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A review by maya_b
Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
I am probably the person most surprised about liking this book. There are very few books I have ever read where I liked sex scenes or how sexualized everything was, so when I read the summary of this book I was very sure I wouldn't like it, because... well, obvious reasons. But I liked Dark Rise, and Pacat really managed to capture the emotions in that one, so I kind of just wanted to try, and then I read the book in two sittings and I enjoyed it quite a lot.
It is very much a fantasy (or reads like one), with a lot of problematic themes and stuff like sexual assault or slavery being painted in a (sometimes) positive/erotic light (sometimes not), so if I read this in any other context, I probably wouldn't like it, but I thought it was fine. Probably mostly because even with all the problematic stuff and everything being sexualized, there's a surprising amount of plot, the characters are quite complex in their wants and motivations, the (conflicting) feelings are well-written, an there's also a lot of political stuff going on.
The problem that I have with sex in books, is that most of the time, as soon as there's sex, all feelings are gone, so it was really nice having a book with probably too much erotic stuff in it (for me), that still had complex feelings and a lot of emotions going on. I really enjoyed that.
I can totally see why people wouldn't like the book, but I am very much emotionally invested in all the stuff going on now, and I will continue reading the series, because I do want to know what happens next.
It is very much a fantasy (or reads like one), with a lot of problematic themes and stuff like sexual assault or slavery being painted in a (sometimes) positive/erotic light (sometimes not), so if I read this in any other context, I probably wouldn't like it, but I thought it was fine. Probably mostly because even with all the problematic stuff and everything being sexualized, there's a surprising amount of plot, the characters are quite complex in their wants and motivations, the (conflicting) feelings are well-written, an there's also a lot of political stuff going on.
The problem that I have with sex in books, is that most of the time, as soon as there's sex, all feelings are gone, so it was really nice having a book with probably too much erotic stuff in it (for me), that still had complex feelings and a lot of emotions going on. I really enjoyed that.
I can totally see why people wouldn't like the book, but I am very much emotionally invested in all the stuff going on now, and I will continue reading the series, because I do want to know what happens next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Slavery, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Pedophilia