OK, I read this one to see what all the fuss was about. It's always seemed strange to me that it can have so many rave reviews (including some of my favourite authors) given the subject matter and that it has been called out so many times for not just the obvious triggers (rape, slavery, child abuse) but the fact the main relationship, which I assume we're supposed to be shipping, is abusive. 
 The trouble is, even now I've read it, I can't work out how to rate or review it. 
 Yes, all the awful stuff other reviewers have called it on is there. You certainly shouldn't read it without knowing what you're getting into - the whole premise of the story is based around sex slavery in a fantasy setting. There IS a plot, but it's a slow burn which doesn't come to the fore until quite late in the book. And having been prepared for the worst, the depictions of rape weren't as brutally graphic as I'd been expecting - but they were still there. And while I don't think these incidents were being romanticised or condoned - you certainly get a sense of the protagonist's horror and disgust - I'm not sure how we as readers were supposed to take them. Were they supposed to be entertaining, or to emphasise how horrible the Veretian court was? Or maybe both? I'm not at all comfortable with either option, to be honest. Thankfully the child abuse was stated and implied rather than on the page, but that's a very small silver lining. 
 And yet, despite all that, I read the book in a single sitting. The plot, when it arrived, isn't the most original, but I found myself wanting to know what happens next. The characterisation was good, and I want to know what's driving Laurent, what's between him and Nicaise, how the relationship between Laurent and Damen is going to develop. It's clearly intended to be headed in a romantic direction and I'm not sure how that's going to be handled without glossing over the horrendous things Laurent has already had done to Damen, but again, I can't help wanting to know what happens. 
 I've been told that the second and third books are a lot better and I'm hoping they will deal with some of the problematic elements of this book better too, so perhaps I will reserve judgement until I've read the whole story.