Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat | Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Laurent could inspire homicidal tendencies simply by breathing.

I... couldn't believe this book was so popular. This is hardly the first, or last, time that a book with such a huge following will put me off but, still. Ah, Captive Prince let me down right from the very start--I had such high hopes for it based on the raving reviews many of my friends had given it. Sometimes, hype is attached to books that just don't do it for me and that is fine. We all have different things. Taste is, as they say, subjective.

But. But. But.

I felt very different about this one. Hm. Hm. Was the writing good? Sure. I'd say so. Yes, it was quite good in the way that makes me think the author has more stories to offer us at a higher quality. Emotion was there and the dialogue was pretty decent. It just wasn't my cup of tea and in all the promise it held, it fell flat and tripped over itself too many times to count. I remember within the first few chapters, I'd cringed so much, I had this bad feeling in my gut about this novel and frankly, it never went away or lessoned as the pages went by. I almost DNF it which I can't remember the last time I did that.


I found this book to be an odd mix-match of harmfully offensive plots, which somehow turned lackluster paired with strange-and-slightly lazy world building, and a few dozen other things in between. I thought there were some decent qualities of the book and perhaps didn't see all the good, but overall Captive Prince was not worth my time or my money. I feel like I did the time I picked up Fifty Shades of Grey; ready for this whirlwind romance that has captivated many but came away feeling decidedly disgruntled and frankly uncomfortable.

And I almost never say that. I am almost never put off by literature but this was one of those books that I could simply not find the appeal in. Like, at all. At. All. I wanted more for the characters and to be less... offended or disturbed in its pages. I've read better but I suppose I've also read worse. Perhaps I've missed something in the way the story flows--in this and its sequels--but this just wasn't for me on nearly any level.

Ouch. I am sure I am going to get hate for this--have mercy!