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kyatic 's review for:
Captive Prince
by C.S. Pacat
So, this book kept cropping up in my recommendations. Every time I read a book on Goodreads, or added a book to my Amazon wishlist, the universe handed me a little business card with the words 'OK, you just read Euripides... but have you read The Captive Prince?', to which I replied with a weary sigh, because I had absolutely no interest in reading this damn book. The synopsis appealed not a jot. I don't like fantasy or faux-Medieval worlds. I don't like books which posit a love story between slaves and masters; the power imbalance is creepy and non-consensual, and I find it hard to reconcile that.
However, my single New Year's Resolution is to read more widely and outside of my comfort zone. You can see my dilemma. Eventually, sick of having this book shoved at me every time I went on the hunt for new reading material, I threw my hands up and said FINE, I'LL READ THE DAMN CREEPY AND EXPLOITATIVE BOOK. And I did.
And it's fine. I'd have to question anyone who reads it for the romance or the sex because, as mentioned, it's all non-consensual by default (slaves are unable to refuse) and there's a lot of abuse in here which masquerades as romance. I'm also not super keen on the fanfic style of fetishising male homosexuality and making it voyeuristic from a female perspective, but it's not like this is the only book that does that, and it's not like there aren't a million other texts with the opposite problem. That's something to be aware of though, I think.
That said, it was well plotted, the characters are interesting and three dimensional, and the premise is enough to make me want to read the remaining books in the series. I'd say that you'll get more out of this if you view it as a semi Game of Thrones style narrative, with lots of Dubious Shit and plotting for power, rather than a love story (which is how it's marketed).
A pretty comfortable 4/5, seeing as it's the first book of its kind that I finished in a day and stayed up until 3am to do so. I'm glad I picked it up, but I'm also glad that I read it critically.
However, my single New Year's Resolution is to read more widely and outside of my comfort zone. You can see my dilemma. Eventually, sick of having this book shoved at me every time I went on the hunt for new reading material, I threw my hands up and said FINE, I'LL READ THE DAMN CREEPY AND EXPLOITATIVE BOOK. And I did.
And it's fine. I'd have to question anyone who reads it for the romance or the sex because, as mentioned, it's all non-consensual by default (slaves are unable to refuse) and there's a lot of abuse in here which masquerades as romance. I'm also not super keen on the fanfic style of fetishising male homosexuality and making it voyeuristic from a female perspective, but it's not like this is the only book that does that, and it's not like there aren't a million other texts with the opposite problem. That's something to be aware of though, I think.
That said, it was well plotted, the characters are interesting and three dimensional, and the premise is enough to make me want to read the remaining books in the series. I'd say that you'll get more out of this if you view it as a semi Game of Thrones style narrative, with lots of Dubious Shit and plotting for power, rather than a love story (which is how it's marketed).
A pretty comfortable 4/5, seeing as it's the first book of its kind that I finished in a day and stayed up until 3am to do so. I'm glad I picked it up, but I'm also glad that I read it critically.