Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Presidential Chaos
SERIES: Frat Wars, Book 3
AUTHOR: Saxon James
NARRATOR: Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese
PUBLISHER: May Books
LENGTH: 7 hours and 59 minutes
RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2022
BLURB:
Two houses. Two Presidents. One hell of a happy ending.
Zeke
Being president of a frat house means everything is on my shoulders.
Idiot brothers, epic pranks, a list of organizational duties long enough to make my eyes bleed.
None of it fazes me.
But senior year is almost over, and I’m ready to take a step back.
Until the hazing rumors start.
I might not know where they’re coming from, but I know they’re total BS.
Now, instead of dialing back the stress, we’ve broken the number one rule on the row: Don’t get the dean’s attention.
I need to find out who’s driving the lies.
And all evidence points to one person.
Charles
I never wanted to become Kappa president.
The appointment was made easier, though, when none other than Zeke Ariston took over Sigma house. I’ve always been…drawn to him. Fascinated.
And maybe a little attracted too.
Pity I’ve never been more than an afterthought to him.
But when rumors start to circulate about hazing and the sources lead back to my house, it puts me square on Zeke’s radar.
I want to help him get to the bottom of it all.
And with his attention finally on me, I want to tell him how I feel.
The guys on Greek Row meet their chaotic conclusion with this rivals-to-lovers romance full of pranks, shared hoodies, and secret meetings made in the dark.
REVIEW:
Presidential Chaos is the last installment in Saxon James’ highly enjoyable Frat Wars series, and it, expectedly, features the opposites attract, enemies to lovers romance of rival Sigma Beta Psi and Rho Kappa Tau fraternity presidents, Zeke and Charles. Both are outgoing presidents, seniors soon to graduate, and both have mixed feelings about it. For the most part, they want to move on with their lives, but their close bonds with the found family of their fraternity brothers are something they will sorely miss. And, of course, there’s the call to preserve the legacy of the fraternities they’ve been leading, which is precisely what throws both Zeke and Charles into chaos because a person starts accusing Zeke’s frat of hazing. When the Dean catches wind of it, all of the fraternities and sororities are potentially threatened.
If you’ve read the previous books in this series, which is not strictly necessary but helps provide background and context, you’ve seen Zeke and Charles needling each other throughout. In Presidential Chaos, we finally get things from Zeke and Charles’ points of view, and we realize that they are both wildly attracted to each other. In fact, for the past six months, they’ve been hooking up in secret, in the dark, with a tenuous pretense of anonymity – no names, no faces, just some fun, needed stress release. Adorably flustered Charles is head over heels for Zeke and would love something more permanent, but he doesn’t believe Zeke would want him that way, so he’s got to settle for what he can get and try to protect his heart in the process. Meanwhile, Zeke is all turned around because he has feelings for Charles that he’s never felt before, and he’s not quite sure what to make of it. These two circle each other and do a fair amount of misinterpretation and miscommunication.
The delicious UST between Zeke and Charles is off-the-charts. Their friends-with-benefits arrangement works until they can’t pretend anymore. James does a terrific job mapping out their educational and professional goals and how it overlays with their desire to fall in love, have fun and be happy. And let’s not forget that the clock is ticking as graduation and their inevitable parting of ways looms on the horizon.
The weakest part of this story is the mystery plot. It’s really window dressing for the story’s focal point – Zeke and Charles. James writes excellent, snappy, witty dialogue between them, including snarky banter and some passionate, fiery scenes full of emotional connection. We get to see the usual suspects from the previous books, and the ten years in the future epilogue of the frat brothers gathering at their 10-year reunion is simply epic. It gives the series an excellent, satisfying send-off.
Iggy Toma (as Charles) and Alexander Cendese (as Zeke) finish their narration of this series on the Presidential Chaos audiobook. Interestingly, I read this book before I listened to it and fully expected that Cendese would narrate Charles and Toma, Zeke, so I was surprised by the casting. Charles is intelligent, composed, and serious, yet we see he gets adorably flustered and often overreacts with anxious, hysterical reactions. Cendese is excellent at that kind of high-energy portrayal. However, once I started listening, the casting made perfect sense, and both narrators did a superb job.
Charles may have those anxious, almost frenetic insecure moments that play into Cendese’s strengths. Still, Charles also has a sincere, dedicated, no-nonsense attitude, partially due to the stress of expectations placed on him by his wealthy, homophobic grandfather. It’s a nuanced portrayal that requires balancing these facets of Charles’ personality, and Toma gets it right. He uses a lower pitch and a calm tone, giving him room to explore the versatility of his voice. Toma is a master of conveying emotion through his volume and intonations, and we hear that extensively throughout the audio.
Cendese narrates Zeke with a matter-of-fact, wry, edgy portrayal. His voice is deeper, gruffer, and carries a gravitas that fits Zeke and his high-achiever mentality of a potential future Olympian swimmer. Yet, at the same time, Cendese uses his voice to show that Zeke knows how to have fun, and he also knows how to be romantic. It’s another layered, thoughtful portrayal that really captures who Zeke is.
Presidential Chaos is an audiobook I highly recommend. This is the series’ most well-rounded, enjoyable story, and this is Cendese and Toma’s best performance as well. They pair well with James’ new adult story, bringing it to life in a way the book alone cannot achieve.
RATING: 
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