Title: The Gryphon King’s Consort

Series: Dreamspun Beyond

Author: Jenn Burke

Narrator: Andrew McFerrin

Genre: Paranormal, Shape shifters

Length: 5 hrs, 51 mins

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (5th March 2018)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ 5 Hearts

Blurb: Love takes flight.

The sudden death of the Gryphon King throws the kingdom of Mythos into uncertainty, and Crown Prince Luca rushes both his coronation and an arranged marriage to a man he’s never met. Eirian is young and idealistic, and while they both want what’s best for their people, their philosophies couldn’t be more different. While Luca believes in honoring tradition, Eirian is determined to infuse modern values into their kingdom of magical creatures. When given the choice between loyalty to his husband and his own crusade, Eirian makes a decision that might doom their marriage.
Still, Luca is committed to making their union work, and that means forgiving his brash consort. But when Eirian becomes the target of a deadly conspiracy, Luca must act fast—or forever lose the chance to explore their burgeoning love.

Product Link: Audible US | Audible UK | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Prime

Review: The Gryphon King’s Consort for me is one of those books for me that was simply amazing.
The author, Jenn Burke, is completely unknown to me. Andrew McFerrin’s narration is generally good, but not always hitting the right marks in previous audio books I’ve listened to. And finally, while I was certainly interested in the plot after reading the blurb. After all, I love shape shifters and like many people I’m enchanted by a royal arranged marriage that becomes a love match. And yet, I was a little skeptical that it was truly going to be my type of book because the blurb didn’t really capture my imagination all that well.

However, once I started listening to the audio I was amazed and enchanted and totally in love with both MCs. First off, I really enjoyed the narration, other than the two MCs there are a few important minor characters and I really liked how each one of them got their unique voice. McFerrin’s narration really added spice to the amazing world which Burke has created, as any good narrator should. It only had me captivated of this supernatural kingdom nestled in Canada.

The story starts after the death of the Gryphon King, the ruler of supernatural world. He died under mysterious circumstances, but his heir is determined to make sure that his people do not suffer from the transition from the old king to new king. Crown Prince Luca, however, is not only being coronated as the king, he also has an arranged marriage that he needs to go through. This is entirely political alliance, even if his fiancé is an ordinary guy (gryphon), Eirian has been involved in governance at the local level and hopes that his experience will help him in his new life after being chosen by the King’s counsel as the new king’s consort.

Luca is a stoic traditionalist who wants to honor the memory of his mentor, the former king. Yet, Luca is also a loner, a personal betrayal means that he finds it near on impossible to let anyone in. Really, deep down he’s just a grumpy old gryphon with a heart of gold.

Eirian on the other hand is younger and more brash than his new husband. Eirian is part of the group known as modernists, who want to encourage good will between the supernatural and the humans. He is an idealist at heart and finds it difficult when he has to make compromises between his own ideals/conscience and with forming a united front with his new husband.

Luca and Eirian are brilliant characters – there are a lot of depth to these guys that had me so invested in them from the start. I found myself sympathizing with the POV of both men and I fell even more in love at the end with Luca, faced with the possibility of losing Eirian, has an epiphany.

If you’re into the whole shape shifter thing and love a good royal romance, I heartily recommend this book.