Luca is an Alpha-heir eagerly awaiting the choosing ceremony on his twenty-fifth birthday and the gifts granted by whichever omega he mates. His small pack is destitute due to the decisions of its ruling council, but being only an Alpha-heir, he has no authority to challenge them. Not until now—this moment he has waited a long time for.
Kit grew up as a street-rat, an unlicensed human who would never be more than a slave for whichever master owns him. Then one day he came across a young Alpha-heir, attacked and dying of poison, and found out their fates were suddenly entwined.
Luca needs to take over his pack and save his people. He cannot afford to be distracted. But when he meets Kit, he develops abilities indicating he is not just a pack Alpha, but the King his world has needed for a thousand years.
Is Kit really the cause of Luca’s newfound power, the true mate he needs? How is it possible when the young man isn’t even a werewolf, and as merely a human, a mating is not only forbidden, but for Kit, a sentence of death? (WARNING -Contains MPreg)
Listening Length: 8hrs 15mins
Narrator: Joel Leslie
Okay.
Here's the thing.
I rarely have issues with my audio book choices due to screening the samples prior to even buying anything. And even if the book sounds like it would be a match made in heaven for me, if the narrator doesn't mesh in that sample for me, it's a no-go for me.
With Joel Leslie as a narrator to this fantasy/ paranormal romance, it was a match made in heaven! I'm not a audio book OG like some but I'm not quite a newb? I know what I like and this narrator and his penchant for drama and multiple voices just works, especially for this genre.
The premise of Victoria Sue's The Alpha King is a lot of SRAL winning topics: alpha/omega dynamics, KNOTTING, destined/fated mates and cool world building.
At twenty, human Kit has had such a rough life, it's a surprise he's still alive. But he always knew he had a bigger purpose in life... Luca. Beaten, starved and worked to the bone, Kit knew he had to hold on to help change the world. Werewolf Luca didn't have it easy either. At twenty-five he's already had family betrayal and an assassination attempt to deal with. He has to participate in an antquated werewolf mating system to try to regain a hold over his family's pack. He didn't see Kit coming. And after seeing him that night, he didn't want to see anything else.
The story? The story swim in the 4- 4.5 Heart side of the pool. The couple did have communication issues (I don't mind that theme as long as it gets resolved and appropriate groveling ensues) It did mostly. It cracked me up a little when even Kit stated he and Luca needed to learn to communicate.
Luca was overprotective and he did do one major bonehead move *cough*the tournament*cough* where I feel Kit definitely should have made Luca beg more. And Kit proved time and time again he could predict things and get premonitions (of sorts), why was he ignored by Luca? Argh, it was frustrating!
But they seem to get their shit together in the end. I hope it remains so for the future.
I also wished we got to see more cunning from Kit when presented with difficulties, only because for someone who was a "guttersnipe" and had a hard life... I had trouble believing some of his softer reactions.
Other those those hiccups, the story entertains and Sue definitely knows how to keep the story turning. I'm clearly on a Victoria Sue kick and I'm not tired yet.
The narration? Joel Leslie narrating fantasy is definitely his wheelhouse! 5 HEARTS all the way!
He breathes life into characters, to the point where I'm actually thinking about the audio after it is over. Need another example of Leslie's excellent fantasy narration skills (see Lord Mouse) I could write sonnets on why Leslie won with that book.
I loved Kit so much as a character. And I really like the direction Leslie went with him. Also, Leslie's penchant for different voices added another cool element. I kept wondering on what accent would be present as new characters and territories were introduced.
Just a total audio pleasure to listen to.
Sue and Leslie are a great match. I already purchased the next audio, The Alpha Heir once I saw Leslie was narrating. I can't wait to get my earbuds prepared for more of Askara!
The average is around 4.5 - 4.75 but once again, Leslie's narration elevated a strong story, I can't rate the audio anything other than a 5.
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