Prince's Gambit is one of the rare books that didn't suffer from middle-book syndrome. Far from it, in fact, since it managed to both deepen each character, both the main players and the secondary ones as well, and develop Laurent and Damen's relationship, without overshadowing the action, or the plot itself.

I started reading this book right before going to bed because I, quite naively, thought I'd only be reading a chapter or two, and instead ended up reading through the night.
Pacat weaves a tale of political intrigue, manipulation, and betrayal with an excellent set of characters in a writing style that flowed effortlessly, and was incredibly easy to read.
I'm very glad the entire trilogy had already been released because, judging from the cliffhanger at the end of this first book, it would have been agony to wait for the sequels.