Audio Book Review: Sellsword's Oath

Sellsword's Oath

By:  Gail Z. Martin

Publish Date:  January 20, 2020, Audiobook Release January 20, 2020

Format:  Audiobook - 5 hrs 59 mins
Narrated By:  Samuel Roukin

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  2nd in Assassins of Landria series; 1st Book ~ Assassin's Honor

Impression:  Interesting assassin team.

Synopsis:
Wandering mystic Yefim Makary, known to his followers as the ‘Witch Lord’, disappeared before he could be accused of inciting dissent against King Kristoph. His supporters among the disenchanted aristocrats who weren’t arrested have fled or died by their own hand. The king is happy to put the matter behind him. Yet Burke, the commander of the elite King’s Shadows, doesn’t believe the threat is over, and he assigns his two most troublesome, rule-breaking—and successful—assassins to ferret out the real threat and put a stop to Makary’s plots.

Joel “Ridge” Breckinridge and Garrett “Rett” Kennard rose through the ranks of the Landrian army together, from teenaged conscripts to seasoned fighters. Together, they became the most feared team of assassins in Landria, surviving longer that most in their profession by virtue of excellent fighting skills, legendary bravado, peerless strategy, and an uncanny synchronicity.

As the threads of a new plot come together revealing disloyalty among the priests and generals, Ridge and Rett once again find themselves on the run, hoping they and their allies can figure out the Witch Lord’s latest scheme before it costs them their lives—and the king his throne.

First Sentence:
The trick, when setting off gunpowder, was to be far enough away.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles 

Audible

My Thoughts and Summary:

*I was given this free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Samuel narrated the first book and I'm glad he returned for the next! His voice and personality that he gives to Rett and Ridge feels to be them for me. The audio is clean and clear for listening pleasure.

Rett and Ridge are sent on a mission to go after the counterfeiters and destroy their forge. If they hear or see anything regarding Yefin Makary, or the Witch Lord as he is called, who got away in the first book they are to report directly to Burke. Rett and Ridge are sure he's going to cause trouble in the future. The deeper they dig into the counterfeiting, the more they find that Makary is involved and has more going on than meets the eye.

I enjoy Rett and Ridge as a team. They are great brothers, though not by blood but from growing up together in the orphanage as children. They have each other's back and work well together. They also have a touch of the sight, which is frowned on by others so they keep it hidden. There are a few that learn of their abilities and it comes in handy with their mission, again. 

I love how these two also help captured children get to a safe place. There are children out there with abilities as well, and with the help of one they saved in the first book, they find more of these children who've been taken from their families or put in terrible situations. This shows there is a heart in these assassins. 

I enjoyed the missions as we got to see what was happening while Rett and Ridge are in disguise then the fight that will come. We get closer and closer to what's happening and how things are connected as we follow Rett and Ridge on a few missions.

We get more ghosts in this one. I found I had very similar thoughts on assassin ghosts. lol. Cool idea.

The series is well worth a read or listen. I enjoy the fantasy story and setting in a shorter length. I get all I enjoy in fantasy from magic to fights and more. I know listening is limited these days, so to have the shorter length is a nice bonus.

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Audio Book Review: Hook: Dead Wrong

Hook: Dead Wrong

By:  Melissa Snark

Publish Date:  August 1, 2019, Audiobook Release September 26, 2019

Format:  Audiobook - 8 hrs 33 mins
Narrated By:  Natalie Naudus

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  2nd in Captain Hook and the Pirates of Neverland series; Book 1 ~ Dead to Rights

Impression:  Closer view at Hook and what she faces personally.

Synopsis:
People who complicate my life earn the business end of my hook.
Funny how that never seems to stop them.

Think I’m exaggerating? I stand accused of colluding with Fomorian raiders who are abducting young mermaids… And one of the Lost Boys I rescued from Neverland is being terrorized by a Faerie nightmare… A dark menace connects the two things. With the help of my pixie companion, I must solve the mystery while evading the interference of my meddlesome ex-lover.

He’s sinfully distracting, but the fun must wait.

All those delectable sirens need rescuing.

First Sentence:
The towering peak of Old Crack-A-Toe, a long dormant volcano, thrust from the center of Rackham's Cay's South Island.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles 

Audible

My Thoughts and Summary:

*I was given this free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.


Natalie returns to continue voicing Hook and her adventures. I'm pleased to hear Natalie again. I enjoy her accent for Hook and the many voices she's given to additional characters. The many voices makes the book feel like a full cast in audio. The audio is cut clean and clear for listening.

Hook's ship, Revenge, limps along on the waters after the battle with Peter Pan. They lost crew and the ship is on the verge of sinking. They then cross paths with Admiral William Kidd, who's determined to kill Hook. Then, we move on to a month later. Hook is chased from a married woman's bed and home.

This book has more going on behind the scenes as we listen to the story. We get the connections as the story progresses but earlier in the book we don't know how it's going to connect.

We get to see Hook use her siren song early in this book. It's nice to see she uses it when in need of help. Which we see that using her siren song could have consequences, which Hook is concerned about.

Hook is captain of her ship and she has to act the part, though Hook does care even if she appears hard in the face of her crew. She only wants the best for her crew and to keep them safe, especially from Peter Pan. I get a kick out of Hook and her camaraderie with Buzz, a pixie. They are fun together and Buzz makes me smile with some of his off hand comments.

We see Hook alone and a deeper look into who Hook is. We also get to see Hook with crew and friends on a one on one bases. The story feels to be a character developing one for us with the feelings we see flow through Hook here.

I think, in the end, Hook has a new appreciation for her crew and those she keeps near. She sees they are more to her, and she to them, than she originally leads on. Will this change the way she commands? I hope not. To me, she's always had care in her barked orders, it seems now she knows her crew and friends care for her too.

We get to see Hook with Captain Rackham. I do enjoy the way these two banter. Rackham and Hook seem so good at getting at the other with remarks, and they both take it in stride. There is a history here, and maybe a future? I'd love to see these two interact more in the future. Hook even makes a new friend in the water as well. It's always interesting to see Hook's connection to the mermaids. I wonder if this will come up again in the future.

A fun read that has me looking forward to future installments with Hook and all around her.



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