REVIEW: The Prince's Groom by KT Grant

The Prince's Groom by KT Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

CAUTION: Long Review

The Prince's Groom (TPG) began with Thomas wishing he could have the same love with Martin after watching his sister, Daisy, marry Martin's fellow pirate, Chelsey — the lesbian couple from book 1. Martin then interrupted Thomas's reflection with a long make-out session that reached to chapter 2. Yet Thomas remained unsatisfied with the vague status of their relationship and soon demanded Martin to give him something that will persuade him to stay with Martin.

Thomas demanded to know more about Martin, starting with Martin's first name. They both wanted each other but Martin's silence on his past pushed Thomas away. One year later in chapter 3, the two men still pined for each other.

With such a beginning, I expected angst (and hoped it wasn't heavy) from a story of two men desiring each other but do not get together. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised at how little angst and how big the action TPG had.

With around 49,000 words, TPG was told in 3rd PoV from Thomas and Martin's sides, the two protagonists, and from Ramona's side, one of the two antagonists.

The Characters

Thomas quickly got my sympathy after he was rebuffed by Martin, but he later lost some when I read how easily he fell to Ramona's machination. I forgave Thomas for his lack of perspicacity, I couldn't forgive him for his lack of spine. Thomas standing up to Martin wasn't enough for me to view Thomas as a courageous character.

Martin, OTOH, was a strong character. My one gripe against him was how he thought he was too old for Thomas when age wasn't the issue that caused the breakup, it was Martin's closed book attitude.

Ramona was a spoiled, scheming socialite who wanted Thomas for a husband whether Thomas wanted her or not. I found her deliciously evil and enjoyed her PoV.

Things I Didn't Like

I wished I knew how old Thomas was because the story only said he was young, Martin was 41, and implied the romance was May-December. Moreover, the story didn't develop Thomas well as a "former exiled prince of the Isle of Ilgeria and longtime resident of the country of Flaundia" (chapter 1). Why was he exiled, and why was he exiled to Flaundia? The story never said.

I did not care for William. I felt bad for him for being rebuffed by Thomas after William confessed his love for Thomas, but William getting his petty revenge against Martin broke my sympathy for him. William was Thomas's secretary and he sexually serviced Thomas which led me to believe him banging Thomas was part of his job and not for love. I believe William confused the intimacy for true love. William sabotaging Martin made TPG unnecessary melodramatic. TPB would have been better if William remained a loyal servant and friend to Thomas and his crush for Thomas was done away with.

I also did not care for the two loose ends TPG had. The first loose end was between Julia's feeling for Maria and how it played a part in Julia's husband's death. Julia's subplot was barely touched upon. Developing the subplot might have made TPG unnecessary long but I would've like to see Julia have her HEA after suffering so much from her evil sister Ramona.

The second loose end was with Jaxson, the second antagonist and Martin's long-lost brother, and how he refused to reveal his reasons why he killed their parents. I wanted Martin to have closure for his tragic past.

Things I Liked

Despite the loose ends, I liked how the main conflict was resolved. The ending for Ramona was fitting. I really liked how during the climax Julia redeemed her pitiful self by stepping up to help defeat Ramona and help our heroes. Julia was my favorite supporting character in TPG.

I appreciated the rehashing of book 1 because I didn't read it. I enjoyed the Daisy and Chelsey's post-HEA. I found their scenes and the rehashing in the right amount that book 1's couple didn't pull the spotlight from book 2's couple.

Thomas was nice. Martin was a sweetheart. The romance between the two was convincing, and I liked how their separation didn't last as long as I feared.

Except for William's love subplot, I enjoyed all the twists and turns as I enjoyed all three PoVs. I like how the twists and turns quickened the pace which resulted no slow moments for me.

In Conclusion

TPG had little angst — which I didn't expect, moderate amount of action — which was more than I expected, and flushed with good smut — which I expected and successfully received. The sex scenes between William and Thomas was hot. Of course, the sex scenes between Martin and Thomas was the hottest.

I rate TPG 3-stars for I liked it.