Reviewed by Susan
TITLE: The Prince’s Consort
SERIES: Chronicles Of Tournai
AUTHOR: Antonia Aquilante
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 290 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 16, 2015
BLURB:
Legends tell of large cats defending the principality of Tournai, but such creatures have been lost to time.
Or have they?
Prince Philip inherited the throne at a young age, and since then, his life has centered around ruling his country and resisting those pressuring him to take a wife and conceive an heir—forcing him to hide his attraction to men. When kind-hearted Amory is offered to the prince in exchange for more time for Amory’s father to complete a commission, both Philip and Amory are horrified. But Philip agrees to keep Amory at the palace, where they gradually become friends, then lovers. For the first time in his life, Philip is free to share not only his heart, but the magical shape-shifting ability that runs in the royal bloodline.
Neither Amory nor Philip imagined falling in love, and they certainly don’t expect the lengths those who oppose their relationship will go to keep them apart—maybe even resorting to murder.
REVIEW:
This is the epic story of how Amory went from being the neglected second of a glass merchant to the beloved consort of the Prince of Tournai.
At the heart of this tale is a love story. Amory and Phillip are pretty close to love at first sight. Phillip sees in Amory the chance to no longer be alone. He sees a potential friend and maybe lover. Someone to confide in and share the burdens of ruling the Kingdom. Amory finally has someone who takes an interest in him. Who doesn’t see him as worthless. And he feels a need to protect and support Phillip.
This is a slow building romance. Phillip does not want to overwhelm Amory. His world has been turned upside down and he wants Amory to be comfortable in his new home before springing his feelings on him. So he begins to court him in a way that is really sweet and effective.
Of course you can’t have a romance between a Prince and a commoner without palace intrigue. And this story has a lot of that. His family and friends expect Phillip to marry and produce heirs. And when they discover that this is not in Phillip’s plans at all, they react badly. Someone wants Amory out of the way and resorts to violence to achieve that goal. Phillip has to protect his lover and discover the traitor before it is too late.
The fantasy elements of the story are muted in the first half of the book. There is not a lot of world building, the main focus is on the relationship. It does come out in a big way in the second half of the story in a major, unexpected plot twist.
The main characters are well written and their devotion to each other shines through in all their actions. The supporting characters are well developed and some of them deserve stories of their own. The writing is fluid and easy to follow. I did not get lost in the details. I did deduct half a star for figuring out most of the villains’ plot by about half way through. I think the best complement I can give this book is the fact that I have added the second book in the series to by to be read list.
RATING: 
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