Prince of Flowers by Nazri Noor

Narrated by Greg Boudreaux

I’m enjoying Nazri Noor’s Arcane Hearts fantasy/romance series – it’s fun and inventive with intriguing plotlines, strong worldbuilding, likeable characters, and excellent narration by Zachary Johnson. When the author announced that his new series – Wild Hearts (which is set in the same world as Arcane Hearts) – would be narrated by Greg Boudreaux, naturally I jumped at the chance to listen to and review the first book, Prince of Flowers.

Lochlann – Locke – Wilde is the oldest student at the great and ancient Wispwood Academy, having yet to earn the Crest that will mark his ‘graduation’ as a summoner. In order to earn that – and to inherit his father’s fortune – he must summon and forge a pact with a great beast of legend, but all he’s managed so far are a flock of doves, an elderly wolf and a grubby cat – not exactly a resounding success for the son of the legendary Grand Summoner Baylor Wilde. He’s not exactly the most diligent of students, it’s true, but he’s persistent, so, armed with the grimoire inherited from his father, Locke has once again ventured into the forests of Wispwood, intent on gaining his summoner’s Crest by finding his eidolon (his ideal familiar), a creature of powerful magic with whom he can form a mutually beneficial bond.

Deep in the forest, Locke becomes aware of something, some faint traces of supernatural power like nothing he’s ever encountered before – and realises: This Is It. This is the arcane power he’s been searching for. Filled with anticipation, he begins the incantation, and in an explosion of leaves, grass and petals, Locke completes the Pact of the Unknown, sure that the powerful magic flowing through his soul has worked at last. But when the swirl of green and gold subsides, Locke sees he has not summoned a mythical beast – but a man. A gorgeous man who, while he is undoubtedly the most beautiful thing Locke has ever seen, reveals himself to be an arrogant prick the moment he opens his mouth.

“I am Prince Sylvain, high fae of the Summer Court, and you will show me the respect I am due.”

Needless to say, Locke isn’t impressed, and quickly realises just how to push Mr. High-and-Mighty’s buttons. Even lust-drunk as he is (and he’s very lust-drunk!) Locke doesn’t want to form any kind of pact with him (well, not the magical kind, anyway) – but before he can stop it, the grimoire interprets Sylvain’s sarcastic complaints – “Oh, sure… I’ll accept and become the errand boy of some feeble, frail…”– as acceptance of the bond, and to Locke’s horror, the deal is sealed. They’re stuck with each other.

Unless, that is, he can persuade his summoning professor Dr. Fang to unbind them. Reluctantly, Locke leads a disgruntled and disdainful Sylvain back through the forest to Wispwood, and is surprised (and just a bit smug) when the prince actually seems to be impressed by the place. Locke’s smugness is short-lived, however, because instead of agreeing to undo the bond, Dr. Fang suggests Locke should see it as a learning opportunity – and sets him and Sylvain a task; to find and bring back some Blood of the Earth she can use in her research.

So our reluctant companions wend their not-so-merry way, encountering deadly flora and fauna, powerful elemental guardians, a cryptic goddess who also sets them a task… and an intense and frustrating attraction that refuses to go away, no matter how obnoxious Sylvain is.

As I said at the beginning, I’ve enjoyed a number of books by this author, so it pains me to say that this one didn’t work particularly well for me. The things that DO work are very, very good. Nazri Noor is incredibly skilled at incorporating the world-building within the storyline rather than just throwing in a load of info-dumps, and his descriptive writing is very visual and almost cinematic in scope. The two leads are engaging – even though Sylvain behaves like a dick, I like his brand of snark and it quickly becomes clear there’s more to him than meets the eye – and Locke’s best friends are supportive and caring, but don’t hesitate to call him on his crap. Some interesting storylines are set up – for instance, the quest to find a way to counteract The Withering – and questions posed (what actually happened to Locke’s father?), the story moves at a swift pace, there’s plenty of humour and the whole thing feels very slick and accomplished.

Sadly, however, there are a couple of major problems with this story, one of which is the relationship between Locke and Sylvain, who go from complete strangers who don’t like each other to ‘I think I’m falling for you’ within just a few days. Jackson and Xander in Arcane Hearts are a couple by the end of book one, but they’ve known each other almost all their lives and were boyhood besties, so it’s easy to buy that they could fall into bed and into love within the space of a single book. But while there’s something to be said for close proximity engendering the sort of trust and connection that might take longer to develop under normal circumstances, Locke and Sylvain don’t get to know each other very much at all, and the move to a physical relationship doesn’t feel organic. Series featuring the same central couple lend themselves well to a slow burn romance, and it would have made a lot more sense here to have gone that route, rather than rushing them into something so unbelievable that feels as though it’s happening simply because the plot/series arc requires it.

The other big issue is that we are constantly (and I mean CONSTANTLY) told that Sylvain is the hottest most gorgeous being in the entire universe, which became distracting very quickly, and took me out of the story every time. Locke’s lustful thoughts are way over the top, so that whatever else he notices or learns about Sylvain (and he does mention a few things, such as his intelligence and hidden vulnerability) are lost in the constant banging on about Sylvain’s physical attributes.

Greg Boudreaux delivers a well-paced, expertly characterised and clearly differentiated performance that hits all the right emotional notes and really brings out the humour in the story. His portrayal of the leads is perfect; Locke’s bright tone and snarky, upbeat manner are brilliantly contrasted with the deep, supercilious drawl given to Sylvain – who just oozes disdain and sex-appeal – and his comic timing in their bantering exchanges is spot on. The secondary characters are equally well served, from the growly viciousness of the human/plant hybrids who attack with murderous rage to the silvery notes of the goddess Aphrodite’s enigmatic pronouncements; no surprises whey I say it’s a highly accomplished performance and one which I enjoyed very much, despite the weaknesses in the story.

Prince of Flowers is fast-moving and inventive and it sets up some interesting potential plotlines for the rest of the series, but too much page time is taken up with Locke’s lust-filled internal monologues, and the central relationship is woefully under-developed. I’m invested enough in the plotline to want to listen to the next book (I really hope that now that Locke and Sylvain are a couple, the lusting will be toned down), but I can only offer Price of Flowers a very qualified recommendation.

Caz

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