Kings Rising (Captive Prince #3) - C.S. Pacat

Title: Kings Rising

Series: Captive Prince #3

Author: C.S. Pacat

Publisher: Berkley

Rating: 5/5

Pitch:

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?

(Goodreads)

My review:

 OH MY GOD! That final book! It's just INCREDIBLE! I know I say that since the first book in the trilogy but it's just as real as it was at first. The tension builds up even more, we feel the ending coming but C.S. Pacat has us hanging until the very last moment. 

 I loved the relationships, the politics, how every scheme of every character is intertwined with the ones of the others, how true every character stays to themselves... It happens more often than not that the characters change instead of evolve but here, they really evolve. Damen is still more warrior-like than Laurent who wants to play it all by politics and twisted ends. They are completely different and, at the same time, they are complementary in a lot of ways. 

The romance finally comes to life for real and it's brilliant and powerful. I loved it. I'm not used to m/m romance. I think that, actually, it's the first book I read about it (I don't count fanfictions obviously) and if all m/m romances are like this one, I will definitely read more. 

I wasn't surprised about some revelations that come out in this book. I knew it all along. Knowing the characters, it was an easy guess but it didn't bother me at all since the rest of the book is still action-packed, full of plot twists and surprises.

The ending is at the same time frustrating and great.  I wanted more, more, more but I can't deny it's a great way to finish the trilogy. It's sweet and cruel, adorable and terrible... 

But seriously, that book got me going completely crazy and I loved every part of it.