Story Rating: 3 stars
Audio Rating: 4 stars
Narrator: Greg Boudreaux
Length: 6 hours, 42 minutes
Audiobook Buy Links: Amazon/Audible | iBooks
Book Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks
Lochlann Wilde is the oldest senior at school. At 24, he still has not earned his summoner’s crest and hasn’t graduated. His father was a legendary summoner and everyone expected big things from Loch, but his motivation to leave school and move on isn’t there. However, Locke knows it’s time to do something and then he accidentally summons the fae prince, Sylvain. And when Locke sees Sylvain, he’s like all of his heated fantasies come to life for Sylvain is handsome and hot and Locke can’t stop looking at him.
Sylvain is astounded when he winds up in the forest summoned out of the ether. He has absolutely no intention of making a bond with Locke, but words have meaning no matter what context they are said in and the men find themselves bonded for a quest to get Locke his crest and his inheritance. But Sylvain isn’t telling Locke everything and, as the men fall for each other, they have to battle creatures and elements and their own stubborn hearts.
The Prince of Flowers sounded like a fun quest filled book with some magic and a fae prince and I do often like to try new-to-me authors. While the book does have those elements, I wasn’t expecting it to be so silly and farcical and that style doesn’t appeal to me.
The book is told through Locke’s POV and not long after we meet him, Sylvain joins him in the forest. One thing we know about Sylvain, because Locke tells us in every single scene, is that Sylvain is soooo hot. Locke can never mention Sylvain without mentioning something about his appearance and, yeah, Sylvain is fae, but it didn’t take long for that to become a tired storyline as Locke’s fixation with Sylvain’s looks becomes excessive.
When Locke summons Sylvain, he has this hold and control over him that was never fully explored and there is a power imbalance that was never discussed. In the beginning, there was a way that Locke could have had the bond broken between them, but he doesn’t discuss his choices with Sylvain because capturing a fae prince is advantageous for Locke and the school, so there are a lot of unexplored dynamics at play in the subtext.
The relationship between Locke and Sylvain happens over a few days and the men are all in without really knowing each other. Again, it felt more about how Sylvain looked than any real feelings that were explored between the two of them. There isn’t any world building here as we get dropped into Locke’s magical life. There’s also a story alluded to of the hierarchy at the school involving the headmasters, which isn’t told at all, and there isn’t a lot to grab onto as far as Locke’s world. Locke has two close friends, who added a frenetic, yet expected, pace and one nemesis that plays out as expected. Overall, this story didn’t have enough depth to the quest or the world building or the relationship development and it was a too simple and juvenile for my tastes.
Greg Boudreaux narrated this one and since I have listened to many books performed by him, his voice was familiar. I enjoy listening to audiobooks and Boudreaux offers a performance that was easy to listen to, but this whole story wasn’t one of his standouts. Locke sounded close to the narrator’s own voice. Sylvain’s pompous tone was expected at first, but after a while, sounded like an act and it made it difficult to see Sylvain as more than a caricature. This story was fine to listen to, but overall, this book in general will not be a memorable standout for me.