Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Red Heir
SERIES: Adventures in Aguillon
AUTHORS: Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey
NARRATOR: Nick J. Russo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 7 hours and 1 minutes1
RELEASE DATE: February 12, 2021
BLURB:
Imprisoned pickpocket Loth isn’t sure why a bunch of idiots just broke into his cell claiming they’re here to rescue the lost prince of Aguillon, and he doesn’t really care. They’re looking for a redheaded prince, and he’s more than happy to play along if it means freedom. Then, his cranky cellmate Grub complicates things by claiming to be the prince as well.
Now, they’re fleeing across the country, and Loth’s stuck sharing a horse and a bedroll with Grub while imitating royalty, eating eel porridge, and dodging swamp monsters and bandits.
Along the way, Loth discovers that there’s more to Grub than meets the eye. Under the dirt and bad attitude, Grub’s not completely awful. He might even be attractive. In fact, Loth has a terrible suspicion that he’s developing feelings, and he’s not sure what to do about that. He’d probably have more luck figuring it out if people would just stop trying to kill them.
At least they’ve got a dragon, right?
REVIEW:
Loth gets caught pickpocketing and thrown in jail. He’s sharing a cell with a grubby young man when the wall caves in and an Orc appears to “rescue” the red-haired prince. But uh-oh! There are TWO redheads in the cell. So the motley crew of rescuers decide to take them both. But as they are escaping, no one really seems to be after them and the guards were all asleep – so not much of a rescue really – just sort of a waltz in and out. This is Clue #1 that things might be amiss. Add in that Scott, the idiot human “leading” the rescue mission has no idea who it is that has instigated the rescue of the missing prince whose uncle has basically stolen throne.
Along the way, it becomes apparent that Scott has no idea what he’s doing. They got lost immediately – and accidentally end up in the Swamp of death. Between the poison and the mysterious swamp monster and some other mishaps, the group is in a bit of a mess. But they do at least have a dragon to help 😀 Luckily it seems that Grub know the way to the road and a town. When they get to the town, they finally find a bed, some real food and good night’s sleep. And Loth and Grub give in to their mutual attraction – despite all their previous animosity and bickering 🙂 After that things seem to change.
As they continue to try to escape the various groups who are pursuing them, Loth begins to realize that indeed Grub is not who he initially seemed to be. And as he comes to that realization, he also begins to notice that he has “feelings” for Grub and that he feels quite protective of him when the bad guys comes to call. And there are plenty of them. But as they get closer to their goal of confronter Lord Doom, the evil uncle who has stolen the crown, Loth shows his worth. And so does his family 🙂
OMG! I absolutely loved this 😀 So many of my favorite things – a quest, fantastic characters, nefarious villains, idiots, elves, a lady dwarf with a beard, mistaken identity, hidden prince – all in one story. This story is told with humor and sarcasm – my fluent languages 😉 Loth and Grub are hilarious as the mismatched, yet just perfect cellmates who are “rescued” but the motely crew of Cal the elf, Ada the dwarf, Dave the Orc and Scott, the idiot 😛 Each character is integral to the story and they each play their parts perfectly in the quest to get prince Tarquin back to their benefactor so that they can get paid. But I loved that ultimately, it’s Toth and Grub who make things happen and save the day with some help from unexpected sources. There are a lot of twists and turns in the return of the prince – like why Grub and Loth are even in the same cell. And it’s really hard to know who to trust 🙂 There are a lot of surprises that kept the story moving along and I couldn’t wait to see who would be around the next corner. The humor is broad and hilarious – whether it’s Cal and “cousin” Benji, Dave’s songwriting skills or Pie’s secret weapon, it’s all there to provide a delicious tale of overcoming the odds. The romance between Loth and Grub starts out with quite a few bumps and there are definitely ups and downs, but ultimately Grub and Loth realize that they are so much better together and so is the kingdom 🙂 I loved the way their relationship evolved 🙂
I’m so glad that I decided to listen to this audio version of the story. Nick Russo is one of my absolute favorites. He’s got such a great flair for comedic stories that not everyone can pull off. His previous narrations of some of Lisa Henry’s earlier books are a good example of how to add just the right deft touch – so that the characters don’t fall over the line into caricature. I loves his voice choices for this story – especially for all the secondary characters who can sometime end up just sounding all alike. There’s a fairly large cast here and they were all very distinctive and well done. Bottom line, if you love fantasy fairy tale inspired stories with a healthy dose of humor and fun, then you will definitely enjoy this book! Highly recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Audible