C.S. Pacat

Damianos of Akielos has returned. His identity now revealed, Damen must face his master Prince Laurent as Damianos of Akielos, the man Laurent has sworn to kill. On the brink of a momentous battle, the future of both their countries hangs in the balance. In the south, Kastor's forces are massing. In the north, the Regent's armies are mobilising for war. Damen's only hope of reclaiming his throne is to fight together with Laurent against their usurpers. Forced into an uneasy alliance the two princes journey deep into Akielos, where they face their most dangerous opposition yet. But even if the fragile trust they have built survives the revelation of Damen's identity – can it stand against the Regent's final, deadly play for the throne?

Book Three of the Captive Prince Trilogy

Kings Rising: Book Three of the Captive Prince Trilogy

Mary Carmona

It was clear from the open look of horrified recognition on Laurent’s face that he had not expected Damen—that he had not expected anyone. On the dais, Kastor made a small gesture to the Regent, as if to say, You see? I have had him brought for you. The whole hall seemed to swing around at the disruption.

‘No,’ said Laurent, swinging his gaze back to his uncle. ‘You promised.’ Damen saw Laurent take physical control over himself, forcing back further reaction.

Laurent strolled up to the impasse, threw himself down on the log next to Damen, and in an expressionless voice launched into the story of the brothel adventure that had earned him the blue dress, which was so unabashedly filthy it made Lazar blush, and so funny it had Pallas wiping his eyes. The Veretians asked frank questions about Laurent’s escape from the brothel. This led to frank answers and more eye wiping, as everyone had opinions about brothels that were translated and mistranslated hilariously. The wine was passed around.

Laurent stared at him. Damen was surprised when Laurent dropped his head, and even more surprised when Laurent’s shoulders started shaking. Around the laughter emerged, ‘You wrestled him without any clothes on.’

‘But how does the court know if the royal marriage has been consummated?’

‘The King knows whether or not it has been consummated!’ Horrified.

After a moment, Laurent said, ‘He would have liked you.’

‘Even after I started courting his little brother?’ said Damen carefully.

He watched Laurent stop, the way that he did when he was taken by surprise, and then lift his eyes to meet Damen’s.

‘Yes,’ said Laurent softly, his cheeks reddened slightly.

The kiss happened because they couldn’t help it, and it was so sweet and so right that Damen felt a kind of ache. He pulled back. The realities of the outside world seemed to press at him. ‘I—’ He couldn’t say it.

‘You’re very,’ said Laurent, and then, flushing, ‘attractive.’

‘Really,’ said Damen, in a rich, warm voice.

Damen’s smile widened, and he lay back in the sheets and just luxuriated in the idea, feeling ridiculously pleased.

‘Well,’ Damen owned, turning his head back to Laurent eventually, ‘You are too.’

Laurent dropped his head slightly, on the edge of laughter. He said, with absurd fondness, ‘Most people tell me that right away.’

‘Don’t,’ said Laurent, ‘toy with me. I—have not the means to—defend against this.’

‘Kiss me,’ said Laurent. And then flushed, a rich colour. Don’t think, Damen had said, but Laurent couldn’t do that. Even to sit there after what he had said, he was fighting a battle in his head.’

‘When you make love to me like that, I can’t think.’

“Nikandros said, ‘Exalted, I beg permission to challenge the Prince of Vere to a duel of honour for the insult that he has done to you.’

‘You see?’ said Laurent. ‘He has forgiven me for the small matter of the whip. I have forgiven him for the small matter of killing my brother. All praise the alliance.’

‘Not personally. I just watched while I had my man do it.”

There was no one in the tent. Damen turned to see Nikandros advancing on him.

A rough, painful grip closed on his upper arm. Startled, he let it happen, never thinking for a moment of Nikandros as a threat. He allowed himself to be pushed backwards, allowed Nikandros to take hold of a fistful of fabric at his shoulder, and yank it, hard.

“He was staring at Nikandros in confusion, with his clothing hanging from his waist, and Nikandros was staring back at him.

Damen flushed. Nikandros was staring at him as if he had needed to see it up close to believe it. The exposure was a shock. He knew . . . He knew there was scarring. He knew it extended across his shoulders, down to his mid-back. He knew the scars had been well taken care of. They didn’t pull. They didn’t twinge, even during the most strenuous sword work. The smelly salves that Paschal had administered had seen to that. But he had never taken himself to a mirror and looked at them.

Now his mirror was Nikandros’s eyes, the stark horror in his expression. Nikandros turned him, put his hands on Damen’s body, spreading them over Damen’s back, as if touch would confirm what his eyes wouldn’t believe.

小燕

But he had asked himself the question in Ravenel, and now he knew the answer.

Sam Sontag

"His identity now revealed, Damen must face his master Prince Laurent as Damianos of Akielos, the man Laurent has sworn to kill...Forced into an uneasy alliance the two princes journey deep into Akielos, where they face their most dangerous opposition yet. But even if the fragile trust they have built survives the revelation of Damen's identity can it stand against the Regent's final, deadly play for the throne?"--Provided by publisher.

Kings Rising

Cici Pearson

[LOUD SCREAMING] 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️SYMMETRY

cee 

i got so involved that i read the trilogy in the same month. damenlaurent has my whole heart.

rachele

capisco benissimo damen perché anche io farei di tutto per salvare laurent

Julia Moran 

I just don't have any words to describe how I'm feeling after reading this book... Wow.

i had to pace myself not to devour this in one day and suffer the whiplash of all the feelings, but it's safe to say i'd gladly offer my soul to cs pacat.

Aishling

** spoiler alert **
           Idek, like it was good but that ending was so bloody abrupt. I guess I’m glad I’m done the series, I don’t regret reading it but I don’t think I’d recommend it to anyone. My dislike for the first book and a half still remains.

Inez

4.5 tbh.

This one feels like a perfect ending for everything. And I am happy!

Jamieson

“I think if I gave you my heart, you would treat it tenderly.”



So, this series definitely doesn't do it for me as it does for others but I have to say this is easily and by far the best book in the series. Both on a technical level and on a personal enjoyment level. I found the writing much smoother in this book and the characterisation better executed. Laurent definitely has one of the most iconic character redemption arcs, truly outstanding. I can't believe it but this book did finally convince me to ship it.

I feel better now, knowing what all the fuss with this series is about. I can now rest easy x

3.5 stars

Olivia

Becky A

I tore through this and really enjoyed it - it was a satisfying conclusion to the series for sure. But I do sort of wish the plot didn't rely so heavily on Damen being so unobservant.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT WAS THE ENDING THIS TRILOGY WAS SO BEAUTIFUL I NEED MORE

Annabella

I'm done. Empty, exhausted--and yet, at peace.

Arianna M

A satisfying ending to a good trilogy. I'm happy.

Kasper E.

Easily the best book in the trilogy.

Everything I had trouble with in the past two books seemed to have been left out of this, and that in itself is enough to make it the best in the series. 

the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because of the ending. IT WAS SO ABRUPT. like literally the book just ended not even 5 minutes after the final climax. 

I know there are short stories, but I just needed time for the characters/my emotions to calm down immediately after the book.

Other than that, a great ending to a great series.

Isabela H 

** spoiler alert **
           UGH 
We took a whole bunch of steps forward only to go back to like, the beginning of book two!?! It was so frustrating but so gratifying to watch both of them figure out both how to be the kings they are while still trying to stay true to themselves and each other. The ending was so beautifully perfect (we love self-sacrifice)

sophia n

Callisone Dozier

I will admit when I started King's Rising, I wasn't sure how Pacat would finish this story, but I had high expectations. I was not disappointed, this was a beautiful ending for our two Kings.

Elisa Bieg

This was an EXCELLENT conclusion to a series that has, quite unexpectedly, become one of my favorites.

(I literally only bought the first book because I found it as a Kindle deal, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Now I see.)

Last books are hard. Think of your favorite series or trilogies, and tell me for how many of them you can say that yes, the last book is as good as the rest. (Go on, I’m actually interested.)

We often find that the story has kind of taken a life of its own and has sort of run away from the writer a little bit, and they find themselves in the position of having to catch it, and wrestle it back in place, and somehow grab all those loose threads and weave them together into some sort of conclusion that is not only 
  consistent
to what we know about the world and everything that’s happened, but also 
   does justice to the story 
so far and to the character development on which said author has (hopefully!) worked so hard.

Yeah. That’s a lot. Which explains why so many last books in trilogies and stories... well, kind of suck. Sometimes a little bit, sometimes enough to make us want to throw the book at the wall. Or swear off the whole series. Or make us break into a stream of profanities that would make a seasoned sailor blush. (Any reference to actual occurrences is purely coincidental. No, really, it is! Totally.)

Which makes it all the more impressive that this is, in my somewhat humble and 100% rambling opinion, THE BEST DAMN BOOK IN THE TRILOGY. Which isn’t a diss on the others. Just impressive, is all. 

So yes, those 5 STARS? All for this book. Completely deserved.
Character development is incredible; the story development is unexpected and surprising at times, yet completely logical and consistent, as well as perfectly paced.
Not to mention that rather than resting on her laurels, the author continues developing the world building  here, seamlessly weaving details and info into the narrative, without info dumps and without breaking pace for a minute, and somehow shaping it into something even more immersive and vivid than it already was, and in turn making this part of the story all the more compelling (as if the 
  intense
 character journey weren’t enough! Damn, girl.)

But awesome as it is, I can’t review the last book in a series without reviewing the series as a whole.
At first this was, as I mentioned, more about satisfying my curiosity than anything else. This series is a little divisive, with lots of people absolutely in love with it and singing its praises, and just as many talking complete shit about it and criticizing it for the brutality, the portrayal of the characters, and several other choices the author made in creating it.
Divisive work always makes you wonder, doesn’t it? (Particularly when some of the negative reviews make you go ”Yikes” but then three different friends turn out to be huge fans and heartily recommend it to you. Hmmm 🤔)

Anyway, my point: though this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, nor would I recommend it to everyone, I find myself falling squarely on the side of those who love it. I’m sorry if that disappoints you (I’m just kidding, I don’t really care. Sorry not sorry.), but this story is extremely well-crafted, with original, interesting world-building, compelling characters, and great story-telling.
Also, there is courage in telling a story like this. Honestly — in addition to some serious writing chops, it takes 
  guts
. I can safely say that this is unlike anything else I’ve read; and in a world of overused tropes, cookie-cutter characters, and trite storylines, that already deserves a not-insignificant amount of props. 

So to bring this to a close (no doubt to a chorus of about fucking time), I give this trilogy 4 1/2 STARS as a whole, and really recommend it, providing you go in fully aware of possible triggers.

This book, as I already said, gets a full 5 STARS, as well as my thanks to C.S. Pacat for not only creating these characters and taking us on this journey with them, but also for concluding their story (as we know it) in a way that brings the reader so much satisfaction. (Though for complete closure, I do recommend you finish everything off with the Summer Palace novella.)

jess

I have fallen absolutely in love with this series and Damen and Laurent, who are just so incredibly SOFT and in love. The problem, I suppose, with slow burn romances is that because all the tension comes from the couple getting together, you doing get to see a lot of them being together, which is a pity because I love their dynamic, and I want to see more. 

But this was a fantastic conclusion to the series, a complete roller coaster of emotions, with moments that had me in a bundle of nerves and some that had me laughing out loud. We also got to see into Laurent's head a bit, which was sooo exciting, and we got to see drunk!Laurent, which was hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure. Damen cares about Laurent so much, and it was wonderful to see the evolution into enemy to friend to lover throughout the novels. And even though they did have a bit of a break-up in this book (which had me absolutely screaming) everything came together so, so right at the end and I am so emotional about everything. 

And it wasn't just Laurent and Damen that had me engrossed in this book. The plot twists were so well-written, and constantly had me guessing what was going to happen. And the book definitely escalated a lot in humour: notable moments are when (view spoiler)[Laurent disguised himself as Jokaste, the soldiers commented on "Jokaste's" beauty, and Damen tells Nikandros, "Don't think about it too much." Another one was the whole thing with Charls. Laurent has so many good moments, and, uh, y'all, do you think that so many people love Laurent because of how much Damen loves Laurent? I'm in tears. Also, Laurent appearing in front of Damen wearing a chiton and Damen absolutely losing it. (hide spoiler)] The banter, everywhere, was so good, and it was nice to see Laurent surrounded by Akielons and adjust to their culture when it has been Damen doing the same. 

I really, really enjoyed this series. Even though the first book didn't do it for me, I'm now completely sucked in, and I adored so much of it.

Perfect. Go and read it now. End of review.

No, but seriously, I really enjoyed this series. Kings rising is enthralling from the start and surprising. There were some things I just did not expect.

Of course there are lots of dramatic turns - Laurent is a part of this story, so of course there are - and everything comes together nicely.

I was a mess after finishing this. Why isn't there more? Hopefully C.S. Pacat will write more books (non Captive Prince ones as well) soon.

Ley Stanton

She seems to have misplaced the last chapter of the book

Kings Rising: Book Three of the Captive Prince Trilogy Book Three of the Captive Prince Trilogy

Reviews

Highlights