Original Fiction Rec: Captive Prince
Aug. 20th, 2013 10:27 pmSometimes you come across something amazing and it feels like you're the last person to know about it and you have only yourself to blame. Because while the awesomeness that is Captive Prince by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
freece (S. U. Pacat) has been around and recced for years, I only read it a short while ago. And what an amazing read it was!
The setting is fairly simple, like the summary puts it:
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 epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.
For Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity. Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to hate him than anyone else . . .
Mistakenly, I took the part 'pleasure slave' and thought it one of those stories where every new chapter is a different kink introduced and where it's all about some disciplinary power play between the two main characters. Boy, was I wrong or what?
There is actually very little sex happening for Damen who is supposed to be a pleasure slave. It's full of political intrigue and war tactics and court scheming. And yet at its core it's a beautiful love story between these two men who might seem so very different in the beginning but who ultimately grow together and learn to respect one another. Nothing is as it seems at first and there are so many surprises in store it's insane. Insane good that is.
The funny thing is, it's easy to start with hating Laurent. I honestly couldn't imagine how the writer could possibly sell me Damen and Laurent's epic romance. And yet. And yet the reader learns alongside Damen, bit by bit, the reasons why Laurent is the way he is, why he has to be the way he is. And then comes the respect, admiration and love. And when these two finally get together it's worth it all.
There is torture (and rape but not for the main character) in the beginning of the first book and it might seem harsh at first, but I would believe people in fandom more able to process it compared to your average non-fandom reader. (Just pay attention to the warnings, they are listed with detail in the main page.) And it's really about the whole journey where even the difficult beginnings, especially the difficult beginnings, matter very much, too. So I do encourage to read it all from the very beginning because it gets better. That much I can promise you.
It's supposed to be a trilogy but the third part is not out yet. (It's actually been written at this very moment.) The writer published the first two instalments at LJ but then got a contract with Penguin. While this is excellent news for the writer, it also means that the LJ posts will be taken down in the near future. So if there is someone who hasn't read Captive Prince yet, I highly urge you to check it out as soon as possible, now that it's still available for free. I intend to buy myself the real books too since I love them that much (and the writer has promised a happy ending!) but in case you don't trust my rec and want to see for yourselves, please go and check it out. You won't regret it!
And I dare you not to fall in love with Laurent.
freece (S. U. Pacat) has been around and recced for years, I only read it a short while ago. And what an amazing read it was!The setting is fairly simple, like the summary puts it:
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 epitomizes the worst of the court at Vere. But in the lethal political web of the Veretian court, nothing is as it seems, and when Damen finds himself caught up in a play for the throne, he must work together with Laurent to survive and save his country.
For Damen, there is just one rule: never, ever reveal his true identity. Because the one man Damen needs is the one man who has more reason to hate him than anyone else . . .
Mistakenly, I took the part 'pleasure slave' and thought it one of those stories where every new chapter is a different kink introduced and where it's all about some disciplinary power play between the two main characters. Boy, was I wrong or what?
There is actually very little sex happening for Damen who is supposed to be a pleasure slave. It's full of political intrigue and war tactics and court scheming. And yet at its core it's a beautiful love story between these two men who might seem so very different in the beginning but who ultimately grow together and learn to respect one another. Nothing is as it seems at first and there are so many surprises in store it's insane. Insane good that is.
The funny thing is, it's easy to start with hating Laurent. I honestly couldn't imagine how the writer could possibly sell me Damen and Laurent's epic romance. And yet. And yet the reader learns alongside Damen, bit by bit, the reasons why Laurent is the way he is, why he has to be the way he is. And then comes the respect, admiration and love. And when these two finally get together it's worth it all.
There is torture (and rape but not for the main character) in the beginning of the first book and it might seem harsh at first, but I would believe people in fandom more able to process it compared to your average non-fandom reader. (Just pay attention to the warnings, they are listed with detail in the main page.) And it's really about the whole journey where even the difficult beginnings, especially the difficult beginnings, matter very much, too. So I do encourage to read it all from the very beginning because it gets better. That much I can promise you.
It's supposed to be a trilogy but the third part is not out yet. (It's actually been written at this very moment.) The writer published the first two instalments at LJ but then got a contract with Penguin. While this is excellent news for the writer, it also means that the LJ posts will be taken down in the near future. So if there is someone who hasn't read Captive Prince yet, I highly urge you to check it out as soon as possible, now that it's still available for free. I intend to buy myself the real books too since I love them that much (and the writer has promised a happy ending!) but in case you don't trust my rec and want to see for yourselves, please go and check it out. You won't regret it!
And I dare you not to fall in love with Laurent.
