Captive Prince

The world building in this is phenomenal. If you are able to withstand the trigger/content warnings, I would highly suggest that you read this. I was utterly enthralled by the way CS Pacat built the universe, and the antagonism between Laurent and Damen. The premise was solidly executed, and I had a very difficult time putting this down. A fantastic start to a series with an intriguing set of characters!

I am at quite a loss for words in regards to my feelings about this book, but I will try my best. The beginning of the book was very abrupt. The reader is plopped into the conflict without knowing a thing about any of the characters. The writing felt very choppy as well. Mostly it just felt like craziness. You can see what is happening to the main character, but you have no concept of what his personality or background is. It makes for a very emotionless and confusing read. While you do get a general feel for the characters as the book progresses, it doesn't feel intimate at all. It feels more like reading a grocery list interspersed with slavery and sexual abuse that just leaves you aghast and unsure of what it is you are actually reading. The characters were one dimensional. Absolutely no depth. And most of what is happening is cringeworthy in the worst of ways. The world-building is pretty much non-existent. I try to picture these kingdoms and I just can't. I can almost see this being a decent read, even with the graphic subject matter, if only it had been executed in a better way. Without knowing the characters the reader cannot feel for them. It mostly felt like smut to me. No real substance to the story. I have no clue if I will continue this series or not. This series just may not be for me.

Honestly, I'm a bit torn. Certain elements in this book are done so well and some dialogue scenes are really clever. I can tell the author put a lot of thought into this book, and I'm happy that they trusted the readers enough to let the story progress slowly, as well as letting the reader figure things out for themselves. However, some of the events weren't fleshed out as well as they could've been. The writing is unique, but could use a bit more editing. But hey! It's a guilty pleasure book and I had fun.