Audiobook Review
By: Nalini Singh
Narrated by: Isabelle Gordon
Published by: Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd. 12/2011
Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…
As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy.
Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden
My Thoughts
After my disappointment with Lord of the Vampires I had no intentions of reading/listening to this book, but when the reviews were coming in, and they were so full of enthusiasm and praise I began to look forward to its release on audio.
I was a little apprehensive to jump back into this series, especially when this is the last book.
I should have never doubted for one minute Ms. Singh's’s ability and talent. She’s a master at Romance and the development of strong characters; she’s brilliant at delivering a story that grabs you with intense emotions and an avid sensuality that only comes when the protagonists are perfectly matched, or is it perfectly written? In any case, the story thoroughly worked.
This book had the flavour of The Beauty and the Beast, but Ms. Nalini gives it a perfect spin, beginning with one crucial difference; Liliana-the heroine is no beauty, but what she lacks in that department she makes out with courage and valor.
Despite a lifetime of torture at her fathers’ hands( in some of the most unimaginable ways), Liliana has survived with her soul intact.
In secret, she’s been sharpening her own magic, all in anticipation to the time when she’s able to locate Micah.
Micah is the Fourth royal heir to the Elden kingdom and Liliana plans to help him recover his memory with the hope that he will bring the once and for all destruction of her evil father, and by that securing the survivable of the Elden.
Micah, who has no memories of his past or that he is the heir to the throne of Elden; has lived a solitary existence as the Lord o the Abyss- and is at this point a feared beast-like of a man, but now has a new prisoner in his dungeon, an intriguing little creature that has dared to looked him in the eye (I loved! that part).
And so their story begins, and with so many tender, hot, emotional, and suspenseful moments, the book won’t let you go until it’s over.
After my disappointment with Lord of the Vampires I had no intentions of reading/listening to this book, but when the reviews were coming in, and they were so full of enthusiasm and praise I began to look forward to its release on audio.
I was a little apprehensive to jump back into this series, especially when this is the last book.
I should have never doubted for one minute Ms. Singh's’s ability and talent. She’s a master at Romance and the development of strong characters; she’s brilliant at delivering a story that grabs you with intense emotions and an avid sensuality that only comes when the protagonists are perfectly matched, or is it perfectly written? In any case, the story thoroughly worked.
This book had the flavour of The Beauty and the Beast, but Ms. Nalini gives it a perfect spin, beginning with one crucial difference; Liliana-the heroine is no beauty, but what she lacks in that department she makes out with courage and valor.
Despite a lifetime of torture at her fathers’ hands( in some of the most unimaginable ways), Liliana has survived with her soul intact.
In secret, she’s been sharpening her own magic, all in anticipation to the time when she’s able to locate Micah.
Micah is the Fourth royal heir to the Elden kingdom and Liliana plans to help him recover his memory with the hope that he will bring the once and for all destruction of her evil father, and by that securing the survivable of the Elden.
Micah, who has no memories of his past or that he is the heir to the throne of Elden; has lived a solitary existence as the Lord o the Abyss- and is at this point a feared beast-like of a man, but now has a new prisoner in his dungeon, an intriguing little creature that has dared to looked him in the eye (I loved! that part).
And so their story begins, and with so many tender, hot, emotional, and suspenseful moments, the book won’t let you go until it’s over.
Narration
This delightful story was delivered with perfection by a
new-to me narrator, Isabelle Gordon.
I LOVED her rendition of the story and characters; she fleshed
out their personality with their perfect traits.
Liliana’s soft but at the same time strong and full of
determination voice, came across clearly, and her despair during the moments
with her father, were truly felt.
Micah, was the perfect combination of tenderness, abruptness
and authority that didn’t make him sound like a Neanderthal.
Ms. Gordon beautifully captured every mood in the story;
there was no doubt of her father’s evil, the darkness as well as the light
moments were perfectly conveyed.
All in all a 5 star performance. I’m looking forward to more books narrated by Ms.
Gordon.
The Author
Nalini Singh
I'm glad you gave this one a chance and that you loved it. :)
ReplyDeleteYour review had a lot do with it, thanks. :)
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so glad you gave it a shot! I also really enjoyed this one. It was one of the GraveTells Reviewers Choice books for November. I was impressed with the depth of characters and layers of emotion Ms. Singh was able to infuse into two brand new characters of an existing series (like you, I have no idea why I doubted her - she's amazing). The only thing I wanted more of was the sibling reunion at the end. I needed more closure on that, but otherwise it was excellent.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear it was just as good in audiobook! I get easily distracted by the voices so I don't usually do ABs. Thanks for the review!
@DaVinciKittie, I'm glad I took a shot too, not only I loved the book but I also discovered a wonderful narrator.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot people share your feelings about the ending, I wasn't following the series, I jumped right to this one after Lord of the Vampires, so I wasn't invested as much in the other characters, but I can sympathize with your feelings.
Yay!! I'm so glad you liked it. Nalini really knocked this one out of the park. Micah was such a paradox, being all fierce and scary, then with just a smidgeon of playful child hidden away. Lilly was just perfect for him. I loved it. Great review.
ReplyDeleteI compleately agree!! Nalini is such talented author, I love the deph and credibility of her characters.
ReplyDelete