The Iron Crown

The Darkest Court, Book 3

By: M.A. Grant

Narrated by: John Solo

Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

After the last Faerie Civil War, the leaders of the magickal pantheons stripped the shining Seelie Court of its power and tasked the dark Unseelie Court with maintaining the natural balance of the world. Ages later, a twisted intrigue throws the balance of all Faerie into ruin and ignites a new civil war.

Discounted by his family and haunted in the Unseelie sidhe, Queen Mab's youngest son, Lugh, leads the Wild Hunt on quests across the dangerous Wylds. At his side is his best friend, Keiran, a Viking rescued from death centuries earlier. Between Lugh's uncanny gift for being in the right place at the right time and Keiran's power of persuasion, they're revered across the Wylds - as long as Lugh keeps his true identity hidden from the people of the Sluagh.

Keiran and Lugh have loved each other for centuries - as friends and brothers in arms. Lugh has long since put aside his romantic love for Keiran to protect their friendship. But with the looming war in Faerie and the ghosts of the dead dogging Lugh's every move, Keiran realizes there may be room for romance between them after all, if only they can survive.

Contains mature themes.

©2020 M. A. Grant (P)2020 Tantor

Performed by Batman?

I’m not sure why of the three books in this series, the performance of this book was exceptionally distracting.

There are three attributes that kept pulling me out of the story:

1) Over 70% of the book is performed with the gruffness and airiness of the 90’s Batman TV comic. The creators of this audio book failed to realize that many of us will listen to the story through earbuds, headphones, and/or in a car. I am used to adjusting the volume or pressing pause when a large truck or train passes by, but the presence of a normal car or an air conditioner drowns out the 20% of the book that is completely whispered.

2) In a similar vein, the performer delivers nearly every line as if it the most important dramatic moment of the story. The ebbs and flows of normal speech are present for the most part, and the performer avoids the trap of sounding like an actor who listens to themselves as they speak. But... there... are... so... many... lines... with... haulted... delivery... (you get the point) that it sounds like an impersonation of William Shatner. Whether the characters are experiencing a truly emotional moment, or merely describing the setting of a room, the delivery is exceedingly dramatic.

3) Lastly, what accent or dialect does Lugh have? The “g’s” of words ending in “ing” are left off sporadically making it sound like an attempt at an American Souther dialect. At other times, vowels, such as the “o” in “other”, are given an umlaut making Lugh sound Scottish. Sometimes the “r’s” are hit really hard like an Irish brogue, and sometimes they are dropped like a Brittish or Southern accent.

I wish I could give a better review. I liked the first two books much more despite having a hard time hearing the low whispers of line delivery. It almost seems like this audio booked was rushed to be recorded.

Too bad.

magical, thrilling, and romantic series conclusion

A magical, thrilling, and romantic conclusion to the Darkest Court series, the Iron Crown centers on Lugh, the youngest prince of the Unseelie Winter Court, and Kieran, his longtime companion and protector.

I completely enjoyed their journey from a platonic friendship to a greater love and sexual intimacy, and I loved how they became true equals in the end. They had a truly special relationship that was built on long-standing trust, friendship, and loyalty. From the moment Lugh found Kieran, they were inseparable.

I was fascinated by the pair’s magical abilities, which turned out to be more awesome and important to the main plot than I first thought. And I liked how their partnership was so vital in identifying and defeating the main villain.

I liked how the villain and the princes’ mother Queen Mab were complex and interesting characters as well. And I liked how the brothers came through for each other and their family, while treasuring and fighting for their found families.

I hope the author writes more fantasy m/m romance, because I enjoyed this series very much. John Solo's narration was perfect!

Favorite

This is probably my favorite in this super slow burning low heat FABULOUS series. Lawd I just wanted to smash their lips together myself at times 🤦🏾‍♀️. But this is a must read or hear trio that I’m sorry to hear the end of.

Interesting but good

This is a new author for me. Don’t always have good luck with new authors but decided to take a chance. The story never got boring, had a hard time putting it down to sleep. Lol. Enjoyed the intrigue. No characters whining, narrator is very good. Have always enjoyed John solo. All in all I very much enjoyed the series.

A++

This like the other two was amazing!!! I was super sad that it was over.

Loved!!

Love the story line and character relations. What a beautiful world. Hope there’s more books in this world to come!

This book had everything

When comparing this book to the others in the series you would think it would have the same abrupt ending. This book does a great job of tying everything together but still showing the growth of the relationships from the past two books. Overall I really enjoyed the book and a series

amazing story

amazing story great love interests and the sex scenes were steamy all around amazing book

Emo boys in love

I’ve enjoyed the series, and this story in particular put a lot of things together that were left unexplained in the previous two, but DAMN these boys are emo af. John Solo’s melancholy narration is the perfect accompaniment to so much ennui and angst, slowly wandering through the dark hallways of their minds, as you watch them ignore every opportunity to turn on the light. It’s almost painful.

Not as good as the first two

I didn't take as much notice with this book ,I felt the story was weak in places and the narrators accents were very dodgy .

Enjoyable

Enjoyed this audiobook, I have to say that it wasn’t as good as the first two.

The storyline took a lot of concentration as it switched from past to present, ghosts of past and present.
It probably wasn’t until I got to chapter 12 where I actually started to enjoy it. Probably because it started where book 2 ended.

The only other negative comment I have to say is WHY was John Solo narrating in a Northern/Yorkshire accent?
I haven’t heard anywhere in all three audiobooks that suggests that the characters were of northern decent.
After all, I think Finney was the only student at a London university that was from the countryside, but then, I don’t recall it saying where.

Just a little distracting narrating like an American but characters in Yorkshire accents - bizarre 🤔
Had to listen to the end to find out what happened and the battle scenes were amazingly descriptive and definitely worth the wait.

What happens now?? Who knows - Are there going to be any future plans for the brothers?

A definite must hear (audiobook) to finish of this particular chapter 👍😊😊

What a finale!!

There are plenty of fantasy series I've read over the decades that manage to ruin a fabulous build up at the finish line. Thankfully this isn't one of those. The Iron Crown brings the Darkest Court to an incredible edge of your seat conclusion. This book, like the previous ones, has everything! Angst, romance, humour, fantasy, war! If you enjoyed the first two books, you will LOVE this one. And expect the long awaited return of our other princes and consorts as the Faerie as we know it balances on the brink of civil war. You will not be disappointed!

As for the audio reading, John Solo has also surpassed himself with this final book. His character voices throughout this series face been phenomenal and he hasn't let me down with this final installment. Bringing all of the characters from the previous books together he has stayed true to their voices, accents and the Gaelic pronunciations. Never before have I loved a narrator as much as the author but John is a legend in his own right and these books have truly come into their own thanks to his fantastic work.

Great series

Interesting story with likeable characters and good narration. There are a few things that don't make sense but I expect that they'll be covered in future books.