Aleksandra is 19% done with Hans: i will never understand heating up water in the microwave, like wdym you heat water like that?????????

"CW: rape, sexual slavery

Sexual slavery isn’t sexy. Corporal punishment isn’t sexy. Rape isn’t sexy, and it certainly isn’t entertainment.

There are so many things wrong with Captive Prince, it’s hard to know where to start. I’m having trouble understanding how this book can be praised by so many people.

I love seeing queer relationships in books, but the characters in Captive Prince are either sex slave owners or sex slaves themselves. Personally, I don’t think that’s the kind of “relationship� we should be promoting, regardless of whether it’s queer or not. I fail to see how a book with graphic same sex rape scenes is beneficial to the “We Need Diverse Books� campaign. We need positive portrayals of queer characters, yes, but we don't need degrading ones.

There has been a lot of criticism in recent years of gratuitous sexual violence against women in books, movies, and TV shows, as it is both offensive and harmful to the feminist movement. But apparently sexual violence is only a problem when directed against women, while it’s fine to have graphic scenes that serve no purpose other than to “entertain� the reader, as long as men are the ones getting raped? (Although how someone could find these scenes entertaining is beyond me.) When I define feminism, I think of women being valued as highly as men and being treated with as much respect � not more.

Since I’ve seen people argue that the book isn’t that bad because the main character doesn’t actually get raped himself, I’d like to point out that forced oral sex is still rape. I’m not sure why this is such a hard concept, but my guess is that it’s connected to the fallacy that men can’t be raped in the first place. In Captive Prince, Damen has oral sex forced on him, and although he does have an orgasm, that doesn’t change the fact that, as a sex slave, the act is in no way consensual. It is rape, any way you look at it. Having an orgasm does not equal consent, and that’s a dangerous idea to perpetuate.

Rape isn’t the only thing trivialized by Captive Prince; sexual slavery is as well. As far as I can tell, all the kingdoms in C. S. Pacat’s world support sexual slavery. At one point, Damen compares sexual slavery in his home country of Akielos to that in Vere, where he himself is a sex slave. According to him, sex slaves in Akielos know that they’re trading their personal freedom for “perfect treatment� by their masters, as if this somehow makes it okay. Not only that, but the life of a sex slave is glorified in the short story included in the paperback, which gives the background story of a minor character from the book. Claiming that sexual slavery is “not that bad� because the sex slaves are “treated well,� they “enjoy their work,� and it’s “for their own good� doesn't excuse it.

The first two thirds of the book essentially has no plot, but instead features explicit rape scenes, alludes to even more, and throws in a beating or two to mix things up. All of a sudden, C. S. Pacat seemingly changes her mind and decides she wants to write a real fantasy novel, rather than rape erotica. At this point, the book actually does become captivating � the good kind. The potential for a solid fantasy is definitely there, I found the book hard to put down despite my revulsion, and I can see why people are quick to let themselves “forget� how the story starts. Unfortunately, no amount of engaging plot or world building can make up for the rape and sexual slavery in the first two thirds of the book, nor can a sex slave owner suddenly become a believable love interest for the sex slave. I’m assuming that’s where the story is headed, at least: Laurent has a tragic back story; he’s not really a bad guy, he’s just misunderstood; he doesn’t actually rape his sex slaves himself but lets others do the raping for him; he secretly has feelings for Damen, etc. Let’s stop right there. Shipping Laurent and Damon is the equivalent of shipping a Nazi concentration camp guard with a Jewish prisoner. I know this is a current trend in the romance genre, but how much (justified) outrage has there been at these novels? I fail to see how the upcoming “romance� in the Captive Prince trilogy is any different, and to be honest, I’m horrified by all the praise it has received. "