Reviews with content warning for Rape - Captive Prince

the world and its interhuman relationships are very brutal and perverse which can be quite gruesome if you are not ready for it.
otherwise, i got immersed in the story although it is noticeable that this book is primarily world building and is setting the mood for the other two books. therefore, i recommend reading at least the first two books to get a grasp of the plot of the series.

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jeswil62's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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jaxtongray's review against another edition

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esthersenv's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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lunahale's review against another edition

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tense fast-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

3.5

i read this for the first time a few years ago, but by the first twenty pages of my reread, i realized that i didn’t remember ANY of this. some names were familiar and i remember the basic plot but everything else felt new. so it was fun to read this again, and i’m happy i did. i remember likening the second and third books more so i’m excited to keep going

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issyharvey's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

3.5

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samara_surface's review against another edition

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3.75

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onthesamepage's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

4.0

It takes a lot of skill to write a dark world and present it as-is, with characters who are part of systems of abuse and not cognizant of it. Neither Damen nor Laurent are innocent—despite everything Damen suffers in Vere, it's not like Akielos doesn't also have a system of slavery in place. But it's interesting to see the cracks in Damen's ideals as the story progresses, and the same is definitely true for Laurent. There are multiple moments where their assumptions are challenged, and you can feel their surprise, and how they reassess their opponent, and I love character development like that.

There is absolutely no whiff of romance in this first book, which is good, because I don't think the story allows for it yet. But the character dynamics are fantastic. Laurent is definitely the most fascinating of the two, because he is more inscrutable. Some of his interactions with Nicaise show genuine compassion. It's also clear that he doesn't hate everyone from Akielos and is, in fact, capable of being kind to the slaves, even as he is a complete bastard to Damen. I think Damen is a naïve idiot, and I say this with love, because I don't buy for a second that Laurent doesn't know exactly who he is, and has known from the beginning, which would also explain why his behavior towards Damen is different compared to how he usually behaves.

I'm definitely invested in them at this point, and I can't wait to see all the ways in which they'll grow.

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