Prince's Gambit

I enjoyed this book a little more than the first because it had more action, a lot more character development, and we saw more of the lands and culture within Vere. A lot of the twists honestly surprised me - like Damen, I am not of a scheming mind like Laurents and couldn't have predicted a lot of his plans, but Pacat has done an excellent job tying the twists together to make a cohesive plot (no doubt by benefit of being published by Penguin with an actual editor, unlike the first book which started as a self-published web series). This book did have a lot less sex than the first (since they are away from the palace and “bed slaves”) which made the will-they-won't-they between Damen and Laurent a little sweeter - the “slow burn” many reviewers have mentioned. I'm definitely enjoying this series.