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A review by nitzanschwarz
Prince and Assassin by Tavia Lark
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
85 | B | 4.0 ★ | Quite Good
This was exactly what I needed it to be! I absolutely loved it from the first page to the last, and I only have very mild complaints about it. If you're looking for a good fantasy romance that will make you fall in love with the couple, definitely give this one a shot!
So, both Whisper and Julien were lovable from the get-go. Whisper because he has this puppy vibe from the very beginning, and you are basically introduced to him as an assassin with a heart of gold. I know sounds weird, but it definitely makes sense.Exchanging his freedom for his sister's? Having nightmares over the people he killed?? ESSENTIALLY HAVING BLOOD MAGIC FORCE HIM INTO THIS PROFESSION???
But actually, Julien was the one who intrigued me more. There is just something about princes who pretend to be carefree and blase but underneath the facade, they're scheming, and all their devil-may-care attitude is a well-crafted persona to serve their means, you know?
And he was just so sweet to Whisper! Like, I totally get why Whisper fell for him. His charisma is off the charts, and this wounded kitten (look, Julien calls him 'kitten', it's not my fault) has pretty much never been treated like a person. So maybe the bar is low, but I promise Julien is so much above it. And I get why he fell for Whisper. It's that 'wounded kitten' vibes coupled with a complete lack of self-preservation. Like, my man will give his life for others, but ask him to fight for himself? nah ah, mate, he ain't worth it (in his head).
So yeah, absolutely love these two together. Also, it's like... they both fell first, and they both fell harder?? idk how to explain it, but I was here for it.
Now, I do have some minor complaints. Like, I absolutely LOVE the cats, but it would've been nice to get more of other side characters. For a world that is quite big, the story itself felt very small, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I would've liked to see more of other people. It would've probably helped make a few things more impactful, like Hemlock's betrayal, which I'm still not sure won't turn out to be a ruse in the future . But the villains? Mere filler characters, barely a blip on the reader. Very easily dispatched off, too.
Speaking of easily dispatching people... is it just me, or is Whisper, who's supposed to be really good at his job... really bad at it? Like, I love the dude, but he didn't manage to do a single thing he set out to do smoothly. He immediately caught the prince's eye, which-- yes was something the villain wanted but not something he intended to do. Then, he got hurt when stopping another assassin from killing His Highness, then HE got kidnapped, and he failed to appear inconspicuous at every fucking turn. I know my man didn't really want this job, but he also had a reason to do good in it, so... In the end, he completely failed to kill the prince, and he wasn't even the one to dispatch the villain - Julien did! . I would've actually wanted this world-class assassin to be better at his job.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Julien didn't scheme enough. Again, the introduction of this dashing prince is as someone who plays it incompetent or thoughtless but is actually super cunning, and everything is a plan. And he fit his role better than Whisper did, I'll give him that. But still - everything felt far more in the open than I would've liked, and his scheming was actually very surface-level. He didn't even bother to hide his magic powers from literally anyone, even though in the set up he was, like, so reluctant to use them because he was afraid to turn like his dad. But Whisper told him he could never be like his dad so I guess now years of worry have been solved .
Anyway, I really enjoyed this one, and these minor complaints didn't stop me from immensely enjoying the novel - it just made it a 4 star rather than a 5 star haha
This was exactly what I needed it to be! I absolutely loved it from the first page to the last, and I only have very mild complaints about it. If you're looking for a good fantasy romance that will make you fall in love with the couple, definitely give this one a shot!
So, both Whisper and Julien were lovable from the get-go. Whisper because he has this puppy vibe from the very beginning, and you are basically introduced to him as an assassin with a heart of gold. I know sounds weird, but it definitely makes sense.
But actually, Julien was the one who intrigued me more. There is just something about princes who pretend to be carefree and blase but underneath the facade, they're scheming, and all their devil-may-care attitude is a well-crafted persona to serve their means, you know?
And he was just so sweet to Whisper! Like, I totally get why Whisper fell for him. His charisma is off the charts, and this wounded kitten (look, Julien calls him 'kitten', it's not my fault) has pretty much never been treated like a person. So maybe the bar is low, but I promise Julien is so much above it. And I get why he fell for Whisper. It's that 'wounded kitten' vibes coupled with a complete lack of self-preservation. Like, my man will give his life for others, but ask him to fight for himself? nah ah, mate, he ain't worth it (in his head).
So yeah, absolutely love these two together. Also, it's like... they both fell first, and they both fell harder?? idk how to explain it, but I was here for it.
Now, I do have some minor complaints. Like, I absolutely LOVE the cats, but it would've been nice to get more of other side characters. For a world that is quite big, the story itself felt very small, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I would've liked to see more of other people. It would've probably helped make a few things more impactful, like
Speaking of easily dispatching people... is it just me, or is Whisper, who's supposed to be really good at his job... really bad at it? Like, I love the dude, but he didn't manage to do a single thing he set out to do smoothly.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Julien didn't scheme enough. Again, the introduction of this dashing prince is as someone who plays it incompetent or thoughtless but is actually super cunning, and everything is a plan. And he fit his role better than Whisper did, I'll give him that. But still - everything felt far more in the open than I would've liked, and his scheming was actually very surface-level. He didn't even bother to hide
Anyway, I really enjoyed this one, and these minor complaints didn't stop me from immensely enjoying the novel - it just made it a 4 star rather than a 5 star haha
Score
Plot - 17/20
Characters - 18/20
Relationships - 18/20
Writing - 15/20
Reading Experience - 17/20
Final score: 85
Characters - 18/20
Relationships - 18/20
Writing - 15/20
Reading Experience - 17/20
Final score: 85
Tags
#MM Romance
#Assassin
#Prince
#Cute Animals
#Assassin
#Prince
#Cute Animals
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content