Book Review :: Prince of Never by Lorelei Johnson & Hailey Jade

Prince of Never by Lorelei Johnson, Hailey Jade
ISBN: 0645837806
Series: Curse of Fate and Fae #1
Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 414
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads

Destined to love him. Destined to own him. Destined to destroy him.

Only one thing stands between Tarian and his a woman prophesised to be his downfall. He'd expected a formidable enemy, but what he found was a human librarian. One who seems to have a penchant for recklessness and a serious lack of self-preservation. One who poses a serious dilemma.

How to take his crown when he can't remove the one thing standing in his way?

Imogen has always fought to keep control. Control of herself, control of her life. Because when the world thinks you're crazy, you have to show you aren't. Especially when you're not sure yourself. But when a fae prince takes her to another realm, she's forced to face her biggest fears.
Was she right all along or has she finally lost her mind?

With a strange bond pulling them together and dangers lurking around every corner, will they find that love is a blessing or a curse?

Last updated on 14 November 2023

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What is Prince of Never by Lorelei Johnson & Hailey Jade about?

Prince of Never by Lorelei Johnson & Hailey Jade is the story of Tarian, a fae prince, and Imogen, a human librarian. Didn’t think you’d read that sentence today did you?

In the fae realm, Tarian discovers his supposed downfall isn’t a fierce adversary, despite what he and a lot of other fae thought, but a human librarian, a bookish rebel with a knack for recklessness. But he’s got a predicament: how does he secure his crown when the obstacle is a girl who’s practically allergic to self-preservation? When she’s adamant about going against his orders.

Meet Imogen, the control enthusiast. She’s always fought to rein in her life, especially when the world insists she’s making it up. When she was young she was bitten by a vampire and no one believed her – they couldn’t even see the scars on her neck. She still sees things others don’t and experiences things that other people pass off of as more ‘normal things’ or human things.

But when a fae prince (cough Tarian cough) whisks her away to another dimension, her reality takes a wild turn. As it would. Imogen has taught about the fantastical realm, she’s read about it. She’s been open to its possibilities after seeing what she’s seen, but she doesn’t really believe it’s real. Not until she sees it. Not until she’s suddenly living it.

But it’s not quite what she expected. Imogen and Tarian seem to have a bond, one that throws them into harm’s way on the regular. As they grow in their relationship, will love be their saviour or will the prophecy of Tarian’s downfall really come true in Imogen?

My thoughts on Prince of Never

I liked the idea of this book – not that it’s anything new, of course – but I’m not sure it was executed that well.

Imogen seemed like a strong character at the beginning – she teaches a local university, she has all this cool knowledge about fae and the fantastical – but as soon as she is swept away into the land of fae, dealing with Seelie and Unseelie Courts, she suddenly turns into this woman who accepts things too quickly, who is eager to get away but at the same time isn’t trying that hard. She’s dong what she’s told, she’s not questioning a lot of things, and she’s making friends too quickly.

“The more I learned about the fae, the less I felt I actually knew. How could they combine an act of such barbary with an act of such civility?”

Tarain is this angry fae prince who, sure has a lot of issues, but he’s just not that likeable. He’s not a brooding-but-adorable sort of guy you might get in other stories, and while that’s totally fine, I just didn’t love his character. The two also, despite getting together at the end eventually, barely have a full conversation the entire book. How they got together remains a mystery to me.

Some of the other characters were great, though, including Ethan, one of Imogen’s friends from the human world, and then Sarah, a changling in the fae realm, whom Imogen meets quite soon after arriving. Sarah becomes a friend to Imogen, helping her through and getting used to being in a completely what was fictional-to-her land.

“I had read of will-o-wisps in folktales. Some said they led you where you needed to go. Sometimes that was where you wanted to be, sometimes it was where you needed to be, even if you didn’t know it.”

The plot was simple, and mostly what you would expect. I did like the fae realm setting, and it felt a bit different other other fae-heavy books I’ve read. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but it was quite fun to read in that respect.

Overall, it was an okay fantasy read. While it didn’t grab me in perhaps the ways I thought it would, after reading the synopsis, I did enjoy reading it. I wouldn’t read it again, and I probably won’t read the second in the series (I assume there will be more than one book), but I appreciate not every book is for everyone.

What about you? Have you read Prince of Never yet? What did you think? If you haven’t read it, is it on your TBR?