The Captive Prince (volumes 1&2) by C.S.Pacat

I found these books by chance, and thought “Why not?” Well, let me tell you that this series  (which is still missing it’s third and final book) is amazing.

 It starts with Prince Damianos (Damen for most of the book) who is betrayed by his half-brother and sold as a personal salve to prince Laurent of Vere. The thing is, in a recent war with Vere, Damen killed Laurent’s beloved brother Auguste, and Laurent wouln’t want anything better than seeing Prince Damianos dead (other than killing him himself).

Damen is a noble, honorable person that used to believe everyone was like that, until he was betrayed by his brother and sent to Vere, where he finds the cruelty that goes on both in Vere and in his own country. Being in the verge of war, Damen finds Laurent, the crown prince, is his only chance to maintain peace and save many lives. But if Damen is found as the prince of Akielos he is likely to face not only death in the court of Vere but also the hate from Laurent, for whom Damen slowly develops feelings for.

Laurent was a hard character for me to like. He is an absolute sadist (with a couple of apparent glimpses of humanity) in the first book, yet the second shows a bit more of the person he actually is underneath the heaven-knows-how-many walls that he uses to protect himself. Both the death of his brother as his uncle’s attitude towards him make a TON of reasons for Laurent to be an a**hole, but his heart is noticeable every now and then, reason for which I could never actually hate him.

Romance isn’t a hurried affair in this two books as it can be in many others, but that makes every development between both Laurent and Damen all the more sweeter when they happen (and all the more painful when they are interrupted somehow).

This series isn’t all romance, because both characters are set in a imminent war between kingdoms and their separate fight for each of their thrones. Laurent needs to gain the support of his people and win against his uncle’s strategic battle for the throne (which his uncle currently holds as a regent). Damen, on the other hand, needs to get out of Vere alive, return to Akielos and fight his brother for the stolen throne. Filled with court intrigues, battles, fights, and plenty of other stuff, this books are a certain recommendation for all people who don’t mind a sex scene every now and then.

total rating: 4.5 stars

The expected publication of Kings Rising, the final book of this trilogy, is February 2^nd, 2016 (as told by Goodreads). I’ll be more than happy waiting for it to come out.