This book is, quite simply, excellent. It's brilliantly written, sharp and sly, intelligently plotted and remarkably concise for a second world book set within two richly imagined fictional countries (there are even in-depth mentions of other lands that have separate political issues). But? But. 
 I read YA. Almost exclusively. This leaves me ill-prepared for the extents to which adult authors go to express the brutality of their fictional kingdoms. I don't think this book condones slavery, and I don't think it condones sexual abuse - rather, the opposite. But we're working within a world (very much like Ancient Greece and Rome, which people love to idolise and marvel at while ignoring the rampant open slave trade that each society gathered from all of the lands they conquered) where slavery is measured not by who does or doesn't do it, but by how the slaves are treated. 
 It's a bold, brave concept. Certainly not one I've ever read about before. Did it make me uncomfortable? Yes, totally. But it was supposed to. It was supposed to make you feel uncomfortable when Damen was experiencing the brazen abuse of human beings in Vere, and then you're supposed to feel even more uncomfortable when you realise that Damen does not oppose slavery, just this form of slavery. He copulates with slaves in Akielos. He has no qualms about it. But he considers himself morally superior because slaves in Akielos are not forced to perform in front of the court, even though the pleasure slaves in Akielos aren't even given clothes. 
 Part of this book's mastery lies in that exact conundrum; these characters are all grey areas, every single one of them. Some of them are greyer than others. There is the obligatory villain, and there is the obligatory sweet innocent cinnamon roll, but they don't harm the intelligence of the book at all. They're both interesting, morally challenging characters. 
 Like I said, this book is excellent: it's paced beautifully, expertly plotted, and the characters are stunning in their moral discomfort zones. I cannot fucking WAIT to find out what happens next. It's just a perfect book for political intrigue: the acidic word-wars between Laurent and the Regent, and the far-removed tensions between Damen and Kastor, and the leaning sympathies of the guards around Damen, and the culture shock that Damen is constantly being slapped with and expected to accept in silence. 
 Seriously, though. The absolutely savage verbal battles between the Regent and Laurent were superbly written. The atmosphere, the tension, everything. I compared this book to Game of Thrones in my status updates (I've only seen the TV show because I can't bear to read the overlong, overwritten books) and it captures the same slow, drizzly, tense beat that makes the show so great. 
 Laurent is not "snarky"; don't call him that. I saw someone write that this book is like the adult, violent, sexually explicit version of The Winner's Curse and I couldn't agree more. Kestrel didn't fall into the trap of bland snark either. Laurent is a viper, just as Damen says he is. Dark and strange and frightening. 
 I loved Damen as a protagonist. He's sharp but sometimes naive and fiercely protective of his people and his country. His story is one of survival but he too is a character of deeply grey morality and I loved that. I loved that he tripped over himself and fought for himself and his people in any way that he could, even in unsavoury ways, and I loved his slow realisation that playing the game of the Veretian court was the only way to make it out of there alive. The sense that Vere was not a place to fuck around, not a place where anyone was safe, was palpable. 
 I would recommend this, but not for anyone who is sensitive to upsetting stories, or stories about non-consensual sexual encounters. Prepare to be uncomfortable, and if you aren't willing to be uncomfortable while you read, then don't pick it up. It's not for everyone and I absolutely hate the idea of anyone reading this and being harmed by it. But it is an excellent read, and I'm not going to waste any time before starting the next one in the series. 
 I give this 4 stars, only because I can't give it 5. I think this author has even better parts of this story to tell. I'll save the 5 for those.