Castle Town 7

By: Anya Merchant

Narrated by: Giancarlo Herrera, Hannah Schooner

Prince Makoa has suffered his gravest defeat, but hope springs eternal. After the unexpected and tragic betrayal of Hazafallius, his recovery and ruined leg hang in the balance. He clings to the knowledge closest to his heart—the fact that the people he loves most still believe in him.

Meanwhile, Underqueen Avina attempts to bring stability back to Harvestglade while Petra searches desperately for the traitors and their hostage. Torn between her concern for Koa and her anxiety for her esper, Avina can do little else but wait. At least, until word from her fellow underqueens arrives requesting her presence at a conference to determine the future of the realm. With Harvestglade still near to full strength, it’s a long awaited and rather cathartic reversal of roles to set off knowing this time, her rivals will take her perspective seriously.

Note from author: This book contains adult themes and sexual situations.

©2023 Anya Merchant (P)2023 Anya Merchant

much better than the last book

so the book started out a little dreary but it seemed to pick up steam in the middle and finished out very strong in my opinion.

I'm glad to see that we're done with trying to punish the main character. All of the last book just seem to hammer him again and again and again. so the fact that Makoa gets some really epic wins here was a much welcome change.

as always, henna does a fantastic job with a female parts.

Epic Fantasy Series

Review is for the series as a whole.
Anya Merchant is known for her pseudo-incest stories with fantastical elements, although it isn't as prevalent in this series as some.

The prince (adopted) is on a quest to become more powerful and become king, so his mother won't have to service whatever slob is in charge. He also has relationships with women he's known since he was a child and an aunt (by marriage), but frankly the adopted mother is the only relationship that feels incestual.

I had low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. The sex isn't as huge a part of the story as you might think. Instead, this is an epic tale of a naive (but privileged) young man who gains supernatural powers and allies and goes through incredible trials and tribulations in his quest to become king. There are huge, continent-spanning plot developments, and the author isn't shy about killing off characters at times. There is some humor to lighten the mood here and there.

One of the magic systems used in the series is interesting and a little different - it consists almost entirely of opening portals to other realms. You don't cast a fireball, you open a portal to a realm of fire, and the same goes for other magical effects.

I will say that I found the protagonist hard to like. Yes, he's the hero, and there are reasons to feel sympathy for him, and he does in some ways mature emotionally a little, but still... he's kind of a jerk and is overall selfish, impulsive and immature. On the plus side, props to the author for not having an overly perfect and flawless hero. Still, maybe he has a few too many flaws.

Overall, the series was pretty good, although I still prefer the "Domestic Decay" series.

Note: the 8-book series is complete.

5 stars

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟I hope there are more books to come in this series! The MC is great along with a really good supporting cast! The story is captivating! The narrators also do a good job of bringing the story to life! Great job Anya Merchant!

Excellent

I love the story so far and can't wait to see how it ends. I know some listeners were disappointed by the end of the last book but I knew she would handle it well and the solution wasn't far from my guess. This one is a ride for sure.