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A review by mollyreadsandcrafts
Prince's Gambit by C.S. Pacat
4.0
•spoilers for book 1, Captive Prince•
check cw/tw: the echoes of the awfulness of the last book are still in the second - nonconsensual acts and slavery
After book 1 and all the struggle I had with it, I was still rooting for Damen. He's my favorite throughout the whole series for because he's the only decent person. I was invested in seeing how everything played out for him. Overall a better read, still low romance (though it picks up slightly), with lots of political/royal drama.
Laurent is sent to the border to fight/train/do army stuff, but it's all just a ploy for his uncle (The Regent) to have him killed. Damen goes along, because he doesn't want Laurent's uncle to start a war with his home country if he takes over the throne instead of Laurent. They spend weeks traveling to the border forts - their journey filled with secret missions, underhanded dealings, and political conspiracy.
All the while, Laurent and Damen form a tentative alliance. They have a begrudging respect for one another through most of the book. Their romance is the slowest of all slow burns. I think of it like a match. The first book throws water on the match, and then this book is the match drying out so it might be able to one day spark. There are definitely looks, and moments, but there's also a lot of secrets and hurts between the two.
This book was a lot easier to read than the first one. I don't know if the author was trying to go for shock value with the awfulness of the first, but I still don't think I would recommend it. This second book still had those undertones but it wasn't as in your face. There was a lot more focus on an actual plot and the very slow forming relationship between Laurent and Damen. It reminds me of a low key Game of Thrones without magic. The ending was really interesting, and I'm intrigued in how this will all end.
Read if you like:
• enemies to lovers
• slow burn
• political intrigue
check cw/tw: the echoes of the awfulness of the last book are still in the second - nonconsensual acts and slavery
After book 1 and all the struggle I had with it, I was still rooting for Damen. He's my favorite throughout the whole series for because he's the only decent person. I was invested in seeing how everything played out for him. Overall a better read, still low romance (though it picks up slightly), with lots of political/royal drama.
Laurent is sent to the border to fight/train/do army stuff, but it's all just a ploy for his uncle (The Regent) to have him killed. Damen goes along, because he doesn't want Laurent's uncle to start a war with his home country if he takes over the throne instead of Laurent. They spend weeks traveling to the border forts - their journey filled with secret missions, underhanded dealings, and political conspiracy.
All the while, Laurent and Damen form a tentative alliance. They have a begrudging respect for one another through most of the book. Their romance is the slowest of all slow burns. I think of it like a match. The first book throws water on the match, and then this book is the match drying out so it might be able to one day spark. There are definitely looks, and moments, but there's also a lot of secrets and hurts between the two.
This book was a lot easier to read than the first one. I don't know if the author was trying to go for shock value with the awfulness of the first, but I still don't think I would recommend it. This second book still had those undertones but it wasn't as in your face. There was a lot more focus on an actual plot and the very slow forming relationship between Laurent and Damen. It reminds me of a low key Game of Thrones without magic. The ending was really interesting, and I'm intrigued in how this will all end.
Read if you like:
• enemies to lovers
• slow burn
• political intrigue