Dodgy audio

The story is amazing so far and the reading is good. However at some points during the audiobook it sounds as if a different person is saying an individual word or as if the reader has taken a step away from the microphone for a single second.
Not a huge issue but distracting enough that I wanted to mention it.
But on the whole very impressed.

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There is so much goodness here!

C S Pacat’s invests in creative world building, political intrigue, detailed character work, subtle foreshadowing and oh, there is just so much goodness here?!?! Damen is captive because he is physically enslaved while much more nuanced, was Laurent’s emotional captivity that is shown rather than told to us. True, there are distressing themes viz. slavery, rape, cruelty, debauchery, corruption, corporal punishment etc., but any reader of dark fantasy or history will be familiar with these. Besides, the darkness presented here is not to titillate, shock or vilify but to motivate our main characters’ growth and redemption arcs. As this story's beating heart is that goodness and justice must and will prevail - I am invested!

🎧 Stephen Bel Davies character depictions are accurate – listen for how he spits out Nicaise’ dialogue or Erasmus’ gentle delivery. I adore Laurent’s aloof, affected lazy drawl tending to a deeper bass and Damen’s warmer and brighter timbre just makes me happy! This narrator’s diction is precise and enunciation clear, which l appreciate. My single gripe is with the production’s editing between scenes – it is too tight, making it difficult to distinguish when one scene ends and another begins.

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Delicious tension

A good dark fantasy story. The growing tension between the main characters is addictive. Nice slowburn.

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Interesting story

The concept is interesting and reasonable well written. The narration is good though not to my taste.

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Solid

Well worth a read, especially if you like M/M stuff. Got better as it went on too.

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3 people found this helpful

3.5

The story is good but not terribly gripping. There is a lot of cruelty at the start. I liked Laurent but found Damen frustrating.
I didn't particularly enjoy the narration but it wasn't bad, I think it is personal preference

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Gosh!

What a tale/tails! I don't really understand the conflict which appears to have divided people about this book. There seems to be a notion that some will interpret and enjoy the major themes along a BDSM narrative. I don't believe that this is a generalised experience of the devices which the author employs. Slavery, prejudice, sexual abuse and the reality of the outcomes of war are all present matters and should be constantly scrutinised as issues we are all involved with. Obscuring discussion through what some of us feel to be right is dangerous!

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2 people found this helpful

Well written and entertaining

There should be a trigger warning for the SA but its a great book, a great read and certainly enjoyable. The plot twists were built up well enough that they made sense but not everyone would have seen all of them coming. A couple were a little obvious but that didn't take away from the story.

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Sex, subjugation and revenge.

I missed an important part of the blurb when choosing this book so when I first started listening I was mildly surprised to hear all the talk of sexual slavery. However, I’m too old to be either shocked or overly titillated about sex and, to be honest, there’s very little in my wish list at the moment so I left it. It’s not a bad book with a classic theme of a disguised noble facing his enemy. There are some interesting characters and questions about who, in a bad world, is a good person. A rather mistake in the end.

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1 person found this helpful

amazing

Loved this book and the speaker. It was a bit dark but it kept me interested throughout.

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