Simona B's Reviews > Kings Rising

One of my favourite series ever, one of the most touching and intense love stories I've ever read. It has and will always hold an exclusive place in my heart.

“Hello, lover.”

Let it be known that the Captive Prince series is something beautiful, precious, heady and spectacular. I want the whole world to read this, and people, I'm going to do it. I'm going to rave about this series so much that everyone will end up reading it just to shut me up.
(I won't stop even then, though.)

I have already specified elsewhere what it is that charms me so much about these books, but I'll repeat it, just to be sure that you can catch at least a glimpse of the impossible amount of awesomeness awaiting you among these pages.

•Absolutely perfect, well-rounded characters. The protagonists, Laurent and Damen, are masterful literary creations, the fruits of a genius' mind. I'm not exaggerating: their conversations, their interactions, not only those between the two of them but also with others, are precise, chiseled, and they exactly mirror their personality so as to seem, beyond any doubt, carefully studied and thought-out, and yet their feel is incredibly natural and spontaneous. This both helps the reader to get attached to them, and provide them with a complexity that only adds to their characterization.

“Don't,” said Laurent, “toy with me. I-have not the means to-defend against this.”

•Speaking of this, I've always been a fan of Pacat's writing style, and I'll always be. Her prose is wonderful, her sentences articulate and beautifully sophisticated, yet so easy to read that you find yourself swept away, but gently, in the stream of her words.

•The romance (seriously, you thought I wouldn't mention that). Useless to say, it had me sold from book one, because, again, the interactions between the teo main characters are sheer perfection and each syllable that goes between them gives me thrills. The excruciatingly slow, and for this very reason inconceivably sweet and gripping, development of their relationship is the truest core of this story, and in my opinion it can be described only as a work of art. I know I am using a lot of hyperbolic expressions here, but, in sheer honesty, I'm usually rather reluctant to use them (and sure enough, even my four-star reviews happen to be full of reasons why to dislike the book instead of the opposite), so believe me when I say that, in these case, all my praises are totally deserved.
So, yes. Damen and Laurent won and broke and then mended again my poor, sore, swollen heart.

“Laurent said, “No. I’m not here to-” He said, “I'm just here.”

(Yes, a lot of Laurent's quotes here. I loved him too much in this book.)

•On the other hand, I couldn't ignore a couple of flaws (see the part where I complain about my complaining tendency). For example, I would have like to see more of that twisted political intricacy that we see in the second book -which is, for me, the best installment in the series. We have some here too, though, so I'm not going to mke a storm in a teacup out of this. But again, I missed seeing Laurent's sharp, cunning mind at work 24/7.

•The ending is a bit rushed and abrupt -thank god Pacat's plans include an adjacent project, which I suggest you check out.
Also, I had the impression that things untangled a bit too easily, and that didn't feel very realistic.

Anyway, I can sincerely say that the book lived up to my expectations. Now the only thing that could make me happier is Pacat delivering that blessed prologue, in which, I understand, everything can happen. Hey, how am I supposed not to indulge my wildest dreams when Damen says things like this:

(view spoiler)[ “Am I such a poorer prospect than a Patran princess, or a daughter of the Empire?” (hide spoiler)]

and the both of them say things like this:

(view spoiler)[ “We both hold the centre,” said Laurent. And then: “It was one kingdom, once.”
Laurent wasn't looking at him whe he said it, and it was a long moment before he lifted his eyes to Damen's waiting ones, and Damen's breath caught at what he saw there, the odd shyness of it, as though Laurent was asking instead of answering.
“Yes,” said Damen, feeling light headed at the question.” (hide spoiler)]

Oh my sweetness.

EDIT 02/02/16: I can't believe this is happening.

EDIT 09/15: Please book let them be together Please book let them be together Please book let them be together Please book let them be together Please book let them be together Please book let them be together Please book let them be together.

Did I mention they should be together?