Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Prince's Gambit by C.S. Pacat

2 reviews

lorriss's review

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Slavery

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, and Vomit

Minor: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Animal death, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Classism, Drug use, Misogyny, Medical content, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

keen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Initially I wasn't as invested in Prince's Gambit as I was for Captive Prince. There was less psychological horror and tension straight off the back. Problems were present certainly, but things aren't as dynamic. It took a while for me to actually enjoy the plot as I realized psychological horror was replaced for more character development, which I found lacking in the previous book. Many characters, new and old, develop as we're given more downtime to see how they interact with one another and their thought processes.

I was actually surprised to find myself liking Laurent and supporting a possible romance between him and Damen. Definitely not a romance I think is healthy, but I can see why people would be invested in the two as a couple. I still find many problems with Laurent and Damen's perception of him, however. Specifically, I find Damen rather dense to Laurent's underlying troubles, too caught up with how sexy he is, but I enjoy a team dynamic (no matter the relationship type) where those involved are willing to stand up to each other's recklessness. And frankly, after what Laurent's been through, it's hard to fault him for many of his actions.

By the end of the book, I once again found myself, not excited, but intrigued to see how the story continues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Incest, and Terminal illness