Prince and Assassin

Perilous Courts, Book 1

By: Tavia Lark

Narrated by: Kirt Graves, John Solo

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

He’s supposed to kill Prince Julien...not fall for him.

Whisper doesn’t remember his real name. All he knows is the elite assassin guild that raised him—and controls him with the threat of blood magic. Plagued by nightmares, he doesn’t get to refuse assignments, even when his new job doesn’t make sense:

infiltrate Prince Julien’s court, protect him until the signal arrives, then kill him.

Julien hides his own schemes behind a sordid reputation. He trusts nobody besides his brothers, and he certainly doesn’t trust the aloof, beautiful new stranger at court. But he doesn’t have to trust the stranger to be drawn to him, especially when he saves Julien’s life.

Then Julien saves Whisper too, and Whisper’s reserve shatters.

Beneath Julien’s playboy facade is a warmth Whisper can’t resist. Whisper’s never been comforted before. He’s never been cared for like this. As his nightmares darken, Julien’s touch is his only solace—but falling in love could ruin them both.

Because Whisper’s mission hasn’t changed, and the price for failure is worse than death.

Prince and Assassin is a high fantasy gay romance with secret identities, hurt/comfort, and magic tigers with attitude. The Perilous Courts series is best listened to in order, but each book follows a different prince and his Happily Ever After.

©2022 Tavia Lark (P)2023 Podium Audio

4.5 stars!

I liked Kirt Graves a little better than John solo but the story was excellent and listening was a pleasure!

I love Whisper and Julian’s story. This will definitely be a book I revisit.

cute story

it’s your normal assassin falls for target trope, but not in a bad way. it’s pretty humorous most of the way through but does have some interesting plot elements too. not a long listen but sits about right for what it is. enjoyed it. will continue to the next book in the series

Great Quick Listen

It was hard to stop myself from finishing the book all in one go.

Well read and entertaining story

This review contains mild spoilers.

Was pretty much everything a little expected and trope-y? Oh, absolutely. Did I eat it up with a spoon and wish it was twice as long so I could enjoy more of it? Of course I did.

The concept of the Assassins guild isn’t new, nor is the the idea of controlling the members. But the blood magic, the “father and children” element, granting boons of freedom just to send your next child assassin to clean up loose ends, and the casual cruelty of calling them Hounds in a Kennel … I was totally bought in.

I also expected Julian to be a jerk with the way he was initially described, and I adored the twist to make him his brother’s champion. His self doubt about inheriting his father’s magic and not wanting to turn into him felt a little weak, but overall Julian delighted me.

Whisper was such a great character - frank about his own shortcomings, distracted by giant cats, trying to protect people even when he shouldn’t have any empathy left. His dynamic with Julian was very hot, and easy to fall in love with.

I think my favorite thing about this book was the world building. The casual mentions of creatures like dragons, wyrms and fell cats place the story into a fantasy setting without trying too hard with lengthy, ungainly backstory and exposition. The rivalries between the three countries and political machinations were complex while still being laid out in an easy-to-follow manner. I loved the two queens, and that they got children by way of a biological father without giving him a right to the offspring; that dynamic was explained well and also grounded the character behaviors without needing to use dozens of pages to ascribe importance or motivations.

A mm Fairytale with awesome Dual Narration

My first book from new to me author Tavia Lark and what a treat this listen has been, (finished listening in a day🥳). Not to mention Kirt Graves as Whisper (MC1) and John Solo as Julian (MC2) are two of the best dual narrator choices in the mm audiobook world 😍. Kirt's slow and serious take on the quiet and mysterious Whisper is on point, while John has given a two variations to the character of Julian, a flamboyant, flirty prince facade that he carries for the nobility courtiers and an observant yet light-hearted and kind personality that only his loyal guards are aware of. The superb cast of side characters also have been given eloquent voice personalities, and both narrators have given a beautiful character to the storytelling style.

The most notable feature of the book besides the narration has been the two main characters and the world building around them. From the start Whisper/Will holds an air of mystery around him and he carries it even after the climax. Whisper is part of a assassin group called The Kennel. Every assassin is beholden to the man Whisper calls "father", who is a blood mage and has bound all the assassins to him through blood. If any of them fails in their mission, the next instance they will be dead. The only boon he grants them all is that after their 6th mission they can have their freedom from the blood oath if they succeed in the mission. Yet, when Whisper's turn comes he asks for the boon to be given to Hemlock, a young girl and protege of poison making in their group, who Whisper loves like a younger sister and whom he knows isn't cut out for the harsh life that he has lived in the Kennel. The bargain he makes has a catch of a time limit and who knows if his "father" changes his mind about the whole thing. The mission - kill Prince Julian, but not before he gets a go ahead signal.

Prince Julian begrudgingly came to Green Haven from Silas, the main kingdom city, to relieve his older brother Audrick from his duties their. On first glance, he gives an impression of a colourful flirt of a prince, who hardly pays attention to courtly matters, and at Green Haven he has come to reluctantly fill the shoes of his nearly perfect brother Audrick. Obviously, the guy has complex, especially because his plant/earth magic is the weakest among the three brothers. Still, that shortcoming doesn't fade his confidence level, specifically to play with fickle minded nobels of the court. His mother also wants him to diplomatically fix the tensions with Draconian border state, with whom the main kingdom has hostile relations since their war. And in all this political chaos, arrives a quiet, beautiful young recruit who in the most astounding fashion impresses the prince and also saves his life. Julian is intrigued and mesmerized by the quiet boy, who carries a fragile kind heart, yet maintains a stoic persona that's impenetrable.


Lastly, the world building of the kingdom.of Silas is wonderfully done. The author hasn't divulged in a lot of details of the kingdom and it's various territories, but one gets a good enough idea of the different nationalities of people that surrounds the kingdom. the portrayal of political tensions is also well explained and it's not a lot to take in, that sometimes happens in this genre type of book. I am curious to see how the author further portrays the varied distinction further on the series.

Love this story!

I have listen to this story so many time. I've read the whole series but this one is my absolute favorite. I crave to always hear this story. I think I've listened to this story twice in 48 hours and am currently listening to it while writing this out.

Fun fantasy

I just finished the Paladin series and was excited to start this new series. It didn’t disappoint! Great story and characters. Can’t wait for the next one.

Loved This World!

I loved this story and Kirt Graves and John Solo did a wonderful job with the narration! I was a little worried it might be too dark for me with one MC being an assassin, and Whisper's backstory is awful, but the focus was more on Whisper and Julien and them falling in love and the amazing world Tavia Lark has created. There is lots of adventure and suspense and magic as well! Looking forward to Prince Bellamy's book.

powerful man who also liked to be a bottom.

could use a little more blood magic origins. glad to see masculinity and power not tied to sexual position.

Well worth the time and money

Finished it off in two days even tho I was nearly useless at work. Well worth the money and time. Love the narrators as well. I found this book by them. Glad I did.