Are you kidding me? They’re doing undercover adventures with Charls to stop the slave trade to Patras? Haaaa, YES. I love it.
1. The theme of slavery throughout the trilogy has been focused on Damen, but here you see how Damen is the one who’s been free all along; it’s Laurent who wasn’t. This is what a free Laurent looks like. It’s glorious.
2. Finally! An outside POV on Damen, who is adorable. The books and The Summer Palace are all Damen’s very, very close 3rd person POV— only two chapters in Kings Rising from Laurent’s POV— so the Charls POV means a) finally, descriptions of dark, warm, laughing eyes, but b) alas, less new good descriptions of Laurent’s brain because, of course, those all come from Damen.
3. It’s good to know nothing, not even uniting a kingdom, is gonna stop Damen from supporting Laurent’s shenanigans to right the wrongs in the world. Laurent shenanigans FTW.
4. No, please tell me more of this joint court and alliance a year after the fact. The ascension at Marlas; the new capital at Delpha. Each throwaway detail speaks volumes. Aww.
5. I do not know how this series became the sweetest— and I do mean the sweetest— love story I’ve read in ages. I don’t know. I really don’t. Maybe because it’s so earned. But I don’t know. I really don’t.
I’m so happy.