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wildatheart1339's review against another edition
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing and Death of parent
tragicgloom's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder
Minor: Blood and Death of parent
wardenred's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
“I’ll distract them. You run that way. They want me, not you.”
“Why?” Bell seizes his shoulder. “Tell me why they want you.”
“Later,” Rakos snaps. “Just go.”
“Oh, fuck you,” Bell snaps back—and stays.
Such a fun read! I love it as much as the first installment, and I'm eager to continue the series. Bell and Rakos were so charming together. Both were also kind of dreadful at maintaining their fake identities/concealing the fact that those identities were fake, but hey, they tried! And I can forgive them for being willing to ignore certain persistent coincidences and weird discrepancies about each other. When you catch feelings and really don't want to think about reasons to keep things casual, that kind of happens. :D
I absolutely adored the balance of tropey romance and fantasy adventure here. This book truly has it all: awesome banter, believable relationship development, some really hot scenes that were very much part of that development, the leads becoming their best selves around each other... and also magical combat, precarious escapes, tense pursuit scenes with dragons, engaging travel, cutthroat court intrigue, and plenty of excitement in general. All the good stuff I love so much about the fusion of romance and fantasy. My favorite part was seeing Bell deal with all that adventure, passion, and character growth while having chronic migraines. I really liked that while his migraines are triggered by exposure to magic among many other things and that Rakos can help him deal with that specific trigger, the problem itself isn't magical and there's no magic cure. Not that I would wish migraines on anyone, even a fictional character. Just... it's always great to see characters with familiar chronic health issues thrive and grow and end up in a good place.
It was also absolutely lovely to see Julien and Whisper again. So often in romance series where the couple changes each book, the protagonists of previous novels sort of fade into the background to become ever-static models of good relationships. It's nice to see this isn't happening here. While neither Julien and Whisper take super active part in the plot, they clearly continue to exist in the world, they're present, their actions and reactions to the book's events matter, and from the glimpses we get into their continuing relationship, they are still growing together. Aww. What's not to love?
I also continue to enjoy the worldbuilding here: the magic system, how queernorm the setting is, how adoption is treated, how sex work is treated as just another profession, the turbulent political landscape, and all the magical beasts. The big telepathic cats from Prince and Assassin were fun; now how about a teleporting ferret? I'd love a blinkmink pet! Okay, well, that's a lie. I'm probably way too much of an anxiety goblin to have a pet that can be anywhere any moment. But I'd love it if one of my friends could have one for me to play with.
Oh, and speaking of the political landscape: the whole mystery/intrigue here was really tense and exciting, and I'd love to meet Prince Vana again under better circumstances. But this part of the story also contained the one letdown, slightly reminiscent of the problem I had with the subplot about Whisper's sister in book 1. I really, really wish Irenka's storyline played out differently.
Now excuse me, gotta go buy Tavia Lark's entire fantasy romance backlog.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, and Sexual content
Moderate: Kidnapping and Violence
shadowspinner's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, and Chronic illness
_isabel_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
This was incredible, and quite possibly, my favourite Tavia Lark novel to date.
I was absolutely enthralled by this novel from the very first page: "Prince in Disguise" was addictive and wonderful, romantic and heartfelt, and precisely why I love m/m romances so damn much.
Bellamy and Rakos stole my heart: their story was ridiculously fun, sexy and emotional, and it's packed with some of my favourite tropes. Tavia Lark is THE ultimate hurt/comfort queen and the way she writes vulnerable and touch-starved characters is priceless... AND the way she writes their uber-protective, utterly whipped, firmly-wrapped-around-their-fingers, love interests? *chef's kiss* unforgettable.
Bellamy and Rakos are incredibly lovable protagonists.
Bellamy is fantastic: he deals with so much stuff on a daily basis, and I loved seeing both his vulnerable and needy side and his fearless and reckless one. He's so fun, so quietly strong, and I loved seeing him gain more and more confidence as the novel progressed.
I also loved the way Tavia Lark dealt with his chronic headaches: sometimes, especially in romances of the paranormal variety, the illnesses their protagonists deal with are magically cured by love or through a miraculous recovery. It was refreshing, and honest and realistic, to see Bellamy's chronic illness not treated that way. So kudos to the author for that!
Rakos was an equally fantastic protagonist: he reminded me, in some ways, of a more feral, less duty-bound Arthur (from Tavia Lark's other series, "Radiance"). Rakos is protective and respectful and caring, but he's also rakish and ridiculous and reckless and a bit of an idiot. I completely adored him, and the way he was with Bellamy? Completely devoted to him, cheerfully and shamelessly wrapped around his finger? It was PRICELESS.
The side characters were equally lovable, and I want a Sarka and a Bastard in my life. Also, seeing Julien and Whisper again was fantastic, and I'm now even more curious to read Audric's story: I'm so intrigued by him, and I honestly don't know what I should expect from him.
The plot was intricate and addictive and well-done and the writing was utterly magical: Tavia Lark, you're officially one of my favourite authors. I'm so damn excited to dive into more of her backlist, and I'd definitely sell my soul to have the next book in my hands.
I'm also very, very intrigued by a certain snake-ish prince, and a few other notable side characters, so I hope there will be many more stories in this series!
I was absolutely enthralled by this novel from the very first page: "Prince in Disguise" was addictive and wonderful, romantic and heartfelt, and precisely why I love m/m romances so damn much.
Bellamy and Rakos stole my heart: their story was ridiculously fun, sexy and emotional, and it's packed with some of my favourite tropes. Tavia Lark is THE ultimate hurt/comfort queen and the way she writes vulnerable and touch-starved characters is priceless... AND the way she writes their uber-protective, utterly whipped, firmly-wrapped-around-their-fingers, love interests? *chef's kiss* unforgettable.
Bellamy and Rakos are incredibly lovable protagonists.
Bellamy is fantastic: he deals with so much stuff on a daily basis, and I loved seeing both his vulnerable and needy side and his fearless and reckless one. He's so fun, so quietly strong, and I loved seeing him gain more and more confidence as the novel progressed.
I also loved the way Tavia Lark dealt with his chronic headaches: sometimes, especially in romances of the paranormal variety, the illnesses their protagonists deal with are magically cured by love or through a miraculous recovery. It was refreshing, and honest and realistic, to see Bellamy's chronic illness not treated that way. So kudos to the author for that!
Rakos was an equally fantastic protagonist: he reminded me, in some ways, of a more feral, less duty-bound Arthur (from Tavia Lark's other series, "Radiance"). Rakos is protective and respectful and caring, but he's also rakish and ridiculous and reckless and a bit of an idiot. I completely adored him, and the way he was with Bellamy? Completely devoted to him, cheerfully and shamelessly wrapped around his finger? It was PRICELESS.
The side characters were equally lovable, and I want a Sarka and a Bastard in my life. Also, seeing Julien and Whisper again was fantastic, and I'm now even more curious to read Audric's story: I'm so intrigued by him, and I honestly don't know what I should expect from him.
The plot was intricate and addictive and well-done and the writing was utterly magical: Tavia Lark, you're officially one of my favourite authors. I'm so damn excited to dive into more of her backlist, and I'd definitely sell my soul to have the next book in my hands.
I'm also very, very intrigued by a certain snake-ish prince, and a few other notable side characters, so I hope there will be many more stories in this series!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping and Violence
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