Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Nightingale Prince

SERIES:  The Songbird Princes

AUTHOR:  Zack Bel

PUBLISHER:  Urchin & Fox Publishing

LENGTH:  252 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  January 29, 2023

BLURB:

The crown of a Fae Prince is a dangerous thing

Toby’s boyfriend just kicked him to the curb, so when he inherits a decrepit mansion in the remote Aussie bush, he jumps at the chance for a break. He finds a charming little town full of big personalities, and a handsome, mysterious gardener. But Toby will soon discover that everything he thought he knew is a lie. He’s not even human.

The Fae are real, and he’s one of them.

The ancient nature Fae Amaethon has buried the pain of losing his lover a century ago. These days, he finds plants easier to talk to than people, but Toby pulls him out of his shell so easily. When the same evil that took his lover returns, he’ll fight to protect Toby and the chance to love again.

An ancient magic is reawakening, and Toby is the heir. To make matters worse, Fae hunters want him dead, and they’ll destroy this quiet town to stop the Nightingale Prince from rising.

Amaethon and Toby will have to fight together to survive, and failure means the end of all Fae kind.

The Nightingale Prince is a paranormal MM romance with a touch of the gothic. Book 1 of The Songbird Princes, each book follows a different main couple with a HEA, but the series must be read in order. May contain: Lots of chocolate chip cookies, a crumbling mansion with a library to put Belle to shame, an eccentric old lady who might’ve given King Arthur his sword, a magical housekeeper, and a badass witch librarian. It contains explicit content. Check the title page for content warnings.

REVIEW:

Toby’s father has recently died and he’s rightly grieving.  Then his boyfriend does him dirty.  At the same time, he receives word that his grandfather has died and left him the house in Pennyroyal – Avillion. He had visited as a boy and never really got on with his grandfather, but then his mother and grandfather had a row and he hasn’t been back in years. His mother abandoned him to his father and now his father is gone, so he is in definite need of a change of scenery.

He arrives in Pennyroyal to discover the house is in a fairly bad state.  Melissa the housekeeper and Thon, the gardener are still there.  He is amazed that he’s just noticing Thon and that he appears the same as he did when he was a boy.  There is definitely a strange energy here.  Then Toby is woken by what he thinks might be a dream.  It is not.  Melissa and Thon have to tell Toby the truth.  He is not who he thinks he is.  His grandfather and mother decided that to protect him, they would shield him from the truth and bind his magic so that he could grow up in the human world.  But in fact, he is a fae prince.  Fat lot of good that does him since no one is around to explain what that means, what kind of magic he has and why they didn’t prepare him for his rightful place. Needless to say, Toby is not happy that he’s been lied to his whole life.

People – meaning other fae – are now missing.  It’s up to Toby and his friends to try to find out what happened to them.  This opens a whole new can of worms when it becomes clear that they are being hunted.  While he’s relatively safe at Avillion, they are definitely coming for him.  And the other Fae Princes.  If Toby and his friends don’t stop them, there will be more bloodshed.  But they are going to have to rely on some potentially dangerous and tricky allies to get the help they need to fight these hunters.  And it’s going to take all their magic to succeed.

Well this is a thoroughly enjoyable start to a series that is sure to please those who love stories of the fae and their world.  I loved the setting of Australia and the Toby’s found family.  There are a number of mysteries surrounding Toby’s life and those of the folks in Pennyroyal, his grandfather, his mother and his best friend.  There is a bit of a love at first sight thing that happens, but in the context of this world, I think it makes sense.  Toby and Thon make a good team.  They deal with issues mostly in a mature manner – and work through their difficulties.  With Bennet and Melissa to help along with the locals and even Thon’s ex Dara, there is a group of found family  who are going to figure out this mystery and protect the princes.  I loved the various mysteries that Toby and his friend have to resolve, even though some tasks end up being messy and violent.  The the various fae and other magical folks in this world are fascinating – and boy do I wish I could visit Avillion’s library!  This is a wonderful start and introduction to these realms and though one problem is relatively solved, there are others that require the combined skills of this team and I can’t wait to see what comes next.   This ends with a HFN with an open door to the next book.  Highly recommended.

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

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