** spoiler alert ** 
 I loved the story. I loved Damen's devotion to Laurent - forever his servant, OMG the scene under the tree during the trip to Kingsmeet where Damen wets a cloth and use it to cool down Laurent's skin... 
 I loved seeing Laurent surrender, acknowledge his feelings for Damen, look him in the eyes and call him "Damianos", "Damen" during sex. 
 I also loved Jokaste a lot. Just like I loved Nicaise. They are both survivors. Not "moral' people, but they know about love and loyalty and it forced my respect, even as I deplored their willingness to "compromise". 
 I wish I had learned more about the Regent, more about Kastor. Somehow, although they are at the heart of the political intrigues, they also feel like simple "plot enablers," especially Kastor. After all that he made Damen go through, they only have one tiny scene together near the end. Come on, I wanted more! I've imagined so many things about Kastor, how he would justify his actions, what he would say to the accusations... Come on. But I guess that's what fanfic is for: if you love a book and you want something explored more in depth, you can always do it via fanfic. 
 I once read a fanfic that explored how Laurent would have been had Auguste not died and the Regent not taken over the kingdom. And to my supreme delight, I saw a glimpse of this Laurent in Kings Rising. Damen summed it up in one sentence: "... Laurent alongside him, making barbed remarks in public, and in private, newly tender." 
 A review is not an exhaustive list of everything one has to say about a book, so I'll just stop here, but before I do, two things: 
 "A kingdom, or this" How Damen answers this question in book 2 and in book 3 differs, and gosh, it moved me. It's the moment in the book where my heart broke. The moment of truth. 
 The "Charls" episode: One underestimated quality of Laurent is his great humour. He hasn't had many reasons to smile since his brother died, he is cold and calculating by necessity, but nobody loves a good joke more than him, especially when it's laced with danger. 
 Okay, now it's the real end.