Prince of the Sorrows by Kellen Graves

Narrated by Christian Leatherman

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.

Caz

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