How to Catch a Queen Audiobook Review

How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Series: Runaway Royals #1

Heat Level: 🔥🔥

Release Date: January 10, 2021

I received a complimentary audiobook of this title from the publisher.

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SYNOPSIS

An arranged marriage leads to unexpected desire, in the first book of Alyssa Cole’s Runaway Royals series…

When Shanti Mohapi weds the king of Njaza, her dream of becoming a queen finally comes true. But it’s nothing like she imagined. Shanti and her husband may share an immediate and powerful attraction, but her subjects see her as an outsider, and everything she was taught about being the perfect wife goes disastrously wrong.

A king must rule with an iron fist, and newly crowned King Sanyu was born perfectly fitted for the gauntlet, even if he wishes he weren’t. He agrees to take a wife as is required of him, though he doesn’t expect to actually fall in love. Even more vexing? His beguiling new queen seems to have the answers to his country’s problems—except no one will listen to her.

By day, they lead separate lives. By night, she wears the crown, and he bows to her demands in matters of politics and passion. When turmoil erupts in their kingdom and their marriage, Shanti goes on the run, and Sanyu must learn whether he has what it takes both to lead his people and to catch his queen.

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REVIEW

Sanyu is the newly crowned King of Njaza and he is expected to marry. He doesn’t exactly want to marry, but his father is ill and would like for Sanyu to marry before he dies. He doesn’t expect to stay married for long as the usual marriage term ends in 4 months and then the king is free to choose his next wife if he so chooses.

Shanti was born to be queen. She feels a spark when she first meets Sanyu, but then weeks go by and he doesn’t even try to interact with her. She has many ideas to change the kingdom for the better, but how can she implement them if no one gives her the time to listen – especially her husband, the king?

I liked the marriage of convenience aspect between Sanyu and Shanti. But I do feel like some of the chemistry was lacking. The book had a slower pace in the beginning and it took me a while to get into the story, but that picked up towards the end.

Audiobook

Story: 3.5
Narration: 4
Overall: 3.5

I enjoyed the audiobook of How to Catch a Queen narrated by Karen Chilton. This was my first book by Karen Chilton and I feel like she did a wonderful accent for the voices of Sanyu and Shanti. I was always able to tell the various emotions a character was going through.

Overall I would rate How to Catch a Queen 3.5 stars.