BURN. EVER.

𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙚-𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙋𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙖, 𝙍𝙖𝙥𝙚, 𝙂𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝, 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙀𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙆𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙎𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙪𝙡𝙩

Short Summarys
Damen is the rightful heir to Akielos and when his stepbrother pulled a coup d'etat on his family, not only he was stripped of power, but he was sent as a slave to the neighbouring country, in which, the current prince harbors a deep, deep, hatred , especially for him. Sold as a slave, Damen had to keep his identity in order to survive and to at least gain his strength to save his country, whilst having to work with his now-master that loathes him to his very core.

Personal Thougts
I would say this makes a VERY slowburn romance, with LITERAL, enemies-lovers. The way Damen and Prince Laurent LOATHED each other, its to a point that you felt sorry for Damen sometimes on how he was treated.

Writing-wise, this is my first book from Pacat and I have to say, its not bad. Its straightforward, with a hint of lyrical writing but its not too-overly done. Its pitched as a romance fantasy, and I can say, for the first book, there's not much romance (which I don't mind) because I enjoyed the court politics.

The Politics in this book was well-written. For something that is pitched as romance fantasy, the politics in this book is something that I enjoyed. Everyone here is scheming something and I like that Damen did not lose himself even he had been beaten down. As much as Laurent is cold and cruel in this book, I also like his character. He exudes a persona that just bows down to people but has his own plans up his sleeves, which I can't wait to find out in the second book.

Pacing-Wise I think one of my problems with the book was the pacing. I was okay with the idea but it got a bit tedious and repetitive when Damen was CONSTANTLY tortured. I mean, I get it, you hate the guy, but I felt that Damen's torture scene got boring at some point. There was also parts that I felt was a bit unnecessary and the plot can progress faster.

Overall
I went in not knowing much about the book but I am surprised to say that the book kinda grew on me and I'm anticipating how it will turn out in the second book. Please come in with precautions as this book consists very gory scenes, but its one that I'd say I'm actually looking forward to? I'm curious on Laurent's and Damen's relationship so , yes, I'll continue with the second book to see how it goes.

Content Warnings

kommatator's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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jmross10's review against another edition

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challenging 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? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book (and this series) get a bad wrap a lot of the time. The main reason for that is people don't read the synopsis or they do read it and completely disregard what it says. Then they act shocked when they find out there is sexual slavery at the center of the story. It is an understandably surprising premise but if you give the book a chance you will see there's more to it than what the surface suggests. A big part of the main character's journey is being forced to re-evaluate his view of the world now that he is seeing it from the other side.

There is a slow burn romance that develops over the duration of the series but don't go into this book expecting to see much of it. There are the tiniest hits of what could be. There is no actual suggestion as to what it is.

For that matter, don't go into this book expecting to know what's going to happen next either. While the world is interesting and the characters are messy, the most captivating part is easily the chaotic political maneuvering in Vere. Everyone seems to be twenty steps ahead of the reader. Some of them - Laurent - are thirty.

Captive Prince is not necessarily an easy read but there are real emotional stakes, consequences for character's actions, and an unraveling of political plots that makes it well worth the effort. Pacat is an excellent writer and worth giving a try!

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magicshop's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

'Is there anyone at this court who isn't my enemy?'

'Not if I can help it,' Laurent said.

this book got me out of a months-long reading slump and was actually quite enjoyable for the most part, despite all my notes of mild-to-extreme disgust peppered throughout and my actual score. buckle up, it's a long story.

p.s.: if you read this review, regardless of anything else, make sure to pay attention to the many, many warnings listed below it.

you should read this series if...

you're looking for a well-written queer enemies-to-lovers story full of satisfying cliches that are deliciously coupled with the author's clever originality, the literary cherry on top
you like political intrigue and worlds that feel alive and lived in without getting overly convoluted
you're willing to get through a rough first half of the first book; more details in the actual review below

the good

solid writing style "despite" having fanfiction-adjacent (original fiction published serially online) origins. in my experience i think fanfiction has had some of the best writing i've seen in my life, so i've never quite found this argument very fair, but there you have it.
lots of words for me to learn! i consider this a positive cause i like learning new language bits and it wasn't so excessive that i needed to pick up a dictionary every 5 words or anything. it was a perfect amount. apparently the author used the story as a kind of thesaurus exercise, which explains a lot. this aspect was mostly lost in the 2nd and 3rd books as she became more focused on other aspects of the writing process instead.
political intrigue up the wazoo.
this book had me guessing 3 different possible scenarios within 2 pages as resolution for a plot point.
this just so happens to be one of my favorite things for any media to do so i was charmed instantly
interesting and mutually unique characters, who become infinitely more interesting and well-developed as the series goes on

the bad

no real plot until uhhh. halfway through? it's pretty much just exposition coupled with varying flavors of sexual assault. 😬
the pov main character has a bizarre and partly sexual fascination with fair skin, while being dark-skinned himself and oh did i mention he's also a slave. enough said lol.
this would not have necessarily been a negative had it been explored adequately by the story, but that was not the case. this fascination does, however, dwindle to practically nothing for the remainder of the series.
the pov main character (again, curiously so since he's supposed to be the least offputting character — i actually think he has some of the most ingrained controversial shit to unpack) has a bizarre and vaguely pedophilic fascination with another character's "beautiful" 14-year-old face, among other, more concerning adjectives
and my biggest fear: that the previous two points are actually a trait of the author and not of the characters involved. this is admittedly unlikely since, like i mentioned before, pacat thankfully reduced the presence of most of the upsetting elements from this book as she wrote the rest of them. i assume she realized their precariousness and how much her story's success depended on hooking the reader without potentially triggering them every other passage. as far as i know, in many ways captive prince started as an experiment and wasn't meant to be much more than a story exploring multiple sexual concepts, but quickly became more than initially imagined. pacat therefore adapted, and very well at that.
like previously mentioned: excessive rape/sexual assault/coercion scenes, if there can even be such a thing as a "necessary" or story-sanctioned rape scene. this is the most controversial and most famously debated point within this book. my personal take is that some scenes are excusably useful to the setting and the story and others, the majority, seem to be there simply to attempt to titillate the reader, if they're inclined to react in such a way to that kind of content. these i quite disliked and wish they hadn't been there. the book shows a lot of promise in ways entirely unrelated to these acts, almost as if there's a divide within it. see my next point.

the complicated

the slow heel-turn (i promise these words can go together lol) from
sexual slavery fantasy sprinkled with political elements book to full-on political intrigue book was. something. i read the second half of this thing within a day; i couldn't keep my eyes off the twists and turns it took.
this would go (and sorta did go) in the good section, but fits better here because i do absolutely wish the first half had been... easier to digest and enjoy, to put it mildly.
damen's entire deal.
he's incredibly hypocritical when it comes to vere's culture, being that his own country not only also keeps slaves but actively grooms them to be submissive and docile. he does not see this as a point of contention whatsoever from what we see in this book, and in fact acts as if akielos is the morally superior society.
this goes in the complicated section (instead of the bad one) because much of it is further explored in-depth in the subsequent books.

i think this book's controversial status is well-earned, and i didn't indiscriminately enjoy the entire ride. nor did i completely hate it. i think having grey-colored opinions about things, especially pieces of media (especially especially pieces of media that are only one part of a as-of-yet unknown whole), is a natural and healthy course of action. this is the case here. i enjoyed, then didn't enjoy, then enjoyed myself again, several times, throughout this story, and i don't regret reading it for a second since it introduced me to one of the best-written love stories i've ever seen in media.

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