Reviews with content warning for Murder - Kings Rising

Now this is how you end a trilogy! Kings Rising was everything I wanted and more. The plot twists, the treachery, the character development—it was amazing. Everything that was set up in the past two books was executed really well and I don't feel like there are as many loose ends as I thought there would be, even though the book ends a little abruptly. It didn't bother me as much as it did for other readers but when I read the last page and flipped to the next, only to see the start of the acknowledgment section, I was like, 'that's it?'.

Laurent's growth in this book, however, was one of my favorite parts. For two books, he had this calculated and icy-cold exterior. We can see that being broken down as the plot progresses, but it's really here that we can see how sensitive and vulnerable he can really be. Seeing him interact with characters like Jokaste was just absolutely juicy and I'm so glad that Pacat gave us two scenes between them. I was also very endeared to Nikandros, whose relationship with Damen was something that I had been curious about since the end of Prince's Gambit. I'm glad that there was finally a character who was 100% in Damen's corner.

Of course, I have to talk about Damen and Laurent's relationship too. As I mentioned in my Prince's Gambit review, Pacat knows how to do a slow burn right. All the tension, guilt, and desire finally accumulated in one of the most satisfying climaxes (pun intended) that I've ever read. Damen and Laurent still have a long road to recovery, but I have no doubt that they'll be there for each other. I just adore this series and I'm so grateful that I was able to enjoy it the way I did.

Content Warnings

paholizz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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katamace's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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sumtime99's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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cindythenerd's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Best out of the three. It’s not horrible like the first but isn’t the best. I hated how everything is brushed off of the previous books. I was only invested in the side characters.

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mirandyli's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

This series was ok. Before you read it take note of all the content warnings. Content warning: everything. I like the world building but the relationships are super toxic.

Damen and Laurent's relationship is especially yikes. They both lie to each other constantly for their own gain. Because Damen killed Laurent's brother a few years ago, Laurent orders Damen to be whipped 50 times in the first book and is miffed that he didn't die from it. Yet SOMEHOW... they still fall in love after that??? Because Damen is obsessed with pale skin and blonde hair (excuse me while I go vomit).

The series basically ends with Laurent killing Damen's brother and saying, "We've killed each other's brothers so we're even now. I no longer hate you and we can rule peacefully. Kiss kiss." Excuse me sirs, go to therapy.

And now that Damen has been a slave, he's now going to advocate for the end of slavery, despite being in support of it before? That's just a whole bag of yikes.

There were also a bunch of predictable moments (like that Laurent knew Damen's identity the whole time, Laurent was raped by his uncle and Jokaste would claim that her baby was Damen's).

Still a fast-paced decent read and I was able to finish the series in a week. I haven't read a fantasy book in a while and this series was a pretty good start to getting back into the fantasy genre.

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