He’s supposed to kill Prince Julien. Not fall for him.

Whisper doesn’t remember his real name. All he knows is the elite assassin guild that raised him—and controls him with the threat of blood magic. Plagued by nightmares, he doesn’t get to refuse assignments, even when his new job doesn’t make sense:

Infiltrate Prince Julien’s court, protect him until the signal arrives, then kill him.

Julien hides his own schemes behind a sordid reputation. He trusts nobody besides his brothers, and he certainly doesn’t trust the aloof, beautiful new stranger at court. But he doesn’t have to trust the stranger to be drawn to him, especially when he saves Julien’s life.

Then Julien saves Whisper too, and Whisper’s reserve shatters.

Beneath Julien’s playboy facade is a warmth Whisper can’t resist. Whisper’s never been comforted before. He’s never been cared for like this. As his nightmares darken, Julien’s touch is his only solace—but falling in love could ruin them both.

Because Whisper’s mission hasn’t changed, and the price for failure is worse than death.

How was it?

I was drawn to this book because of its title – which I found intriguing, – the genre, and the fact that I had never read a Tavia Lark Story. I didn’t know that it was about a Prince falling in love with his assassin, it could have been a prince who is also a skilled assassin but in any case, I wanted to read it and it was a joy.

This book is a lot warmer and sweet than I could’ve expected, there’re still a lot of dark things and themes going on but overall it’s a story filled with sweetness and warmth. Prince Julien and Whisper are both easy to fall in love with, they’re both a little unassuming and not what you’d expect. Seeing them take their time and build on their attraction for each other was entertaining, enough that I wasn’t much on the lookout for who wanted Prince Julien dead.

I totally understood the geopolitical situation Prince Julien and Whisper were in the middle of, it’s succinct in the way it’s laid out throughout the novel but easy to fill in the blanks.  The worldbuilding is just right, we’re not inundated with it, there’s enough here to understand the relevant fantasy elements of this specific story but with enough room to grow.

The first entry in the Perilous Court series is a slow burn but the chemistry between the main characters is good, the secondary characters are also solid, and the setting is intriguing. I can’t wait to read more. The audiobook might be the way to experience it since Kirt Graves and John Solo are excellent narrators.