First of all, I know some reviewers have probably already mentioned it. but there is no chapter 14 and instead there are two chapter 15’s. How and why this occurred, I don’t know, but the editor of this book clearly either A. didn’t bother to check that their work was complete and correct or B. listened to it to make sure it was okay but wasn’t interested enough by that point to notice the problem. It confused the heck out of me, as I’m sure it has everyone else, but thankfully it doesn’t seem like we missed anything too too crucial. Basically, we miss Cyn do a no-no in Fae culture by accident, making everyone want to take her to bed with them. Enough said, I think, and at least we can glean that from the conversations between her and Beastboy (as I like to call him). They argue a LOT which was fine because it was interesting and entertaining since Beastboy seems to have so much more information than he ever wants to share but he slowly gives it to Cyn, piecemeal. Probably wise after the absolutely absurd amount of bad luck this woman has gone through both mentally and physically; either way, it might make some feel bored if they weren’t into it and weren’t paying close attention. I liked that the author used the “fae can’t lie” rule; it kept me paying close attention to Beastboy’s words and the way he phrased things, giving us just a touch of foreshadowing at some points. The plot was pure fantasy in every sense of the word with the insane things that just keep happening and the seemingly nonstop action that Beastboy and Cyn are involved with, but it keeps things exciting for sure. Sometimes, there seem to be so many enemies that I started to wonder which one was committing which horrible act. It got a little hard to keep every piece of information straight in my head with such a long book and the facts continually piling up and things changing left and right, but I didn’t feel as if it was so much information that it took away from the book in any way, I wasn’t overwhelmed to that extent, not even close. It’s a lot to know about these cultures, but it’s important and that’s the great thing about a book/audiobook, you can replay or reread a spot if you didn’t quite digest all that you heard or read.
Here is my ONE BIG GRIPE: WHY WHY WHYYYYYYYYYYYY isn’t Stephen Dexter narrating Beastboy in this book?! My rational mind wants to tell me that he just wasn’t available or something, but honestly, it doesn’t matter as long as there IS a reason for it. I’ve seen authors switch up narrators mid-series before, and usually it’s for a good reason, but I’ve also seen them do it for seemingly no other reason than deciding they like another person for the job, regardless of what the fans think (although I’m not inclined to believe that’s what happened here). On one hand, it’s a TRUE CRIME against all of womanhood to lose out on Dexter as Beastboy, because the deep bass of his voice and gravelly, growly tone did it for me in ways I won’t get into on a public review. Every time a chapter with Dexter narrating would come on, his voice would boom with such intimidating, alpha-like force that it would make me jump a little even when the volume wasn’t very loud. He just had that “it” factor. Regardless, I want to say that Craig Hart did an excellent job as well. The reason I’m inclined to believe there’s a reason for this change is that it seems the author and editors and producers of the book purposefully replaced Dexter’s voice with someone that sounded at least somewhat similar in pitch. Hart doesn’t quite have the same “presence” with his voice, it’s not quite as commanding and seductive, but it’s pretty dang close. I can tell that he went to great lengths to give Beastboy’s voice justice, and I don’t want to spit all over his work by waxing poetic for another narrator but I hope the creators of this novel can understand the attachment of the fans to a voice actor once they’ve spent hours listening to the same man’s voice only to be jarred when they realize there’s a new person in the next book. That being said, even though I was a little pissy about that revelation early on and I was ready to get on here and spend 45 minutes ranting for my review, I instead gave Hart a shot and found that I truly enjoy the cadence and tone of his voice. It’s quite pleasant and he manages to still push through the air of masculinity that Beastboy’s character exudes, and I found myself wishing (as I did in the first book) that our beautiful male fae had more written in the name of his character so I could hear more of the narrator’s voice. I was definitely pulled in and totally enthralled in this wonderful world of magic, mystery, and murder, and I loved this little escape the author has given me. I happened to cave and buy the fist audiobook just days before the second one was released (I HATE waiting for more audiobooks to come out and want to rip my hair out checking over and over again when the next in a series is in the store) but this series kept coming up in my mind and I finally became so interested in the summary of it that I had to start listening. I’m so glad I did, and I’ll definitely be coming back for me. I’m excited to see how the rest of the series plays out, and I recommend it to anyone that loves a deep, sexy read with complex characters, a long and ever-expanding plot, and plenty of intrigue to go around. If you don’t like really long books and can’t stand plots that are constantly growing thicker by the minute with mystery, this one isn’t for you. It’s not a quick jaunt, this is a long haul of a series meant for someone to dig their heels into. Oh, and the sex scenes are frequent as well as HIGHLY descriptive in every way. I found the first book categorized in Erotica, and while I disagree with that assessment since it’s so heavily plot-based, I understand why someone might think that when being told about how many sexual scenes there are within and how dirty they are. They are some of the hottest I’ve ever read, and Beastboy’s beast coming out to play was both interesting and sexy as heck! I don’t want to go and get too descriptive about them, but just suffice it to say that the author is NOT shy when it comes to the lovers of the book feeding and going to bed together. And I love it, so, so much. 10/10 Mr. Fancy Pants’s!