The Night Prince picks up where the Wolf King left off and, really builds upon the foundations placed in Book One. While Book One was very Werewolf-Outlander, this book added in a dash of Twilight Saga in with the emergence of a love triangle between Aurora, Callum and Blake (the setting up of this was incredibly obvious in the Wolf King). The love triangle is so delightful, Callum doesn't all of a sudden develop a new personality in this book to make him undesrieable to Aurora. Nor does Blake instantly soften or become less mysterious to her. The pre-established characterisations of the two male leads deepen within this book, Aurora however, does begin to change. Having a shred of independancy for the first time in her life means she begins to make choices and act for herself in this book.

Like the Wolf King, I listened to this book in audio format and I was thrilled that Blake had his own narrator. This really fixed a lot of the issues around immersion that I had whilst listening to the first book. Each character was narrated by someone with the appropriate accent, who, did it incredibly well. It made for an incredibly enjoyable listening experience.

We get additional pieces added to the world building that was established in Book One, with further development of the gods and the assorted roles they play in the different factions structures. The themes of religious trauma are also woven into the story across multiple characters of assorted backgrounds and have a genuine place in the wider plot of the story. Aurora continues to learn about the wolves and grapple with her own identity, as neither a wolf nor human and her main method of learning comes from Blakes books.

I really liked the exploration of Aurora's relationship with her brother, in the Wolf King he was written off as a very 2D bully. However, we get to see the siblings interact in a manner that provides additional dimension to both their characters and I thoroughly enjoyed their scenes together. Additionally, Aurora's interaction with the other supporting characters really added depth to the story and the world building.

The last quarter of the book was full of plot twists that I didn't foresee as I was reading. Infact, I was frustrated, because I find when the main cast of characters are seperated (usually by capture) to be a bit annoying. But, the plot moved quite quickly and changed what I thought the trajectory of the story and next book would possibly be. I am really looking forward to continuing this series and getting more answers in Book 3.

The Wolf King is such an interesting premise, essentially combining Outlander with Werewolves. The story follows Aurora, Princess of the human kingdom, who is 'kidnapped' by a charming alpha Callum. They must navigate tension amongst the squabbling, barely unified wolf clans, their attraction to one another and the humans desire to get Aurora back.

I listened to this story in audiobook format, I loved that Callum not only had his own narrator, but, that they had a Scottish accent. I think this elevated the story so much and sounded much better than anything I could have conjured up in my mind. What I did find a little jarring was that although Callum had his own narrator, other male characters with significant dialogue such as Blake, were covered by the female narrator. It felt like they didn't fully commit to an entirely dual narration when creating this audiobook. Otherwise, I found the tone, pitch and pacing of the narrators pleasant.

I had such a good time with the plot of this book, I liked the underlying comparison that the werewolves in the North were Scottish and that the human kingdom in the South were English. I really enjoyed Aurora's character development throughout the book, she has grown up a princess, but is more than happy to help out (albeit it clumsily) in the kitchens. I also like how she takes things into her own hands with lactose-intolerant Isla. Callum was a sweet first love interest, he takes the time to get to know her and asks about her interests (though he doesn't really seem to catalogue this information, particularly when she told him that fashion is the way she likes to express herself) and has a very strong touch-her-and-die attitude. Surprisingly, his red flags are few and he seems quite sweet. But. He is the first love interest in a fantasy trilogy, and he is blonde. So I felt like I shouldn't get too attatched. And we also meet Blake. From the outset, he is nonchalant, broody, myseterious and has dark hair. His sneakily character and double-crossing made reading about him really interesting.

The world building was subtle, which did leave me with questions at times. But I did apprecitate that more than being info-dumped on. I found the concepts of the Gods intriguing and hope to get more insight as the series continued. I also thought that communicating context through Aurora's own education on wolves worked well, as she was a sheltered princess, she knew little about them and we could learn alongside her. I did foresee elements of the plot coming, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story. I think it provided a really solid foundation for the series to continue and I am looking forward to moving onto Book 2.