Taken by the Lord of the Nocturne Court

Dark Companions, Book 1

By: K.A. Merikan

Narrated by: Jamie Treselyan, John Hartley

"I am yours, and I can be your prince as well as your beast."

Luke

I'm your typical small-town loser stuck in a dead-end job. Single, because dating is for well-adjusted human beings, not traumatized gay boys with trust issues. All I want is to leave my past behind and finally start living.

My wish comes true in the most bizarre way imaginable. One evening, a beautiful man with pointy ears and flowing dark locks appears out of nowhere. He proclaims I am to be his 'Dark Companion' based on some stupid deal I made in a dream. Oh, and apparently he's an elven prince, the Lord of Shadows, Protector of the Nightmare Realm, and Knight of Grief Ocean.

Which is a weird way to ask me out, but okay.

It's a hard no for me, but this absolute psycho abducts me to his palace in a moonlit realm populated by vicious beasts and backstabbing courtiers.

If I am to ever get back home, I need to adapt, because our full moon wedding is approaching fast. I can't allow myself to buy into his seductive kisses, poet shirts made of spider silk, and bouquets of sapphire roses. They hide poison and deception. A gilded cage is still a prison.

But…

What if I just never realized that what I need is a man with a cruel smile and a sword dipped in midnight? A man with secrets, scars, smoky eyes, and a past filled with darkness, and… have I mentioned he has a big d—

Taken by the Lord of the Nocturne Court is a standalone, scorching hot, dark gothic M/M romantasy filled with snark and dark humor, but also violence, peril, jealousy, and angst.

This book is a darkly romantic escape into the shadows where love and destiny collide. Listen to discover if a gilded cage can become a home when shared with a seductive elven prince devoted to his Dark Companion's every wish. Includes enemies to lovers trope; fake relationship; an obsessive hero; isekai; shadow magic; and monsters and fantastical creatures.

Intended for mature listeners.

©2024 K.A. Merikan (P)2024 Podium Audio

Great narrators

The story was great. Lots of adventure and twists and turns. The narration really made this for me. Super good voices and fun to listen to.

Loved this book!

I loved this dark romantasy book!! The concept of the court and shadow wielding was great. I will definitely re-read! The narrators did a wonderful job brining these characters to life. I am planning to read book 2 soon.

Good Story, frustrating MC

The story itself was pretty good. I liked the complicated political background and the over all vibes reminded me of the masquerade scene in the 2000s Van Helsing movie.
The MC, Luke, is very frustrating. He's constantly doing things that are obviously going to get him into trouble. At first, it was a realistic sequence of events but then he was just plain naive/thoughtless. The MC is always saying that he doesn't trust anyone and that he wants freedom and blah blah blah but then trusts people that are obviously don't have good/honest intentions while also not thinking things through. Like at all. He's just cruising along while complaining and second guessing himself a lot. This, unfortunately, makes him annoying.
The other characters are well written, though. I L

Great book

I really didn’t know what to expect with this book but I am pleasantly surprised. I won’t go into a summary as this is already available. I will just say be prepared for all kinds of emotions with this book. Really great narration.

Great character development!

This title was an unexpected surprise and absolutely delightful! It grabbed my attention right from the beginning and kept it to the very end. Definitely earned a place on my favorites list for continued listening enjoyment!

Shadows, Secrets, and a Slow Burn

The eerie world of Taken by the Lord of the Nocturne Court pulled me in right away...the atmosphere was dark and haunting in the best way. The pacing, though, dragged in the first half, and while Kyran’s character had real depth and emotion, Luke never quite clicked for me.

What did keep me engaged was the narration. Jamie Treselyan and John Hartley gave the story a richness that helped bring out the tension and mood of this gothic world. They balanced the heavy atmosphere with distinct character voices, which made the listening experience stronger than my original read-through would’ve been.

Overall, the audiobook added layers of immersion, even if the story itself didn’t fully grip me.

Stunning

I loved this from start to finish. Awesome audiobook, thanks. Definitely a recommendation. The writing style was different from the usual KA Merikan biker worlds. I loved all those as well, but this was something unique.

The world building

I genuinely like this audiobook. it has some great sex scenes that was greatly described. my only gripes I have is how stupid Luke is. he's very stupid. a few inconsistencies on his personality honestly. and one thing I did not like was when they was looking for that individual and the other person intervened but he was in demon mode. and could sense stuff from miles away but you didn't sense the person that interfered in your kill that made no sense to me

A good listen

The story was great, a good balance of spice and plot. You should get this book

Very good story with good narrators.

I really enjoy the story and the narration, except that the man who narrates Luke's chapters says "against" like "uh-gain-st." So annoying.