Review: Captive Prince | C.S. Pacat

This Review contains spoilers.

“A golden prince was was easy to love if you did not have to watch him picking wings off flies.”

Series: Captive Prince
Published: 2015, by Berkley.
Pages: 270
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, LGBT
Contains: Sexual Content, Rape, Anger, Violence, Abuse

‘Captive Prince’ tells the story of Damen, a war hero and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos. However, he is betrayed by his half brother and sent to serve the prince of Vere, the enemy nation, as his pleasure slave. Damen’s one job is to hide his true identity, knowing Prince Laurent has more than enough reason to hate him if he knew the truth, yet needs him close to survive.

This book has been waiting on my to-read list for quite some time now, having read multiple reviews and comments online about it. Although, it’s a fairly short book, it definitely lived up to expectation.

This book contains a lot of mature content, and the one thing I kept reading about it was the controversy surrounding the sexual content explored. The sex within this book is not always consensual, considering those involved are slaves/pets fulfilling their duty to their masters. However, Pacat’s descriptions weren’t as detailed as I initially anticipated, skimming over a lot of details and bluntly speaking of the action before the scenario was over. This, I am thankful for. Even though it doesn’t justify including this kind of content, it was made clear from Damen’s opinion that the actions were not okay, and he made it clear to disobey and not involve himself.

Laurent’s character was an incredibly mysterious one throughout the story. His character appears to depend on his composure for the novel’s entirety, concentrating on his stern will and disgust of Damen. However, towards the end of the story their relationship alters, having to rely on another for their survival until the climax where Laurent takes Damen away with him. This sudden change is the main reason I want to continue reading this series, desperate to discover more about Laurent’s character and change of direction. As the master of a pleasure slave, his character is very unlike those similar around him. Damen notes on occasion how there are those that severely mistreat their slaves, abusing them constantly, and those that appear more to have a romantic connection. Laurent is neither of these, refusing to engage in sexual intimacy with Damen throughout the book. I’m hoping this is explained more in future installments, curious of his reasoning considering his family comment on it frequently.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, having never read anything like this book before. Admittedly, I struggled to remember the characters names on occasion, yet the list and map at the front of the book was a huge help and made for an enjoyable read.