Book Review
Title: Prince’s Gambit (Captive Prince Book 2) by C. S. Pacat
Genre: LGBT, Dark, Romance
Rating: 5 Stars
I recently read the Captive Prince and loved it so I couldn’t wait to continue on with the series and see if Damen and his new master, Prince Laurent can actually sort their relationship out with their countries on the brink of war. We re-join Damen and Laurent as they are heading for the border and the only reason Damen begged Laurent to go with him is not only because it is closer to home but because Damen feels an unusual desire to protect Laurent especially knowing that he killed the only person Laurent ever truly trusted and loved in his brother, Auguste. Laurent is still unaware that Damen is actually Damianos of Akielos, the person he wants to kill and the guilt of keeping his identity hidden seems to be eating away at Damen the more time passes.
Shortly into their journey they realise they have to present a united front in order to win over the men after removing or taming the men that have allegiance to Laurent’s uncle and they agrees that they can argue all they like in private but publicly Damen has to follow orders and appear devoted to Laurent which he does. Damen is coming to enjoy these small freedoms but he is no closer to truly understanding who Laurent is as a person and his growing and confusing feelings towards the Prince aren’t helping the matter especially when they are supposed to be acting and Damen is struggling to control his desire for the Prince despite knowing that he should hate him for what he has turned Damen into but he seems to growing into his role as submissive on the outside but more dominant on the inside as he is the only person who advice Laurent is willing to take and Damen has the ability to talk Laurent down when he is decided on a stupid course of action. However, we are a third of the way through the second book and there hasn’t been so much as a kiss between the pair, even if it was hate fucking I’d like to see some action between Laurent and Damen without others being involved.
The Regent seems to be trying his hardest to kill Laurent before he reaches the border but he didn’t plan on Damen being such an asset to Laurent. The Regent falsely assumed after the events of the first book that Damen would be angry and bitter enough to join his side, when in reality Damen has worked tirelessly to under Laurent and in a way he is getting there slowly which is why he continue to protect and serve Laurent with little fighting between them. As they outrun raiders and assassins at every turn they finally reach their destination where there are already small battles taking place between their people, a sign at the war to come and Damen is treated harshly by the people there but Laurent actually sticks up for him in his own way. We can clearly see the pair getting closer to each other and they are getting very close to slipping over the border between Master and servant to lovers and having read some of the reviews for this series I know the first proper sex scene is coming soon and I can only pray that after all two whole books of building that it is worth it. I am also wondering when the truth about Damen’s identity is going to come out and how that will change the carefully built dynamic between Damen and Laurent over these two books.
The pair are trying to make their way to Ravenel to stop the Regent but first they have to face their biggest battle yet. However, they soon learn they were betrayed and it is Jord who feels this betrayal the most as it was his lover who betrayed them. While Laurent makes Damen the Captain for this battle which they win quickly and take the siege city of Ravenel too, Jord learns of Damen’s true identity and threatens to reveal it to Laurent if he doesn’t leave. The tension between Damen and Laurent has also reached its breaking point but they first have to deal with the traitor and Jord who is still protecting the young man. Laurent forces the traitor to reveal that he is also one of his uncle’s toys and proves he was being emotionally manipulated by the Regent like he has done with many other young men when they outgrow his sexual preference forcing Jord to face the truth but his threat still hangs over Damen. Damen knows that when he leaves the following morning and news of the Prince’s return reaches Laurent, he knows Laurent will figure out it was him all along and it breaks his heart. However, we do get a sex scene between the pair and it was beautiful almost like it was their way of confessing their feelings to each other without words and their way of saying goodbye as for the first time ever, Laurent surrenders control of himself to Damen because he trusts Damen to do this for him and to make it pleasurable for him which Damen definitely does but it is very bittersweet as we know Damen is going to leave in the morning. The question I have know is how is Pacat going to set up the last book, is something going to happen before Damen can and is his identity going to be revealed or is Laurent going to learn who Damen truly is after he leaves, if that is the case how are they going to come together again since they have a similar goal right now or is this series not going to have a happy ending after all.
When the Regent makes his final move against Laurent just as Damen is preparing to leave, he goes wild preparing for all-out war against his uncle and Damen knows he can’t leave Laurent like this. With the traitor having killed himself only he can stop Laurent from what he is planning and he manages to do it even though Laurent seems to know at least subconsciously who Damen really is. After convincing Laurent they need a larger, more stable force to take on his uncle he leaves Damen in charge of the fort but shortly after Laurent leaves with the plan to meet up in a few days’ time his own people arrive. Newly freed from his slave bonds, Damen uses this as an opportunity to show the men who have come to trust him who he really is and also gain the trust of his own people back to stop them from siding with Kastor and to stop attacking Laurent when he is actively fighting for peace between them. Overall, Prince’s Gambit was amazing and really built on the relationships and characters from the first book and I am really excited to see what goes down in King’s Rising now Damen’s identity is out in the open and his own people are going to flock to him as they only followed Kastor because they had no choice between that or death. Highly recommended series and I can’t wait to read the conclusion as soon as I can.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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