TBR Challenge – Deductions (Aberrant Magic #1) by Lyn Gala

This title may be purchased from Amazon

Darren is proud of his work on the FBI’s magical Talent unit. However, his own lack of magic means he can never be with Supervisory Special Agent and Shaman Kavon Boucher. The shamanic magic poses a real danger to any mundane who gets too close, so Darren tries to hide his attraction and keep a professional relationship at work. That resolve begins to crumble when a new man sets his sights on Kavon and Darren can’t control his resentment.

Now they have a brutal new case of a suspect targeting magical adepts. Darren tries to keep focused on that crime, but when he starts to show signs of his own magic, he hopes that maybe he can not only be a more effective part of the team but also a real partner to Kavon. He might have a second chance at love if only Kavon can learn to trust his new and unpredictable magic that has changed the rules of the magical game.

Rating: C

This month’s Bananapants! prompt kinda stumped me because I don’t generally go for the all-out-bonkers-crazy in books, so I decided to look for something that might qualify as being ‘unusual’ instead. I’ve been meaning to read something by Lyn Gala for some time, and when I read the synopsis for Deductions, book one in the Aberrant Magic series, it seemed like its setting of an AU world in which magic exists would be a good fit.

While the existence of magic – or Talent – is known in this world, those with magical abilities are still fairly rare, and there’s a lot of discrimination and mistrust between them and the ‘mundanes’. Magic-users range from powerful shamans – whose magic generally emerges through a near-death experience which unites them with their spirit guide – to adepts – whose powers are weak but who work with shamans to help keep them tethered to the physical plane when they are in the spirit world – and all the others in between, who focus their magic through crystals or spells.

Darren Oberton is the sole mundane on the FBI’s top Talent team – one of several tasked with investigating crimes involving magic-users. He’s been with this particular team for around six years and even though he’s on good terms with his colleagues, he still feels like an outsider on occasion because even after all that time, there are still things about magic they don’t share with him. The recent addition of a new adept, brought in to work alongside their boss, Kavon Boucher, one of the most powerful shamans in the world, has upset the team dynamic considerably, however, leaving Darren feeling like even more the odd man out. Ben Anderson is a sneaky little shit who takes pleasure in needling Darren whenever he can, yet no-one else on the team ever notices what he’s doing. Worse, he’s picked up on Darren’s crush on their boss and takes every opportunity to gloat when Kavon turns to him for help and not Darren. Darren tries not to let the other man’s behaviour get to him, but… it’s getting to him. In his first year or two on the team, Darren felt that maybe his interest in Kavon might be reciprocated – until Kavon suddenly shut everything down and pulled away from him. Darren knows that for a mundane to be romantically involved with a shaman is dangerous (for the mundane) but surely they could have been friends, if they couldn’t be anything more? But Kavon is cold to the point of freezing with him most of the time, and Darren really could do without Anderson’s continual sneering.

Darren and the team are currently investigating the disappearance of three young adepts who come from families associated with fundamentalist churches that regularly speak out against magic, calling it the work of the devil and just about stopping short of calling for witches to be burned at the stake. Kavon, Darren and Ben travel to one of these, Kavon intending to conduct a search on the spirit plane to see if he can find out if whoever has taken the adepts has somehow been able to conceal their crimes by shifting the magical energy to another plane. Before he can get started however, he realises something unusual is going on in the living world – and emerges from the spirit plane to find Darren holding Anderson down on the bonnet of the car, yelling and accusing him of using his magic against him, while a powerful magical storm rages around them. Which makes no sense. There’s no way an adept could conjure up such a thing, and Darren is a mundane – yet he’s somehow unleashed some devastatingly strong, shamanic magic. Kavon doesn’t understand it and neither does Darren – and things become even more confusing when it becomes apparent that Darren is able to do things that not even the most powerful shaman should be able to do.

Deductions has some good bones in terms of its story, but it falls down badly in the execution. The incorporation of the shamanic ideas of magic, the significance of the spirit guides and the magical planes is quite different to any fantasy I’ve read before, and the plot is interesting, but the characters are pretty two-dimensional and the romantic relationship between Kavon and Darren lacks both chemistry and depth. We’re told that they were moving towards friendship when Darren first joined the team and that Kavon just backed off and now treats Darren quite coldly, but we never see that initial closeness or fondness and we never see them on the verge of more than friendship. The author tries to show readers, in Kavon’s PoV, that he’s attracted to Darren and has ruthlessly suppressed it for both their sakes, but I just couldn’t buy that there was ever any emotional connection between them. There’s just nothing there at all, other than ‘oh, hey, I’m a shaman now, so we can bang’ and the sex scenes are perfunctory.

Although I liked the concept behind the story, the magic systems are a bit confusing and I had to re-read some passages to try to work out what was actually going on. This is the first book in a series, so I suppose it’s to be expected that there’s a lot of exposition and information thrown out, but ultimately, there’s too much of that at the expense of the characters and relationships, which lack depth and authenticity. The supporting cast is little more than window-dressing, and the whole thing feels very superficial. Reviews for other books in the series indicate similar problems, so I don’t think I’ll be continuing with it.  It’s rare that I’m disappointed in a book I pick for the TBR Challenge, but this was one of those times.

Darkness by Eden Winters

This title may be purchased from Amazon

Darkness follows Lieutenant Morrisey James.

As an Atlanta PD detective, Morrisey understands the worst atrocities the city has to offer—or believes he does. His recent cases present something new: a killer who unleashes unbridled terror in victims before moving in for the kill. Morrisey has an edge, though, the terrifying ability to gain flashes of insight from each victim.

Most people assume Farren Austin is a shallow, pretty boy, but he’s so much more. Agent Austin keeps secrets as part of the FBI’s Alternate Entities Task Force, a unit created to monitor travelers from another realm. Although they might look human, they’re anything but.

And they’ve taken a special interest in Morrisey.

Partnered with Farren, Morrisey finds himself in the middle of demons trying to possess his body, a succubus sidekick who wants to cook him breakfast, accusations of being a powerful destructive force, and a growing number of people calling him “Darkness.” Not to mention a sudden overwhelming attraction to his new partner.

It’s going to take the mysterious Farren’s help to keep the latest case from being Morrisey’s last.

Rating: B

Eden Winters’ Darkness is an inventive and intriguing mixture of police procedural and urban fantasy with a dash of sci-fi and a touch of romance, and is quite unlike anything else I’ve read recently. The worldbuilding is excellent, but the pacing is uneven; I liked that the author takes time to set up the story and characters, but the downside to that is that the second-half feels rushed and the ending abrupt, and while I liked the two leads as a couple, their romance takes a bit of a back seat to everything else that is going on. Darkness is fascinating and utterly compelling in parts, but it does suffer from information overload at times, and I couldn’t help thinking it might have worked better as two shorter instalments of a duology rather than one longer-than-average (for a romance) novel with such a lot going on.

When the story begins, Detective Morrisey James and his partner, Will Murphy, are called to the scene of several brutal murders. He’s seen a lot of truly awful things in his time as a detective, but this… this has to be one of the worst. The past few months have seen a huge increase in the number of murders and other serious crime in the Atlanta area for no reason anyone can determine, and he’s drinking himself to sleep most nights just to be able to keep the nightmares at bay. Once finished at the scene, Morrisey and a clearly distraught Will return to the precinct; Morrisey exits the car and tells Will to go home to his family before heading into the building – and turns too late to prevent his partner from blowing his brains out.

Morrisey’s life hasn’t exactly been a bed of roses. He’s always been something of a loner and has never felt as though he really fit in anywhere; his adoptive parents died when he was young and he has no other family, his one serious relationship ended tragically and now, aged forty-two, he mostly sees life through the bottom of a bottle. Will’s suicide sends him spiraling further and even wondering how much more loss he can stand before he goes out the same way.

You can read the rest of this review at All About Romance.

Demon Inside by H.L. Day (audiobook) – Narrated by Freddie Wills

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

The forces of darkness are gathering, and only two men can stand in their way.

Jude Campbell can see demons. His psychiatric history says it’s all in his head, but he knows they’re out there. Watching. Waiting. Biding their time.

Dante Moretti is the half demon child that should never have been born. He might exorcize demons, but the dark urges from his demon side are growing stronger, and he knows the day will come when he’ll lose himself to them completely.

When Jude’s time runs out, Dante is tasked with keeping him alive. Jude might be temptation personified, but for Jude’s sake, Dante won’t give in. Only, being together is changing them, in ways neither could possibly hope to understand, and it’s no longer clear who is saving who.

Destiny has come calling. And love could be its prize.

Rating: Narration: B+; Content – B

H.L. Day is a British author who writes in a wide variety of romance sub-genres.  I don’t think I’ve reviewed any of her audiobooks before – which comes as a bit of a surprise, as she’s one of my favourites – so here I am, finally rectifying that oversight!  Demon Inside is a standalone urban fantasy/paranormal romance set in London, featuring an interesting plot, flawed but likeable characters and plenty of the author’s trademark humour and snark.  It’s a bit predictable in places, and the romance is a little rushed, but I enjoyed it enough (I read it last year) to want to experience the story again in audio. Narrator Freddie Wills is new-to-me – and appears to be new to the audiobook world, too – and he acquits himself extremely well; I’d definitely listen to him again.

Jude Campbell has been able to see demons since he was a child.  In this world, demons inhabit the bodies of humans and are thus undetectable, but Jude can see the demonic ‘glow’ that emanates from their features.  Unfortunately, asserting that he can see demons has led to a lifetime of scepticism, doctors, therapists, drugs and an endless parade of different treatments – and at the age of sixteen, his parents had him sectioned (committed to a mental health facility under the Mental Health Act), something for which Jude has never forgiven them.  Now thirty-five, Jude is just kind of drifting through life, struggling to hold down a job or a relationship, and can’t help wondering sometimes if he really is mentally ill.

Dante Moretti should, by rights, never have been born.  Half human, half demon, the demons who are regularly sent to kill him call him “abominato”, and he has dedicated himself to sending as many of them as possible back to hell.  There’s one big snag, however – Dante can only sense the demons (and even then, not until they’re really close); he can’t actually see them, and given the recent increase in the number of demonic possessions, he really needs a better method of detection.

Dante’s mentor – an irascible Catholic priest by the name of Rory McCormick – is the closest thing to a father Dante has ever had, and is part of some sooper-sekrit anti-demon organisation that extends all the way to the Vatican.  He’s working on discovering the reasons for the increased frequency of the demonic attacks, and has also been trying, for quite some time, to find out if there is any truth to the rumour that there’s someone out there who can actually see demons. Unfortunately, most of the people he’s sent Dante to check out have proved to be dead-ends, and when Rory presents him with the latest possibility, Dante is deeply sceptical. There’s no denying the man – Jude Campbell – is seriously attractive; his photo shows an arresting face with a strong jaw, deep chestnut hair and chocolate brown eyes – but as Dante reads through the lengthy history of psychiatric treatment and lists of medications, he can’t help concluding that he seems like more of a waste of time than most.

His opinion changes quickly, however, when he hears Jude’s name on what he calls the “demon radio” in his head (demons are able to communicate telepathically, and even though he’s only half demon, Dante is able to hear and interpret some of their mental traffic) and realises he’s in grave danger.  Rory manages to find out that Jude is at a hospital appointment, and Dante sets out to intercept him and get him out of there before the demon assassins turn up.

After an explosive first meeting, when Dante saves Jude from the demons who have been following him, Jude finally learns that he’s been right all along – demons really do exist, and he isn’t insane.  Naturally, he’s enormously relieved  – although discovering that demons are intent on killing him isn’t exactly great news – and he agrees to help Dante and to learn how to fight demons himself.

strong>Demon Inside is a nice mix of action/adventure and romance with an intriguing plot and engaging, well-drawn characters.  There’s a definite spark of attraction between Jude and Dante from the start, but Dante is determined to resist it – he’s only half human and is in a constant battle for control with his demon side, fearing what he might do should he let that part of him take over. But Jude doesn’t buy it; somehow, he knows, deep down, that Dante could ever hurt him, and when the two of them are forced to go on the run, the forced proximity brings about a new closeness and understanding that makes it impossible for Dante to continue to deny them both what they most want.  Things between them heat up pretty quickly after that, and there’s more than a whiff of fated mates about their romance, but it’s clear that that being able to be truly themselves with one another plays an important part in their love story – and there’s no denying they have terrific chemistry.

I’m always a bit apprehensive when trying a new narrator – especially one who is not just new-to-me, but seems to be new to the business of audiobook narration – but luckily for me, that apprehension didn’t last too long, because Freddie Wills delivers a very strong performance for a first (or maybe second) timer.  It’s an expressive, nicely nuanced performance, his voice is pleasant to listen to, his enunciation is clear, his pacing is good and he uses a variety of tone and accent to differentiate between the various characters in the story.  His portrayal of the two leads is very good – Dante’s voice is lower-pitched than Jude’s and edgy, with a distinct London/Estuary accent – and Mr. Wills does a really good job of conveying their deepening emotional connection.  The gruff, Scottish accent he gives Rory suits him perfectly, and although there’s not a huge secondary cast, the other main players – Rebecca, Asmodeus (who sounds appropriately villainous) – are easily identifiable by ear.  It’s an excellent performance, and I’ll be on the lookout for more narrations by Freddie Wills in the future.

Demon Inside is a fast-paced, entertaining listen; I enjoyed listening to it and I’m more than happy to recommend it.

Reborn by Seth Haddon (audiobook) – Narrated by Gary Furlong

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

When the Rezwyn Empire mysteriously cuts diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Usleth, merchant lord Oren Radek is sent to investigate. But when he discovers a coup brewing against the emperor, Radek’s life and his country’s safety is suddenly under threat.

Izra Dziove, visionary advisor to the Rezwyn Emperor, is trying to hold the turbulent Rezwyn court together while being plagued by dreams of his fated man. But when Izra’s adversaries launch an attack on the diplomatic party from Usleth, he is forced to take action to protect them and prevent a war.

Forced to trust one another, both men must put aside their differences to save the future of both their nations, while also contending with the growing attraction between them—all while trying to understand their mysterious connection and the forces guiding their shared destiny.

Can their fated love change the destiny of nations?

Rating: Narration – A; Content – B

Seth Haddon’s Reborn is set in the same fantasy universe as his début Reforged. This story takes place a couple of years after the events of that book and features one of its secondary characters in a lead role, but there’s no story overlap so it could work as a standalone – although the listener would benefit from having some knowledge of the world in which the book is set.

Some of the weaknesses I’d noted in the previous book have been addressed here – the romance is stronger, the characterisation is better (although still a bit inconsistent in places) and the story feels more cohesive as a whole. The stakes are high, the worldbuilding is good and I enjoyed the court and political intrigue, and – of course – the addition of Gary Furlong to the mix is always a point in any audiobook’s favour!

Izra Dziove is advisor, warrior, and seer at the court of the Emperor Nio Beumeut, True Commander of the Rezwyn empire. With the elderly ruler incapacitated, the empire is slowly falling apart as states start to break away and people start to renounce their gods, and there are many who are angry at Beumeut’s inaction who are willing to do the unthinkable and remove him from the throne – and from life – in order to stop the rot. Izra is jolted awake one night by a vision that indicates there’s an intruder in the palace intent on murdering the Emperor, and, on rushing to his quarters, is shocked to find the would-be assassin is a member of the priesthood – of the order favoured by the Emperor’s ambitious younger daughter, Neala.

We met Oren Radek briefly in Reforged. He’s a successful merchant lord and friend of King Zavrius of Usleth, and has been sent to the Rezwyn empire to see if he can discover why they suddenly and inexplicably cut all diplomatic and trade ties with Usleth.  The unrest that followed Zavrius’ ascension to the throne has slowly dissipated and the kingdom is prospering – but this new edict from the empire threatens Usleth’s stability, and it’s imperative the emperor’s decision is reversed.

Oren and his party – including diplomat Paqe, and Mirakel, a treasury officer who takes no shit and frequently calls Oren on his – arrive at the capital, Doskor, on the day of the execution of the traitor who tried to kill the emperor.  They witness the parade, through the streets, of the condemned man, but Oren’s attention is completely absorbed by the man walking at his side, a tall, striking and  imposing figure Paqe recognises as a strix, someone of huge importance and blessed by the gods with arcane powers. As they turn to leave, Oren realises the strix is watching them.  A cry rings out in Doskorian and quickly, they’re surrounded by soldiers, the strix approaching them like a great beast stalking its prey.  When he reaches them, he stares at Oren for a long time without saying anything; Oren pulls out Zavrius’ seal and presents it to him, and is relieved when he says “You are the one I have been expecting” – because of course, he must have received Zavrius’ letters.  Oren is less confident when Dziove asks if he can touch his face – but figuring this must be some kind of odd, local custom, he allows it, not expecting to feel such shocking intensity radiating from the other man.  When that becomes overwhelming, Oren passes out.

What Izra knows that Oren doesn’t is that Oren is his ‘fated man’, the man who has filled his dreams for the last several months and whom he has loved across the centuries. Now, I’m not usually big on the whole fated mates thing, but the author makes it work here because only one of the pair actually knows what they are (and were) to each other, so there’s room for a romance to grow. But there’s no time for any explanations before the faction behind the assassination attempt uses Oren’s arrival to discredit Izra and frame him for another attempt on the emperor’s life, and they are forced to flee for their lives.

The main plotline follows Izra and Oren as they work together to try to stop both a coup in Rezwyn and a potential war with Usleth should the coup succeed.  The action scenes are well-written and the worldbuilding here is very good – we’re introduced to several different cultures, which have different gender and societal norms and religious practices, all of which have clearly been well thought-out; the political intrigue is well done, the perilous situations our heroes find themselves in feel suitably, well, perilous (!), and the author ratchets up the tension nicely while at the same time developing the relationship between the leads in a way that mostly avoids the insta-lust so often found in fated mates romances.

One of my biggest criticisms of the previous book was that the story relied on one of the leads being something of an idiot in the early stages, and of the inconsistency in the characterisation of the other.  Fortunately, that’s not so much of an issue here; both Izra and Oren are good at what they do, and they feel more fully fleshed-out.  They’re total opposites in almost everything – Izra is big and broody, dedicated to his god and his calling, where Oren is cheeky and flirty, and has no patience with the idea of fate or destiny, but he’s no less serious about getting the job done.  They have a ton of chemistry and their romance is really quite charming and has plenty of warmth and humour. Izra’s pining for Oren from the moment they meet is cute and he gets a bit tongue-tied and flustered around him – and while Oren is attracted to Izra, he’s confused as to why Izra keeps looking at him as if they’re old friends and why he (Oren) wants to let his guard down and just… lean into him.

On the downside, there are some pacing issues here and there, a bit of info-dumping, and once again, the author fails to properly stick the landing at the end.  I can’t say much without spoilers, but the epilogue kind of retrospectively negates the threat faced in the story’s climax.  And a smaller thing that annoyed me – for some reason, Oren is referred to variously as “Oren”, “Radek” and “Oren Radek”, and I could find no reason as to which one was chosen at any one point.  I’d have expected him to think of himself as “Oren” in his PoV, but even then, he’s sometimes referred to as “Radek”, which made no sense to me, as he’s effectively talking about himself.

What can I say about Gary Furlong that I haven’t said many, many times before?  He’s such a good vocal actor and I love the way he really throws himself into everything he does; he captures every emotional high and low in this story without going over the top and into melodrama, and his interpretation of the two leads is absolutely spot on.  All the Rezwyns are easy to identify because they have a kind of Eastern European-sounding accent, and the deep, gravelly tone given to Izra  makes him sound authoritative and speaks to his physically imposing stature. The smile in Oren’s voice emphasises his good nature and his generally upbeat demeanour.  There are quite a few secondary characters in the story and they’re all appropriately voiced, from princess to cut-purse to world-weary soldier.  I particularly enjoyed Mirakel – her exchanges with Oren are a hoot because while she regularly gives him a verbal smack upside the head, you can tell she’d kill anyone else who dared do the same and Mr. Furlong captures their dynamic perfectly.  It’s a superb performance that brings the story and characters vividly to life, and I know it contributed considerably to my enjoyment of this story.

On the whole, I enjoyed Reborn more than Reforged, and in the hope that this improvement will continue, I’ll be looking out for the next book in the series, Reclaimed, and crossing my fingers that it makes it into audio.

Undertow by Rachel Ember

This title may be purchased from Amazon

In Sihr, a strange world of endless seas, Aron is a penniless orphan fighting for survival, not looking for adventure. He agrees to smuggle forbidden artifacts in exchange for a fresh start in another village, but the rendezvous goes awry. By the night’s end, a magical accident leaves Aron under the compulsion of Zoral, a steely-eyed pirate who seems to be more shadow than man.

Zoral and his crew only have eleven days to rescue their captain from the witches holding her hostage. He doesn’t trust Aron, but he has no choice but to bring him along on the mission.

As the unlikely pair face haunted ships, kraken battles, and the mysteries of ancient cities lost to the rising seas of their world, they discover a connection that runs deeper than magic.

Rating: B-

I’ve enjoyed a number of Rachel Ember’s contemporary romances – her Wild Ones series was my introduction to her work – and I’ve been wondering for a while if she had anything new planned. Then Undertow popped up for review. It’s a fantasy romance set in a world of endless seas inhabited by terrifying monsters, in which humans live in remote outposts called Towers. The worldbuilding is rich – although there are some things that needed more fleshing out – and I liked the found family element among the ensemble cast, but the romance takes a bit of a back-seat, so perhaps it would be best to think of it as a ‘with romantic elements’ kind of book. Oh – and it has pirates! Can’t forget the pirates 😉

Twenty-year-old Aron is looking forward to getting away from the village in the Leaside Tower where he’s been stuck since the death of his father two years earlier. He’s been eking out a living as a ‘fish’ – someone who swims and dives, tethering ships, retrieving lost items and so on – but hasn’t quite scraped together enough to be able to buy his passage out of there when he’s offered the opportunity to make a tidy sum by delivering an unspecified cargo to an unspecified someone who will rendezvous with him out in the waters at the edges of the world. Aron is well aware that whatever he’s getting himself into is dangerous as well as dodgy, but he decides to go for it. He’s been told not to open the bag he’s been given, but as he’s waiting for his contact, curiosity gets the better of him and he looks inside to discover two metal bands etched with runes, runes lined in black that marks them as Dark artifacts. He shoves them away quickly when he hears oars sloshing in the distance; another rowboat approaches him, the exchange is made and Aron starts to row back towards the tower. But then he sees a trio of sharks making for the other boat. Aron calls out a warning and watches as the three pirates dive into the water leaving the artifacts behind, and watches helplessly as the sharks drag their rowboat beneath the surface. With the artifacts lost, will the pirates want their payment, back, too? Aron doesn’t pause too long to consider his options; without the artifacts, his whole future is in danger and he dives into the deep, dark water to retrieve them. It’s hard to see, but Aron manages to keep out of the way of the sharks – who are more interested in the boat anyway – but he doesn’t have much time. His lungs are almost fit to burst when he finds the two items and grabs them – and is then grabbed from behind by someone who helps him get to the surface and back to his boat, which is now inhabited by the two other pirates.

The big man who helped Aron out of the water tells him they’re going to head back to their ship, and that afterwards, Aron can leave and take the small boat – and his payment – back to the tower, but before they can row very far, they see the water in the middle distance beginning to spin and churn, the swirling current spreading and pulling them back as they try to row away. As they’re drawn closer and closer to the centre of a whirlpool and water starts to cascade into the boat, they see something start to break the surface and watch incredulously as a lichen-encrusted mast, followed by a decayed sail, rigging and then the decks, sides and massive hull of a legendary ghost ship follow. And it’s knifing through the water straight towards the rowboat.

This all makes for a really exciting beginning to the story, and given it all happens in the first few chapters, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that Aron and his companions do manage to evade the ghost ship and make it aboard the pirates’ vessel. Once aboard, he discovers that his rescuer is Zoral, the captain – well, temporarily in command – of the Dreambringer, and that the artifacts are to be exchanged for the life of their actual captain, who has been kidnapped by witches, and that they have only eleven days left in which to deliver the goods.

Undertow is a well-written and imaginative fantasy-adventure, and the quest-oriented nature of the story keeps things moving fairly swiftly as Aron, Zo and the crew are confronted by – and have to fight their way out of – multiple sticky situations. Aron is an engaging protagonist; a bit naive perhaps, but brave and determined, and I enjoyed watching him gaining in confidence and coming into his own later in the book as he discovers more about himself and his origins and abilities. I liked the way he slowly adapts to pirate life and finds friendship and acceptance amongst the crew, who are, naturally, suspicious of him at first, but are slowly won over by his kindness, courage and loyalty. Zoral, on the other hand, is harder to know; he’s likeable, flirty and raffish, but he isn’t as fully fleshed-out as Aron is, which made it difficult for me to fully buy into their connection. But their attraction simmers nicely and the sex scenes are steamy; if there are to be more books in the series, there’s definitely the potential for a deeper relationship to develop between them.

The action scenes are plentiful and well-written and I enjoyed getting to know more about the world’s lore and its magical systems, the warring witch factions, sea monsters, the ghost ship and the dark artifacts, but because there’s such a lot going on the romance feels underdeveloped, which isn’t helped by the fact that Aron and Zo seem to spend a fair bit of time apart. Then, near the end, the author throws in an anticlimactic twist that pulls the rug from under Aron and Zo’s feet and almost renders their entire quest moot, which had me knocking down the final grade a bit more.

But despite those things, I did enjoy Undertow, and would recommend it to anyone looking to try a new – and different – fantasy story. I don’t know if it’s a standalone or if Ms. Ember is planning more books set in this world, but if she is, I’m sufficiently intrigued by what I’ve learned about it to want to read and discover more.

Note: This title was originally conceived as a serial and distributed via the author’s newsletter. I didn’t read the earlier version, so cannot say if any changes have been made.

Death Enraptured (Necromancer Rising #2) by Richard Amos (audiobook) – Narrated by Cooper North

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

Follow my heart and make a mess . . . That’s putting it mildly.

My life has really taken a complicated turn here in Oakthorne. I keep hoping some fairy godmother will show up and offer to turn back time for me. Not too much, just enough to ease this pain. Yeah. Right.

As much as there’s hurt, there’s also Death. He is a complication, and a beautiful one I can’t resist when I really, really should. He consumes my every waking moment, submerges me in raging desire I never want to break free from.

Damn.

On top of that messiness, there’s a mystery to solve, a bad guy to defeat, and other new developments within myself to deal with.

So much to do. So much danger to face.

Where the hell is that fairy godmother?

Rating: Narration – A; Content – C+

I was on the fence about the story in Death Eternal, book one in Richard Amos’ Necromancer Rising series, but in my review, I said that I would probably listen to the next book because the final reveal and cliff-hanger had me intrigued and wanting to find out what happened next. The four audiobooks in the series are on a monthly release schedule, so I didn’t have long to wait before I could get started on Death Enraptured, which picks up where Death Eternal left off.

Note: This is the second book in a same-couple series with overarching plotlines – there are spoilers for the previous book in this review.

At the end of Death Eternal, Marcel discovered that he and Death have been lovers across the millennia, doomed to find each other, to love each other… and under a curse that brings terrible disaster and many deaths – including Marcel’s – every time. For the last twenty years, Death has been searching for a solution that will allow them to be together without causing any cataclysmic events, and thought he had found it in the form of a magical ruby he had specially made to keep the curse at bay. The downside was that it also kept Marcel from remembering the truth – but when, during a moment of passionate abandon (!) the ruby was ripped from around Death’s neck, all Marcel’s memories of him came flooding back, which means that the curse will find them, too. But while Death is determined to find a way for them to be together without kicking off any natural disasters, Marcel is starting to think that maybe they should do the right thing this go-around and just end things. Death needs to go back to work and Marcel will find a way to deal with the heartbreak and move on. Reluctantly, Death agrees to respect Marcel’s wishes and leave him alone – although he’s not going back to work. “If we can’t be together without all this pain, I won’t perform my duties.”

Marcel very quickly learns that heartbreak is the least of his problems when he discovers that his cheating former fiancé, George, is now engaged again, this time to Robert – who is Marcel’s new work-partner. Worse, Robert and George have been assigned an apartment in the same building as Marcel’s, just two doors down. When he finds out that his boss, Emma, is the one who organised the apartment and didn’t bother telling him, Marcel is angry and upset; she knew he would likely be unhappy about the arrangement but simply doesn’t care about his feelings. All she’s interested in is tracking down Nicholas West, the former High Necromancer of Oakthorne, who was revealed to be a lich – a supposedly long-extinct, undead creature that sustains itself by absorbing the spirits of the dead – who is building an army of rogue necromancers ready to do his bidding for some as yet unknown and nefarious purpose.

Marcel working to track down the lich while Death is trying to find another way for them to be together means they spend a chunk of the book apart, although of course, despite Marcel’s decision they should break up, they can’t stay away from each other for very long. Death goes back to the powerful mage who created the ruby for him, and she agrees to create a spell that will enable him and Marcel to slip into another dimension for short periods of time and prevent them from triggering the curse. Although, of course, such a spell carries an unwelcome price.

I have to give the author credit for his ability to ramp up the tension into an exciting climax and to create cliff-hangers that leave you wanting to know what’s next – but the trouble is that there isn’t too much happening between the cliff-hanger at the end of the first book and the one at the end of this one to make the story really gripping. Death’s search for a way to break or circumvent the curse (which throws up an interesting discovery) and Marcel’s annoyance over George aren’t really enough to keep things moving, and although there are some interesting plot points – the introduction of the mysterious onyx key, which it seems Nick is hunting for, Emma’s machinations, and Marcel’s sudden acquisition of several new powers – they only really come into play late on and the story mostly treads water until the last 20% or so of the book. If there was more chemistry between Marcel and Death and if there’d been some actual relationship development, it would be easier to get invested in their romance, and Death’s determination to find a way for them to ensure that their forbidden love doesn’t bring about any more death and destruction would be way more compelling than it actually is. But clearly, the ‘romance’ is meant to be of the Fated Mates variety, and it’s not a trope I enjoy. I want to listen to two people falling in love, not just be told they fell in love eons ago! The author could, in the previous book, have shown Marcel falling in love with Death again (seeing as he didn’t remember him), but he didn’t, instead relying on what felt like ridiculous levels of insta-lust to try to convince me that they are Meant To Be. (He failed.)

Death is still very underdeveloped as a character, and honestly, comes across as a spoilt brat with his whole ‘not gonna work if I can’t have what I want’ thing. I mean he’s literally condemned millions of spirits to walk the earth rather than find peace just because he wants to be able to shag his boyfriend without the world ending? Sometimes, the needs of the many really DO outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one. (#wisdomofspock) And while I continue to like Marcel and enjoy his dynamic with his family, I really wish he’d grow a backbone. He just meekly accepts the (really suspicious) ban on seeing or talking to Jenn (his former partner), he lets himself be guilted into talking to George when he really doesn’t want to, and he accepts whatever crap Emma throws his way.

Cooper North delivers another excellent performance here, once again employing an impeccable English accent for both narrative and character dialogue. The voices he’s given to the recurring secondary characters are consistent with their portrayals in the previous book (Marcel’s family, Emma, Nick etc.) and he differentiates clearly and expertly between them all. Given that he’s voicing the undead, witches, ghosts and the like, Mr. North gets to play around with a variety of ‘spooky’, from gravelly, angry poltergeists to breathy spirits, crafty witches and lots in between. When it comes to the humans, I liked the contrast between Marcel and Robert – Robert’s voice is deeper and there’s an element of brashness in the delivery – the female voices are good, and the French accent he gives Marcel’s mother is spot on. Oh, and speaking of accents, he does a much better job with the West Country one this time around. (Possibly because there are fewer speaking parts that requrie it, but whatever the reason, it’s an improvement!)

I’m ending this review still on the fence about this series. The finale is exciting, the cliff-hanger definitely has me intrigued and the narration is strong enough to have me considering listening to the next book, but if I do, I’ll need to adjust my expectations for the romance, which doesn’t seem as though it’s going to develop any further. I’m also hoping that the plot will pick up in Death Unbound, seeing as there’s not a great deal going on with that here. I’m clearly in a minority though – reviews on Amazon and Goodreads for Death Eternal and Death Enraptured are overwhelmingly positive (4.05 and 4.31 on GR), so while I can’t give Death Enraptured a total thumbs up, if the Fated Mates trope is one you’re into, then you may well enjoy the series a bit more than I have so far.

This review originally appeared at AudioGals.

Deader than Dead (Paranormal Problems: Necromancers #1) by H.L. Day

This title may be purchased from Amazon

Even death can’t stop fate.

Professional thief, Bellamy, might have bitten off more than he can chew this time. Jobs have gone wrong before, but never this wrong. His moral code might be grayer than most, but it exists, and he finds himself facing an impossible choice that could cost him everything.

Necromancer, John Averill’s day just got ten times worse. One more job, his boss says. Well, that job sucks, because not only does he find himself with a gun pointed at his head, but the man he’s been hired to raise temporarily from the dead is none other than his fated mate… the man he’s been searching for all his life.

Their love story is over before it ever began. Or is it? Fate still has a few tricks up its sleeve, and the impossible might just become possible.

Rating: B

The first book in H.L. Day’s new series of paranormal romances, Paranormal Problems: Necromancers, Deader Than Dead is a reworked/extended version of a story that originally appeared in a charity Fated Mates anthology in 2023. (The anthology is no longer available so I imagine the authors involved will eventually be republishing their stories, as well.) I freely admit that fated mates is one of the few tropes around that doesn’t really work for me – I like to see two characters falling for each other rather than suddenly finding their One True Love, but H.L. Day is a favourite author, so I decided to see if she could convince me to embrace the trope!

Professional thief Bellamy Farrell is hired to steal a piece of what his client refers to as “sentimental junk” from a private residence in Belgravia. When he arrives at the house, everything goes to plan and he soon enters the basement to which he’s been directed. Inside is the old wooden trunk he’s been told to retrieve; he’s supposed to just take it and leave but something compels him to look inside, and he opens the lid to discover a single, cloth-wrapped object within. He unwraps it to find an unadorned wooden mask (I was put in mind of the one in The Mask), and the sense of unease that had begun to creep over him earlier becomes stronger – the job has been almost too easy, and why is someone prepared to pay him so much money to retrieve something so ordinary? He decides to try to find out more and takes the mask to Dice, a local fence, a man whose knowledge of artifacts and antiques is unrivalled. Dice recoils from the mask in horror, telling Bellamy that it’s a powerful occult artifact – and then to fuck off and never come back. With cold clarity, Bellamy realises he’s become mixed up in something really bad – but while he’s a thief, that doesn’t mean he’s entirely without a moral compass. He’s not prepared to simply hand over a very dangerous object to someone who is clearly up to no good.

Necromancer John Averill works for the Paranormal Problems Bureau, his assignments consisting mostly of bringing back the recently dead for a short time (which is all that is possible) so that grieving friends or relatives can have one last chance to say things they never got a chance to say while the person was alive. His most recent job, however, has him questioning his choice of profession when the young woman who has requested the resurrection of her much older dead husband starts berating the man and demanding to know where he’s hidden all the money. Ugh.

John is on his way home when his boss calls with another assignment, telling him he’s to get in, do the job and get out – no questions, no chit-chat, no poking his nose in to things that don’t concern him. John immediately gets the feeling that something isn’t right – but before he can say anything, his boss ends the call.

His feelings of foreboding intensify as he approaches the old, run-down tower-block he’s been directed to and sees three very large men – obviously hired muscle – standing outside, waiting for him. They lead him up several floors and into a flat that has seen better days – and that sense of dread washes over him again. Somehow he just knows that things will never be the same if the goes into the bedroom – and he’s right. Lying on the bare mattress is the body of a man John has never met – but who he’s been searching for his whole life. His other half. His fated mate.

And he’s been dead for too long for John to be able to bring him back.

That’s got to be one of the most unusual ways to begin a romance I’ve ever read. (Is there an opposite of a meet-cute? Because if there is, then this is it!) The fact that this is a romance will clue you in to the fact that Bellamy does return to the land of the living, but John’s heartbreak and the grief he feels at meeting the love of his life too late really pack an emotional punch. I won’t say anything else about the plot other than that there’s plenty of action, humour and danger along the way as John and Bellamy have to work together to outwit the bad guys and prevent the mask from falling into the wrong hands.

I enjoyed Deader Than Dead. I liked the characters, the story and the set-up for the other books in the series, but I’m still not swayed on the fated mates thing. Everything happens so fast – the attraction, the sex, the combining of lives, all within less than forty-eight hours (it’s insta-love on speed!) – although I will give the author props for making the point that while John and Bellamy know they love each other, they still have to get to know one another. Insta aside, I did like them as a couple and feel they’d have been good together even without the ‘fated to be’ thing.

The speed of the central relationship is my only real issue with the book, though. All in all, Deader Than Dead is a strong series opener with likeable leads, an intriguing premise and interesting secondary characters. I’m looking forward to reading more stories set in this world and will definitely be picking up book two, Dropping Like Flies, which is currently slated for release in late September 2024.

This review originally appeared at All About Romance.

Death Eternal (Necromancer Rising #1) by Richard Amos (audiobook) – Narrated by Cooper North

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

Death is supposed to be the end. Not in my world.

The dead never move on, not since Death walked off the job and disappeared. As a necromancer, it’s my job to police the spirits while they remain stuck and, well, problematic a lot of the time. Death really needs to take his head out of his backside and get back to work, wherever he might be.

After a horrible incident in the tunnels of the London Underground, my life takes a sharp turn. It’s all my fault and I’m sent off to a small town, a move to keep me out of sight and mind for the time being. Shamed, reputation dragged through the dirt. I’m not getting that promotion anytime soon.

On my first day in the town, I get caught up in a strange murder case, and Death saves my life. Yes, the Death. The delectable, mysterious Death.

Goodness, he is hotness personified. But what happened to make him walk away from his responsibilities? And why is he so deliciously tempting, my desire a raging inferno every time he looks at me with those incredible eyes? I shouldn’t be thinking of an immortal being like this, but with every passing hour I can’t stop myself from falling deeper into infatuation.

I want him.

Resistance is . . . impossible.

Rating: Narration – A; Content – C+

Death Eternal is the first (of four) book in Richard Amos’ Necromancer Rising series featuring Marcel August, a half-French, half-English twenty-something necromancer based in London. That, right there, is one of the reasons I picked it up – it’s unusual to find this type of story set in England – and I liked the idea of Death himself as a love interest. Plus – Cooper North.  Nuff Sed.

The starting point for this story is that, twenty years earlier and for some unknown reason, Death “walked off the job and disappeared”, leaving necromancers like Marcel to take up the slack. Without Death around, the spirits of the dead are unable to move on and it’s the job of the necromancers to both police the ghosts and make sure they don’t get up to any mischief that can damage the world of the living, and to guide them to sanctuary whenever they can. When the story begins, Marcel and his long-time partner Jenn have been sent to Baker Street tube station to deal with the spirit of a woman who was killed there a week earlier, and who is now, as Marcel puts it “using her kinetic ghostly energy to fuck shit up.” But what should have been a fairly straightforward job goes rapidly south leaving Jenn seriously injured and Marcel sent away from London, to the small West-Country village of Oakthorne.

Marcel has just driven into the village when a ghost – who later introduces herself as Louise – jumps out in front of his car. She tells Marcel she’s found the body of a man called Harry in a nearby cave, but that his ghost is missing. Suspicious, Marcel decides to call his new boss to alert him to potential trouble, but before he can do so, a zombie staggers into view, followed by a rogue necromancer who uses both zombie and ghost to overpower Marcel and take him down into one of the caves where she plans to use his blood to power a spell. The last thing Marcel remembers is hearing a deep male voice, the sound of a body hitting the ground and the scent of sandalwood as he’s lifted into the air.

Marcel wakes up to find himself in a hospital bed with his rescuer – who introduces himself as Death – sitting by by his bedside. Marcel is confused – how can this gorgeous man possibly be Death? What was he doing at the caves? Why did he just abandon his responsibilities? Death deflects the questions and turns to leave, instructing Marcel not to say anything about him and telling him they won’t see each other again.

So the last thing Marcel expects the next evening is for Death to show up at his new flat saying he’s come to check on him. Marcel doesn’t really buy it, but he doesn’t really care; the guy is hotness personified and when Death says he wants to get to know him better because Marcel intrigues him… well, Marcel is very much on board with that idea.

But here’s where the story starts to go off the rails a bit. Death offers to help Marcel find out what happened to Harry’s ghost and find his killer, although he once again insists on complete secrecy, meaning that Marcel has to lie to his new boss – which is a bit of a shitty position to put him in. And for an ancient, immortal being, Death does some pretty dumb stuff.

So I finished the listen with mixed feelings. Most of the story is told from Marcel’s perspective, but there are a few chapters from Death’s PoV, and in them it’s clear that he’s more than merely “intrigued” by Marcel and that there’s more going on than we’re privy to. But his first chapter – seven – has him mooning over Marcel’s sapphire blue eyes and over how he longs for him, and it feels so much like overblown, flowery insta-lust that it made me roll my eyes rather than swoon. The narration is, of course, terrific, and I enjoyed the story and the worldbuilding – the mystery plot is interesting and the final twist is a real kicker. But Death, as a character, is seriously underdeveloped and while Marcel is more likeable – and I appreciated that he has a normal, loving family, because it made a nice change from family dysfunction and/or angst – he’s still a little bland. I did like that he knits as a hobby, though. The biggest problem, however, is the lacklustre romance; lots of mental lusting and a few sex scenes don’t make up for the lack of chemistry and emotional connection between Marcel and Death. The reveal at the end does explain some of the character choices (although it makes Death seem like a hormonally challenged teen rather than an ancient being), but it’s too little too late to make the romance convincing, and I wish the author had found some way to lead up to it that would have made it feel less like insta-lust.

With huge apologies to the very talented Cooper North, I have an admission to make. Although I knew this was a UK-set book from a UK-based author, I must have forgotten those things between requesting it for review and actually listening to it, because when the opening “Tantor Audio, a division of Recorded Books…” announcement was spoken in an impeccable English accent, I actually thought that maybe I was listening to the wrong book! It’s not the first time I’ve heard Mr. North using an English accent, but I’m so used to his “normal” American one that it threw me for a few seconds!

Maybe that’s the best/worst backhanded compliment I can pay him? 😛

Anyway. Cooper North delivers a strong, well-paced and expressive performance featuring a variety of different character voices and clear differentiation between them all. He narrates the entire book – narrative and dialogue – in the same impeccable English accent and sustains it extremely well. I really liked his portrayal of Marcel – he’s upbeat and charming and a bit whimsical; the deeper pitch he adopts for Death is a good contrast, and he expertly captures Death’s world-weariness and the playfulness that comes out when he’s around Marcel. The one real criticism I can make is that the author has set the bulk of the story in a small town near Bristol and makes several references to “West Country” accents throughout the story – and while Mr. North has a pretty good stab at the accent, it doesn’t always hit the mark and sounds – to my British ears – rather strange.

In the end, I’m on the fence about Death Eternal. Apart from that one issue, the narration is great, and as I knew in advance that this is a same-couple series with an ongoing story arc, I was prepared for there to be a fair bit of set up in this book. I just wish some of that set up had been dedicated to the romance.

BUT – now I know what I know, I’m thinking I will probably listen to the next book, to find out what happens next, and to see if, now that Marcel knows the truth, there might be some actual relationship development happening. I can’t offer an unreserved recommendation for Death Eternal, but the reveal and cliff-hanger at the end have intrigued me enough to want to see where the story goes.

This review originally appeared at AudioGals.

Bonds of Blood (Wild Hearts #5) by Nazri Noor (audiobook) – Narrated by Greg Boudreaux

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

Family matters.

With the help of his found family and his beloved Prince Sylvain, Lochlann Wilde has finally conquered the four oriels of the Wispwood. Now that the elemental gemstones are united in his amulet, Locke can earn Aphrodite’s favor.

Whatever that may be. But there’s plenty to do in the meantime, anyway. Catching up with his mom, for example, or exploring his true identity as a half-undine human. Sylvain’s hotness and histrionics keep him very busy, too.

But something strange is afoot at the academy. The arrival of a familiar face, a mythical mage, a living legend… except that no one even knew he was still alive.

Grand Summoner Baylor Wilde has returned to the Wispwood.

Rating: Narration – A; Content – B

The finale to Nazri Noor’s Wild Hearts series, Bonds of Blood provides some long-awaited answers to the questions posed throughout the series and an HEA for Locke and his fae prince – but not before our heroes finally come face to face with the perpetrator of the Withering and the plot to destroy the Wispwood and everyone in it.  At the end of Sons of Sorrow, Locke learned that the mother he’d believed dead was not only alive, but that she was an undine, an elemental being associated with water – which explains his newly-discovered ability to breathe underwater. As he and his mother become reacquainted, news reaches the Wispwood about his other parent – Grand Summoner Baylor Wilde has returned and wants to reunite with his family. But all is not as it seems, and, on top of shocking revelations, comes a terrible betrayal, one that could cost Locke everything he’s ever wanted, while Sylvain has to trust that there are some bonds even stronger than the bonds of blood.

Bonds of Blood is the shortest book in the series (the audio comes in at just over four hours) and the author doesn’t waste any time getting into the thick of the action. The pieces quickly fall into place, and with the stakes higher than ever, Locke, Sylvain and their friends are caught up in a battle for survival against their deadliest and most devious enemy yet.

I enjoyed the story and the way Locke’s friends and everyone at the Wispwood rallied round to do whatever they had to to fight off the danger, and Locke and Sylvain’s HEA is well-deserved. I can’t deny, though, that this feels more like an extended epilogue than a complete novel; perhaps these events should have been incorporated into a longer book four rather than published separately. I was pleased with the uneasy truce reached by Locke and Evander Skink, but there’s no resolution to the mini-bombshell dropped in Sons of Sorrow over the question of Sylvain’s parentage.

It’s always a pleasure to listen to Greg Boudreaux, and he once again delivers an excellent performance comprising a wide variety of characterisations and perfectly realised emotions. I love the way he conveys Sylvain’s deadpan humour and Locke’s long-suffering but affectionate snark; his raspy interpretation of Headmaster Shivers is really creepy, and the smarmy arrogance that oozes from Baylor Wilde is spot on. The large secondary cast is superbly rendered, from goddesses to unicorns to tiny fire demons and pixies, and the action scenes are tense and exciting. Mr. Boudreaux’s work on this series has been superb throughout and I really hope he gets the opportunity to work with the author again someday.

So it’s goodbye to Locke, Sylvain and everyone in the Wispwood, and a big thank you to Nazri Noor for sharing them and their stories with us. Bonds of Blood is a satisfying conclusion to the Wild Hearts series and I’m eagerly looking forward to Iron Hearts, due to follow later this year.

Prince of the Sorrows (Rowan Blood #1) by Kellen Graves (audiobook) – Narrated by Christian Leatherman

This title may be downloaded from Audible via Amazon

Without an academic endorsement to make him valuable to the high fey, Saffron will be sent back through the veil to the human world. The place he was traded from as a changeling-baby, and a place he is terrified of. And while getting an endorsement shouldn’t be impossible, it’s hindered by the fact his literacy is self-taught, using books stolen off of Morrígan Academy’s campus of high fey students.

When mistaken identity leads to Saffron learning the true name of brooding, self-centered, high fey Prince Cylvan, what begins as a risk of losing his life (or his tongue) becomes an opportunity to earn the future he wants. In exchange for an endorsement, he and Cylvan form a geis where Saffron agrees to find a spell to strip power from Cylvan’s true name. While Prince Cylvan doesn’t know Saffron can barely read, Saffron is determined to meet his end of the deal in order to remain in Alfidel—or maybe just to remain by Cylvan’s side, as affections grow stronger every night they spend alone in the library together.

But as other human servants soon fall victim to a beast known only as “the wolf”, Saffron realizes he has embroiled himself in a manipulative reach for power like he never anticipated—and even Prince Cylvan cannot be trusted. Between the wolf, uncovering forbidden magic, and his growing feelings for the prince, Saffron will have to decide which is most important to him—his endorsement, the lives of his friends, or the prince’s life and wellbeing.

Rating: Narration – A; Content – B

Note: This book ends with a cliffhanger

Prince of the Sorrows is the first book in the fantasy romance Rowan Blood series, which is set in and around the campus of Morrígan Academy in the fey realm of Alfidel. The worldbuilding and descriptions of the magic systems are intriguing, the writing is atmospheric and I liked the opposites-attract romance between a human changeling and a darkly handsome and broody fey prince. Christian Leatherman’s narration is excellent, and although I do have some reservations about the story and plot, I enjoyed the book enough to have already purchased the next in the series.

Saffron is a human who was taken from his family when he was a baby in exchange for years of good luck bestowed upon his parents. Like all the other changelings taken into the fey realm, Saffron has lived his life as a servant, a “beantighe” (pronounced “bee-AN-tee”) who is always veiled when in the presence of their masters, “covering their faces in order to show deference to fey patrons and employers”. The time is approaching when Saffron will be returned to the human world, but even though life as a servant has not been easy, he has no wish to leave Alfidel. He knows nothing about the human world and doesn’t even speak the language – the thought of going back through the veil terrifies him. He has just one chance to remain in Alfidel – he must obtain an endorsement from one of the high fey. But getting one of those is next to impossible.

Or so it seems, until Prince Cylvan arrives at the academy as a student. Just a few days earlier, when out sketching in the woods outside the Beantighe village, Saffron had encountered a dark and beautiful fey who had asked for his help to perform an enchantment. He gave Saffron his true name and instructed him to use both it and a compulsion spell – and only now does Saffron realise exactly how much trouble he’s in. Names are power and he knows the true name of a prince of the high fey – who, from his reaction when they meet again, is utterly furious and looking for revenge.

So when Saffron sees his chance to make a bargain with the prince, he grabs it. If Cylvan will give him the academic endorsement he needs in order to stay in Alfidel, he’ll help Cylvan to find the spell he’s been searching for – a spell that will strip his real name of its power. Of course, Saffron doesn’t tell Cylvan that this could take quite a while; beantighes aren’t taught to read or write, and the fact that Saffron can read, at least a little, is purely down to his ‘borrowing’ books from students and painstakingly teaching himself to read them in secret. But he’s prepared to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes – especially as it means he’ll finally be able to enter the vast and beautiful Grand Library, after years of frustrated peering in from the outside.

It has to be said that Cylvan is a total shit towards Saffron at first. He’s arrogant and self-centred and dismissive – although I suppose realising he’s given Saffron so much power over him is prompting him to act out of fear that Saffron will use that power. He does eventually realise that Saffron isn’t a threat and starts to treat him better, and as they spend time alone together in the library night after night, romance begins to bloom. I admit that Cylvan’s change of heart happens a little fast; he goes from wanting to cut out Saffron’s tongue (!) to prevent him telling anyone his name to being caring and protective almost overnight, although I did enjoy the (mostly) slow-burn romance between the pair. Saffron is one of the most cinnamony rolls to have ever cinnamoned, while Cylvan is damaged and broody and clearly much in need of the brightness Saffron brings into his life. They have much to overcome, not least of which is Cylvan’s almost-fiancé, Lord Taran, who is most definitely up to no good and who is trying to pressure Cylvan into proposing and announcing a betrothal. They’re not in love – far from it – but Taran wants the increased power and status being the “Harmonious Partner” of a prince will bring, and will do anything to get what he wants.

While all this is happening, there’s a deadly wolf roaming the woods outside Beantighe Village. It’s already killed three of Saffron’s friends and everyone in the village is, naturally, on edge, but Elluin, the headmistress of the academy, refuses to take the villagers’ concerns seriously. This leaves Saffron not only blaming himself for his friends’ deaths but trying to solve the mystery himself.

I enjoyed the story overall and am ready to jump into book two, but I do have a few reservations. Firstly, the initial meeting between Saffron and Cylvan, where Cylvan blithely gives Saffron his real name feels forced. Cylvan’s later explanation that he’s looking for a spell that will strip his name of its power for reasons that become apparent later does work, but it doesn’t make sense he’d give something so important to a total stranger. And while the author does a fabulous job of helping the listener to build a mental picture of the locations in the story – the ancient academy, the quiet beauty of the library at night, the woods, the Beantighe village – they sometimes get a bit carried away with the descriptive prose and it can turn a bit flowery. And speaking of flowery prose… the book’s single sex scene falls victim to it, too, and it feels awkward and made me think the author was uncomfortable writing it. I would honestly have been much happier had it a) been shorter and b) used fewer euphemisms. Finally, poor Saffron goes through a lot in this story – the students and staff of the academy treat him like dirt, he’s beaten up, tortured, thrown into a lake and more – so I had to wonder why he was so desperate to stay in Alfidel when he clearly has such a bad time of it there!

I’ve only listened to Christian Leatherman once before, but I clearly need to look for more of his narrations, because his performance here is excellent – well-paced and expertly differentiated with a good range of character voices, expression and accents. His portrayal of Saffron is terrific and perfectly captures his good-natured optimism and intrinsic sweetness, while the smooth, darker tones and slight drawl he employs for Cylvan work really well to depict the arrogant, snarky fey prince. I liked the way Mr. Leatherman infuses a touch of softness into Cylvan’s dialogue when he begins to fall for Saffron and how he gradually reveals the vulnerability Cylvan works so hard to hide; plus he’s really good at conveying the emotional bond that develops between the two of them. There’s a fairly large cast of secondary characters – humans, fey, sprites, pixies and other magical creatures – and all are appropriately and distinctly voiced.

Prince of the Sorrows is one of those books that, even though it’s flawed, just worked for me. The sometimes flowery prose and the inconsistencies in the storytelling and plot didn’t prevent my becoming invested in the story and romance – and I definitely attribute a lot of that investment to Christian Leatherman’s fabulous performance. I’ve read somewhere that the author plans eight books for the series; as things stand, there are three currently available (two of them in audio so far) so I’ll be keeping an eye out for further information. If you’re looking for a new fantasy romance series to try. Prince of the Sorrows is definitely worth checking out.

This review originally appeared at AudioGals.