Story Rating: 5 stars
Audio Rating: 5 stars

Narrator: Greg Boudreaux
Length: 3 hours, 18 minutes

Audiobook Buy Links: Amazon/Audible | iBooks
Book Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks


Owin is ready to prove he is worthy of his crown—standing before the King didn’t make him nervous at all—well, hardly nervous. Of course, things would be so much better if the dog he’s been saddled with as a bodyguard would just disappear. Who in their right mind would ever pair the prince of all ocelot shifters with a mangy, annoying wolf shifter? The very same king who is about to give Owin his crown, that’s who. Oh well, soon enough Owin can make his own decisions, once he manages to get through the king’s quest.

Grimmwolf finds Owen just adorable, despite his bad temper and haughty air. Grimm knows it just hides the tender heart beneath all the finery. He will always be at the prince’s side no matter what and this quest could be a challenge given how often the prince speaks before he thinks. So be it. Grimm knows he could never deny Owin anything—this is his mate after all. Yes, it is a bit unusual for a wolf to mate a cat, but that doesn’t matter. All that matters is keeping Owin safe and Grimm knows he would give his life to do just that.

The Prince and His Bedeviled Bodyguard is the first book in Charlie Cochet’s Paranormal Princes series. The story is an incredibly funny and sweet romance that introduces Owin, the ocelot prince, and Grimmwolf, the Alpha of the wolfshifters, and I am absolutely in love! This book is one amusing scene after another with the spitfire Owin falling slowly but surely in love with the unfailingly patient and loyal Grimm. I can’t say enough about the comedic timing or the well thought out characters in this novella. They are simply magical and Owin and Grimm are so well suited to each other.

With a general history of the world given to us in the prologue, as well as an introduction to the King and his steward, we are plunged straight into the action with Owin finding out his crown rests on his completing a quest. What ensues is a fast-paced, action adventure that had me laughing until I was in tears. If you are looking for any kind of reality or subtlety here, then you are casting your eyes in the wrong place. This is pure and simple fantasy of the best kind. I could not put this book down.

Everything about this story worked for me. It was romantic, hilarious, exciting, and absolutely whet my appetite for more from this magical realm. I hope the author decides to release the other books in this series on audio—I will be watching for them, for sure.

What can make a book better once it’s published? The perfect narrator for the audio release and Greg Boudreaux is that and more. His style is flawless for this particular story. Because it is told in alternating points of view and in first person, it’s critical that whomever narrates this kind of story do so with distinct voicing, flawless pacing, and comedic timing. Boudreaux nails every last one of these criteria. From the pausing for effect in order to land Owin’s humorous inner musings, to the variation in pitch and pacing for every single voice in this novel (and there are quite a few), Boudreaux uses his considerable talent to highlight and enhance this story. That is the sign of a talented storyteller—when they can add to the novella they are narrating to make it even better.

I honestly could not find any flaws in Greg Boudreaux’s abilities. I loved the voices he chose for each person in the story and the way he used his considerable talent to make them come alive. This is definitely a five-star audio book for me.