The Solitary King

The Fair Chronicles, Book 2

By: Lyndsey Hall

Narrated by: Olivia Barnes-Brett

Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

When Aria returns to the Fair Realm to attend a ball at the Salamander castle, it isn’t long before things take a turn for the deadly.

With her father’s home in ashes and her newfound family reduced to dust, Aria finds herself King Auberon’s captive once more. Deep within the mountains that border the Celeste Kingdom, Aria is powerless to fight back, her newly-discovered abilities suppressed by the weight of the rock that surrounds her. But when a Celeste guard whispers about rebellion and promises to help her escape, Aria is desperate to trust him.

Crown Prince Xander returns home to the Gnome castle, laden with grief for his brother and father, and dreading the day he will be crowned king. Preparations are underway for his marriage and coronation, but thoughts of the girl he betrayed trouble him day and night. Until the morning of his wedding, when a note arrives that Aria has been taken by Auberon once more, and Xander is forced to choose between his life of duty and obedience, and what he believes is right.

Perfect for fans of dark romantic fantasy novels like Holly Black’s Folk of the Air series.

©2022 Lyndsey Hall (P)2022 Lyndsey Hall

Better than the first

I liked book 1 in the series, but this one is even better!

Book 2 sees Aria back in the Fair Realm. In fact she doesn't go back to the human realm for the entire book. We get to explore more of the 5 kingdoms (and queendom) and meet more of the Fair. There are secret alliances and hurtful betrayals to be discovered. The story continues and I don't want it to end.

The narration seemed to be better in this book but maybe that's because I went straight from Book 1 to Book 2 and I was already accustomed to it. Olivia Barnes-Brett isn't a bad narrator at all, but her male voices aren't that great (mostly Rainer's deep gravelly voice). There were a few mispronunciations, the most notable being "fox fur collar" instead of "faux fur collar," although I was listening instead of reading, so I can't be sure of how it was intended.

Overall I give it 4.5 stars. It's a fun fairy tale and now I'm waiting for the 3rd audiobook to be released.

Also, for anyone who may be wondering, these books are pretty clean. So far there have been a few scattered f-bombs (maybe 5 over both books) and no sex. I would rate it PG for violence and language, possibly PG-13 due to the f-bombs.

I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving this review.

Great story!

I cannot wait for the next book! The story is engaging and full of magic.

The Adventure Continues…

We are back at the Fair Realm in the second book of The Fair Chronicles. The story pulled me in and kept me engaged from beginning to conclusion. The story started slow but it progressed at a good pace.

Narration is well done and brings the story to life.

The Solitary King has suspense, action, adventure, magic, romance, and some twists to keep you entertained. I’m really looking forward to the next book.

Slow Start but Good Finish!

This was a good continuation of this series. I did feel that the beginning half was a little slow but it picks up about half way through and the rest kept my interest a little more. I like all the characters just like the first book and I am glad to see we are getting a few more pieces to the backstory. Olivia Barnes-Brett was perfect for this book and the characters. I like the tone of her voice and feel it gives some added depth to some of the characters. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

Fantastical Listen

Great narration. This books picks up soon after where The Fair Queen ended. Filled with magic abilities, choices, hope, love and a determination to keep moving forward.

Really great story

Great second instalment of The Fair Chronicles that I enjoyed immensely.
Aria returns to the Fair Realm and disaster strikes again when King Auberon appears at the ball she is attending and kidnaps her.
The cruelty she suffers at the hands of her captor leaves Aria’s body weak and unable to function properly.
Word spreads through the realms of the horrific actions of King Auberon at the ball and when Xander (soon to be crowned King) hears, he drops everything to race off and rescue Aria.
This book is a really well written dark romance with moments of cruelty and death but also kindness, loyalty and love.
I really enjoyed the narration of this audiobook.
I purchased the ebook but was given the audiobook for my honest review.

Great story development

I was very skeptic at the beginning of this series, but I ended up loving it by the end of the first book. This second book in the trilogy was just as awesome. We get to see so much more of the Fair Realm and the anthropologist in me was fascinated by all the different societies. The plot development was continuously surprising, and that is what makes a book good in my view. While it does say "dark", it doesn't have anything too explicit - there were a few scenes that included bleeding, but in my opinion it was more about the suspense rather than the descriptions - do the characters get out of this situation, and if yes, HOW IN THE WORLD!? Overall, I loved this book and now I'm torn if I want to wait for the 3rd book in audio (great narrator, btw) or if I want to find out how it ends and just get the ebook. Either way, I will definitely read the next one!

Book 2

I was given a free copy of this audio book in exchange for my honest review.

I am going to give a content warning for this book, there is quite a bit of bloody violence, abuse, and suicidal thoughts.

So I am now two books into this series and I appreciate that this is a plot driven series as opposed to a romance. If you are here for smut this isn’t the book for you. There is love and couples, but the main focus is uniting the 5 kingdoms and defeating the (truly despicable) villain.
I also like that the main male character is struggling with more than just his feeling for the female lead. He is navigating his past poor decisions and working through big emotional baggage.

My main complaint with this book is that it felt rushed. I thought it could have been expanded on quite a bit, but I am a sucker for big long books so that might just be a me thing.

This narrator is great. You as the listener always know who is talking and she keeps you engaged.

I am very hopeful for the next book!

Very well done

This is a fantastic adventure of a young lady who found out she was from the realm of the fae and this is the second book of her adventures and it has left me ready for more

Love her books

And I’m great full to any author who but there books to audio for people like me, who are dyslexic we are a book that size would probably take me two weeks to read. I can listen to it as a normal level like everyone else, and especially people that are blind and so on I wish more authors would do this, so thank you Miss Hall.