Autorenbild.

Antonia Aquilante

Autor von The Prince’s Consort

11+ Werke 77 Mitglieder 6 Rezensionen

Über den Autor

Bildnachweis: author picture | NineStar Press

Reihen

Werke von Antonia Aquilante

The Prince’s Consort (2020) 17 Exemplare
The Artist’s Masquerade (2020) 17 Exemplare
The Scholar's Heart (2016) 12 Exemplare
The Merchant's Love (2018) 7 Exemplare
The sorcerer's guardian (2016) 6 Exemplare
A Dance of Water and Air (2018) 5 Exemplare
A Harmony of Fire and Earth (2019) 3 Exemplare
The Spymaster's Secret (2019) 3 Exemplare
The Envoy's Honor (2020) 3 Exemplare

Zugehörige Werke

Turn The Page.... (2016) — Mitwirkender — 1 Exemplar

Getagged

Wissenswertes

Geschlecht
female
Berufe
author

Mitglieder

Rezensionen

DNF at 50%

No. just no.
 
Gekennzeichnet
Jonesy_now | 1 weitere Rezension | Sep 24, 2021 |
meh meh meh. fictional world in which two men can get married but a male heir is still needed because woman can't inherited titles and land (what about the princess though)?

I had a whole rant written but that only made me sad. so yeah lots of points lost for these kinds of plotholes and douchefuckery (why is he still a prince? he rules the country. ..)
 
Gekennzeichnet
Jonesy_now | 1 weitere Rezension | Sep 24, 2021 |
This second visit to the fantasy world of which Tournai is a part was as fantastic, amazing, and full of surprises as the first. While ‘The Prince’s Consort’ focused on royal couple Philip and Amory, who play an essential role again, this second volume is cousin Cathal’s story. Now, if you have read the first book (and you should before attempting this one), you may remember that Cathal was not exactly the nicest person around. I thought it was fascinating how that changed with a little more information, and how Cathal gradually emerged from the shadow of his overbearing father, Philip’s uncle, Umber. With some great new characters as well as old favorites who return for more royal intrigue, this sequel made me laugh, frown at some of the characters’ stupidity, and delight in the special magic that pervades Tournai.

Cathal has a much tougher life than I suspected. He is Prince Philips cousin and had a job as his personal assistant until he left when Philip took Amory as a lover, then married him. Cathal seemed flighty, with a new female lover every few weeks, and very rigid in his adherence to protocol. Duty is everything for him, and that includes not just “proper court protocol”, but the way he lives his life as the firstborn son of the Duke of Tournai – Umber, brother of the previous ruler and the man who makes Prince Philip’s life as impossible as he can. Well, what I found out in this book is that “Uncle Umber” makes his family’s life impossible as well. Cathal has lived with his edicts and orders all his life, and when Umber decides to present him with a future wife, Velia from the empire of Ardunn, without even consulting Cathal, he has had enough. His rebellion doesn’t start right away, oh no. Cathal spends most of the book trying to do as his father wants – which drove me up the wall. Cathal only very gradually begins to think for himself, and that is mostly due to Flavia, Velia’s companion. When Cathal finds out that Flavia is really Flavian, and his continued attraction questions Cathal’s sexuality as well as his ability to do his familial duty, Cathal comes close to a mental breakdown.

Flavian is an artist with a hidden magical Talent who is desperate to escape from the homophobic policies of Ardunn and the power-hungry emperor who is out to conquer everyone and everything he can get is hands on. So when his friend Velia offers her help to get him away, he is enthusiastic even though he has to pretend to be a woman so he can masquerade as Velia’s maid. But nothing goes the way they planned. Upon arrival at Tournai, Velia is invited to stay at court, from where it is impossible for Flavian to escape. Cathal, who is betrothed to Velia, shows a much higher interest in Flavian. And even when supposedly heterosexual Cathal finds out that Flavia is really Flavian, he does not give up. Flavian can’t believe Cathal’s interest is real – as much as he is quickly falling for the man’s charms, how can he trust that playboy Cathal will still want him a few weeks later? And anyway, Cathal keeps saying it’s his duty to marry Velia, so Flavian has very little hope for a happy ending.

Royal and other secrets, a magic Talent that shows the truth about a person when painted, political enemies, and foreign spies alike kept me interested and turning the pages of this very imaginative story. It is a fairy tale in some ways, and a political thriller in others, and I loved the deepening world building, old and new characters, and the inner struggle of both Cathal and Flavian held me spellbound. I am so glad there is at least one more book to come – Tournai is fast becoming a favorite place to visit for me.

If you like fantasy of the interesting kind – shifters, magic, and powerful enemies included, if two men from different worlds learning to stand up for what they believe sounds interesting, and if you’re looking for a read full of political power plays, danger, charm, and royal parties, then you will probably like this novel as much as I did.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
… (mehr)
 
Gekennzeichnet
SerenaYates | 1 weitere Rezension | Oct 14, 2017 |
This is the fourth book in the ‘Chronicles of Tournai’ series, set in a fantasy world where almost everyone has some level of magical Talent and the royal family has a whole lot but keep it a secret. After the excitement of the mighty empire of Ardunn attempting to overpower the much smaller but resilient country of Tournai in the previous book, the storyline focuses on the mysterious defenses that have protected Tournai so far, but seem to be weakening. None other than Savarin, the powerful sorcerer who discovered the problem, is now tasked with fixing it- except he doesn’t even know what spell was used or why it has lasted so many centuries already. Needless to say, I’ve been on pins and needles ever since all of these issues were revealed at the end of book three. And yes, I think you should read this series in order because you’ll be missing not just lots of background information needed to understand what’s going on, but you’d also deprive yourself of some very entertaining and suspenseful stories with great characters.

Savarin is a very powerful sorcerer, and I was curious to find out more about him. He has occasionally appeared in previous stories and always seemed very withdrawn, intensely private, and arrogant. Not that any of that changes – he is still arrogant and tends to get lost in his work, much like most “professor types” I have come across. But it becomes apparent why he is that way as some of his background is revealed, and he definitely turns more human through his increased contact with Royal Guard Captain Loriot. Savarin’s basic personality doesn’t change, but he becomes a little softer around the edges, allows himself to relax more. While figuring out the protection spell and what makes them tick is by no means easy, Savarin can’t resist a good puzzle like that.

Loriot has also appeared previously, and I have always admired his dedication to protecting the royal family of Tournai. He is loyal and one of the few people who know about the royals’ secret Talent. When he is told to protect Savarin on his trip to Tournai’s border so he can study the protective barriers up-close, Loriot is less than enthusiastic. He has no Talent whatsoever, so he doesn’t think he can help Savarin. Loriot also believes his place is in the palace, not traipsing around the countryside. But since he has been given an order, he has to go…

Savarin and Loriot are not an easy match. They don’t exactly hate each other, but they think they have nothing in common. Pure coincidence leads to their first physical encounter, and it is surprisingly enjoyable – which is all they will admit to. Both try to be ridiculously “logical” about their affair. They’re passionate and almost without control while making love, but as soon as they leave the bedchamber, their responsibilities become more important than the feelings they won’t admit they have – not even to themselves. Once they have returned from their trip, it takes Savarin’s surprise encounter with the son he didn’t know Loriot has for them to realize they don’t want the “affair” to end. Rather, they want more... except it takes them quite a while to figure out how to go about it.

If you like fantasy that includes magic, shifters, and men dedicated to their jobs to the exclusion of almost everything else, if you want to find out more about the secrets of Tournai, and if you’re looking for a read full of action, adventure, great feats of magic, and a slow-burn romance that might have you wanting to tear your hair out because the characters don’t seem to get it, then you will probably like this novel as much as I did. It’s fantastic, surprising, and very entertaining!


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
… (mehr)
 
Gekennzeichnet
SerenaYates | Oct 14, 2017 |

Listen

Auszeichnungen

Dir gefällt vielleicht auch

Nahestehende Autoren

Statistikseite

Werke
11
Auch von
1
Mitglieder
77
Beliebtheit
#231,246
Bewertung
½ 3.6
Rezensionen
6
ISBNs
23

Diagramme & Grafiken