Reviews with content warning for Trafficking - Captive Prince

This is a controversial book. After years of hearing from other people what I should think of the book, I decided to form my own opinion.

I hated it.

Fundamentally, I feel it is too horny to be an adventure story, but not horny enough to be erotica. My issues with the plot only compound it.

Laurent, our love interest, is gifted Damen as a sex slave. The court he is surrounded with is hedonistic and sexual, with courtiers regularly having sex in public.

Despite this, there is only one actual sex scene,

when Laurent has another sex slave force oral on a tied up Damen.

If you are looking for some dark erotica, perhaps find it elsewhere, this is lacking in sex.

Despite ordering Damen’s abuse at the hands of his servants,

Laurent never personally lays hands on him.

I can only assume, as

we are supposed to find him more forgivable than if he had personally beaten and raped Damen. I do not. Rape fetish fiction is not my thing, but I understand people like it. However, it would be nice if we didn’t pretend the abuser is not an abuser, as he abuses by proxy.

I found the story predictable. On several occasions, the chapter would end with Laurent dramatically informing the ever oblivious Damen something I had guessed chapters ago, much to Damen’s shock. In these moments, he comes off, not unfamiliar with the venomous court of a foreign land, but stupid.

The regent’s, who’s name escapes me, “pet”,

a 13 year old boy, plotline, feels a lazy effort to make Laurent look better in comparison to his uncle. “Oh, sure, he’s a violent abuser, but look! He’s not a child molester!” I have not read further, but I suspect Laurent was molested by him also. Just a guess.

Regardless, the pedophilia is not romanticised, but is not handled with the sensitivity such a… Well, sensitive, topic demands.

The only thing I can give the book credit for is consistent characterisation, and good use of showing instead of telling.

If you like slow burn, abusive noncon fanfiction, this is probably the book for you. For me? God, no.

Content Warnings

bookstorebinge's review

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No

2.5

Content Warnings

nerdinthelibrary's review against another edition

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fast-paced

2.75

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hailslynn's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Didn’t live up to the hype that I was expecting from it but hopefully the next two books in the series change my mind

Content Warnings

johnnytest's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

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

1.0

gross tbh, feels like torture porn most of the time and rape the rest

Content Warnings

lily_west's review against another edition

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challenging tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I was super prepared to not like this book, because I’d been warned so much that it was divisive. But honestly? The content, while certainly dark, is still not much darker than anything you’d get in a Game of Thrones episode. And the writing is much better. The characters are interesting and mysterious, the prose is deceptively simplistic, and Pacat really knows how to hold back a revelation/plot twist until it’s a perfectly-timed punch to the face. I feel like I need to reread just so I can catch all of the subtle foreshadowing. I’m so intrigued by both Damen and Laurent, because I feel like we hardly know them at all, and I’m fascinated to see them interacting more. My only complaint is that this book could’ve easily been longer and therefore had a bit more plot to it. Definitely going to read the sequel, and I recommend this to readers that aren’t squeamish. Mind the content warnings, though.

Content Warnings

anjae's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

3.5

This book was mostly worldbuilding, character introductions, and the first parts of court intrigue, but that’s to be expected of the first of a trilogy. Despite that, I found it interesting and not overly expository.

The obvious problems of the book lie in the fact that slavery is common and not seen as morally wrong (in some countries the slaves are viewed as happy in their position). However, though it could have maybe been written more delicately, I do think it is not reveling in it’s controversial topics, and it reads as if it is aware that not everyone will like it. And at the end of the day, I didn’t pick this book up for an educational and un-controversial read.

Content Warnings

sophie42's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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