Reviews

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

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marimaia's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

laurent repeated the question slowly in the language of akielos.
the words came out before he could stop them. ‘i speak your language better than you speak mine, sweetheart.’

Relendo depois de 3? anos e não lembrava como o primeiro era leeeento, mas mesmo assim eu sei que ajuda a entender tudo o que vem depois então continua sendo bom. Não consigo não perceber as semelhanças entre Damen/Neil e Laurent/Andrew e isso só faz eu amar eles mais ainda.

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charloreadsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

tashpena's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 out of 5 stars

cmckayo'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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

thepetitepunk's review against another edition

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4.0

Damen, the heir to the throne of Akielos, is shipped off to Vere when his half-brother Kastor gains power. Disguised as a slave, Damen is forced to serve Prince Laurent. Although Damen should be in Akielos ruling his country, he must conceal his identity in order to stay alive.

I was at first skeptical of Captive Prince. There are many heavy elements in this book such as sex, slavery, abuse, rape, and pedophilia. The customs in the kingdom are brutal and although Damen clearly states "I don’t share your craven habit of hitting only those who cannot hit back, and take no pleasure in hurting those weaker than myself," he is still forced into situations that shatter morality. It's a violent story with quite a few uncomfortable scenes that almost made me stop reading the book altogether. The plot was interesting enough to keep me reading, though.

I'm glad I kept reading. The characters of this story are what make Captive Prince stand out. They have distinct personalities and develop as the story progresses. When Damen arrives at Vere, he has a hard time adjusting to the life of a slave. Being a prince, submission doesn't come easily to him and he refuses to listen to orders. As Damen is introduced to horror after horror, he realizes that his pride is irrelevant and he must cooperate if he ever wants to escape Vere. There is one scene where Damen sees an Akielon slave named Erasmus being abused. Damen, deeply disturbed, offers his complete obedience to Laurent in return for better treatment of the slaves. I loved how Damen was willing to submit to his enemy—despite his secret royal identity—in order to help his own people.

I also thought Laurent's character development was intriguing. When Laurent was first introduced, I hated his attitude and could see no possible way for him to be a love interest of Damen. (This first book is not focused on their relationship though, and has no romance between them.) Even though Laurent was rude and manipulative, his character was cleverly written and slowly changes as the story goes on. I liked that his thoughts towards Damen changed very gradually—it wasn't just one event that made Laurent and Damen go from enemies to allies. Instead, it took several situations and compromises for the two to gain each other's trust.

With such well-rounded characters, I think this story has high potential. I'm excited to read the next two books and see how the characters further develop and how the plot unfolds.