Ina Reads’s Reviews > Prince's Gambit > Status Update
Ina Reads
is 99% done
While there are *a lot* of problematic elements in this series, I feel like I’m picking up more on the author’s own critiques of war and factionalism this time. Even as a third reread, I don’t think I’ve come across an unputdownable fantasy series like this one since I first read it, with so many layers to peel back. I still feel like the shock factors are a lot, but no character’s actions are simplistic
— Jul 24, 2023 04:29PM
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Ina Reads’s Previous Updates
Ina Reads
is 99% done
I forgot how young these characters are — both in the “present” & when all of the preceding events kick everything into action. They’re only 20 and 26 here, which means they were basically babies (13 and 19) when they first went to war against each other’s families… no wonder they start off emotionally stunted.
— Jul 24, 2023 04:25PM
Ina Reads
is 59% done
‘My size,’ said Laurent, ‘is the usual. I am not made in miniature. It’s a problem of scale, standing next to you.’
It was like being pleased by a thorn bush, feeling fond of every prickle. Another second and he was going to say something ridiculous like that.
— Oct 04, 2019 09:01PM
It was like being pleased by a thorn bush, feeling fond of every prickle. Another second and he was going to say something ridiculous like that.
Ina Reads
is 54% done
Damen now knew the precise number of arrows Laurent needed to have trained on him in order to shut him up. It was six.
— Oct 04, 2019 08:11PM
Ina Reads
is 50% done
He remembered Laurent sizing up the distance between two balconies and saying, ‘Probably,’ which, once appraised, had been enough for him to jump. He was looking at Damen with the same expression.
— Oct 04, 2019 04:15PM
Ina Reads
is 43% done
Forgot about this HBO hot mess of a scene. This bugs me not because Damen is sleeping with a bunch of women without emotional connection, but because he’s sleeping with them after he’s started to develop feelings for Laurent. It’s just such a strange scene to plop in the middle of this plot, both storywise and romancewise
— Oct 03, 2019 10:01PM
Ina Reads
is 39% done
Damen had to keep reminding himself not to grin. He didn’t know why listening to Laurent pick his way through the Akielon language had him in good spirits, but it did.
— Oct 03, 2019 09:41PM
Ina Reads
is 39% done
And so they talked. Laurent’s vocabulary hit its limits when it came to military terms and manoeuvres, but Damen filled in the gaps. It was of course no surprise to find that Laurent had a well-stocked armoury of elegant phrases and bitchy remarks, but could not talk in detail about anything sensible.
— Oct 03, 2019 09:40PM
Ina Reads
is 30% done
‘Wait. It’s too exposed. You stand out, in this light. Your mousy hair’s like a beacon.’
Wordlessly, Laurent pulled Volo’s woollen cap from his belt.
Damen felt it then, the first dizzy edge of new emotion, and he let go his hold of Laurent like a man fearing a precipice; and yet was helpless.
Damen has a total competency kink and I am here for it
— Oct 03, 2019 09:00PM
Wordlessly, Laurent pulled Volo’s woollen cap from his belt.
Damen felt it then, the first dizzy edge of new emotion, and he let go his hold of Laurent like a man fearing a precipice; and yet was helpless.
Damen has a total competency kink and I am here for it
Ina Reads
is 24% done
‘It’s the game I like,’ said Laurent. He reached over and appropriated another coin out of the purse Damen carried, then palmed it. ‘Look, I’ve learned a new trick.’ When he opened his hand, it was empty, as if by magic. A second later, the coin dropped out of his sleeve onto the floor. Laurent frowned at it. ‘Well, I don’t have it quite yet.’
— Oct 03, 2019 08:28PM
Ina Reads
is 24% done
Damen said, ‘If you wanted a drink and an old hat that badly, you could have just bought them from him. Cheaper and quicker.’
‘It’s the game I like,’ said Laurent. He reached over and appropriated another coin out of the purse Damen carried, then palmed it. ‘Look, I’ve learned a new trick.’ When he opened his hand, it was empty, as if by magic.
— Oct 03, 2019 08:27PM
‘It’s the game I like,’ said Laurent. He reached over and appropriated another coin out of the purse Damen carried, then palmed it. ‘Look, I’ve learned a new trick.’ When he opened his hand, it was empty, as if by magic.
