Review - The Captive Prince by A. C. Fox

Lord Domlen is desperate to lift the curse the Boa Visk placed on his stronghold. It was once known as the Fortress of the Sun, but now it's the Fortress of the Rain. It's not just the perpetual rainstorms. The guards and staff of the castle are all dead but can't cross over. They're barely corporeal ghosts, and if Domlen doesn't find a way to help them, they'll turn into ghouls roaming the countryside and sucking the life out of every living thing. He has spent years searching for a spell to end the suffering and finally found it. Only, it requires the sacrifice of someone of royal blood. To that end, Domlen kidnaps Prince Falken and brings him to the tower where, when the moon is full, he will attempt to cast the spell. But, when it comes time, will Domlen have the strength to take an innocent life, even if it saves many souls?

Like the first book in this series, The General's Hostage, this is very much an enemies-to-lovers kind of story. It's set in the same fantasy world full of magic, where the humans have been under attack by the reptilian Boa Visk. However, you don't have to have read the first book to read this one. None of the characters overlap.

It's easy to dislike Domlen at first. His plot to break the curse is reprehensible, even though he's doing it for all the right reasons. However, as the story progresses and we get to know him better, we can still disagree with his choice but understand the immense pressure he's under.

Of course, everything hinges on Falken. Can the young prince kidnapped by Domlen forgive him? Falken is an interesting character to try to put yourself in their place. What would you do in his place? The prince is given more than one opportunity to take his revenge. Half of the story is related from Falken's point of view, so that we get a good insight into his thinking, and his slow turnaround to caring for Domlen is entirely believable.

“The Captive Prince” is available from Amazon.