Reviewed by Larissa

 

TITLE:  King of Thieves

SERIES:  Frat Wars, Book 1

AUTHOR:  Saxon James

NARRATOR: Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese

PUBLISHER:  May Books

LENGTH:  6 hours and 45 minutes

RELEASE DATE:    December 9, 2021

BLURB:

We’re basically Romeo and Juliet. But dudes. And without all the dying. 

Chad

Being VP of Sigma Beta Psi is wild. I get all the benefits of being in charge with hardly any of the responsibility. 

Parties, pranks, and frat politics – college life has never been sweeter. 

Until I meet Bailey Prince. 

He has the face of a goddamn angel. I don’t know where he came from or why I’m so obsessed. 

But I do know he’s a Kappa. 

And our houses have a rivalry that’s written into legend. 

Bailey

At Rho Kappa Tau, I’m a legacy. 

It’s a lot of pressure, but I’ve always been responsible, never had that rebellious need to rock the boat – and I like it that way. 

But after a party at Sigma – the jock frat – I meet Chad Doomsen, and for the first time in my life, I want to step outside my square. 

Our houses have always had a rivalry, but some of the guys seem to hate Chad specifically, and I don’t know why. 

He’s surprisingly sweet and kind. At least to me. 

I need to stay away. A relationship with Chad would be betraying the very legacy that brought me here. 

But I can’t help myself. And, it seems, neither can he.

REVIEW:

King of Thieves, the first book in Saxon James’ new  Frat Wars series, is, as the name implies, a college fraternity-based story.  I’m not sure what is so attractive about this particular M/M romance subgenre, but I’ll greedily consume it in any well-executed iteration.  And that’s exactly what Ms. James delivers here.

A lighthearted, contemporary, low-angst Romeo and Juliet (I think that’s an oxymoron, but I digress …), Ms. James adopts Shakespeare’s skill at creating conflict but jettisons the undesirable consequences, giving us, instead, a more palatable result – a solid HEA for our featured couple, Chad Doomsen and Bailey Prince.

Chad and Bailey are both college seniors in rival fraternities – Rho Kappa Tau and Sigma Beta Psi.  The fraternities’ rivalry has existed for so long that nobody remembers why they inherently hate each other. They just know they are supposed to and faithfully abide by that premise.  

Chad is the vice president of the Sigma house.  He spends his time trying to stand out as the resident prankster and general bane of the Kappas’ existence. In contrast, Bailey is a transfer student and son of an uber-rich father who is also a legacy member of the Kappa fraternity.  He’s the new guy on a new campus in his last year of school, so Bailey just wants to fly below the radar.  This is particularly the case given that guys seem to only be interested in Bailey for his wealth, status, and connections.

Neither Chad nor Bailey are who they appear to be on the surface.  Bailey seems introverted and entitled, but he’s got a healthy risk tolerance, rebellious streak, and a lack of inhibition.  Chad seems like a goof-off and screw-up, riding the coattails of his football scholarship to a degree.  But he has a steady, loyal, serious side to him that recognizes what’s meaningful and important and isn’t willing to screw it up. After Chad and Bailey have an instalust, almost hook-up, they inexplicably can’t stay away from each other.  Even though they should hate each other.  And even though their frat brothers would hate them if they found out about their relationship. They’re each other’s Achilles Heel, but they both find they’re unwilling to avoid the risk.  

King of Thieves is highly enjoyable fare, easy to digest in a single sitting.  It grabs your attention and holds it with charismatic characters, amusing and sometimes surprising plot twists, and a thoughtfully designed story arc that plays out successfully.  There’s not much that’s novel about the premise, but Ms. James uses her considerable storytelling skills to deliver something fresh and new within an established framework.  

I adored the dynamic between Chad and Bailey, even though the frat dynamic started to grate on my nerves as the story went on.  But that’s just my low tolerance for juvenile shenanigans, which is not Ms. James’ fault or responsibility.  Some plot points were evident, and the conflict resolution felt a bit too convenient, but I didn’t particularly mind on either count because of the overall quality of the story and the characters. 

Ms. James developed both Chad and Bailey with dimension.  She created two highly endearing characters and gave them a slow-burn, flirty, steamy relationship dynamic.  Admittedly, this story reminded me of one of my favorite M/M romances which bears a number of similarities in premise and plot.  However, to its credit, King of Thieves stands in its own right outside of any predecessor shadows because Ms. James provides enough distinction through her characters and, perhaps more importantly, through the talented narrators that bring the King of Thieves audiobook to life.

Iggy Toma (as Bailey) and Alexander Cendese (as Chad) narrate the audiobook of King of Thieves, and their superb vocal performances differentiate this story.  Both men have a unique style and distinct sound.  Upon listening, Mr. Toma and Mr. Cendese are readily identifiable, so the synergy resonates when they are matched well to their roles.  And here, they are perfectly cast.  

Mr. Toma uses his matter-of-fact delivery with its wry edginess to capture Bailey’s hesitant optimism and confident yet paradoxically insecure demeanor.  He’s secure in his intelligence, ability to succeed, and family.  Yet he’s uncertain about his developing feelings for Chad and the repercussions of that in light of the rivalry and their yet-to-be-acknowledged sexual identities.  Mr. Toma’s pacing is on point, his inflections accurately delivered, and his delivery communicates Bailey’s emotions.

Mr. Cendese, for his part, leverages his bright, energetic delivery to capture Chad’s essence, and it works exceptionally well.  When I saw Mr. Cendese’s name on the narrator byline for this audio, I immediately cast him as Chad, even before listening.  I had already read King of Thieves without the audio, so I knew Chad OTT’s, jokester attitude and actions, which belie the steady, affectionate, committed Chad he masks with his antics.  Having listened to Mr. Cendese many times before, I readily assigned him to Chad because Mr. Cendese’s vibe, tempo, and delivery match up perfectly with Chad’s character.  Additionally, Mr. Cendese voices Chad with a mid-pitched tone, similar to his “default” natural voice, which lends authenticity to his portrayal of Chad.

Overall, King of Thieves is a well-written, highly enjoyable, auspicious start to the Frat Wars series, made even better through the evident skill and invested vocal performances of two skilled vocal artists in Mr. Toma and Mr. Cendese.  It’s a story you’ll enjoy in either format, but the experience is more immersive in audio, so I encourage you to give it a listen.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Audible

Amazon