Captive Prince
Book One of the Captive Prince Trilogy
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4.1 • 146 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Damen is a warrior hero to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos, but when his half brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave.
Beautiful, manipulative and deadly, his new master Prince Laurent epitomises the worst of the decadent court at Vere. But in the lethal web of Veretian politics, nothing is as it seems, and when Damen is caught up in a dangerous play for the throne, he is forced to form an alliance with Laurent to survive and save his country.
For Damen, there is just one rule: he must never reveal his true identity. Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to hate him than anyone else . . .
Includes an exclusive extra story!
'You will be completely enthralled and on edge.' USA Today
'Pacat's powerful debut, a blend of intense erotica and political fantasy, is disturbing and intriguing in equal measure.' Publishers Weekly, starred review.
'Lives up to every word of praise it has garnered.' RT Book Reviews, top pick.
'The story of Captive Prince's success is almost as fascinating as the book itself . . . Forget Fifty Shades of Grey. Captive Prince . . . is the sexy read of 2015.' Toowoomba Chronicle
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pacat's powerful debut, a blend of intense erotica and political fantasy, is disturbing and intriguing in equal measure. When the king of Akielos dies, his son Kastor takes the throne. The other prince, Damen, is betrayed, kidnapped, and taken to Vere, a country with which Akielos had a nasty war a few years before. In that war Damen killed Vere's crown prince; now he is the property of Vere's new heir, Laurent, who does not, as yet, know who Damen is. Pacat's ubiquitous and varyingly grim depictions of sexual slavery play brutal counterpoint to Damen's optimistic attempts to regain agency, and the obvious ways Damen and Laurent could help each other are made plausibly difficult by old hatreds and deep cultural differences. The intricacy of the political entanglements gives depth to the novel's erotic turmoil, and readers who struggle with the extensive scenes of nonconsensual sex will still be drawn in by the subtle, powerful writing. Fans of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series will eat this up with a spoon.
Customer Reviews
Who could look away
Honestly this series was bizarre and grotesque and fascinating and captivating all at once. I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy it but I found my brain just had to know more. It was strange and compelling to read something where the social standard of sexual conduct was so different to our own society. The plot was like a complicated chess match unfolding before you. Damen’s sense of honour made him easy to love and you can’t help but admire clever, devious, beautiful Laurent with his shrewd brain and sharp tongue.
Did Not Finish - Poor Themes
I chose to read this with really high hopes after seeing it recommended so often, and especially after seeing it compared to The Song of Achilles, which I absolutely loved.
I made it to around 85% before deciding to stop, which isn’t something I normally do with a book. I kept hoping that the emotional payoff everyone talks about would eventually land, but it was evident it would not until later books. I just couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling the story was leaving me with.
After putting it down I went through a number of reviews from readers who felt similarly to me, and also the replies from readers who love this series. I can genuinely understand the argument that the darker elements are used to create contrast so that the later emotional payoff hits harder. That’s a storytelling technique that absolutely works in many cases.
However, for me personally, the repeated presence of themes like sexual slavery, abuse, and the sexualisation of minors made the experience difficult to sit with. I found myself wondering whether those elements were necessary to achieve that contrast, or whether the same emotional arc could have been reached without centring so much of the world-building around them.
This isn’t me saying others shouldn’t enjoy this book, as clearly many people do, and I can see the appeal in the political tension and character dynamics. But for me, no amount of eventual emotional payoff in an enemies-to-lovers story would outweigh the discomfort I felt reading through pages that repeatedly return to those themes.
Reading is personal, and sometimes a book that works for many people simply doesn’t sit right with someone else. For me, this one just wasn’t it.
5 solid stars.
Extraordinary. Epic.