The Alpha Heir

By: Victoria Sue

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

Man and wolf. Sworn enemies in the battle for Askara. Can hate and betrayal ever lead to love?

Caleb Harken has spent six years wrongfully imprisoned for his father's treachery. Tortured and reviled by the very wolf pack he should have been leading as alpha, he is not surprised to learn he’s finally to meet his death at the hands of the human rebel leader, Taegan Callan.

Taegan gave up his dreams of a life-mate and a family after seeing too many humans butchered at the hands of the wolves - even if Caleb doesn’t seem to be the bloodthirsty savage he expects, and even if he starts to long for a different kind of future with the wolf.

Can Caleb become the alpha he was always meant to be and lead his pack, or will he finally realize that winning his freedom means nothing when he has already lost his heart?

©2017 Victoria Sue (P)2017 Victoria Sue

Hurt/Comfort

The Alpha Heir is the second in the Kingdom of Askara series, but it actually runs concurrently with book one, The Alpha King. Told from both Caleb and Taegan’s points of view there is slightly less world-building and a bit more romance than The Alpha King.

Victoria Sue certainly knows how to put her characters through hell and bring them through to the other side. I loved that it is a human who hates wolves that bonds with Caleb and untimatley helps him heal from the mistreatment of his own kind.

While The Alpha Heir contains some pretty graphic descriptions of torture, the hurt/comfort in this is strong with some really good character development and a wonderfully paced romance considering what Caleb has been through.

Joel Leslie captures the emotion of the story well with crisp pacing and easily distinguishable character voices.

I wish the ending didn’t feel so rushed…I would have liked to have had more time with Caleb and Taegan as mates, but there is some set up to the third book, The Alpha Prince, which will hopefully tie up some loose ends.

Overall this was an entertaining listen, but I would recommend reading/listening to The Alpha King before starting this.

*NOTE* There is no mpreg in this.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I love this series

you will not be disappointed it is one of my favorites! I love love this series you don't now how much

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Another great book!

When I read this story, it tore me up, but listening to this book broke my heart. The suffering that he went through came through loud and clear thanks to Joel Leslie. I had to stop at certain points, because it kind of became too much, but I couldn't stay away for too long. I love this series and can't wait for the next one!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

In love with this series!!

Every time I read one of Victoria Sue's books I fall in love with the story and the characters. The happiness, the hurt, the anger, and the love. Then to have Joel Leslie narrating her books it just brings the emotions out even more. Joel just does an amazing job in bring any character to life and I love listening to him narrate a book. Caleb and Taegan story is one of my favorite and Joel just made me fall in love even more!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I SIMPLY LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH

From the first moment I met Caleb, he completely stole my heart... He made me cry, made me cheer for his future, and for a future where he and Taegan could be more than enemies... Their story is not an easy one, but these amazing guys will take you into a great journey into their lives, fears, hopes and into their hearts...

All the hurt, pain and misery of being imprisoned and treated as less than a slave for years, lead Caleb into what he thought would be his only chance at freedom... to die at the hands of Taegan, the human rebel leader. Taegan wanted revenge, to vindicate the lost lives of his friends and family that were killed by the wolves, they were enemies and nothing would stay in his path of revenge... or so he thought...

Caleb and Taegan couldn't be more different... they were from different species, they were enemies, but they found in each other, the strength they didn't knew they were missing.

Victoria Sue knows how to keep us enthralled from the first page of her books until the last one, and to leave us wanting more!!!

The Alpha Heir is one more amazing addition to this series and I can't wait for the next book.

Awesome narration!!! Joel did the book justice! I love his narration so very much <3

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fabulous voice performance of a great book.

I read this book back in September and was thrilled to receive a copy of the audio book to review. Joe Leslie completely changed my view on audio books. I always thought they'd put me to sleep but his performance of several books I've now listened to completely changed that opinion.

When I got the code to download this book I was really sick and wasn't sure if I'd be able to listen to it. What I discovered though, is while I couldn't concentrate to read a book, listening to one was an entirely different thing. I was soothed listening to Joel Leslie's voice and he brought the story back to life for me again. Below is the review I left of the digital book back in September.

When I read the first book in this series, The Alpha King, I didn't know it would be a series. I was so happy to later learn that Victoria Sue would be writing more stories in this world. You don't need to have read the Alpha King to enjoy this new story but you really should because it is such a great book.

Victoria Sue loves to put her characters through hell but she never fails to bring them back again. This story contains some pretty graphic descriptions of torture but rest assured that everything comes out OK in the end.

This love story between a human and his sworn enemy, a werewolf, is filled with words that had me laughing, crying, wincing and everything in between. There is no doubt that Taegan and Caleb are meant to be together but at times I wondered how in the world it would ever happen. The Alpha Heir is also filled with love of family and friends and the lengths they will go to in order to protect the ones that they love.

Victoria Sue writes stories that grab my emotions and The Alpha Heir is no exception. I can't wait for the next one in this series; The Alpha Prince is coming in November.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

New to me

I have never read anything from Victoria Sue but I plan on to keep on reading anything she puts out I'm loving it.

Great series, excellent narration

Wolf hybrid Caleb knows about rejection, isolation and pain. That’s why death by the hand of a handsome human does not seem that bad…
Rebel leader Teagan thought he hated all wolves. But he cannot bring himself to kill this one… What is so different about Caleb?
Victoria Sue is constructing a fascinating world in this series. In this second book, we find out a bit more about the origin of the wolves in Ankara, and the history of the planet. The main characters are very different from Luca and Kit (the MCs of the first one). Where their relationship was insta-love and attraction, Caleb and Teagan’s is about care and protection. Teagan is protective of Caleb from the beginning, he is able to see the beauty in his battered body. Caleb, on his side, is a very sweet character, nurturing and kind. Their relationship builds slowly and carefully, giving both characters time realise they will have to choose between love and duty...
So the world building is interesting, the main characters likeable, the pace is steady and the plot engaging: there is black magic, kidnapped children, secret lovers, treason and battles, and a very HEA at the end… All the elements that make a book really enjoyable. The icing on the cake is Joel’s narration. His ability to convey nuances and details, to impersonate different characters with changes of pitch (I loved his Silas’ in this book) and his powerful dramatization of the events (which brought me to tears a couple of times)makes listening to the audiobook a really enjoyable and emotional experience. He manages to bring his characters alive in a way that makes sure they are going to remain with you for a long time...
Very recommendable

Wonderful narration - love to see mpreg!

First, I want to say that I’m a big fan of the author, Victoria Sue, and I’ve really enjoyed most of her other works. I also enjoyed this, but I have to say that if I’d been reading this I’d have definitely been skimming. There are so many details and the romance between Caleb and Taegan is a clear path but our MCs seem so … oblivious that at times I was pretty frustrated.

While I appreciated the world building and adored the HEA and was totally surprised by the twists and turns… this wasn’t my favorite by the author.

That being said, it was still highly entertaining and I was glad I’d listened to it.


3.5 of 5 stars

Audio

Since I was listening to this and Joel Leslie was doing his absolutely amazing job of keeping me entertained, I was able to get through this – I’m not sure I would have otherwise. Joel gives us so many wonderful voices and adds so much color to the story you can’t help but be captivated!

Highly recommended!

5 of 5 stars

Overall
4 of 5 stars

Highly enjoyable shifter series

This is the second, highly enjoyable, instalment in the Kingdom of Askara trilogy. Written by Victoria Sue and again, narrated by the talented performer Joel Leslie, I enjoyed this even more than the first book. This instalment is about a different set of characters and so can be read/ listened to as a standalone, though we do get a brief appearance of a couple of characters from book 1. Again we are dealing with a kingdom at war, the wolves against the humans. Caleb Harken has been captured and tortured for six years. Heartbreakingly so by his own pack, of which he should be Alpha Heir. Caleb can't shift and so he doesn't believe he can be the alpha heir. His situation is heartbreaking, he just wants to die to end his suffering, Joel does an amazing job of capturing how broken and desperate Caleb is.

Taeghan Callan is the human rebel leader and after an altercation he captures Caleb with a view to ransoming/ bargaining him back to the wolves. Caleb now fully embraces his death, he knows the wolves won't want him back. My heart just about broke for Caleb and all he endured. However, he and Taegan find themselves forming an unlikely connection and the slow burn relationship that forms had me rooting for them. A lot happens in this instalment and the plot thickens, but it's easy to follow. The secondary characters are well voiced, especially the older wolf Silas and the younger children. That's total kudos to the extensive repertoire of Joel Leslie as he brings these books and this brilliant shifter world to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this heart wrenching, but ultimately heart warming story. Total rec!

Wonderful narration of a great book

I really loved the narration for the Alpha Heir. The story had an engaging plot making it an great read independent of the developing relationship between the MCs, which was well paced and full of emotion. I’ve read this in paperback but it’s elevated with Joel Leslie’s narration which allows both Caleb’s and Taegan’s personalities to fully show, at the same time as developing individual voices for the supporting characters. A great listen.

Wonderful world building

As usual wonderful world building and heart wrenching story of love and hope. Joel Leslie adds his superlative skills to make it so captivating. Many times I just stopped what I was doing to just listen, totally absorbed.