Well read and entertaining story

This review contains mild spoilers.

Was pretty much everything a little expected and trope-y? Oh, absolutely. Did I eat it up with a spoon and wish it was twice as long so I could enjoy more of it? Of course I did.

The concept of the Assassins guild isn’t new, nor is the the idea of controlling the members. But the blood magic, the “father and children” element, granting boons of freedom just to send your next child assassin to clean up loose ends, and the casual cruelty of calling them Hounds in a Kennel … I was totally bought in.

I also expected Julian to be a jerk with the way he was initially described, and I adored the twist to make him his brother’s champion. His self doubt about inheriting his father’s magic and not wanting to turn into him felt a little weak, but overall Julian delighted me.

Whisper was such a great character - frank about his own shortcomings, distracted by giant cats, trying to protect people even when he shouldn’t have any empathy left. His dynamic with Julian was very hot, and easy to fall in love with.

I think my favorite thing about this book was the world building. The casual mentions of creatures like dragons, wyrms and fell cats place the story into a fantasy setting without trying too hard with lengthy, ungainly backstory and exposition. The rivalries between the three countries and political machinations were complex while still being laid out in an easy-to-follow manner. I loved the two queens, and that they got children by way of a biological father without giving him a right to the offspring; that dynamic was explained well and also grounded the character behaviors without needing to use dozens of pages to ascribe importance or motivations.

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The narration ruined it for me

The narration ruined it for me. The storyline was somewhat good, but Julian voice was so annoying.

There is a BUT!!!

Great book with a great story, and yes I would recommend this book. BUT WHY ruin a perfectly good book by use John Solo? UGGG I would rather listen to nails on a chalkboard than a book read by John solo. If it wasn’t for having Kirt Graves as a Narrator I wouldn’t have bought the book.

very enjoyable

I liked the dual narrative. the two characters were amazing and I loved learning about them both. I loved whisper and how he fought for his life and what he wanted! i can't wait to read and listen to the next one

Fun fantasy

I just finished the Paladin series and was excited to start this new series. It didn’t disappoint! Great story and characters. Can’t wait for the next one.

Great

Very enjoyable listen. Loved the storyline. The narrators were great. The book is great.