Prince of Never

Black Blood Fae Series, Book 1

By: Juno Heart

Narrated by: James Fouhey, Gina Rogers

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

A fae prince with a poisoned heart. A mortal girl with a magical voice. Neither one believes in fairy tales.

City waitress Lara has the voice of an angel and no idea she's marked as the fated mate of a silver-eyed royal from another realm. When she falls into Faery and meets an obnoxious huntsman who mistakes her for a troll, she's amazed to discover he's the cursed Prince of Air in disguise. Ever's mother, the queen, is less than impressed. The opposing court of techno-loving Unseelie wants her as their very own pet. And an evil air mage wishes her dead.

Held captive by Elemental fae in the Land of Five, she's certainly hit rock bottom. But songs wield power, and Lara happens to be a true diva. Now if only she can use her newfound magical skill to make the Prince of Never a little less attractive. The first thing she wants is to find a way back home, and the last is to fall in love.

Ever and Lara think they know what they want, but destiny and an age-old curse have other ideas.

©2019 Juno Heart (P)2021 Tantor

LOVED IT

really enjoyed it, but was a little disappointed that the next book was not about her sister.

And I really NEED the next book to be up soon.

Wait for it... it gets good

I have to admit, the first chapter or two about lost me, I’m not sure if it was the narrators getting their rhythm going or the story that had to get going.
However, once I got oriented to this particular World and the characters, I became intrigued and entertained. Definitely worth it.

Same Story, Same Characters

Why is it that every female protagonist in this kind of story has the same personality (stubborn, quick to anger, kind of dumb)?

This book actually had potential—there is some good writing scattered intermittently throughout, and it is, at times, funny. Really wish the author had leaned into the humor more. And really wish the author hadn’t given her female lead this same, tired, frustrating personality.

The characters are enemies at first and then they’re just…not. There’s no real transition into love. They’re just all of a sudden head over heels. And don’t even get me started on the rather unnecessary overtures of rapeyness from some of the bad guys.

The dialogue is stilted, the magic system vague, and the curse itself confusing. Lara’s voice, which the books description makes sound like it’s a central plot point, barely figures into much of anything, and don’t even get me started on the weird fixation a lot of fantasy/romance writers have on red hair, pale skin, and green eyes (POC don’t exist at all in a lot of these books).

Also, a minor thing, but the book is written with a bunch of Britishisms, but both narrators are American. Made some things sound strange (ex. calling cabinets cupboards, saying ‘meant to’ instead of ‘supposed to’, etc.).

Look, I went into this expecting an easy, fun read, not a literary masterpiece. But honestly the same annoying tropes over and over again gets frustrating, and makes it so that I’m just irritated while listening. At least have the creativity to try something new.

One good thing I can say is that the male narrator is quite good. Would listen to more of him.

I'm on the fence

There are parts that were well written and the narrator ruined it. There are parts that absolutely annoy me with how accepting the lead character is of EVERYTHING. The other characters were more interesting than the lead character of the book. Maybe it was just me but every single chapter I found something to roll my eyes over.

It was a cute read

Honestly, I ended up really enjoying this book. It took me a bit to get into the story, and the female MC grated my nerves a little at times with all her talking. I couldn’t tell if that was because of how it was written or the way the narrator read. But after a while I got used to it and I started to enjoy the story. The author does a good job of having romantic tension without making it to explicit, and I liked that the she made Laura independent and stand up for herself.

I love the Fae World

Great story and setting. I thought I was going to hate Prince Never but no, his negativity was kind of funny. I could picture in my mind the unfolding scenes. I can't wait for the next book. The narrators are great as well.