captive prince is bad 

ATTENTION I got a comment from someone mentioning that And I Darken could be considered culturally appropriative. I am working on looking into own voices reviews and will update here with this pinned comment. Apologies for not considering this sooner!

I read book one, hated it (mostly because of the many rape and pedophilia themes), but was interested enough in the resolution of a particular plot strand that I decided to read the beginning of book two. And then I kept reading, because book two actually got interesting, the characters were fleshed out more and the plot picked up. I was honestly surprised how much I ended up liking book two - enough to finish the series, which I had not planned on after book one. So I agree with a lot of your points about book one, it was not easy to get through and not particularly enjoyable for me, but a lot of the setup actually paid off in the sequels. It also helped that there was less content for shock value and a bit more actual exploration of the themes in the sequels. I was specifically horrified after book one that this had been recommended to me as a *romance*, because Laurent seemed like a pretty irredeemable character and I could not see how the author might pull off a redemption arc. But to be honest, books two and three got surprisingly close for me. By the end, I kind of wanted to wrap Laurent in a blanket and give him a hug (and then still slap him upside the head because goddamn he's still a piece of work). I do think Laurent turns into a pretty interesting, complex character throughout the course of the trilogy, and many of his questionable or downright immoral actions at the beginning are put into a different context as the plot moves forward and more of the backstory is revealed. In my opinion, the plot gets a bit contrived in book three, and as I already said, book one was difficult to get through and not enjoyable, but I do honestly think book two is a good read. I have read quite a few books where two characters plot against each other and their actions are described wit h a chessboard analogy, but book two was the only time I've ever seen that written in a way to do that analogy justice. It was unexpected but very welcome. One thing I will disagree with you on, though: I don't think fantasy needs magic in order to be fantasy. The author obviously took elements and names from existing cultures to create the two countries, but she clearly wasn't interesting in writing historical fiction, so I don't understand the point that she should have just set it in Ancient Rome. IMO it's still fantasy and still a valid way to create a world.

I remember reading like half of the first book a couple years ago and hating it, I thought all the characters were unlikeable, i absolutely hated the s/a scenes, and thought that Laurent was a very unforgivable and sadistic character. I don't know what made me reread the first book but last year I finished book one and decided to read the rest of it. Honestly I had a pretty great time reading it and Laurent became my favourite character, he just became so funny to me when he started doing things so out of pocket. Book 3 was what really sold me on Laurent just because it put all his actions in a new light for me. Haven't watched your review yet but I'm excited to hear your criticism (you always give great commentary on books) and see if it's similar to my first time reading this book.

I liked the trilogy only because i was like "This is berserk fanfiction."

This book did the rounds on tumblr years ago and I was like “yay! Queer fantasy politicking! Sign me up!” And then I actually read the blurb at the library one day and found out about the slavery element (tumblr forgot to mention it.) I have never been turned off a book so fast in my life.

I started this trilogy one year ago, and the first book made me uncomfortable, felt heavy and I hated Laurent with passion. I was asking myself "seriously how can the author turn this book into romance? Laurent is the worst ever". I then dropped the trilogy. Then one month ago I found the second book of the trilogy, and I decided to give it a chance without any expectations and ooh boy this became my favorite trilogy ever, the characters really developed in a smart way, and the story's is unexpectedly deep. I personally think that the love between Laurent and Damen is beautiful, so yeah I would recommend to give a chance to the rest of the trilogy! Also your review was very interesting

I respect your opinion and when I read the book one I had a similar opinion to your in most of the things you said and I totally hated Laurent. I genuinely didn't understand how the hell there could be a romance between this two caracter and honestly didn't even wanted it to happen. BUT I gave the next books a shot and please believe me that the worst mistake everybody who reads the book one does is not reading the next books. Because literally ALL the motivations are explained and valid, all the questions you asked in this video are, in a subtle way and not to subtle, explained. All the reasons for characters doing what they do are explained in the next books. This is why for much that we like to judge a book for what it is alone sometimes, we really wouldn't do it when it's not a standalone when the author specifically made it a trilogy for a reason. Now I finally understand it. And not only that, but yes, Laurent literally became my favorite character of this series. Shocking, i know, even I wasn't expecting that. What we also can't forget is that the book is narrated from Damen's perspective so what he knows and feel about other characters, this country and all this things, are from his perspective. So without realizing, we as a reader end up biased about too many things without realizing that, because just like Damen, we don't know half of the things that are going on and their reasons. About the p*dophilia part that you talked, there is not a single scene describing the act itself explicitly. It just shows that it exist in this country. And honestly, that's something that literally exist in out society nowadays too. Which is absolutely horrible that this sh*t still exists. I get that if you personally dealt with this in your life or something similar and you are triggered with the mention of it, you probably shouldn't read this book, this is why we should pay attention to trigger warnings and know our own limits. But if it's not something that triggers you, just go ahead. You don't need to like this vile sh*t to read a book that in a couple of sentences mention the existence of the thing that sadly exists in our world. But pretending it don't exist with not talking about it, saying how bad it is and blame books that mention it it's just not the right thing to do in my opinion. Specially when as i said, the book is narrated in Damen's perspective so even if in Laurent's country it's something that happens, the book literally shows that it's not a good thing. It doesn't glorifies nor sexualizes this crime. It's just there, just like in our society. And this book created many debates of readers about how vile this act is, and if more people talk and condem p*dophilia maybe it's better then pretend it doesn't exist and being shocked and scandalized that we needed do deal with mentioning of the existence of it for a couple of seconds when there are real people in the world living this life and it's not a fantasy book for them. But honestly I really hope everybody who read book one give a chance to the book 2 at least, better to the whole series of 3 books and specially the mini book called "The Summer Palace" witch is about Laurent and Damen set after the events of the Captive Prince trilogy. If you still didn't like it, i'm really sorry. But i'm 99% sure you will end up loving it. Also the next 2 books don't have this controversial topics book one had so it gonna be much more easier to read it for you. The second book is totally adventure and romance and the romance is gradual so it's not like we out of nowhere forgive Laurent and like him. We, just like Damen gradually get to know Laurent and gradually understand why he does what he does. And if we are being honest, for much harsh it could sound like without you knowing what is going on, but after understanding everything by reading all the books, in 90% of cases we would do the same in Laurent's place after know know why he does what he does. PS: Sorry for such a big essay and the possible grammar mistakes, english is not my first language but i tried to do my best to express why you should give the next books a chance. I really hope you will have patience to read what i wrote and specially I really hope you will try to chance your mind and reading the whole trilogy and give your opinion on the trilogy with the mini book that is a great wrap up to the story.

3:48 All of this is explained later on in the series. It was The Regent who made Kastor trade Damen for soldiers to help him with his coup. The Regent did this because he knew that Laurent hated Damianos for killing Auguste- but had never seen him in person. So if he could throw Damen into Laurent’s path, and and he ended up liking him or loving him, then it would destroy him. Laurent knew Damianos on sight, (idk how, maybe he had seen a portrait or a statue at some point and the Regent never heard?) and did everything he did in the series knowing that this was the man who had killed his beloved brother. Hence why he’s so awful to Damen- he’s wanted to kill this man since he was 13, but now, just as he is helpless, kneeling in chains at his feet, he can’t, for political reasons. So he abuses him in every other way he knows how.

this is one of my favourite series, and I absolutely love hearing reviews/especially ‘negative’ reviews of it. critically considering the media I’ve enjoyed in the past is one of life’s great pleasures and it’s crucial to growth in every sense. thanks Rachel for everything that you do!!

i actually love this series but that first book is the hurdle 😂 the second and third was better over time. i haven’t read them in years though after my books got stolen.

i kind of wish this was a duology, bc book 1&2 should have been one book. bc i do think things start to make sense as you go on, but ofc, that doesn’t happen in book one and ultimately i think that’s what turns people off the most from this series

Have read the trilogy like three times, and just to echo what everyone else is saying: Book 1 = yucky, starts getting better nearing the end though. Book 2 = possibly one of the best things I've ever read, I am not even kidding. Book 3 = it's ok I guess, the way Laurent's arc ended felt very unsatisfying. The arc itself was great, the last event (trying to avoid spoilers lol) in it though just felt like a weird way to cap it off. Side stories = most of them are just super fun reads

Honestly I read all three books in the trilogy and I really enjoyed them- but yeah, the first book SUCKS. There’s literally nobody to root for, every Veretian is cool w/ r@pe and every Akielon and be Patran are cool w/ slavery. But the character arcs are great. Also, one of my favourite parts of the books are watching Damen’s views change through his narration. He goes from hating everything about Vere and loving everything about Akielos (including slavery) to not feeling comfortable in either setting, and wanting a better world. That’s another thing that makes the dark themes easier to swallow- paed0philia and r@pe are easier to swallow when the protags understand it as an atrocious act that they aim to punish and prevent, as opposed to other fantasy books where it’s just a part of the scenery.

Sounds like something I would have read at 16 and been like "Oooooo, this is so EDGY and DEPRESSING and QUEER! I love it!" as was the trend in 2012 Tumblr. As a teen, I attempted to write something similarly troubling, and kept just giving up because it has no meat or intrigue apart from the shock value. It's not fun to write like that, and it's not fun to READ that either!

i haven't watched this video yet but i can probably predict what will be said😭 this is my favorite book series ever and the worst thing to ever recommend because of the set up in the first book

THANK YOU for this review. I am a queer man and you have no idea how validating it is to see this book condemned. I've seen it put up on a pedestal of great m/m fiction for SO long, but it came off to me as extremely creepy sexual assault fiction that has no real purpose other than indulging her rape fetish at the expense of queer men and also has a whole racist undertone. But she gets praised as a paragon of m/m writing for this book, over the voices of many queer men trying to write romance and queer fantasy about our own lives :/

This whole time every time you said “Damon” I saw Damon from the Vampire Diaries (and that Stephan was his evil step brother…) and Laurent From Twilight. So… I’m amused.

I totally agree with you that book 1 is certainly very iffy in some parts TWT but i really hope you continue and give book 2 and 3 a chance!!! The author really changes your opinions in those books masterfully and this is still one of my favorite series to this day.

I wonder if part of the issue as far as plot goes is due to it originally being a web series. I recently finished the first volume of The House Witch by Delemhach, and it has hints of a plot, but nothing too much happens in the first book besides some very episodic, relatively isolated situations, Though, with the House Witch, I enjoyed it quite a bit because of the overall coziness of the story, as well as really liking a lot of the characters, particularly the main character, Fin.

I met Kirsten white (and I darken author) in highschool for a book event! She was absolutely the sweetest!!!

The first book is the worst of the series. I can't reread it and it is disturbing in many aspects. But I do like the second and third books in the series! It gets better each book. Warning that if you continue there are some disturbing things still ahead but honestly if you get through book one the other disturbing things are probably not worse than what you've already read. BTW, the fantasy countries read as historical Italy and France to me.

I literally just finished the second book and you covered a lot of points but also the racism in this book is dire. the main character being a man with brown skin who is called things like savage and barbarian, his weird and unnecessary thing with blond hair/blue eyed people. and the latter wasn't a one-off thing, it was constantly brought up in both.

If I remember correctly, because it's been awhile, this book was from Damen's perspective and sensibilities, he basically thought people in Laurent's country, which I totally forgot the name of, were depraved. What we got is pretty much his limited view, which changed over time. We also get why Laurent did what he did and what happened to him to made him that way. I understand your view that you only judge a book based on the individual volume, but this would make more sense if read as a whole. Last, love your videos ❤ keep it up, dear.

Lol I was listening while doing something else and when you said ‘vlad the impaler’ i thought you were saying “flabby and paler” and I was shook to attention like whoa that’s not very nice 😂

Just a question, does a fantasy world have to have magic? I feel like it isn’t needed, but then you said, “why make a fantasy word without magic” kinda threw me off. FYI my fantasy world in my novel has no magic.

I absolutely adore this series. I’m extremely sensitive to abusive romances and put off reading this book until last year when I got injured and was out of work and school for a month. I agree that the first book is incredibly off-putting, but that’s kind of the point. We are seeing this whole world through Damon’s eyes and Damon has a very skewed perspective. He’s an unreliable narrator in the sense that his upbringing and lack of information color the story in ways that don’t necessarily reflect reality. I think what’s so cool about this story is that over the course of the series Damon’s narration subtly changes as he comes to understand reality more. Also as someone who absolutely HATED Laurent in the first book, I walked away from the third one absolutely in love with him. (Slight spoiler) Honestly by the end of the series i can see why Laurent was so awful to Damon in the first book. Not that it justifies facilitating his sexual assault or anything just that his hatred is much more understandable (end spoiler) This story has a lot of extremely uncomfortable themes, and I can totally understand why that’s not for everyone, they are plot relevant and do get explored quite a bit. It’s not a perfect series or anything but I do think it’s really good and the character dynamics are really interesting and well explored in the later books. All in all, I think the main problem is that book one and two should have been combined. If you only read the first book you basically are only reading the setup and you only get to read about awful things with no payoff haha.

The books do get better in just about every aspect after book one! As for fantasy without magic, I've read some well done books that are set in such worlds and it allows the authors a certain creatove freedom from, say, historical settings. Here Pacat was inspired heavily by ancient greece and (i want to say?) baroque france so theres no conceivable way to portray those two cultures side by side in a historical setting as they're separated by about a lot of centuries.

I remember reading this book and realizing it was not actually queer, but a weird gay fetish book. It fetishized men being helpless/r*ped/abused as an attempt at self-empowerment and labeled it as romance. I also remember thinking the sex was vanilla as hell to be like a weird savior complex and also being angry that Laurent was never given any actual power in their sexual relationship, kind of a "well at least he doesn't abuse me" type relationship. aka it was frustrating and gross. The end was shit too.

I read this series in 2016 and I have a special place in my heart for it. First book is definitely iffy but I absolutely love the relationship between Damon and Laurent

Personally I enjoyed the books as trilogy, I do aknowledge the not so well executed stuff, but I do think that while the first book is by far not the best out of the three at all, what I took from it is that the shocking scenes were there to especifically show how deranged Vere was, constructing the context for Damen in comparison to his country. I, as the reader, was as horrified as Damen for the depravity and the victims. I do think that Pacat could have done a better job. I would also say that there most of your questions or "plot holes" are answered in the other books. Laurent was my most hated character when I first started it and only continued because I wanted the best for Damen but ended up feeling really sad for both and impressed by Laurent's complexity after secrets get revealed later (which are major spoilers that have a big impact on the reading experience of the trilogy) and I absolutely loved the political themes in the second book. Sorry that it did not work for you, totally understandable since you only read the first book, I would not say to read the rest since you are not interested but I also wanted to give my take. (Editing to say that I wish people did not say stuff before knowing, Pacat themselves are genderqueer and does not identify as a woman)

It's just fantastic how I hate book one because of Laurent and the pedhophilia in his country and on the other hand, the slavery in the country of Damen. My moral was to shaking. But I want to know how Damen was going to end and how is going to become a romance between these two. I took a time to rest and start book 2 OMG! I really love it and with book 3 the same. The trilogy increase meanwhile the political secrets and feelings are reveal. An amazing enemies to lovers. At the end my favourite character become Laurent. C.S Pacat increase in each book and now with her new trilogy wow i really love it

I love the short stories of this trilogy she released later on. Especially love the adventures of charl's the merchant. Give it a try too.

I remember reading this when it was super popular and friends kept saying "what until you get to the good part!" It was a struggle to finish the book and looking back I wish I had DNFed the series. There were sections in all three books that made me feel physically ill and frustrated at how Pacat was so flippant with these themes. The series as a whole, but this book in particular, desperately needed a sensitivity reader. I did read the second and third books, again with promise that they series got better, and truth be told I hardly remember any of it? Some characters die, some characters live, some characters fuck, and playing with dubious consent and abusive tropes. The ending didn't feel like a conclusion to the story, more like the author was planning on additional books but never got there. Maybe someone else would take more away from it than that, but as a story it wasn't for me.

Ok but the "Sentenced to death with the only way to escape being to sneak out as a sex slave and plotting to then kill his half brother" sounds so much more interesting. I would genuinely like to see a book/fic where this happens. Main guy gets sentenced to death and escapes due to taking the identity of a peasant who was supposed to be a sex slave. He then finds that his person whos identity he has taken is to be sent to the prince of the rival kingdom, who he reveals his identity and situation to. He gets the prince to help him take down his brother and along the way the two fall in love. Once the brother is defeated, the main guy and the rival prince get married and unite the two kingdoms. It can still have a conversation about the horrible situation of sexual slavery, but it could do so in a way that doesn't have that between the main couple. It could have the other prince being someone who fought against sexual slavery in the court, but was gifted the main guy without his knowledge and is disgusted by it. The main guy sees first hand what happens to sex slaves, and knowing that the other prince is also disgusted by it, the work to abolish it together alongside fighting the main guy's brother.

I read this book about 3 years ago now, and it’s one of the few times I can remember being truly traumatised by a book. There’s a particular scene that takes place in a garden involving a guard (I think he was a guard, I can’t really remember) and another slave. Nothing particularly graphic happens on page, but the implication of what was going to happen out of sight was somehow worse. It genuinely haunted me for weeks.

I read Pacat's other book series Dark Rise, cause I saw the cover and like the summary and omg it was so much better than this, and while it was for a different audience (ya, compared to na) it actually had magic, fun characters and most of all the twist from page 400 onwards was amazing. They've really learned from their first book it seems

Rachel! This look! I'm literally obsessed! I can't stop staring at your eyeshadow - the colors are so pretty and compliment your eyes so well! And then I process what you're talking about and wtf is going on

While I do agree with several of your points, I really enjoyed Captive Prince, you could say it captivated me. It might have helped though that I read the entire trilogy back to back, and that the series was recommended to me by my friends who had read it before me. The sequels add a lot to the story and understanding of the politics of the countries in the series, and while pretty much glacier slow burn the romance between Damen and Laurent ends up being quite satisfying.

I just took 'And I Darken' out of the library this weekend. I have heard good things for years and now I am even more pumped!

This series conflicts me so much. Its the same confliction I have with The Foxhole Court/All For The Game (Id be curious to hear your opinions on that trilogy btw). I'm hyper aware of how problematic it is. I would never feel comfortable recommending or promoting it and if the topic ever comes up I preface everything with the numerous trigger warnings. BUT...I enjoy it and reread it regularly. It appeals to very specific tropes/kinks/fetishism. The ones you can enjoy in fantasy but would detest if they ever happened in reality. Within that, Book 1 generally leaves a bad taste even if its your thing but Book 2 and 3 do manage to build a compelling relationship.

I think I’ll agree to disagree on this take. The story while obviously not written for realism can work as fantasy without magic. Jacqueline Carey does a similar thing. It’s gripping and shows the characters at both their worst and best slowly throughout all three books. You start off hating Laurent and everything he does along with the racism of his obviously white & privileged society, but you’re in Damen’s POV and know it’s all bullshit. And there are hints that made it obvious Laurent’s got some skeletons under the closet that make me want to read on and see how he’d deal with them, and how Damen obviously sees the true barbarism of the culture that’s taken him on as a slave. And the books are about how they learn & grow together despite being the worst possible matches for each other. It’s also not too serious other than the character work itself.

I've read the series few years ago. I enjoyed first book, really loved the second one and was kinda meh about the end. The thing I remember the most is how surprised and impressed I was that author was able to make be believe in two main characters having romantic feelings for each other. At the end of book one I was 99,9% sure that it would be impossible.

I LOVED the Captive prince Trilogy. Read all the extras. Couldn’t get enough of the characters-loved them so much.

I remember reading this and giving up a little over halfway through due to all of the horrible themes that were handled, in my opinion, badly and then the major abuse between the two main characters. I'm supposed to want them to get together? No way. And I kept being told it gets better, there are reasons it's like this and their romance actually turns out to be so wonderful, and I just...don't care. All of that abuse makes the idea that they have a wonderful romance with each other later makes me sick. I thought I was alone in that feeling because I just hadn't seen anyone else say it was anything less than amazing.

I haaaated this book and I felt like I was being gaslit by the entire GoodReads community about it. It was definitely one of the reasons why I stopped reading queer romance for yeeears Btw THANK YOU for pointing out Damien’s brother motivation just made no sense. The world building was extremely shallow and it just came off as torture porn.

All I want to say in the comments, since I can't respond to everyone, is that, if you have not read the books, please please please do not make claims about the books. It sounds impossible for the book to be anything worthwhile based on the blurb and first book alone, but there is a reason why it has a lot of support, it's not like we are all just idiots. Also, if you are thinking about reading this series, please try to read the whole series. So many people read the first book and stop in the middle and then make a lot of really strong claims which, if you just read further into the second and third book, would not have made. It really is a very beautiful and well-written series. Just because a book is grotesque, this doesn't mean that the book is bad. It's ok if you don't want to read it, but it's important to keep an open mind

I read the trilogy years ago and what has stuck with me the most indelibly is the fact that the third book ended so abruptly right after the climax that I actually did some googling to see if I was missing pages. I wasn’t. It was so unsatisfying and so weird (it’s like she just forgot to finish it and published it anyway!) that it retroactively ruined the series for me. And for those who may ask, yes, I read the add-on short story she published later; it didn’t help.

I really can't get over how amazing you look today! Your makeup is on point

Oh man, this was one of the series that started and solidified many friendships during my uni days. All my friends agreed though, that marketing this as an outright romance was a mistake, and we precisely liked that it was a very unbalanced dynamic with serious topics somehow combined with a telenovela level of plot depth. Also, I remember being burnt out by urban fantasy and fantasy YA, so an alternate world/history setting fit us perfectly. You do need a certain mindset before going into it, though, and many of the things to look out for were glossed over during its hype. Book 1 is also very uneven, all hook and no substance. Actually, when I reread this series, I skip Book 1 altogether (I didnt even buy it myself for, like, 4 years).

Personally I enjoyed the series but it’s hardcore kink fic and literally nobody mentions that when they’re recommending it? Like it’s always described as so fluffy and it is absolutely not ETA: I read this forever ago so idk how it would hold up for me now.

I recall the frenzy which swept over tumblr surrounding this book, and later series, but I could never bring myself to read it for fear of re-traumatizing considering the themes featured. And I'm so glad I didn't read this in the end, no matter how much 'better' the other books get.

@6:45 I feel like the reaction this book was going for - based on your summary so far - is that it's a Dead Dove fanfic that someone REALLY wanted to publish.

I know this is 10 months late, but I'm catching up on your backlist and just saw this. I agree completely with the first Captive Prince book not standing on its own, but I didn't see this mentioned anywhere else; this series started off as a web serial. I'm not excusing the pacing of the edited series, but it read a lot differently when it was being updated chapter by chapter as opposed to being split into separate books. Anyway, highly recommend the rest of the trilogy and the short stories!

This book was there for me when I needed self indulgent trauma prn, it is what it says it is. I’ve never recommended it to anyone because I don’t think this book is for most people. To be fair though, my fav book series is a questionably written indie book about college sports and mafia relations.. (the foxhole court” I don’t think anyone who enjoys these books would ever recommend them to anyone without a huge disclaimer. The fandom is quite self aware. I think for people w specific traumas, these kinds of books can help aid recovery.

The premise of this story feels like the "sold to One Direction" Y/N self insert fanfiction that ruled the internet back in like... 2015

some of your plotholes and worldbuilding questions/problems are explored and answered in the rest of the series 😅 but i totally get not liking the first book and not wanting to go further, even tho it used to be one of my favourite series i never recommend it to anyone lol bc like, i get it, it’s such a strange premise and messed up story but i really enjoyed the twists and eventual complexity of the characters 😅

The entire series didn't even feel that bad to me which says a lot about me as a person. The entire time i was like "eh it's not that bad". Truly the product of ao3

Oh no, I absolutely adore this series, it’s in my top three of all time, I’m afraid of this video 😂 Edit now that I’ve watched it: I definitely wanted to stop after book 1, but I had already bought the entire trilogy so I continued on. The romance just hits all the right spots for me. And, all the right trauma spots. It triggers me all the time. I still get triggered just seeing it in passing and watching this video. I have a very bad habit of loving things that hurt me 😅 I’ve re-read book 1 maybe once, and book 2-3 I’ve re-read like six times. Books like this are mainly sexual tension and romance, the rest is just conflict and set dressing to enable that tension. The later books definitely also have a more defined cast of loveable (and hateable) characters. The cultures actually seemed relatively distinct to me. The clothing and traditions were definitely very different, from the top of my head. All in all, it’s my guilty pleasure, and it’ll always hold a special place in my heart 😅

I think that book one is very hard to get through, but it is intentional. You are watching enemies, not romanticized enemies, but politically, diametrically opposed people who are very prejudiced against each other for cultural, sociopolitically and personal reasons get thrown together. The reasons they are enemies are not easily swept aside and they do (have done) horrible things to one another. The funny thing is that, that the audience, us as readers, kind of mimic the attitude of the characters. We are put in a very narrow and unreliable pov and we think we know exactly what is going on, make up some theories, feel disconcerted and unsatisfied and then it’s only in time that everything becomes clear. I think that when C.S. wrote CP it was very much his intention to create a character who could easily pass as a villain, and whose motivations are very much hidden, specially from the person who has been positioned as the “romantic interest.” It’s funny that you said “obviously the Uncle” because I remember thinking that too, and then realizing that even when things look very obvious they are hiding a lot more that we don’t see. Even the clues are obfuscations. As to the “thesaurus” comments, I think I saw an interview or two of Pacats and they speak the way they write, the way they write pointing to influences of the way they read.

Ok so, 1) Kastor (Damens bro) was a pawn of the regent and Jokaste hungry for power was the mater mind…. I think it is done to show his incompetence as king rather than give him a valid reason to fight for the throne…no plot hole. 2)the plot: is more than it seems, both prince were captive one by hands and another by trauma, it I done to show the growth of both male characters and how their moral views changed as it is depicted in the last book…if u read them that is. 3)no the point of those scenes is one to give us an insight of the twisted world of veré and likewise akielos, when the slave trade btw parras is made, and secondly to hate Laurent, a intended by the author who states it in a podcast, and how later on in the series it is vaguely but through at the same time explains why but nevertheless not an excuse…not lazy at infact we need to access that this is first pov and not 3rd which is greatly why it feels like a bunch of plot points..when I first read this my mind came out with nothing but the primary “plot” and confused af on the first book, but this was dispel when I actually analyze Laurent’s POV…again not an excuse😢 3)so later on his pov on slavery changes thanks to what he experienced by Laurent in Arles. This is was conveyed in 2/3 book when Laurent says “you like slavery when it’s done on other, but expect when is done to you” I can go on and on but this book is much more than what it is taken at face value reading from 1st POV…and it’s a wonderfully written story that its main point is that they both grow out of their trauma and ideologies that were push on them one(Laurie) in order to survive his uncles game that eventually became a cycle that inevitably led to hurting damen and others(used his man as pawns) and two(damen) to be the perfect king to his nation which was not hi fault because he did not put in place those court rules, but how he uses his own experiences to go against old ideology…. It’s a heavy book I understand were ur coming from as for me it was an emotional struggle full of dislike and hostility I had towards it, but I like to preserve through it and finished I still tough my of how many plot holes were put in to find myself actually studying the book and finally getting the whole book which again was wrote in 1st pov which is why I still much can’t stomach 1st book…I’m open to discussion nonetheless

I had heard this was a good book and took it out from the library a couple years ago. I got about halfway through before I had to DNF. Mostly because as a queer person I felt super uncomfortable with the... everything about the sex slave thing. Partly because as you pointed out, nothing actually makes sense plot wise

Where did we read about pedophilia? I may be wrong, but Nicaise and Aimeric were 19 years old.

Only at the beginning but popping in to note that maaany royals over time all over Eurasia (or that’s what I’m most familiar with) sent relatives as minors/just in general to allies/rivals to help with political capital and relationships. It could sometimes also be a more appropriate way to get a potential rival out of the way without overt fratricide, tho that’s no guarantee cuz you know, they’re still alive and know to be alive. Sounds like motivations might have been a little more compelling if the author had leaned into political intrigue instead of sex slavery… there’s still plenty of grey area for someone to have dark romance style explorations of mlm relations… and considering that bloodlines were very valuable back then… idk that it’d be worth treating him like a s*x slave vs just weird power politics to try and place him in the throne to further political preferences??? Idk geez what a mess.

100% agreed on a book standing on its own. If you write a book with the sole purpose of writing a sequel, then what is the point of that book? If a book is part of a series, it should be able to be stand out on its own while also continuing the plot line already established.

For the "sending a prince to an enemy thing is dumb" part, it was actually a real thing, like, its a known fact that vlad the impaler (original dracula guy) and his brother spend around 5 years (when he was a teenager) in anatolia as hostages by the ottoman ruler to secure their fathers loyalty

Rachel I love some of your comment but this review definitely screams "I'm not the reader for this." I just don't think it's super fair to critique a book for what it wasn't vs what it is. Damen is clearly not the best POV character for politics, he's a major himbo and some of the things you have questions about do become clear later on in the series. I will admit book 1 is hard to get into bc of the r@pe and pead0philia but it gets better over the course of the series. The fantasy I think is the way the society is structured - a queer normative society sounds pretty fantastical to me

I keep confusing this with "A Cruel Prince". Pretty much the same thing, really.

People keep recommending this book to me and I always have very mixed feelings about picking it up. I'm glad you've done this review so I can actually learn about the book from someone who's not a fan!

I read the first and second book. The second book is loads better than the first but the third was a slog. I DNFed the third.

Omg, I’ve been desperately searching for some fun queer historical Chinese comics and this story is EXACTLY MY EXPERIENCE. Although I did find one I thought tackled the subject of assault thoughtfully and one that also tackled it I thought with tact but was using it for a conversation about something different, it’s not my thing…I’m not gonna yuck anyone else’s yum, the issue I had was that EVERY SINGLE ONE except…three? (And I tried A LOT) was the exact same plot of some irrationally horrible man being “redeemed” and because of that, I get unreasonably worried when I see it invading like…queer books over here that in five years that’s all that’s going to be on the shelves

I keep seeing this as a “Staff pick” at my local bookstore but something has kept me from grabbing it off the shelf. Thanks for your review. The one you recommended sounds interesting.

As a survivor of CSA I am so so so *sick* of seeing things in the vein of what I went through being used for shock value without any meaningful discussion happening about it. To me, it feels like it's dehumanizing the people who go through these things who have to figure out how to put ourselves together on the other side (if we make it out) and turning us into spectacles for people to shudder and gasp at rather than the living breathing *people we are*. It also feels like an author just saying "hey! look at this! isn't this awful! good thing I don't support it, I'm such a good person and ally". I've lived with what happened to me for 19 years and it haunts me to this day. Either take it seriously or leave it out of your book. Don't use it for shock value.

so i'm a comic book girlie, and the plot of captive prince is just the plot from DC's teen titans of koriand'r (starfire)'s backstory, but if starfire fell for one of her captors. kory was the heir to the throne, her big sister kormand'r (blackfire) hated her for it, so she sold her into sexual slavery and overthrew their father and took the throne. in some iterations kory gets it back, in most tamaran just kinda fades into obscurity.

I would just like to say that I am genuinely sorry people keep commissioning you to read things with such heavy SA theming. Like, get your money. You've certainly earned it. But good grief. I hope the book at least had trigger warnings or that the person who commissioned it at least gave you a heads up so that you could go in prepared and informed.

I love this book so much

This sounds like something that belongs on AO3 and AO3 only...

This was a super interesting review! I've read the whole trilogy and I honestly really enjoyed it, but more from the second book onwards (which seems to be the consensus). I was fortunate enough to go into reading the first book kind of knowing what to expect. But it definitely still feels like a lot of what was in the book was there for pure shock value. The first book definitely felt rough, so I can agree with you on a lot of these points. While it's a trilogy I really like, it's not always one I recommend to people. I sometimes enjoy reading about toxic relationships from the outside perspective of knowing it's toxic, so I think its quite interesting from that perspective as well. The redemption arc is definitely there for the second and third book. And I actually really enjoyed learning more about Laurent, more than I thought I would. I'm interested to see if you'll go ahead with the rest of the trilogy and your thoughts on the later books!

Have you read A Strange and Stubborn Endurance? It’s a great queer romantic fantasy and it does have magic and politics!

There's a whole genre which I do not and probably never will understand of misery p*rn via sexual violence. That's the entire and only point. Some folks, for reasons I don't know, really enjoy reading stuff that is "shocking" for no other reason than that it is. It scratches some itch which I patently do not have. But I have to admit that genre exists and there is an audience for it.

I don't really see why everyone talks about this book like it has tones of r scenes when there's only one that I seem to remember. And yeah a lot of this is supposed to be for schock value and because it's schocking to Damen as the two countries have very different traditions and treatment of slaves. And the pedo subject is like... hinting at sth. Damen was raised with family values and that's why he can't fathom that both his brother and the uncle would conspire against their own families. It's also clearly said that he finds Laurent attractive because he's exactly his type and kind of looks like his lover. I get that some readers wouldn't want to continue the series, it's just a shame tho as it's only the beginning and it's quite different from the other two volumes.

wow it sounds like an absolutely terrible time

i remember everyone on tumblr absolutely loving this book back in the day. i genuinely cant believe people just ignored all the r@pe.....

It is one of my comfort reads, I read it when I was 17 and fell for it because of the relatable elements of child abuse 😢 i still hold it in my heart

yeah like, seeing so many comments here being like "you just need to keep reading to books 2 and 3!" (never mind that she addresses why that doesn't really work for her, which i agree with personally) is just..... it just makes me think "why should i suffer through an entire first book where there's a lot of repeated SA, thin plot, so many characters behaving awfully, just to get to the rest of the series which *might* be better??" a first book of a series, while it should stand on its own in many ways, should also be your audience hook, but this doesn't really seem to be a *good* hook (for me personally).... i'm very glad so many people did soldier through and find enjoyment in the further books, but god even just hearing the synopsis of this one turns me off of ever reading it 😬 (sidenote i agree w/ the commentor who said that this series should've been a duology, from the sound of things that would've been far stronger)

"Ah yes, I will send the only person that could launch a legitimate challenge to my throne to our enemies who would probably love to find a way to conquer us without engaging in a full on war. I am a genius!"

I expect that this was originally some kind of fanfiction, as you don’t have to world build as much in fanfiction. But it might have needed more editing and sensitivity readers

Writing fiction about human trafficking is very complicated. You have to come from a place of understanding that these acts are extremely wrong in real life. Whether or not it's okay in your fictional world. There needs to be a careful placing of these acts in fiction. Too many writers want to write 'rape kink/fantasy sex fiction' but try to pretend it's actually about rape. Don't do that.

Best books I ever read!

I read this series not long ago because I wanted to indulge my inner edgelord. I spent most of this book thinking "wow author you're so ~~dark~~" then got invested during the last 10%. It really is one of those series' that gets much better but it's not worth pushing through the first third unless you also have an inner (or outer) edgelord.

LMAO I didn't know that these books actually got not only published but picked up by a publisher. Good for C.S. Pacat though. I have no ill will towards them like I do Cassie Claire. I was part of a large online friend group that came together for one really silly reason but then stayed together because we all just became good friends that would talk about anything and everything as well as mundane regular life. I remember the crew going crazy for this book and I refused to read it for the longest time because I was into slash of whatever show/movie/book I was into at the time. I finally gave it a shot before the 3rd book came out. So... it's amusing to me that you're reviewing this like it's a real book and not just some off brand kinky lemon slashfic tbh. That's what it was. The "plot" and the "politics" were only there as vehicles for slavery kink with the premise that of course these characters will somehow come to like and then love each other for a full blown romance. The series had a LOT of fanart - some really fantastic fanart, actually. It reached a lot of people because Lauren and Damien could be substituted for whatever slash pairing you were into. This is from C.S. Pacat's wiki entry: "Pacat's first novel Captive Prince began as an online serial of original "slash" fiction on LiveJournal, where it garnered viral attention."

You really need to take Australian racial dynamics and culture into account when you discuss this book.

one thing i want to add about the disturbing themes in this book: the race relations aspect. laurent is white and damen isn’t explicitly stated to be BIPOC but in fantasy-speak he just about is. so that adds another problematic and disturbing layer to the romanticization of damen, a bipoc man, being the sex slave of laurent, a white man. anyways i’m SO happy you’re talking about these books because they’re a piece of work for sure!! and i can’t wait to hear what you have to say about the rest of the series!

I've noticed that in a lot of modern books tend not give honk for setting while world building. They tend to use our world history as bad window dressing and laziness while using modern words and technology without explaining why any of it is there.

these "series of shocking scenes" are for the pleasure of the author. it is just self indulgence. same with pawn and the puppet. there is no regard for the audience at all, it's just stuff the author is into that kind of looks like it might be a "theme" but it isn't, since there is no purpose. it's like an exploration of the more morbid parts of some fringe erotica with the pretense of not being erotica. there are SO many books like this.

the concept of this series reminds me of The Furyck Saga by AE Rayne, but gay lol. I think the furyck saga is really good it's just long tbh, it took me like a month to get thru the first book

I don't think I've ever been this early for a video

The summary of this books sounds like it’s supposed to be like, a dark erotica or something. I’m guessing it’s not advertised as such

I think I got an idea based off of your fix for the plot for "captive prince" and its starting to merge with these vague-ish ideas about Scheherazade and the 10,001 Arabian Nights. Idk, if i end up doing anything with it, I can at least remember where I got the idea from 😅

I remember trying to read this during its heyday on tumblr (bcs this was *everywhere* and being touted as song of achilles but Sexy UwU) and was violently repulsed by the amount of rape and the (apparently) Supper Subtle racism. I'm also not inclined to give it a second chance as an adult because the fandom is wild and if you found any aspect of it disagreeable you'd get furious anons in your inbox or random people in your notes accusing you of homophobia for not liking what was happening with Damon x Laurent.

I remember this book was being recommended with song of Achilles back in 2016, so once I finished SoA I tried reading this, got like 10 pages in and quit out of disgust. Anyway if you want fantasy politics in an ancient Mediterranean setting read the Queen's Thief series