Archives for May 2025

In theory, I love the story arc here. I love the idea of a socially subjugated person finding a way to access power that has only been made accessible to the dominant groups, I love the idea of love that manages to transcend these class/social boundaries, and like I wrote in my review of the last book, I love the magic system here which feels unique and interesting compared to other similar fae stories I’ve read before.

From my review of the first book: “Also, a lot of the “high” or “second world” fantasy I’ve read tends to set up bigotry between, like, orcs because they’re ✨️so warlike✨️ versus the other ✨️more civilized✨️ species, so it was kind of fresh for me at least that in this book it seemed to be set up between high fey vs. humans based on their access to certain types of magic, with the “good” and “bad” magic being defined less by the actual results and more by one queen who was so pissed at her boyfriend she made his existence illegal.”

This was a reread for me, having already completed this series once in like 2023 maybe. And once again I do understand why this series is so polarizing! The content is pretty heavy—there are on-page depictions of assault (sexual and otherwise), there’s slavery, there’s fantasy racism, there’s just a lot going on. 

But like I said in my review for Dark Heir, I feel like one of C.S. Pacat’s strengths as a writer is in his ability to navigate the moral grayness of institutions and circumstances in a way that feels authentic while still remaining hopeful. This is true throughout the entire Captive Prince series, and this is the book where she lays the groundwork for the way that relationships and attitudes will change and grow throughout the rest of the trilogy. Neither of the two main kingdoms in this series are particularly sympathetic—both participate in slavery, both have some somewhat archaic (by my modern American standards) attitudes toward women and consequently some very narrow definitions of masculinity. It’s no surprise that Laurent and Damen are therefore not always particularly sympathetic protagonists, since their attitudes and behaviors are informed by the cultures that shaped them.

This was a reread for me, so obviously already a book series I enjoyed… but once again I am reminded of why C.S. Pacat is the only bitch I trust with a real enemies-to-lovers arc. This book is such a tense but ultimately satisfying payoff of so many plot threads that were woven through the previous two books, and I really love how many subtle (and tbh sometimes less subtle) moments there are where Damen and Laurent really get to serve as mirrors for themselves earlier in the series. You get to see where some of those motivations came from and how they moved through them to get to where they are now.

Rating: ★★★★☆ – The book was great and I would recommend it to anyone who likes this subject or genre, and I am likely to re-read it at least once.

This was a reread for me, having already completed this series once in like 2023 maybe. And once again I do understand why this series is so polarizing! The content is pretty heavy—there are on-page depictions of assault (sexual and otherwise), there’s slavery, there’s fantasy racism, there’s just a lot going on. 

But like I said in my review for Dark Heir, I feel like one of C.S. Pacat’s strengths as a writer is in his ability to navigate the moral grayness of institutions and circumstances in a way that feels authentic while still remaining hopeful. This is true throughout the entire Captive Prince series, and this is the book where she lays the groundwork for the way that relationships and attitudes will change and grow throughout the rest of the trilogy. Neither of the two main kingdoms in this series are particularly sympathetic—both participate in slavery, both have some somewhat archaic (by my modern American standards) attitudes toward women and consequently some very narrow definitions of masculinity. It’s no surprise that Laurent and Damen are therefore not always particularly sympathetic protagonists, since their attitudes and behaviors are informed by the cultures that shaped them.

This was a reread for me, having already completed this series once in like 2023 maybe. And once again I do understand why this series is so polarizing! The content is pretty heavy—there are on-page depictions of assault (sexual and otherwise), there’s slavery, there’s fantasy racism, there’s just a lot going on. 

But like I said in my review for Dark Heir, I feel like one of C.S. Pacat’s strengths as a writer is in his ability to navigate the moral grayness of institutions and circumstances in a way that feels authentic while still remaining hopeful. This is true throughout the entire Captive Prince series, and this is the book where she lays the groundwork for the way that relationships and attitudes will change and grow throughout the rest of the trilogy. Neither of the two main kingdoms in this series are particularly sympathetic—both participate in slavery, both have some somewhat archaic (by my modern American standards) attitudes toward women and consequently some very narrow definitions of masculinity. It’s no surprise that Laurent and Damen are therefore not always particularly sympathetic protagonists, since their attitudes and behaviors are informed by the cultures that shaped them. 

As a big fan of C.S. Pacat’s Captive Prince series and also an avid consumer of pretty much anything dark-magic-fantasy, Dark Rise hit my TBR as soon as it was released. However, I held off on actually starting the series until Dark Heir came out, because I was under the impression it was a duology—uhh, spoilers, I was wrong! But that’s fine, because both of the books are immensely enjoyable anyway and even though I’m furious (/j) with Pacat for leaving me on a cliffhanger, I still had a really good time getting there.

As I expected I might, I really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this series. It’s set in a sort of alternate Georgian London, but a Georgian London underpinned by this secret world of magic that once existed but has since faded into obscurity such that the citizens of the current world don’t even know it ever existed. We follow Will, an orphan on the run from his mother’s killers, as he uncovers his strange connection to this old world of magic and gods and finds himself unwillingly embroiled in a plot to revive the Dark King, a being of unimaginable power who once sought to overthrow the entire world.