His Consort

Publisher's Summary

A new life in New Orleans is all Jason Thorpe had hoped: His quaint little store attracts a devoted staff, and his warm, loving heart grants him a loyal circle of friends. He's perfectly content, having left behind the chill of a confusing and danger-filled night in Washington, until he discovers something unbelievable lurking in the steamy darkness of the shadowy streets of the Vieux Carré, something that turns out to be terrifying...and utterly mesmerizing.

The prince of the vampires, Varic Maedoc, is visiting New Orleans when he finds out the man who once helped his counselor is there in the Quarter. He thinks to simply meet and thank Jason - until he lays eyes on him. Varic’s devoted himself to protect the honor of his race, and he's never wanted a mate before...but he immediately knows he must have this man, and no one else will do.

Varic may want to bring Jason safely into his world, but someone who doesn’t like the human's soothing influence on vampires has deadly plans that would disrupt Varic's dreams. Now, unable to tell friend from foe, Jason finds himself wondering how to hold on to the prince’s heart when he’s fighting for his life.

©2018 Dreamspinner Press (P)2018 Dreamspinner Press

Wow!

I have both read and listened to a number of this author's books and enjoyed every one. I must say, however, in my opinion this is one of the best. I was so enthralled with the story (and narrator) that I listened to the entire performance in one sitting (which includes bathroom breaks and taking out the dog). The protagonist, Jason Thorpe, is someone most of us have met in our lifetime...just a good guy with a good heart. I very much enjoyed the fresh and unique perspective on vampires (vampyr).

The narrator of an audiobook makes or breaks the book. Although sometimes whether one enjoys the narrator or not is a subjective experience I can not think of anyone who would not enjoy listening to Scott Smith. He adds so much to any story he narrates. His repertoire of unique voices for the characters in the story is amazing and he brings each character to life.

Although not a cliffhanger, the ending of the novel suggests a second book will be forthcoming. There are a number of potential stories involving the relationships between other characters and I hope in time Ms. Calmes will bring them to life.

Regardless, kudos to both author and narrator for job well done!

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Too heartfelt. Too sweet. Too much talking.

I have read all of Mary Calmes books and I usually love them. But this one was just not good. A Jory like character that everyone loved that always gets in trouble but manages to extricate himself or the Prince saves him. And talk talk talk. All so sweet and tender I think I got cavities from reading it. I hope for better in the future.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

His Trope

I have listened to 'Control' and the 'L'Ange' series. In general I find Calmes to fall into the category of "fine+" which, to be fair, tends to be on the higher end of quality when it comes to shifter and vampire related m/m content.

I am sorry to say that this book falls far below the bar I had set for my expectations of this writer. Overall, I think Ode was the best character. And as a female side character, as important as she is, that probably isn't good for the men involved. The narrator does a lot to save this book though, and I did complete it so I still consider it readable. Just nothing I would recommend to anyone.

Issues, spoilers:
1. Too Much Exposition, pointlessly so. I have listened to dozens upon dozens of audiobooks and not until now have I, repeatedly, had to just ask _why_ something was mentioned. Especially with this narration taking place from the perspective of Jason. Just, no one would mention some of the things he does and so many of them are completely pointless to the story or already easily understood. Even at the very, very beginning he initially states that he's at the property of the Rothchilds. Then, not long after, narrates/thinks to himself "the lady of the house, Mrs. Rothchild". We KNOW who the lady of the house is. You just mentioned them. It's not a natural thinking pattern and it's not new or useful information. The whole thing is peppered with pointless throw away lines that seriously made me wonder if she was getting paid by the word. I don't know if this is just Calmes first foray into a vampiric world, and thus felt a need to add more detail, but so much of it is just pointless. Like... get off Google maps, no one is going to check, pointless.

2. Clueless to Understanding (with a snap of the fingers, if only). Jason is infuriating when it comes to his dismissal of about 30 offhanded/outright to his face remarks about his scent, his kind, their kind, not being human, how he is human, an outright statement of _vampyr_. Anyone his age, which is my age, growing up with Underworld, Van Helsing, Twililght, and the whole Vampire-revival, would have at least made an offhanded joke about vampires. It got to the point that I thought Calmes was going for a "Walking Dead" theme where vampires were never part of the global culture and thus there was literally no concept or name for them. Nope! Just a 14 year ex-military (aren't they always) millennial who thinks cult describes their behaviour. Hell, I live in the real world and I would still guess vampire over cult. Or at least people who think they are vampires and thus would still respond to being called vampires. But it got really annoying. And that only lasted a few chapters.

Then all of a sudden, he just gets it. All the things he's seen and heard that he brushed away and didn't think about all suddenly just click and he accepts it, all of it, and turns into hungry puppy with a thirst for knowledge. I had hoped that some vampyr mojo was worked on him but considering he wasn't influenced by a much stronger vampyr and no vampyr powers seem to work on him due to reasons, I very much doubt it. So, we'll just have to accept "plot needed to move forward".

3. Strong Willed Tough Guy Turns to Putty. Jason and Varic meet. Cue "fated mate" behaviour on steroids. Jason has some strong opinions on things, and describes some of them in detail. One would have hoped his backbone would have held and perhaps he would play some major roll in bringing about a new age. Nope. What he wants happens, but just because Varic's daddy doesn't want his indulgent ass son to get in trouble. Jason does nothing. He is about as important as a Viagra. None of his good sense comes into play. He just falls into forever with nothing more than a couple hour break apart, not initiated by him. He just accepts it. Goes from 'would never let a vampyr drink from him' to 'lemme be your juice box, baby' faster than you can ring a dinner bell. He is painful. Would have been better to drop the whole prologue and make him a 20 year old, bright eyed idealist with no concept of the real world. Would have fit what he turned into better.

4. Vampyr, and the Y it Had to go Norse. It's... odd. And I can't say if this is a niche historical thing in actual lore somewhere or just Calmes trying to make vampire history that's a bit different and "her own" but I thoroughly disliked the outcome. It's clear from some brief research that title choices for the different roles comes from or is heavily influenced by Old Norse, with things like rekkr meaning warrior. Although apparently "Draugr" also means "buddy" in Lithuanian, so I'm not sure if it really worked. Half the time you just have to translate the titles in your head when they are used, and the other half of the time they are using the English terms. I think rekkr is the one that really holds its own and that's also the one that really hits the Old Norse root. "The Prince" definitely settles much more into the English side of it.

The timeline also makes very little sense when you actually think about it. Even though Varic adds a helpful "before vikings", berserkers really aren't an ancient thing. Especially with the Old Norse focus, we're really looking at within the last two millennia. The idea of anything evolving from human to a near immortal being in such a short time is laughable. Varic is apparently over 1000. And at some point his father was the Prince, so there was a vampyr King before that. So... in 2000 years not only have humans evolved into vampyrs but those same first vampyrs instantly gained the ability to both live for thousands of years (if of royal blood....) and also sired enough children that there are apparently vampyrs all over the world? Which, okay, if you lived for even 500 years and just went "lusty" it's doable, but if the first vampyrs are royal lined, and breeding with humans creates lesser vampires, the royalty and nobility would be inbred as hell.

And why is the court of the Old Norse vampyrs in Malta? I mean, it's a nice place but if the court hadn't really changed in all the years then wouldn't it have stayed a bit further North? Also, "blood drinkers" have a place in the mythos of pretty much every nation, spanning far, far further back in time than this lore would suggest. And when Jason brings up nearly every modern trope, I find it exceptionally hard to believe that the book isn't set smack dab in the present day, with all the lore and history we ourselves have at our disposal. The timeline just doesn't add up at all with how much emphasis is put on Berserkers. If you want to go the evolution route, far better to add a couple more zeros and set it back around the time of the first homo sapiens. Use the same reason for the evolutionary track and have it actually make some sense. If you want to use science, use it right. Otherwise stick to "magic" or "it's been so long even we don't know", like every other supernatural theme uses.

5. Blood is Thicker than Water, or in this case Syrup. Or better yet, sap, because this whole thing is just sappy. This "love story" puts insta-love fated mate stories to shame. I mean the type where they see each other across a 20 km canyon with binoculars and their scents carry on the wind and they are off to la la land type of sap. It's just painful. Varic is ridiculously possessive instantly, because of course he is. And Jason goes from competent (I use the word loosely) to gooey kneed teenager with the sense of a gnat in about a literally second. And of course we also have the "I'm really plain" sort who doesn't think he's good enough for anyone when everyone, their sister, and the stray dog next door is falling over themselves due to the actual hotness. Oh, sorry Bella, I didn't know we needed a 30+ year old, male version of you. Painfully contrived misunderstandings lead to that favored trope of sad-baby main character. And picking and choosing when to use the most simple of Varic's powers allow the trite scenes to play out. But I suppose we needed some way to put the 14 year veteran in mortal danger for the umpteenth time.

Let's also not forget that according to in book lore, only the royalty get fated mates. And yet so far, one is already established, one is made with the main characters, and just because it couldn't be left well enough alone, another cross-species fated mate pair, not royal, is shoved down our throats. Find is very questionable that 2/3 sets of fated makes aren't to a royal and yet it's never happened in the whole time vampyrs have been around. My eyes cannot roll hard enough.

Summary: The romance is awful. Unless you want the sappiest of fated mate stories with the super possessive dom and a should be decent but it just a pile of worthless goo sub. Most of the conflict in the book doesn't actually get discussed in any sort of meaningful way. It's just something that has happened for so long. Which continues to make me bash my head against things when you take "proposed origin" divided by "average life span". And while it seems to have been happening for ages, it doesn't seem like the King, Queen, or Prince have done anything about it. And since the damn advisor to the Prince comments on it, clearly it was somewhere on the agenda. It's just full of tropes, exposition, and sex.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I wanted to like it , I really did

Jason annoyed me, I kept hoping he would wise up. who goes walking the streets at night when someone is trying to kill you. the world in the story was exciting a very different take on vampires that I like. the ending was a bit abrupt .

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

good but I can't stand Jayson

great story but Jayson is THE WORST, most of the issues are his communication. the conflict all seems to be his inability to communicate well and his inability to listen to anyone else other than himself

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not what I hoped for.....

I had high hopes for this book but was sadly disappointed, especially after her Timing series. So much talking and unnecessary filler. You are almost half way through the book before the main characters even meet. Some portions of the book are just to ridiculous to enjoy. I can only hope there was so much info and back story because Mary Calmes is planning a second book. Otherwise the book was only okay and not worth the 8 hours I invested in listening to it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A Refreshing New Redefinition

His Consort is a refreshing new redefinition of the tried and true Vampire genre, in the model of Dracula, to one of co-evolution with humans of a different species called Vampyrs. Gown is the sleeping in coffins, bursting into flames in sunlight, garlic aversion, wood stakes, and the mindless blood lust to dink only human blood. Blood drinking remains but only as a civilized consensual act. Humans are genially off the menu by order of the Vampyr monarchy centered in Malta. The other tip of the hat to traditional vampire lore is the need for humans to give consent for a Vampyr to enter their home. Finally silver has been modified so it no longer burns Vampyr flesh but will weaken their powers so they may be bound.

With the above flexibility Mary Calmes has fashioned an action packed story that forms the background to a romance between the Prince of the Vampyrs and a human, ex-special forces military, with a recessive gene, bridging the gap between the human race and the Vampyr race; making them ideal mates. All this occurs in the middle of factions, conspiracies, and betrayals by Vampyrs motivated by greed and lust for power. This action makes a good read and a great listen.

This story is narrated well by Scott Smith. Mr. Smith provides multiple voices and accents for the different characters all with a pleasant tambour to the ear.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

love it, great narrator

I love it, Mary Calmes first vampire story it was awesome!!!😍😘 I highly recommend it, you won't be disappointed. I hope he makes it into a series it will be awesome.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Hoping for a series!

His Consort is the story of how ex-special forces soldier Jason Thorpe stumbles upon the secret world of Vampyrs and learns some secrets which will change the course of his life and entwine it inexorably with the vampyrs forever.

Fans of Calmes Change of Heart series will find similar world-building and premise, including the main characters not actually meeting until almost halfway through.

Jason's the every-man character dealing with the ins-and-outs of a world that he thought was only made up. He's got a heart of gold and and a thick head, which helps when dealing with millennia old creatures who think they know everything.

Scott Smith does a good job with unique character voices, a good pace, and I love that he doesn't just robotically read, but infuses emotion to the text. He brings out the humor, emotion, and suspense of the story well.

His Consort is a single POV, urban paranormal featuring vampyrs, with action, intrigue, and some romantic elements, and a HFN/HEA ending. I'm really hoping this turns into a new series. There's definitely the set up for one and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a book 2.

New Fan of Author

A new view of the vampire culture. This story adds a fantastic new realm to the vampire world we all seem to adore. I love the fact that a gay vampire couple is simply a day to day occurrence with no shock. The greatest aspect of this story is how the author writes this story as if choosing a same-sex partner is of no importance. It is simply what we choose.
(Even if it is a vampire...)
I enjoyed the escape from the normal love story. There are reviews that complain about the main characters late arrival. I don't think the story would make sense any other way. I immediately fell in love with the main character and felt a heroic affection for him. I will be reading more of her work.
The Narrator NEVER disappoints. Everything Scott Smith reads us is Amazing!!

What a mess of a book!

This was long winded, confusing with convoluted worldbuilding of the vampyre world.

Three hours in we are still getting over-the-top explanations of the Vampyre hierarchy and the ridiculous made up names for each class, vamp type and what they do. Maybe reading this and seeing those words would have made it easier to understand, but in audio I just became more and more confused trying to understand what the story was supposed to be about. The writing was not good- rushed, and not of the standard expected for Mary Calmes.

The narration was passable at most. Every male character other than jason had the whiney brat voice of a teenage boy...or a man desperately needing a bathroom break. I lasted 3hrs and couldn't take any more.

If you want to hear a fab alternative take on vampires try Jordan Castillo Price's books. Refreshing and great!

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

My opinion

I adored the narrator's voice, it's soothing to listen to and adds a wonderful aspect to the book.

The story in itself had me quite torn. While I found it lovely and endearing with the wonderful friendships, the possessive nature of characters could be a bit much at times.

Not that I don't like a possessive romance in a story but because I felt like the story consisted of strong, independent characters that were reduced to lesser than they could have been by it.

However, I know a lot of reviews I've read certainly haven't done this book justice. The world building is wonderful and I like how the main character retains his curious and questioning quality throughout the story. It's a good read and interesting plot with twists that while can be expected are nice and fit well within the story.

There were a few minor plot details that can be overlooked and don't ruin the overall narrative.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good story

Like the way it's written is a good and easy read. Hope there is more to come

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

fabulous

Please please give me more ... I need more! the narator is perfect so if you do more don't change that please !

0 of 1 people found this review helpful