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doggipet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol and Blood
foxcrofty's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
So this book is ostensibly a romance, but by and large it is more brutal and violent than romantic. It certainly is leaning in an enemies to lovers way, but don't expect to get passed enemies to begrudging allies in this first book.
The world building is good, the setting largely based in a vaguely historical Greece/Rome/Venice area. I personally love a court drama and the salaciousness of the sex soaked society was a bit jarring after so much YA but at least it was consistent. The other nice thing is that there seems to be no qualms at all as about same sex couples in this, granted, in most cases they weren't romantic relationships as much as they were this strange master/servant arrangement.
This books absolutely has a content warnings list as long as my arm, so I would not recommend it to anyone who doesn't know what they're getting into.
The characters might be my favorite part. Damen, who would absolutely fit the picture of a muscle bound stock model on any romance cover, is a kind and smart protag who's been thrust into an absolutely impossible situation. Laurent, who for me is like the perfect blend of Kaz Brekker and Prince Cardan wrapped up in the salaciousness of a romance novel, is a nuanced and intriguing character, easy both to hate and to like, which puts the readers in the same shoes as Damen most of the time.
I'm excited to see where they go from here.
The world building is good, the setting largely based in a vaguely historical Greece/Rome/Venice area. I personally love a court drama and the salaciousness of the sex soaked society was a bit jarring after so much YA but at least it was consistent. The other nice thing is that there seems to be no qualms at all as about same sex couples in this, granted, in most cases they weren't romantic relationships as much as they were this strange master/servant arrangement.
This books absolutely has a content warnings list as long as my arm, so I would not recommend it to anyone who doesn't know what they're getting into.
The characters might be my favorite part. Damen, who would absolutely fit the picture of a muscle bound stock model on any romance cover, is a kind and smart protag who's been thrust into an absolutely impossible situation. Laurent, who for me is like the perfect blend of Kaz Brekker and Prince Cardan wrapped up in the salaciousness of a romance novel, is a nuanced and intriguing character, easy both to hate and to like, which puts the readers in the same shoes as Damen most of the time.
I'm excited to see where they go from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Incest
kimmiesaurus's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was a little difficult for me to read. We are thrown right in to the action with Damen getting stripped of his title and being given as a slave to an enemy nation. The book then backtracks a bit to give more information. There was not a lot of plot early on, just establishing the world and characters but I don't feel like it was done well. There is an index in the front with a long list of all the characters and their roles which I had to keep referring back to. I understand the need for this index in more complex books, but the frequency with which I had to check it felt to me like they were just not introduced well. The author would just throw out names without a ton of context and it just felt scattered.
The book did get much better a little over halfway in as the plot started to unfold and I the story started to actually pull me in as some intrigue was unfolding. I will likely continue reading the book, but you have to kind of power through the beginning.
The book did get much better a little over halfway in as the plot started to unfold and I the story started to actually pull me in as some intrigue was unfolding. I will likely continue reading the book, but you have to kind of power through the beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexism, and Trafficking
dododenise's review against another edition
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, Confinement, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Trafficking and Animal death
nochnitsa's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
3.75
2023:
Finally reread this with my book club and I took my sweet time annotating everything. I love Pacat's atmospheric writing, they really know how to set the scene. Damen is such an unreliable narrator though, so I would really appreciate to know how long Laurent's hair is and also Jord's? Obviously, my heart breaks for Nicaise and Erasmus. I love Damen's bitchy inner voice, never fails to make me laugh.
2019:
Guilty pleasure alarm!
But what a pleasure it is for my exhausted brain to be so into a book that I read it in a few hours. I did enjoy all the cunning secrets of Vere. Favourite character so far is Erasmus. I'm going to dive into book two right now, TGIF.
Finally reread this with my book club and I took my sweet time annotating everything. I love Pacat's atmospheric writing, they really know how to set the scene. Damen is such an unreliable narrator though, so I would really appreciate to know how long Laurent's hair is and also Jord's? Obviously, my heart breaks for Nicaise and Erasmus. I love Damen's bitchy inner voice, never fails to make me laugh.
2019:
Guilty pleasure alarm!
But what a pleasure it is for my exhausted brain to be so into a book that I read it in a few hours. I did enjoy all the cunning secrets of Vere. Favourite character so far is Erasmus. I'm going to dive into book two right now, TGIF.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Violence
Moderate: Pedophilia and Trafficking
annikw's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, Sexual content, Violence, Confinement, Rape, Torture, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Trafficking
Minor: War and Incest
samchase112's review
challenging
dark
slow-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
5.0
If you want something comfortable, lighthearted, or realistic, this is not the book for you. Damen and Laurent's world is dark, casually evil, and ripe for constant power struggles. The world C.S. Prat creates is deeply but purposefully uncomfortable. Personally, I love the sinister, calculated, precise battles of monarchical environments, and this one was done so well. Laurent was so mysterious and beautiful, contrasted with the straightforward Damen. I desperately want their story to move forward!
I have to say that this book very strongly reminded me of The Foxhole Court, from the strained relationship between Laurent and Damen, to the very tone (dark, tense, and very gay), to the way the book itself was written. We weren't given much backstory for Damen - the novel opens on the new predicament he finds himself in - and there seems to be no real divide between this and the second book. Nonetheless, I am now OBSESSED. Fans of AFTG would definitely enjoy CaPri.
So...I can't stress enough how much this pulled me into the world of warring nations, 24/7 courtly sexual pleasure, constant threat of violence, and political intrigue. I am ready for MORE, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!!!
Reread: September 2021
I love rereading series like this, because you pick up on so many little hints and details that were missed the first time, after having read the entire throughline of the trilogy and knowing how things resolve. Damen and Laurent are such interesting characters, and I will happily just watch them interact with each other as many pages as possible. The sexual tension is just so freaking good, especially when you know how things will end up. As always, I love how clever this book is; so many details and schemes, it intrigues and interests me so much. I have also grown to appreciate C.S. Pacat's clear, concise writing style, and how each word contains little hints. Highly, highly recommend this superb trilogy!
I have to say that this book very strongly reminded me of The Foxhole Court, from the strained relationship between Laurent and Damen, to the very tone (dark, tense, and very gay), to the way the book itself was written. We weren't given much backstory for Damen - the novel opens on the new predicament he finds himself in - and there seems to be no real divide between this and the second book. Nonetheless, I am now OBSESSED. Fans of AFTG would definitely enjoy CaPri.
So...I can't stress enough how much this pulled me into the world of warring nations, 24/7 courtly sexual pleasure, constant threat of violence, and political intrigue. I am ready for MORE, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!!!
Reread: September 2021
I love rereading series like this, because you pick up on so many little hints and details that were missed the first time, after having read the entire throughline of the trilogy and knowing how things resolve. Damen and Laurent are such interesting characters, and I will happily just watch them interact with each other as many pages as possible. The sexual tension is just so freaking good, especially when you know how things will end up. As always, I love how clever this book is; so many details and schemes, it intrigues and interests me so much. I have also grown to appreciate C.S. Pacat's clear, concise writing style, and how each word contains little hints. Highly, highly recommend this superb trilogy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Slavery
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, and War
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Incest, and Pregnancy
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