The Capital

The Knight and the Necromancer: Book One

By: A. H. Lee

Narrated by: Kirt Graves

It's a classic fairy tale: Knight meets necromancer. They argue. They fight. They...make out?

Prince Roland comes home from the war to bury his father and sees his sister on the throne. He sneaks out to his favorite tavern for nostalgia’s sake. It’s the place where he kissed a man for the first time, the place where he used to carouse with the lover he buried on a battlefield.

Roland expects to flirt with a few strangers for old time’s sake. He does not expect to find a fascinating scholar from out of town - a lonely young man with beautiful eyes and an obvious longing to be touched, buried beneath a prickly demeanor. Their unexpected chemistry makes him feel alive for the first time in months.

Roland exerts all his knightly charm and is rewarded by the promise of a second date. He’ll need something to look forward to tomorrow, since he must spend the day in council with his family’s sworn enemy - a necromancer whom his sister has rashly invited to consult about the war.

Sairis is a necromancer with a price on his head. He knows that he will have to bargain for his life tomorrow. He’s never been this far from his tower. He’s good with magic, not people. Sairis knows he’s doing something foolish by visiting a tavern the evening before his meeting with the royals - a tavern that caters to men of certain tastes. But Sairis wants things. Things a hunted outlaw can never have.

He’s shocked when a dazzling mountain of a man is unintimidated by his glare. Sairis knows a knight when he sees one. He has killed plenty of knights. But this knight is funny and kind. Sairis finds his defenses melting in spite of his best efforts. Maybe he could go on a second date with this person.

Of course, he’ll have to get through tomorrow first...when he must bargain with the hated royals who have persecuted him all his life.

©2020 Abigail Hilton (P)2020 Abigail Hilton

enjoyed it - despite the cliff-hanger

📖 Story comment: Good pace, likeable characters, interesting plot
I enjoyed Sairis and Roland - think they are well written and engaging characters. The world-building is off to a good start, i'm not a huge fan of the "insta-love", which is what this kind of feels like with the level of immediate (i'll use the word) 'connection' and wasn't happy with the abrupt "mid-scene" ending - but i'm invested so ... off to get books 2 & 3.

🎧 Narrator comment: I enjoyed Kirt Graves's performance. He suits the characters giving them each their own voice and personality, has good timing, inflections and intonations and brings the book to life.

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough [3⭐] • 5 enjoyed it [4⭐] • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]

extremely enjoyable, great dialogue

I listened to the entire thing in one sitting and need more. the characters are fun and engaging, the dialogue was natural and really well written! Sairis is adorable and Roland is refreshingly self aware, I can't help rooting for them. the world is enjoyable and I really liked the little mini heist situation.
the narrator started out a little stiff but either he eased into the story and characters or I just got so invested I stopped paying attention to how he read it, the writing was just that good.
I hope audible doesn't take forever putting out the rest of the books for us

Glad there's plenty of plot!

Usually these types of books focus too much on the romance between the MCs and not enough on the story, but I was pleasantly surprised that this book has a lot of intrigue, politics, character development, etc. It feels a little on the YA side, but that's absolutely fine. Sometimes I want a book with the veneer of deepness, but still light enough to enjoy on a weekday afternoon. It does leave off on a cliffhanger fyi, and I'm absolutely heading off to read the second book. Also, I really like that the necromancer acts like a necromancer and does necromancer stuff, which I find a lot of other books about necromancers tends to downplay for some reason. The narrator does a great job as well!

great except......Some what *SPOILERS*

great except the last part...…. Some what of a spoiler, but really has nothing to do with what happens in the end........like SOOOO many novels, the entire last part made no sense, why didn't they just tell the truth, at which point all of what happened is unnecessary …..

Chef’s kiss

This was a wonderful story and I was shocked I hadn’t heard of it before now. Truly, a romp with interesting world building, unique characters, literally everything you could ask for. The narration is fabulous and the only complaint I have is that I personally think the cover is awful and that a different one could just be the cherry on top of this excellent, super satisfying series