I was skeptical about this book at first. I got trigger warnings for all kinds of stuff AND it looked like an overhyped 50k enemies-to-lovers fanfiction...but it was (surprisingly) actually good. Really good. 
 The missing star isn't the author's/book's fault. Damen is a great main character and immediately condemns rape and child abuse and I'm grateful for that. Still, it was a pretty uncomfortable read and some passages were hell to get through. 
 Apart from that - fucking awesome. 
 Damen is very cool and instantly likeable. He's stripped of his title and has to adapt to a new environment...except that he doesn't really want to. I love that he is honest and open but not naive. I love that he never shuts his mouth. Listen...I love Damen. 
 Laurent...oh boy. He is terrible but there's still this but, you know? He's arrogant and cold and you feel like you should hate him...but. Even the secondary characters felt very real and C.S. Pacat destroyed my life with the training of Erasmus bit. Thank you. 
 Getting my hands on Volume Two asap!!