Pacat takes a character, who appeared only in one chapter of the book and had only a handful of lines, and makes him shine in Pet.

Ancel is shallow and self-serving, which makes him pretty unsympathetic in the beginning (not that I’m complaining, I love unsympathetic characters), but in the span of the short story, Pacat manages to show that he’s also wildly charismatic, resourceful, quick on his feet, and has a surprisingly sturdy backbone.

The story is also really funny, especially the whole seduction part, and Ancel growing more and more exasperated and annoyed with Berenger. This quote is a crown jewel:

After a long moment, ‘Do you even like horses?’
‘I can’t read,’ said Ancel.
‘I see,’ said Berenger.

I honestly laughed out loud.

His relationship with Berenger also became really sweet towards the end, and I loved that it wasn’t done at the expense of Ancel’s pride at his profession. He’s a pet, he likes what he does and he does it better then everyone. His unapologetic nature is really attractive.

The end made me feel a bit full for my skin, since it’s such a perfect way to end the whole series:

‘But if he wins?’

Loved it. ( )

I didn't have high hopes for this short story considering it is about an extremely minor character, but ha ha ha, I should never have doubted C. S. Pacat's ability to make me care a ridiculous amount about her characters. I was absolutely swept up in this short story, to the point where I keened in frustration when the end came all too soon. ( )

A sensual, sexy, devious conclusion to the BEST trilogy I've ever read. By far. I couldn't cheer loudly enough for Ancel and Berenger. An HEA in such unlikely circumstances? Brilliant. This series is so much more to me than a bunch of splendidly-written books. Truly life-changing.

This book, and with it the entire Capri universe, ends on such a hopeful note -- both for the Prince (But if he wins?) and for Ancel and Berenger.

My heart is broken, of course, because this is it in the Capri universe until Ms. Pacat's muse sends her back to it, so I savored that little glimpse into the conflict between Damen and Laurent through Ancel's eyes. And I couldn't help admiring him for making the most of his circumstances, for being defiantly ruthless in the pursuit of his ambitions which, I got the impression, included a genuine and unexpected desire for Berenger's touch. They are such contrasting characters, and in just 40 pages, Ms. Pacat shows us how right they are for each other, and why.

Brilliant. Bravo. I'll never have enough of Captive Prince. Ever. Ever. Ever. Did I say Ever? No matter, here it is again for good measure. EVER. ( )

Another rather brief and unsatisfying short story based on characters from the Captive Prince series. Here we follow the ambitious Ancel as he works his way up the hierarchy as a pet to, successively, merchants and noblemen. The story doesn't really stand alone, in that it doesn't follow its ostensible theme to the end - what does happen between Ancel and Berenger? - and it really only serves to lead us up to the now-famous scene between Ancel and Damen in the palace gardens, to give a different perspective. I would have preferred something which was slightly more of a character study of Ancel, rather than a brief vignette which trails off as soon as it 'joins up' with the main line of the story. It's a shame that Pacat doesn't do more with these additional stories, as she is a very good writer, and they feel like wasted opportunities which could have done so much more to broaden our understanding of the characters and world of her trilogy. ( )