Prince's Gambit

C. S. Pacat

Jan 2014 · The Captive Prince Trilogy Book 2 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

The second novel in the critically acclaimed Captive Prince trilogy from global phenomenon C. S. Pacat.

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 a final devastating blow...

Ratings and reviews

I enjoyed the read but....the character of Laurent and several of the descriptive phrases are copied from another authors work. Laurent is almost a pure copy of Francis Lymond the blond, blue eyed hero written by Dorothy Dunnett. It's really very obvious ....the roof top chase scene that's in Dunnets book, the flogging also, Laurent's ability to flay someone with words is Lymond as is his appearance.

I just can't wait to read the next one. The schemes of characters and their true intentions are finally clear. Most importantly we get more L X D action

I have no words! At the end of the first book Prince Laurent's uncle, the Regent, has ordered him and a small group of his troops to the border to ostensibly fight the Akielons but, truly, to be killed in any number of ways on the journey. As Laurent and Damen, the true King of Akielos who was deposed by his half-brother and sold as a bed-slave to the Veretians, travel there are plots and machinations and twists and turns that I just never saw coming. If the first book was perhaps mistaken for some kind of m/m slave-porn this one surely puts the reader right. It's a delicate courting dance between two princes, one a slave to the other, one a straightforward soldier, the other a clever, manipulative politician. No-one is ever quite what they seem and I have seen friends turn to foes and back again so often I think I've got reader's whiplash. It's epic yet taut, brutal yet sensual, simple yet also complex. I loved it and I am twitchy because I have a full day of work ahead of me before I can start the third book. Oh, and what a cliffhanger! And does that mean ...?

About the author

C.S. Pacat is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Captive Prince trilogy, Dark Rise and the GLAAD-nominated graphic novels Fence. Educated at the University of Melbourne, C.S. Pacat has lived in a number of cities, including Tokyo and Perugia, and currently resides and writes in Melbourne.