2.5 stars.
It was okay, but i felt like the characters were kind of boring and then the chemistry suffered. Espesially since it started right on, it had no build up.

The author does a good job of creating a story that is a balanced mixture of fantasy and historical fiction (you know, the castles and stuff). It took me longer than expected to finish the book because the book blurb does not really help do the story justice and the first time I picked it up with that synopsis in mind, I had to put the book down after the first time the Prince reveals his secret to Amory. Time passed, and I picked the book up again, having forgotten what it was about. Started the book from the beginning and it was a much better experience. I finished the book.

What is the issue with the blurb? That implies that the legend of the big cats plays a much larger role in the book. Sadly, they do not. And that was just the beginning of the inconsistencies. On a side note, the author explains that this was a slight revision/refresh of the first publication and that there were some improvements. I perish to think what the original was like.

Without revealing too much, the attraction between the Prince, Philip, and the young Amory is believable, even if the scenario that threw them together was a little slapped together. If you can overlook the fact that there are several plot holes, and devices that go nowhere, then it is a decent read. I gave it three stars for effort.

I finished this book in a week, i must admited this one was better than what i first tought, the story is good, but i would have liked better if it was i bit longer so the character could have a better plot, because something were so random and others happens to fast. The autor did not give a chance to understend what was going on when she give us other thing.

The story was a cliché firts sight love, in my opinion the story was rushed like she wanted to finish soon.

In my blog i would post a more elaborate review. (But in spanish)

Review excerpted from my blog post over at Pan/Cis LGBT2SQ+ Romance Reviews (https://pancis.wordpress.com/2020/06/12/the-princes-consort-by-antonia-aquilante/)

Overall Rating: 3.0 stars

Library recommendation: Recommended for public library LGBT2SQ+ romance collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.

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Number of titles I have read by this author: 1

Love story speed: Intense insta-attraction, followed by whirlwind instalove

Relationship dynamics: The Glassmaker’s Son (H1) / The Shifter Prince (H2)

Sexual content: A fair amount, both “on-screen” and “off-screen”. Fair warning that the book begins with sexual content right off the hop (not between H1 and H2)

Gender Identity: Intersex with male presentation (H1) / Cis (H2)

Sexual Identity: Gay (H1) / Gay (H2)

Triggers: Parental estrangement; homophobia; intolerance

Acceptance Rating: 2.5 stars

Acceptance Rating Explanation: Homosexuality is not illegal. However, there is a lot of parental/family disgust and intolerance, as well as seeking approval on the part of the main characters.

Grammar/Editing: There were a few typos and word choice issues in my ARC.

Review: I will admit to having to set this review aside for a while to mull over this review and decide on my final overall rating. I found the pacing of this book to be very uneven – it begins fairly slow with minute detail of individual days, but then large chunks of time are skipped within the story. The story is set in a fantasy realm, and the world building is good enough to follow the story, but I felt that the magical construct of the world was not explained well enough to fully understand how all aspects of the story were possible.

The main characters of this story are Amory and Philip. There is no tension between them in their relationship – everything is wonderful from beginning to end. Really, all of the conflict that exists in the novel is externally driven. In fact, it felt as if many of the supporting characters simply existed to express concern over homosexual relationships and their inability to produce children. It seemed to me that the tone of the story is very New Adult, and the relationship is intense in what seems like a very immature way, especially with the emphasis on basically always being plastered to one another’s sides, which will not be something all readers will enjoy.

Overall, while the story was ok, and the sequel sounds interesting enough, I’m rating this a 3.0 because I’m just not sure that I want to read more of this particular writing style.



Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While the writing was generally good, I found the story to lack much real interest. It's a coast from the love-at-first-sight. If you changed a few words you could put the entire story in almost any context because the characters spend so much time thinking about the two of themselves and their relationship that the rest of the world is just a loosely painted backdrop. The relationship honestly isn't that interesting, so having so much focus on it quickly becomes monotonous. There's some attempts at "intrigue" but it barely manages to be a plot point, let alone a driving force.

This was definitely a case of 'it's not you, it's me'. Or rather, 'it's not you, it's me who isn't into insta-love MPREG'. Had I known that those two things would be a highlight I probably wouldn't have requested. For the most part, I didn't actually mind the insta-love. It was tolerable and at most points cute.

This is 100% on me for not reading the tags. Had the MPREG not have occured, I think that cat-shifting would have thrown me. It seemed like too much at once. I can totally see this being someones ideal book though. The writing was enough to draw me in and have me finishing the book despite my bias against those tropes. I would read more from this author in the future!

I think it’s quite important to note the tags on this particular book. Otherwise I’d say it would almost come out of left field when certain things just suddenly seem to be brought up and happen. Notably- mpreg and cat shifting. As a long time fanfiction reader, these sorts of things aren’t unfamiliar to me. I can roll with it, but can recognize it just will not be in other people’s interest.

That being said, this book is your standard love at first sight kind. We are talking three days into cohabitation they are feeling very possessive already. Sometimes I’m happy for this kind of thing; sometimes you want the mushy stuff right away but in the case of this book, rather unfortunately, it just felt meh.

It’s unfortunate this just didn’t mesh well for me. The writing feels clunky. From my understanding this was the authors first book. I can forgive it- always room to grow especially with writing, but this made the book a bit of a slog for me; it took me longer to read than it should’ve because I had to stop and set it aside in frustration.

My biggest nagging question through the whole thing was- if Philip was current ruler of the land why in the world is he only a prince and not a king? Maybe that’ll get an answer in the subsequent books in the series but I don’t think I’ll be continuing this one sadly.

I've actually read this book before and absolutely loved it, this is a revamped version and I really enjoyed the changes made to the characters and storyline. Well-written an peopled with very engaging characters, I am so looking forward to reading more in the wonderful world.

*I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley*

It was a fun and entertaining fantasy with a sweet romance.
I liked the cast of characters, the world building and the plot that flows.
I want to read the other books in this series.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A sweet and charming story with a lovely cast and interactions, and a promising set up for the next in the series.

A story with a very nice narration. With charismatic and very endearing characters. It's a book with zero drama, perfect for those moments where you want something peaceful.

Although it's not a very complex reading, it's still entertaining and leaves you with a smile. The definition of happy endings and the representation of those stories that make you feel good.