Introduction:
This is a beautifully performed high fantasy story about a prince trying to regain his throne.
Summary:
Erieden fights for his throne, Ella tries to find her mother, and battles are found all over the place. This is definitely high fantasy – elves, dwarves, goblins, maug (?? sorry, I might not be spelling that right since I heard the audio version), etc.
Additional Comments:
– I have not read book 1 in the series. Although I think it would be better to have read book 1, one can follow the events easily enough.
– The story itself was okay. It meanders all over the place and the romance seems either forced or ridiculous (ie. everybody’s falling all over themselves to love Erieden).
– The world-building is fine, but most of the “honor is everything” gets old pretty quickly. You just want to reach in and smack some sense into people.
– The bad guy doesn’t seem to have much of a motive besides “destroy everything b/c I hate everybody who’s not me”. Maybe that was explained more in book one.
– Switching back and forth between the Hidden Land and America was odd.
– This is high fantasy but there wasn’t much of an emphasis on the dwarves or elves.
- Prejudice swings pretty hard in the book, especially with one of the MC’s at the end of the story. It seems silly.
- Ella’s okay, but the quest to find her mother seemed a tad useless.
Content Warning:
- Battle descriptions are gruesome but very well-handled both in the writing and the performance.
- strong language
- There are some awesome reversals at the end of the book.
What I loved:
– I listened to the audiobook narration by Tom Adams. He’s perfect for the story.
– Characters – Whip-whip is adorable. The effect for the fairy voices was neat.
Conclusion:
Excellent performance of an intricate story.
Special Treat:
If you want the chance to get the book on audiobook for free, please join Audiobook Readers’ Edge.
If you’re an author with an audiobook you’d like featured on the weekly list, sign up for Audiobook Authors’ Edge.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Julie C. Gilbert
For a limited time, I’m offering a fantasy book to anybody who supports Audiobook Edge.
[paypal-donation]
