Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥'s Reviews > Kings Rising

”To gain everything and lose everything in the space of a moment. That is the fate of all princes destined for the throne.”

I. N. T. E. N. S. E.!!!

If I had to describe “King’s Rising” with one word it most certainly would be this one! This book was so damn freaking intense the tension was physically palpable in the air. It dripped from every single page, it consumed me, made me feel uncomfortable, giddy and so excited I could barely keep it in.
Gosh this was actually so damn intense it will take me ages to recover from that final book!!!

As it seems Pacat isn’t only a master at manipulation but also of building up almost unbearable tension between her protagonists and boy did I live for it!!! <333
I loved this so much my heart overflowed with joy!!! XD
This book is perfection!!!
It really is!

The plot was so elaborate and ingenious that it was a pleasure to watch it unfold. Every little moment in this series had a purpose, a reason to exist and in “King’s Rising” we finally get to the core. Layer by layer we unravel the true scope of the Regent’s plans and Laurent’s ceaseless attempts to stifle the countless fires. Gosh, there were so many infinitesimal moments that added up to the entire story in the end, it was just brilliant and so very delightful to read!
(Boy, am I a happy camper or what? *LOL*)

And don’t even get me started on the scenes between Laurent and Damen!!!
SO FREAKING INTENSE!!!
Wait, how often did I already use that word by now?! 4 times?! Yep, I think that’s enough for an introduction! XD Before I’m tempted to use it a fifth time we better head to the main part, the actual review! ;-)

The plot:

”The ache of loss didn’t make sense, because Laurent had never been his. He had known that. The delicate thing that had grown between them had never had a right to exist.”

After the revelation of Damen’s true identity at the end of “Prince’s Gambit” Laurent and Damen don’t only have to face each other as King and Prince, but are also forced to deal with their new situation. If they truly want to depose the Regent and Kastor there is no other way than to trust each other, combine their forces and to become allies though. A task that most certainly won’t be as simple as it sounds. Their enemies are closing in, their armies clash, the fate of two kingdoms is at stake and between all that their hearts continue to burn with the heat of uncontrollable desire.

The characters:

Fair warning! This is the part where I usually quote the hell out of the book and go into detail about the plot and the main characters. So yeah, there will be a lot of spoilers in your near future and if you don’t want to be spoiled I advise you to leave now! ;-)

Damen – The King

”For the first time, he caught a glimmer of what Laurent would be like as a king. He saw him, not as the Regent’s unready nephew, not as Auguste’s younger brother, but as himself, a young man with a collection of talents thrown into leadership too early, and taking it on, because he was given no other choice. I would serve him, he thought, and that itself was like a revelation.”

It was so wonderful to watch how easily he slipped into the role of a king! I mean I always knew that Damen would make a great king but to actually see it and to experience how he took his rightful place was something entirely different! The dynamics between him and Laurent were really interesting to watch because for once he actually had the upper hand. Not when it came to scheming, mind you, *lol* but when it came to the strength and sheer force of his army he definitely trumped him. XD I loved that he didn’t let his experiences get him down, he still fought and he didn’t hide his scars. No, he accepted them as a part of him and as a part of his own history and in the end this made him an even better king. Still, I always felt sorry for Damen when he fell into old habits or when he encountered other slaves. >_< I just hope that he’ll be able to heal his wounds in “The Summer Palace”. =))

”He felt the limits of his own nature, which too easily swung to anger, and the need – stymied by circumstance – to bring about the Regent’s death. All he wanted was to take up his sword and cut a path into Ios.”

”There was a man I was supposed to meet. He’s got all these ideas about honour and fair play, and he tries to keep me from doing the wrong thing. But he’s not here right now. Unfortunately for you.”

”I thought I’d let you go up and down a few times,” said Damen, “before I take you.”
“I thought you were down here because you couldn’t take me.”

”That is the man you face. He has more honour and integrity than any man I have ever met. He is dedicated to his people and his country. And I am proud to have been his lover.”
Damen said it with his eyes on Laurent, willing him to know how much he meant it, and for a moment Laurent just gazed back at him, his eyes blue and wide.

Laurent – The Prince

”A ludicrous boyish hope flared that someone would come to help him, and, carefully, he extinguished it. Since the age of thirteen, there had been no rescuer, for his brother was dead.”

I loved that we got Laurent’s POV!!! Admittedly it was just for a chapter but this chapter was amazing!!! To finally be able to see how he thinks!!! To be in his head without all those barriers he built to protect himself! After all this time we finally saw the true Laurent and damn it, but he’s such a broken boy. T_T And yet despite all that, despite every experience he made, he still decided to trust Damen, he opened up to him and eventually fell in love with the man who killed his brother. Oh my, what a poor, lonely, tortured and conflicted soul!!! <333 I could understand his hatred for Damen, especially because he always knew who he was and I guess to see that he wasn’t the monster he believed him to be must have been extremely painful. He lost his brother and then he found him in Damen again… >_< ARGH! I just wanted to hug him and tell him that everything is going to be alright. XD

”Laurent had always been capable of a kind of ruthless pragmatism. He was able to put emotion aside and do what he had to do to win, with a perfect and nauseating ability to ignore all human feeling.”

”Laurent had never needed to use force to make men obey him, just as he had never needed men to like him in order to get his way. Laurent got his way because when men tried to resist him, they found, sweetly outmanoeuvred, that they couldn’t.”

”Am I talking too much? I can’t hold alcohol at all.”
“I can see that.”
“It’s my fault. I never drink. I should have realised I’d need to, with men like these, and made an effort to … build up some sort of tolerance…” He was serious.

”A fair fight?” said Laurent, turning back to him, “No fight’s ever fair. Someone’s always stronger.”

Nikandros – The loyal friend

”And if I call on you to fight?”
“Then we fight,” said Nikandros. “Together.”
The straightforward ease of it left him without words. He had forgotten what home felt like. He had forgotten trust, loyalty, kinship. Friends.

I adore Nikandros! He’s such an amazing and loyal friend and I loved how much he cared about Damen’s well-being. Not because he was his king but because he actually truly cared about him. Poor Damen though, he had to fight a lot for his relationship with Laurent, considering what he did to him I can’t blame Nikandros for disapproving of their love though. The moment in the tent after the fight with Pallas was one of the most intense scenes in the entire book and I really, really like Nikandros!!! XD

Jokaste – The true cast-iron bitch:

”You weren’t expecting what it felt like when he touched you. You weren’t expecting the weight of his body, how it felt to have his attention, to have him want you.”
“You left out the part near the end, when it was so good I let myself forget what he’d done.”
“Oh dear,” said Jokaste. “That was the truth.”

That evil bitch!!! I hated her so much and yet I could understand her! URGH! In a sick and twisted way she truly loved Damen and only sold him into slavery in order to save his life. Still, the wounds she inflicted run deep and I’ll never like her because of that. Yes, she saved his life, but she also almost killed him with it. The conversation between her and Laurent was one of the best highlights of the series though and it would be a lie to claim I didn’t enjoy every delicious and juicy moment of it!!! No, actually I loved it!! *lol* <333 So much hatred and tension! Ahh it was such a delight to read! XD My cunning and crafty faerie heart couldn’t help but relish their encounter with enthusiastic joy! ;-P I just live for moments like this! Haha! <3

Dament – Their relationship

”I hated you,” said Laurent. “I hated you so badly I thought I’d choke on it. If my uncle hadn’t stopped me, I would have killed you. And then you saved my life, and every time I needed you, you were there, and I hated you for that, too.”

TENSION!!! So much tension it almost killed me while I read the book!! Their relationship was so complicated and rough in “King’s Rising”!!! Now that they both met each other as king and prince they had to live up to certain expectations and they tried everything possible to follow the rules. Of course the heart and the mind are always two different things and I think you could see that inner conflict on every page of the book. Still, I loved their honesty and their strength, that they both didn’t yield and that they tried to make it work somehow. XD It was a long way until they reached that moment though and as usual Pacat taunted us with the promise of a wonderful relationship in the future. *lol*

*sigh* There were so many awesome scenes in that book and I can’t mention them all, but there definitely were some moments I’ll never forget! For instance their fight in the training area! It was so freaking amazing and it was such a good picture of their relationship! The way Laurent tried to defend himself with everything he had and the realisation that he just couldn’t win against Damen. He didn’t only win their fight but also Laurent’s heart! Pacat! Well done!!! This was such a brilliant way to describe their relationship I have to pay you my respect! XD

AND speaking of amazing scenes!!! Can we take a look at the chapter in which they appear united for the very first time?! OMG!!! Laurent’s gift to Damen! The whipping of the clan mercenaries! Gosh!! That was such a mean and deliberate move! XD Damen’s retort however wasn’t less sophisticated though. *lol* To gift him with his golden slave cuff!!! Good lord!!! ARGH I LOVE THOSE TWO BOYS SO MUCH!!! *LOL* <3333

They certainly didn’t make it easy for each other and their heated word duels always had me at the edge of my seat! XD What I also loved was the fact that they both always seemed to know what the other one needed. Whenever one of them was about to lose control, they both didn’t even hesitate and were there to catch each other if need be. This was so damn beautiful!!! My heart just ached for them!! <333

BUT the last couple of chapters! That moment when Laurent actually begged his uncle for Damen’s life!!! OH. MY. GOD.!!!! Laurent my precious, beautiful and hurt boy knelt in front of his uncle to save Damen’s life!!! The man who killed his brother, the man he trusted more than anyone else, the man he loved more than his own life!!! ARGH!!! MY HEART!!! YOU ARE NOT ALONE LAURENT!!!! YOU ARE LOVED!!!! GOSH, I CAN’T EVEN…. <333
I’m dead!!! T_T

”Shall I ask you how you did it? What he looked like when your sword went in?”
“No,” said Damen.
“Or shall I tell you about the illusion of the man who gave me good counsel. Who stood by me. Who never lied to me.”
“I never lied to you.”
The words were awful in the silence that followed them.

”I miss you,” said Laurent. “I miss our conversations.”

”How can you trust me, after what your own brother did to you?”
“Becaues he was false,” said Damen, “and you are true. I have never known a truer man.” He said, into the stillness, “I think if I gave you my heart, you would treat it tenderly.”

”I killed your brother.”
“I know.”
Damen said it, and felt a strange empathy pass between them, as if they knew each other for the first time.

”Now, Laurent was beside him. Aloof, untouchable Laurent was beside him, kneeling on the wet marble hundreds of miles from home, with nothing in his eyes but Damen.”

Laurent was very still, and the moment seemed to draw out, the space between them private in the hushed baths.
”And the centre. We both hold the centre,” said Laurent. And then: “It was one kingdom, once.”

The conclusion:

I loved “King’s Rising” even more than I loved “Prince’s Gambit” and this series definitely is one of my all-time favourites now! =))
Since this was another buddy read my special thanks go to my adorable Gansey!! Girl, thank you so much for reading this book with me! I loved our conversations and that we just couldn’t seem to be able to stop gushing about Laurent and Damen! <333 It was so much fun to experience this series with you and I’m so damn thankful I got to know you through goodreads!!! Let’s buddy read even more series together! I’m so ready! XD <3