Captive Prince

How do I begin to rate this book?First, a summary of my experience:My reading journey in percentages:0-30%: Did I stumble upon a fetish thing? What is happening? Why is everything so vulgar?30-50%: Oh, ok, there's more to it than just debauchery. There's actually an underlying court intrigue.50-80%: Hooray for politics! This is getting juicy.80-100%: I can't put this down. How. Why. I don't understand how this happened.In a nutshell, it was violent, crude, not much happened plot-wise, and yet, here I am, having read it in two days and finished it at 4 am... I don't understand how, but this was really addictive. Another thing that I don't understand is how Laurent became my favourite even though he is quite objectively the worst person in this world. Now that these feelings are out of the way, onto the real review!REVIEWThe story is set in a pseudo-European world that has similarities with our own. The two main countries are Vere (I read this as a mock 18th century France) and Akielos (a Graeco-Roman society during the Alexandrian age, or there abouts). There are other countries/regions, but they aren't widely discussed in this book, so I can't pinpoint their resemblance to our world.Damen and Laurent on the cover of the Japanese edition of [b:Kings Rising 17158532 Kings Rising (Captive Prince, #3) C.S. Pacat https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1454160767l/17158532.SY75.jpg 23581990] (vol 3).Damianos is the crown prince and rightful heir of Akielos, but his half brother Kastor usurps the throne after their father's death and conveniently has his brother removed by ways of shipping him off to enemy territory to work as a slave (or pet in Vere). Damianos, now known as Damen, tries to navigate the strange and debauched world of the Veretian court while also dealing with his psychopathic master Laurent, the crown prince of Vere. In a similar position as Damen, Laurent is also promised the throne following his elder brother's death, but he finds himself under the control of his uncle who acts as regent until Laurent is ready for his duties. However, much like Damen's treacherous brother Kastor, Laurent's uncle holds fast to a power that is not rightfully his. Laurent and Damen have an incredibly rocky start: Damen's position as a slave means that his life is in constant danger, and he is bound to the whims of his master without any possibility of retaliation. Naturally, Laurent doesn't know who Damen truly is, but his widespread hatred of Akielos and its people means that he automatically hates Damen to his core. Laurent is a violent, despicable, spoilt brat who takes pleasure in publicly shaming and torturing Damen. However, as time passes and they get to know each other a bit more, Laurent eases up on the hatred and, against all odds, they develop a tacit understanding of one another. There's no love loss here, but at least they're not at each other's throats.Make no mistake: this is a dark, dark world filled with horrible characters who do horrible things to their fellow humans. There are threats of r*pe on the regular, public SA, violence, torture, etc. The Veretians are a strange bunch to say the least, with very questionable tastes in entertainment. That being said, the grittiness of this society adds to the atmosphere of the book. Some things are hard to read and downright disgusting (everything related to the underaged Nicaise, for example), but it all serves as a stark contrast to the supposed “barbaric” nation of Akielos who are seen as little more than animals to the so-called refined Veretian nobles.Around the halfway mark, the political intrigue really kicked in and was the focus of the story until the end, which was a nice reprieve from all the horrible business between masters and pets.I'm looking forward to the rest of Damen and Laurent's adventure now that they'll be on the border, away from court.