Captive Traitor King – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Title: Captive Traitor King (Braided Fate, #2)

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 11/3/26

Publisher: Avon

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Why Choose, Series

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Avon for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

CAPTIVE. Asher has always sworn loyalty to Jory, the princess he’s loved from afar—but now the King of Incendar has claimed a place in his heart too. Someone wants them both dead, and only Asher’s blade can keep them safe. Yet his past won’t let him go, and he must decide if he can break free—or remain prisoner to his old scars.

TRAITOR. Princess Jory of Astranza agreed to marry the King of Incendar to secure peace, but betrayal runs closer than she ever imagined. With her own brother unmasked as her enemy, two kingdoms teeter on the edge. To protect her people, she must take the throne. But there are still dark secrets to unravel that will force Jory to confront where her true allegiance lies.

KING. Maddox Kyronan has discovered trust—and something more—with his reluctant bride and her deadly protector, but the fragile alliance between their nations threatens to unravel. His people are starving. His enemies are circling in. Torn between the crown and his heart, Ky risks losing it all.

As buried truths surface and tensions reach a breaking point, Jory, Asher, and Ky must confront the desires that could save their kingdoms—or shatter them forever.

TROPES:
Why Choose/polyamorous romanceSecret MagicHidden IdentityHurt/ComfortRoyal-Political SchemingBetrayal/Redemption

Content Warning: violence, death

+ Things pick up right where book one ended and Ky doesn’t know if he can trust Asher or Jory but he feels a strange protectiveness over them. Jory wants to send Asher, her assassin, to kill her brother so she can take the throne but Ky says they need a solid plan. The Draegs are causing havoc and are trying to take Jory for their own. There are a few reveals in the end and a twist in the story that I find really interesting and off course this one ends in a cliffhanger.

+ Asher is still my favorite character out of the three. He is traumatized and has such a vulnerability to him while also being a stealthy assassin who will do anything for Jory. I feel like Ky – I’m protective over him and only wish good things to happen to him. Ky is a leader for his people, strong and violent when he needs to be but soft when it comes to Asher and Jory. Jory is attracted to both men, but again, protective over Asher. We see a little more of her spunk at the end of this book but at times she’s very impulsively. So Ky is who brings her back to earth.

+ The romance is polyamorous and filled with yearning, longing and vulnerability. They choose each other, they genuinely are happy to be in this threesome and it works out. Ky is the protector and he is always so patient with Asher and notices things about him that Jory might miss. Asher adores Jory, but is attracted to Ky and is opening up more under his patience. Jory enjoys both of them – Asher gives her comfort, and she’s attracted to Ky’s dominance. So it works for all of them, and the spice is spicy between them but again filled with so much patience.

Final Thoughts:

I think this sequel was more focused on the relationship between Ky, Asher and Jory as they figure things out. I think the polyamorous relationship between the three is a beautiful, fragile thing that is being treated with care and patience. I will say I hate Asher’s past handlers, I hope they get dealt with in book three. Also there is a twist at the end that is very interesting and I can’t wait to see how it plays out!

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