Listen with Lillian - The High King's Golden Tongue

One of my favourite things about audiobooks is the ability to catch up with a series when a new book appears without having to put aside actual reading time (see last post for all the places I utilise audios). There’s nothing worse than a new book in a series arriving after several years and me realising there is no audio. Or, sacrilege, the narrator is so bad that I can’t listen to it.

But sometimes, when book and narrator align in perfection, I love to be able to simply immerse myself in a favourite book and let the words flow over me.

That’s what I’ve been doing this last week or so.

The High King's Golden Tongue 

Written By Megan Derr

Narrated by Michael Stellman

Prince Allen has trained his entire life to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious mother, who has made their kingdom one of the wealthiest and most influential in the empire. For the past few years he has trained to become the new consort of the High King. The only thing no one prepared him for was the stubborn, arrogant High King himself, who declares Allen useless and throws him out of court.

High King Sarrica is ruling an empire at war, and that war will grow exponentially worse if his carefully laid plans do not come to fruition. He's overwhelmed and needs help, as much as he hates to admit it, but it must be someone like his late consort: a soldier, someone who understands war, who is not unfamiliar with or afraid of the harsher elements of rule. What he doesn't need is the delicate, pretty little politician foisted on him right as everything goes wrong.

Buy links: Audible // iTunes // Amazon

My two pennies worth.

Tales of the High Court is one of my 'go to' fantasy series and this is the book that starts the series. I'm in awe of the world building and the way Megan Derr incorporates diversity without blinking an eye, especially the ease that she has introduced transgender characters into the world. The story is larger than the romance, in fact there are great swathes of pages where the characters aren't even in the same country and certainly not interacting. The plot is rife with politics and court shenanigans, murders and traitors, but the romance is also integral to the plot and affects the actions of more than just the MCs.

Michael Stellman's narration is excellent and his voice is very easy to listen to. He also adds a extra level of understanding to the characters with his interpretations.

Low in sex, but full of passion, plot, and interesting side characters.