Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

163 reviews

m4ximus_pr1m3's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, Sexual violence, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Confinement, Slavery, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Kidnapping, War, Death, and Grief

toni_mahony's review against another edition

3.5

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Rape, Physical abuse, and Slavery

jeswil62's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Pedophilia

lunahale's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

issyharvey's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Violence, Murder, Blood, and Sexual content

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Animal death, Incest, Miscarriage, War, Abortion, Animal cruelty, and Torture

onthesamepage's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, Rape, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug use and Child abuse

Minor: Animal death

bea1745's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Violence, Slavery, Torture, and Pedophilia

Minor: Death of parent

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Slavery, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Confinement, Sexual assault, Torture, Death, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder

goddess_of_mars's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

I absolutely adore this book. I don't know how it's not super famous now, but it's got everything. It's slowburn enemies to lovers, the characters are interesting and you never know what they pull next. I love the world it's set into and the way the author is not afraid to show a different society than we are used to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual content, Torture, and Blood

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Death, and Adult/minor relationship

nofys's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Kidnapping

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Torture, and Rape