The Chef

Princes of Toval, Book 1

De: Mell Eight

Narrado por: James D. Sasser

Char is a level one chef, capable of imbuing magic into his cooking. Offered a job in a new city where he can further develop his skills and grow toward his goal of one day owning his own restaurant, Char undertakes a dangerous journey through the Spikehorn Mountain pass. However, deadly beasts, thieves, and dodgy recipe ingredients aren't the only challenges in the mountains. When the mercenary group he travels with is attacked and killed, Char wows their killers with his skills and chooses to join them instead of being left to travel on his own.

Figuring out how to cook over a campfire with only salted and dried ingredients is a unique challenge for Char, but the fighters promised to deliver Char safely to his new job once their own task in the mountains is complete. But the new fighters aren't everything they appear to be, especially Captain Fen, who makes Char think about something other than cooking for the first time in years. Surviving the mountain crossing was supposed to be tough, but surviving this new journey might prove impossible.

©2024 Mell Eight (P)2024 Tantor Media

I love the book, less so the narrator

I've loved this book since I first discovered it not long after it was published. I've had Alexa read it to me often, weird mispronunciations and all. So I was thrilled when I saw it was in audio and bought all three books in the series.

But the narrator gets mush mouth on the regular, swallowing consonants at the middle of end of words. There isn't a significant vocal or emotional range. I don't understand how Charmaine (Sharmain) becomes Char with a hard ch. I expected it of Alexa, but not professionally read. Perhaps that's my error. You can tell the voices of the characters in the current scenes apart, but a lot of the side characters have similar voices and female voices are a wash. Mundane scenes are read as urgent, so there's nowhere to go when there's actual urgency. I usually speed up my books, but I had to slow this one down.

I don't regret buying the books because I want to support the author and they weren't expensive, but if the same narrator is used elsewhere, I'll pass on them.

The stories themselves are lovely with the first having the best main character (Char, which I personally think should be pronounced Shar since Charmaine starts with a soft Ch, but what do I know? Maybe there's more than one pronunciation for that one.) and the third the most complex storyline with the second best main character (Ama).

Fun read ❤️ Awesome listen

This book is sweet and wholesome with just a tiny dash of gory. It's kinda slow paced and still manages to be action-packed. You'll be hungry the whole time you're reading it. 😆 I loved it. There's no spice, it's fade to black and it's a nice change. I love how Char realizes that certain phrase is Fen telling him he loves him. Like "as you wish." It makes my little nerd heart happy. The magic in this story is cool. I love the children. Little badasses. I'm glad there's more to come!
The audiobook is so good! I enjoyed listening to The Chef. I think the narrator really makes this story shine.

Sweet Cooking Fantasy

This a great book for anyone who likes cooking and food. The romance is truly between the Chef and his food. The actual romance seems like an afterthought and didn’t add much to the story. Lovely story if you want a sweet fantasy but not for those looking for a steamy (or even slight heat) romance.