Title: Prince's Gambit (The Captive Prince #2)
Author: C.S. Pacat
Genre: Fantasy | War | M/M | Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: July 7, 2015
Format: Physical
Source: Library
With their countries on the brink of war, Damen and his new master, Prince Laurent, must exchange the intrigues of the palace for the sweeping might of the battlefield as they travel to the border to avert a lethal plot.
Forced to hide his identity, Damen finds himself increasingly drawn to the dangerous, charismatic Laurent. But as the fledgling trust between the two men deepens, the truth of secrets from both their pasts is poised to deal them the crowning death blow…(goodreads).
It's ridiculous how easy it is to devour this seies in one sitting.
Plot: After the cliffhanger of The Captive Prince, I was desperate to get my hands on Prince's Gambit. Too bad so was everyone else at my library. While The Captive Prince was very character-driven, I found Prince's Gambit to be nothing but plot. So if the pacing was one of your complaints with The Captive Prince, I strongly recommend giving this one a go. For readers who love war and strategy, this book was written just for you! Admittedly, all of this plot exhausted me because the characters were going from one point to the other without a moment of rest. But I guess that's what war is.
Characters: Much like Arin and Kestrel in The Winner's Crime, Laurent and Damen kept dancing around each other. I mentioned that Laurent was sometimes hard to like in The Captive Prince, but he was the star of hte show in Prince's Gambit. We finally got some insight into Laurent's brilliant mind and the demons of his past. We also got to see how Damen and Laurent complement each other so nicely. Additional supporting characters were introduced in this book; I was impressed by how quickly Pacat was able to weave them so expertly into the major plot points and leave a lasting imprssion on the reader.
Worldbuilding: The Captive Prince didn't get much of a chance to explore Pacat's world, she mostly focused on court life and explaining the history from afar. In Prince's Gambit, we were right in the middle of the action! Laurent's company traveled throughout the continent and we got first look at Laurent's uncle's political reach, the unrest in Damen's home country, and everything else in between.
Short N Sweet: If you can, binge-read this entire series, because it is addicting!
Labels: 4 stars, book review, c.s pacat, prince's gambit, review, the captive prince
