Let me start by saying that Captive Prince is far from my usual genre and not a book I ever would have chosen for myself. I am not big on erotica at the best of times so male on male erotica is not something I would seek out.

The book arrived and was placed on the shelf for later consideration, then I received the publicist email and media release which is what piqued my interest. This is another trilogy that was first published online and attracted a lot of attention which lead to an international publishing deal.

Had I picked up the book on the strength of the blurb alone I would have been surprised by the story, to say the least. I would not have picked up on the erotic tones without the accompanying media release, but that could just be my own naivete, the signs are all there.

Captive Prince is the first volume of a fantasy trilogy set in an era of royalty. It’s all royal houses and countries at war, for me it seemed reminiscent of ancient Rome. Action, suspense and betrayal are dripping from these pages and Pacat’s writing style is certainly gripping. I thought I may be put off by the sexuality but the way Pacat has woven it into her story was superbly done.

Damen is a warrior and heir to the throne, until the day his father passes away and he finds himself captured, stripped of his identity, and gifted to the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave.

Pacat’s world building is superb and she manages to cover all of the questions I wanted to ask about why the rightful heir to a throne wouldn’t be recognized in a neighbouring nation and why all of the same sex pairings.

Damen’s homeland is Akielos and there they choose their partners on their merits. In Vere they seem to be heterophobic and all of their pairings are same sex to avoid the possibility of illegitimate offspring. Weighed against the position Damen finds himself in thanks to his illegitimate brother one can almost understand the logic.

Damen finds himself deep in enemy territory as a pleasure slave, a very difficult position for a prince who is used to giving orders and not taking them. He has to quickly find a way to fill the role he finds himself in if he is to survive long enough to save his country.